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OIL 


THE  BARBER  OE  FLEET  STREET. 


A  DOMESTIC  ROMANCE 


LONDON : 


PUBLISHED   EY  IS.  LLOYD,  SALISBURY  SQUARE,  FLEET  STR*M>. 


MDCCCL 


PREFACE. 


The  Romance  op  The  String  ov  Pearls  having  excited  in  the 
Literary  world  an  almost  unprecedented  interest,  it  behoves  the  author 
to  say  a  few  words  to  his  readers  upon  the  completion  of  his  labours. 

In  answer  to  the  many  inquiries  that  have  been,  from  time  to  time, 
made  regarding  the  fact  of  whether  there  ever  was  such  a  person  as  Sweeney 
Todd  in  existence,  we  can  unhesitatingly  say,  that  there  certainly  was  such  ! 
a  man ;  and  the  record  of  his  crimes  is  still  to  be  found  in  the  chronicles  of 
criminality  of  this  country. 

The  house  in  Fleet  Street,  which  was  the  scene  of  Todd's  crimes,  is  no 
more.  A  fire,  which  destroyed  some  half-  dozen  buildings  on  that  side  of 
the  way,  involved  Todd's  in  destruction  5  but  the  secret  passage,  although, 
no  doubt,  partially  blocked  up  with  the  re-budding  of  St.  Dunstan's 
Church,  connecting  the  vaults  of  that  edifice  with  the  cellars  of  what  was 
Todd's  house  in  Fleet  Street,  still  remains. 

From  the  great  patronage  which  this  work  ha?  received  from  the  reading 
public,  the  author  has  to  express  his  deep  and  earnest  thanks ;  and  he  begs 
to  state,  that  if  anything  more  than  another  could  stimulate  him  to  renewed 
exertion  to  please  his  numerous  patrons,  it  is  their  kind  and  liberal  appre- 
ciation of  his  past  labours. 

London^  1850. 


II 


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"ill 


Mfl 


1 


* 


STRING 


THE 


OF 


JP  E  A  R  L  S  ! 


OB 


THE    SAILOR'S  GIFT. 

A  ROMANCE  OF  PECULIAR  INTEREST. 


"And  now,  Tobias,  listen  to  me,  and  treasure  up 
every  word  I  say."  §<  Yes,  sir.33  "I'll  cut  your  throat 
from  ear  to  ear,  if  you  repeat  one  word  of  what  passes 
in  this  shop,  or  dare  to  make  any  supposition,  or  draw 
any  conclusion  from  anything  you  may  see,  or  hear,  or 
fancy  you  see  or  hear;"  * 


No.  I. 


g  '      THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


dJAPTER  I. 

THE  STBA.NGE  CUSTOMER  AT  SWEENEY  TODD'S 


Bepoke  Eleet-street  had  reached  its  present  importance,  and  when  George  the 
Third  was  young,  and  the  two  figures  who  used  to  strike  the  chimes  at  old  bt. 
Dunstan's  church  were  in  all  their  glory— being  a  great  impediment  to  errand-boys 
on  their  progress,  and  a  matter  of  gaping  curiosity  to  country  people— there 
stood  close  to  the  sacred  edifice  a  small  barber's  shop,  which  was  kept  by  a  man 
of  the  name  of  Sweeney  Todd.  _^  .  . 

How  it  was  that  he  came  by  the  name  of  Sweeney,  as  a  Christian  appellation,  we 
are  at  a  loss  to  conceive,  but  such  was  his  name,  as  might  be  seen  m  extremely 
corpulent  yellow  letters  over  his  shop  window,  by  any  who  chose  there  to  look  lor 
it 

Barbers  by  that  time  in  Pleet-street  had  not  become  fashionable,  and  no  more 
dreamt  of  calling  themselves  artists  than  of  taking  the  tower  by  storm ;  moreover 
they  were  not,  as  they  are  now,  constantly  slaughtering  fine  fat  bears,  and  yet, 
somehow  people  had  hair  on  their  heads  just  the  same  as  they  have  at  present, 
without  the  aid  of  that  unctuous  auxiliary.  Moreover,  Sweeney  Todd,  in  common 
with  those  really  primitive  sort  of  times,  did  not  think  it  at  all  necessary  to  have  any 
waxen  effigies  of  humanity  in  his  window.  There  was  no  languishing  young  lady 
looking  over  the  left  shoulder  in  order  that  a  profusion  of  auburn  tresses  might 
repose  upon  her  lily  neck,  and  great  conquerors  and  ffreat  statesmen  were  not 
then,  as  they  are  now,  held  up  to  public  ridicule  with  dabs  of  rouge  upon  their 
cheeks,  a  quantity  of  gunpowder  spattered  in  for  beard,  and  some  bristles 
sticking  on  end  for  eyebrows. 

No.  Sweeney  Todd  was  a  barber  of  the  old  school,  and  he  never  thought  of 
glorifying  himself  on  account  of  any  extraneous  circumstance.  If  he  had  lived  in 
Henry  the  Eighth's  palace,  it  would  be  all  the  same  as  Henry  the  Eighth's  dog- 
kennel,  and  he  would  scarcely  have  believed  human  nature  to,  he  so  green  as  to 
pay  an  extra  sixpence  to  be  shaven  and  shorn  in  any  particular  locality. 

A  long  pole  painted  white,  with  a  red  stripe  curling  spirally  round  it,  projected 
into  the  street  from  his  doorway,  and  on  one  of  the  pains  of  glass  in  Ins  window, 
was  presented  the  following  couplet  :— « 

"  Mm  shaving  for  a  pen«y, 
As  good  as  you  will  find  any.'' 

We  do  not  put  these  lines  forth  as  a  specimen  of  the  poetry  of  the  age ;  they 
may  have  been  the  production  of  some  young  Temple ;  put  if  they  were  a  little 
waiting  in  poetic  fire,  that  was  amply  made  up  by  the  eleav  and  precise  manner  in 
which  they  set  forth  what  they  intended. 

The  barber  himself,  was  a  long,  low-jointecj,  ill-put-together  sort  of  fellow,  with 
an  immense  mouth,  and  such  huge  hands  and  feqt,  that  he  was,  |n  his  way,  quite  a 
natural  curiosity ;  and,  what  was  more  wonderful,  considering  his  trade,  there 
never  was  seen  such  a  head  of  hair  as  Sweeney  Todd's.  We  know  not  what  to 
compare  it  to ;  probably  it  came  nearest  to  what  one  might  suppose  to  be  the 
appearance  of  a  thick-set  hedge,  in  which  a  quantity  of  small  wire  had  got  en- 
tangled. In  truth,  it  was  a  most  terrific  head  of  hair;  and  as  Sweeney  Todd  kept 
all  his  combs  in  it — some  people  said  his  scissors  likewise— when  he  put  his  head 
out  of  the  shop-door  to  see  what  sort  of  weather  it  was,  he  might  have  been 
mistaken  for  an  Indian  warrior  with  a  very  remarkable  head-dress. 

He  had  a  short  disagreeable  kind  of  unmirttiful  laugh,  which  came  in  at  all  sorts 
of  odd  times  when  nobody  else  saw  anything  to  laugh  at  at  all,  and  which  some- 
times made  people'  start  a^ain,  especially  when  they  were  being  shaved,  and 
Sweeney  Todd  would  stop  short  in  that  operation  to  indulge  in  one  of  those  cachi- 
natory  effusions.    It  was  evident  that  the  remembrance  of  some  very  strange  and 


1  ■■———■*——» —  


out-of-the-way  joke  must  occasionally  flit  across  him,  and  then  he  gave  his  hyena- 
like  laugh,  but  it  was  so  short,  so  sudden,  striking  upon  the  ear  for  a  moment,  and 
then  gone,  that  people  have  been  known  to  look  up  to  the  ceiling,  and  on  the  floor, 
and  all  round  them,  to  know  from  whence  it  had  come,  scarcely  supposing  it  pos- 
sible that  it  proceeded  from  mortal  lips. 

(  Mr.  Todd  squinted  a  little,  to  add  to  his  charms  j  and  so  we  think  that  by  this 
time  the  reader  may,  in  his  mind's  eye,  see  the  individual  whom  we  wish  to  present 
to  him.  Some  thought  him  a  careless  enough,  harmless  fellow,  with  not  much  sense 
in  hitn,  and  at  times  they  almost  considered  he  was  a  little  cracked ;  but  there 
were  others  who  shook  their  heads  when  they  Spoke  of  him ;  and  while  they  could 
say  nothing  to  his  prejudice,  except  that  they  certainly  considered  he  was  odd,  yet, 
when  they  came  to  consider  what  a  great  crime  and  misdemeanour  it  really  is  in 
this  world,  to  be  odd,  we  shall  not  be  surprised  at  the  ill-odour  in  which  Sweeney 
Todd  was  held. 

But  for  all  that  he  did  A  most  thriving  business,  and  was  considered  by  his 
neighbours  to  be  a  very  well-to-do  sort  of  man,  and  decidedly,  in  city  phraseology, 
warm. 

It  was  so  handy  for  the  young  students  in  the  Temple  to  pop  over  to  Sweeney 
Todd's  to  get  their  chins  new  rasped ;  so  that  from  morning  to  night  he  drove  a 
good  business,  and  was  evidently  a  thriving  man. 

There  was  only  one  thing  that  seemed  in  any  way  to  detract  from  the  great  pru- 
dence of  Sweeney  Todd's  character,  and  that  was  that  he  rented  a  large  house,  of 
which  he  occupied  nothing  but  the  shop  and  parlour,  leaving  the  upper  part 
entirely  useless,  arid  obstinately  refusing  to  let  it  on  any  terms  whatever. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things,  a.d.  1785,  as  regarded  Sweeney  Todd. 

The  day  is  drawing  to  a  close,  and  a  small  drizzling  kind  of  rain  is .  falling,  so 
that  there  are  not  many  passengers  in  the  streets,  and  Sweeney  Todd  is  sitting  in 
his  shop  looking  keenly  in  the  face  of  a  boy,  who  stands  in  an  attitude  of  trembling 
subjection  before  him. 

*  You  will  remember,5'  said  Sweeney  Todd,  and  he  gave  his  countenance  a  most 
horrible  twist  as  he  spoke,  "  you  will  remember  Tobias  Rag&  that  you  are  now 
my  apprentice,  that  you  have  of  me  had  board,  washing,  and  lodging,  with  the 
exception  that  you  don't  sleep  here,  that  you  take  your  meals  at  home,  and  that 
your  mother,  Mrs.  Hagg,  does  your  washing,  which  she  may  very  well  do,  being  a 
laundress  in  the  Temple,  and  making  no  end  of  money;  as  for  lodging,  you  lodge 
here,  you  know,  very  comfortably  in  the  shop  all  day*  Now,  are  you  not  a  happy 
dog?" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  boy  timidly* 

"  You  will  acquire  a  first-rate  profession,  quite  as  good  as  the  law,  which  your 
mother  tells  me  she  would  have  put  you  to,  only  that  a  little  weakness  of  the 
head-piece  unqualified  you,  And  now,  Tobias,  listen  to  me,  and  treasure  up  every 
word  I  say." 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  I'll  cut  your  throat  from  ear  to  ear,  if  yon  repeat  one  word  of  what  passes 
in  this  shop,  or  dare  to  make  any  supposition,  or  draw  any  conclusion  from 
anything  you  may  see,  or  hear,  or  fancy  you  see  or  hear.  Now  you  understand 
me, — I'll  cut  your  throat  from  ear  to  ear,— do  you  understand  me  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  won't  say  nothing.  I  wish,  sir,  as  I  may  be  made  into  veal  pies  at 
Lovett's  in  Bell-yard  if  I  as  much  as  says  a  vord." 

Sweeny  Todd  rose  from  his  seat ;  and  opening  his  huge  mouth,  he  looked  at  the 
boy  for  a  minute  or  two  in  silence,  as  if  he  fully  intended  swallowing  him,  but 
had  not  quite  made  up  his  mind  where  to  begin.  $        i  ^ 

"  Very  good,"  at  length  he  said,  "  I  am  satisfied,  I  am  quite  satisfied  j  and 
mark  me — the  shop,  and  the  shop  only,  is  your  place."' 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  And  if  any  customer  gives  you  a  penny,  you  can  keep  it,  so  that  if  you  get 
enough  of  them  you  mil  become  a  rien  man ;  only  I  will  take  care  of  them  for 


mm* 


you,  and  when  I  think  you  want  them  I  will  let  you  have  them.   Run  out  and  see 

what's  o'clock  by  St  Dunstan's."  ^  :  ,    /  » 

There  was  a  small  crowd  collected  opposite  the  church,  for  the  figures  were 
about  to  strike  three-quarters  past  six ;  and  among  that  crowd  was  one  man  who 
razed  with  as  much  curiosity  as  anybody  at  the  exhibition, 

«  Now  for  it  f"  he  said,  "  they  are  going  to  begin ;  well,  that  is  ingenious. 
Look  at  the  fellow  lifting  up  his  club  and  down  it  comes  bang  upon  the  old  bell. 

The  three-quarters  were  struck  by  the  figures ;  and  then  the  people  who  had 
loitered  to  see  it  done,  many  of  whom  had  day  by  day  looked  at  the  same  exhibi- 
tion for  years  past,  walked  away,  with  the  exception  of  the  man  who  seemed  so 

deeply  interested.  '■     .  ,    .   .  * 

He  remained,  and  crouching  at  his  feet  was  a  noble-looking  dog,  who  looked 
likewise  up  at  the  figures ;  and  who,  observing  his  master's  attention  to  be  closely 
fixed  upon  them,  endeavoured  to  show  as  great  an  appearance  of  interest  as  he 

possibly  could. 
"  What  do  you  think  of  that,  Hector  ?"  said  the  man. 
The  dog  gave  a  short  low  whine,  and  then  his  master  proceeded,— 
f  There  is  a  barber's  shop  opposite,  so  before  I  go  any  farther,  as  I  have  got  to 
see  the  ladies,  although  it's  on  a  very  melancholy  errand,  for  I  have  got  to  tell 
them  that  poor  Mark  Ingestrie  is  no  more,  and  Heaven  knows  what  poor  J ohanna 
wili  say — I  think  I  should  know  her  by  his  description  of  her,  poor  fellow !  It 
grieves  me  to  think  how  he  used  to  talk  about  her  in  the  long  night-watches,  when 
all  was  still,  and  not  a  breath  of  air  touched  a  curl  upon  his  cheek.  ^  I  could 
almost  think  I  saw  her  sometimes,  as  he  used  to  tell  me  of  her  soft  beaming  eyes, 
her  little  gentle  pouting  lips,  and  the  dimples  that  played  about  her  mouth,  Well, 
well,  it's  of  no  use  grieving ;  he  is  dead  and  gone,  poor  fellow,  and  the  salt  water 
washes  over  as  brave  a  heart  as  ever  beat.  His  sweetheart,  Johanna,  though, 
shall  have  the  string  of  pearls  for  all  that ;  and  if  she  cannot  be  Mark  Ingestrie's 
wife  in  this  world,  she  -shall  be  rich  and  happy,  poor  young  thing,  while  she  stays 
in  it,  that  is  to  say  as  happy  as  she  can  be;  and  she  must  just  look  forward  to 
meeting'him  aloft,  where  there  are  no  sqalls  or  tempests.— -And  so  I'll  go  and  get 
shaved  at  once." 

He  crossed  the  road  towards  Sweeney  Todd's  shop,  and,  stepping  down  the  low 
doorway,  he  stood  face  to  face  with  the  odd-looking  barber. 
The  dogj  gave  a  low  growl  and  snifted  the  air. 

"Why  Hector,"  said  his  master,  what's  the  matter?    Down.  sir.  down  !" 

u  I  have  a  mortal  fear  of  dogs,"  said  Sweeney  Todd.  "  Would  you  mind  him, 
sir,  sitting  outside  the  door  and  waiting  for  you,  if  it's  all  the  same  ?  Only  look 
at  him,  he  is  going  to  fly  at  me  ?" 

"  Then  you  are  the  first  person  he  ever  touched  without  provocation,"  said  the 
man ;  "  but  I  suppose  he  don't  like  your  looks,  and  I  must  confess  I  aint  much  sur- 
prised at  that.  I  have  seen  a  few  rum-looking  guys  in  my  time,  but  hang  me  if 
ever  I  saw  such  a  figure-head  as  yours.    What  the  devil  noise  was  that  ?" 

"  It  was  only  me,    said  Sweeney  Todd ;  "  I  laughed." 

"  Laughed !  do  you  call  that  a  laugh  ?  I  suppose  you  caught  it  of  somebody 
who  died  of  it.  If  that's  your  way  of  laughing,  I  beg  you  won't  do  it  any 
more." 

"  Stop  the  dog !  stop  the  dog  !  I  can't  have  dogs  running  into  my  back  par- 
lour." 

"  Here,  Hector,  here !"  cried  his  master ;  "  get  out !"  >k 
Most  unwillingly  the  dog  left  the  shop,  and  crouched  down  close  to  the  outer 
door,  which  the  barber  took  care  to  close,  muttering  something  about  a  draught  of 
air  coming  in,  and  then,  turning  to  the  apprentice  boy,  who  was  screwed  up"  in  a 
corner,  he  said, — 

"  Tobias,  my  lad,  go  to  Leadenhall-street,  and  bring  a  small  bag  of  the  thick 
biscuits  irom  Mr.  Peterson's ;  say  they  are  for  me.  Now,  sir,  I  suppose  you  want 
to  be  shaved,  and  it  is  well  you  have  come  here,  for  there  aint  a  shaving-shop 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


5 


*   ■         ■•  •  —  1  1 — • — •   —  

although  I  say  it,  in  the  city  of  London  that  ever  thinks  of  polishing  anybody  ofl 
as  I  do." 

"  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  master  barber :  if  you  come  that  laugh  again,  I  will  get 
up  and  go.   I  don't  like  it,  and  there  is  an  end  of  it." 

" ^ry  good,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  as  he  mixed  up  a  lather.  "Who  are  you  F 
where  did  you  come  from  ?  and  where  are  you  going  ?" 

9  "  That's  cool,  at  all  events.  Damn  it !  what  do  you  mean  by  putting  the  brush 
in  my  mouth  ?  Now,  don't  laugh  j  and  since  you  are  so  fond  of  asking  questions, 
just  answer  me  one." 

f '  Oh,  yes,  of  course  :  what  is  it,  sir  V* 

"Do  you  know  a  Mr.  Oakley,  who  lives  somewhere  in  London,  and  is  a  spectacle- 
maker?" 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure  I  do— John  Oakley,  the  spectacle-maker,  in  Fore-street,  and  he 
lias  got  a  daughter  named  Johanna,  that  the  young  bloods  call  the  Flower  of  Fore- 
street." 

"  Ah,  poor  thing !  do  they  ?  Now,  confound  yon  !  what  are  you  laughing  at 
now  ?   Whac  do  you  mean  by  it  ?" 

"  Didn't  you  say,  c  Ah,  poor  thing  ?  Just  turn  vour  head  a  little  a  one  side ; 
that  will  do.   You  have  been  to  sea,  sir  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  have,  and  have  only  now  lately  come  up  the  river  irom  an  Indian 
voyage." 

"  Indeed !  where  can  my  strop  be  ?  I  had  it  this  minute  ;  I  must  have  laid  it 
down  somewhere.  What  an  odd  thing  that  I  can't  see  it !  It's  very  extraordi- 
nary ;  what  can  have  become  of  it  ?  Ob,  I  recollect,  I  took  it  into  the 
parlour.  Sit  still,  sir,  I  shall  not  be  gone  a  moment ;  sit  still,  sir,  if  you  please. 
By  the  by,  you  can  amuse  yourself  with  the  Courier,  sir,  for  a  moment." 

Sweeney  Todd  walked  into  the  back  parlour  and  closed  the  door. 

There  was  a  strange  sound  suddenly,  compounded  of  a  rushing  noise  and  then 
a  heavy  blow,  immediately  after  which  Sweeney  Todd  emerged  from  his  parlour, 
and  folding  his  arms,  he  looked  upon  the  vacant  chair  where  his  customer  had 
been  seated,  but  the  customer  was  gone,  leaving  not  the  slightest  trace  of  his 
presence  behind  except  his  hat,  and  that  Sweeney  Todd  immediately  seized  and 
thrust  into  a  cupboard  that  was  at  one  corner  of  the  shop. 

"  What's  that  ?"  he  said,  "what's  that  ?  I  thought  I  heard  a  noise." 

"  If  you  please,  sir,  I  have  forgot  the  money,  and  have  rou  all  the  waf  back 
from  St.  Paul's  churchyard." 

In  two  strides  Todd  reached  him,  and  clutching  him  by  the  arm  he  dragged 
him  into  the  farther  corner  of  the  shop,  and  then  he  stood  opposite  to  him,  glaring 
him  full  in  the  face  with  such  *  demoniac  expression  that  the  boy  was  frightfully 
terrified. 

"  Speak !"  cried  Todd,  "speak !  and  speak  the  truth,  or  your  last  bout  has  come, 
How  long  were  you  peeping  through  the  door  before  you  came  ia  ?" 
"  Peeping,  sir  ?" 

n  Yes,  peeping;  don't  repeat  my  worcfe,  btt*  flRiswei  mo  ft!  oace  you  will  find  it 
better  for  vou  in  the  end." 
"  I  wasn't  peeping,  sir,  at  all. 

Sweeney  Todd  drew  a  long  breath  as  he  Hien  said,  in  a  strange,  shrieking  sort 
of  manner,  which  he  intended,  no  donbt,  should  be  jocose,— 

"Well,  well,  very  well;  if  you  did  peep,  what  then?  it's  no  matter;  I  only 
wanted  to  know,  that's  all ;  it  was  quite  a  joke,  wasn't  it— quite  funny,  though 
rather  odd,  eh  ?  Why  don't  you  laugh,  you  dog  ?  Come,  now,  there  is  no  harm 
done.  Tell  me  what  you  thought  about  it  at  once,  and  we  will  be  merry  over  it- 
very  merry." 

"I  don't  know  what  you  mean,  sir,"  said  the  boy,  who  was  quite  as  much 
alarmed  at  Mr.  Todd's  mirth  as  he  was  at  his  anger.  "  I  don't  know  what  you 
mean,  sir;  I  only  just  come  back  because  I  hadn't  any  money  to  pay  for  the  bis- 
cuits at  Peterson's." 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  I  mean  nothing  at  all,"  said  Todd,  suddenly  turning  upon  his  heel;  "what's 

that  scratching  at  the  door  ?"  -    2'  ;   \        ;    .   .   .     .  ,n  n 

Tobias  opened  the  shop-door,  and  there  stood  the  dog,  who  looked  Wistfully 
round  the  place,  and  then  gave  a  howl  which  seriously  alarmed  the  barber, 

" It's  the  gentleman's  dog,  sir,"  said  Tobias,  "  its  the  gentleman's  dog,  sir, 
that  was  looking  at  old  St.  Dunstan's  clock,  and  came  in  here  to  be  shaved,  It's 
funny,  aint  it,  sir,  that  the  dog  didn't  go  away  with  his  master  ?" 

"  Why  don't  you  laugh  if  it's  funny  r  Turn  out  the  dog,  Tobias ;  we'll  have  no 
dogs  here ;  I  hate  the  sight  of  them ;  turn  him  out—turn  him  out." 

"  I  would,  sir,  in  a  minute ;  but  I'm  afraid  he  wouldn't  let  me,  somehow.  Only 
look,  sir—look ;  see  what  he  is  at  now !  did  you  ever  see  such  a  violent  fellow,  sir  ? 
why  he  will  have  down  the  cupboard  door." 
"  Stop  him— stop  him !  the  devil  is  in  the  animal !  stop  him  I  say !" 
The  dog  was  certainly  getting  the  door  open,  when  Sweeney  Todd  rushed  for- 
ward to  stop  him !  but  that  he  was  soon  admonished  of  the  danger  of  doing,  for 
the  dog  gave  him  a  grip  of  the  leg,  which  made  him  give  such  a  howl,  that  h<* 
precipitately  retreated,  and  left  the  animal  to  do  its  pleasure.  This  consisted  in 
forcing  open  the  cupboard  door,  and  seizing  upon  the  hat  which  Sweeney  Todd  had 
thrust  therein,  and  dashing  out  of  the  shop  with  it  in  triumph. 

"  The  devil's  in  the  beast,"  muttered  Todd,  "  he's  off !  Tobias,  you  said  you 
saw  the  man  who  owned  that  fiend  of  a  cur  looking  at  St;  Dunstan's  churh." 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  did  see  him  there.  If  you  recollect,  you  sent  me  to  see  the  time, 
and  the  figures  were  just  going  to  strike  three  quarters  past  six ;  and  before  I  came 
away,  I  heard  him  say  that  Mark  Ingestrie  was  dead,  and  Johanna  should  have 
the  string  of  pearls.  Then  1  came  in,  and  then,  if  you  recollect,  sir,  he  came  in, 
and  the  odd  tiring*  you  know,  to  me,  sir,  is  that  he  didn't  take  his  dog  with  him,  be- 
cause you  know,  sir—" 
"Because  what  ?"  shouted  Todd. 

"Because  people  generally  do  take  their  dogs  with  them,  you  know,  sir;  and 
may  I  be  made  into  one  of  Lovett's  pies,  if  I  don't—*-" 

"  Hush  some  one  comes ;  it's  old  Mr.  Grant,  from  the  Temple.  How  do  you 
do,  Mr.  Grant  ?  glad  to  see  you  looking  so  well,  sir.  It  does  one's  heart  good  to 
see  a  gentlemen  of  your  years  looking  so  fresh  and  hearty.  Sit  down,  sir ;  a  little 
this  way,  if  you  please.   Shaved,  1  suppose  ?" 

"  Yes,  Todd,  yes.   Any  news  ?" 

"  No,  sir,  nothing  stirring.  Everything  very  quiet,  sir,  except  the  high  wind. 
They  say  it  blew  the  king's  hat  off  yesterday,  sir,  and  he  borrowed  Lord  North's. 
Trade  is  dull  too,  sir.  I  suppose  people  won't  come  out  to  be  cleaned  and  dressed 
in  a  mizling  rain.   We  haven't  had  anybody  in  the  shop  for  an  hour  and  a  half." 

"Lor'  sir,"  said  Tobias,  "you  forget  the  sea-faring  gentleman  with  the  dog,  you 
know,  sir." 

"  Ah !  so  I  do,"  said  Todd.  "  He  went  away,  and  I  saw  him  get  into  some  dis- 
turbance, I  think,  just  at  the  corner  of  the  market." 

"I  wonder  I  didn't  meet  him,  sir,"  said  Tobias,  "for  I  came  that  way;  and  then 
it  s  so  very  odd  leaving  his  dog  behind  him." 

«<  Yes,  very,"  said  Todd.  "  Will  you  excuse  me  a  moment,  Mr.  Grant  ?  Tobias, 
my  lad,  I  just  want  you  to  lend  me  a  hand  in  the  parlour." 

Tobias  followed  Todd  very  unsuspectingly  into  the  parlour ;  but  when  they  got 
there  and  the  door  was  closed,  the  barber  sprang  upon  him  like  an  enraged  tfeer, 
and,  grapplmg^  him  by  the  throat,  he  gave  his  head  such  a  succession  of  knocks 
against  the  wainscot,  that  Mr.  Grant  must  have  thought  that  some  carpenter  was 

75  ii.  I.  heltore.a  handful  of  his  hair  out,  after  which  he  twisted  him  round, 
and  dealt  turn  such  a  kick,  that  he  was  flung  sprawling  into  a  corner  of  the  room, 
and  then,  without  a  word,  the  barber  walked  out  again  to  his  customer,  and  bolted 
Ins  parlour  door  on  the  outside,  leaving  Tobias  to  digest  the  usage  he  had  received 
at  his  leisure,  and  in  the  best  wav  he  could. 

When  he  came  back  to  Mr.  'Grant,  he  apologised  for  keeping  him  waiting,  by 
saying,™*" 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


...  "II      ■IiH—ii^iiww,.,...,.       ■■  .ii.ii         I,         .I...,,    ,  '■■■HI  '  I  ||-    „  j  in     ■  -■ 

* It;  .became  necessary,  sir,  to  teach  my  new  apprentice  a  little  bit  of  his  busi- 
ness, i  nave  left  him  studying  it  now.  There  is  nothing  like  teaching  young  folks 
at  once.  J  a 

"Ah !"  said  Mr.  Grant,  with  a  sigh,  "I  know  what  it  is  to  let  young  folks  grow 

wild;  for  although  I  have  neither  chick  nor  child  of  my  own,  I  had  a  sister's  sou 

to  look  to—a  handsome,  wild,  harum-scarum  sort  of  fellow,  as  like  me  as  one  pea  is 

like  another.    I  tried  to  make  a' lawyer  of  him,  but  it  wouldn't  do,  and  it's  now 

more  than  two  years  ago  he  left  me  altogether;  and  yet  there  were  some  good 
traits  about  Mark." 

"Mark,  sir!    Did  you  say  Mark  ?" 

>  "  Yes,  that  was  his  name,  Mark  Ingestrie.  God  knows  what's  become  oi 
him. 

"  Oh !"  said  Sweeney  Todd ;  and  he  went  on  lathering  the  chin  of  Mr,  Grant. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  SPECTACLE-MAKER'S  DAUGHTER. 

"  Johanna,  J ohanna,  my  dear,  do  you  know  what  time  it  is  ?  J ohanna,  I  say, 
my  dear,  are  you  going  to  get  up  ?  Here's  your  mother  has  trotted  out  to  Parson 
Lupin's,  and  you  know  1  have  got  to  go  to  Alderman  Judd's  house,  in  Cripplegate, 
the  first  thing,  and  I  haven't  had  a  morsel  of  breakfast  yet.  Johanna,  my  dear,  do 
vou  hear  me  ?" 

These  observations  were  made  by  Mr.  Oakley,  the  spectacle-maker,  at  the  door  of 
his  daughter  Johanna's  chamber,  on  the  morning  after  the  events  we  have  just 
recorded  at  Sweeney  Todd's ;  and  presently,  a  soft  sweet  voice  answered  him, 
saying,— 

"  I  am  coming,  father,  I  am  coming :  in  a  moment,  father,  I  shall  be  down  " 
H  Don't  hurrv  yourself,  my  darling,  I  can  wait." 

The  little  old  spectacle-maker  descended  the  staircase  again,  and  sat  down  in  the 
parlour  at  the  back  of  the  shop,  where,  in  a  few  moments,  he  was  joined  by  Johanna, 
Lis  only  and  his  much-loved  child. 

She  was  indeed  a  creature  of  the  rarest  grace  and  beauty.  Her  age  was  eighteen, 
but  she  looked  rather  younger,  and  upon  her  face  she  had  that  sweetness  and  intel- 
ligence of  expression  which  almost  bids  defiance  to  the  march  of  time.  Her  hair 
was  of  a  glossy  blackness,  and  what  was  rare  in  conjunction  with  such  a  feature, 
her  eyes  were  of  a  deep  and  heavenly  blue.  There  was  nothing  of  the  commanding 
or  of  the  severe  stye  of  beauty  about  her,  but  the  expression  of  her  face  was  ail 
grace  and  sweetness.  It  was  one  of  those  countenances  which  one  could  look  at 
for  a  long  summer's  day,  as  upon  the  pages  of  some  deeply  interesting ^  volumes 
which  furnished  the  most  abundant  food  for  pleasant  and  delightful  reflection. 

There  was  a  touch  of  sadness  about  her  voice,  which,  perhaps,  only  tended  to 
make  it  the  more  musical,  although  mournfully  so,  and  which  seemed  to  indicate 
that  at  the  bottom  of  her  heart  there  lay  some  grief  which  had  not  yet  been  spoken 
—some  cherished  aspiration  of  her  pure  soul,  which  looked  hopeless  as  regards 
completion — some  remembrance  of  a  former  joy,  which  had  been  turned  to  bitter- 
ness and  grief ;  it  was  the  cloud  in  the  sunny  sky— the  shadow  through  which 
there  still  gleamed  bright  and  beautiful  sunshine,  but  which  still  proclaimed  its 
presence. 

"  1  have  kept  you  waiting,  father/'  she  said,  as  she  flung  her  arms  about  the 
old  man's  neck,  "  I  have  kept  you  waiting." 

"  Never  mind,  my  dear,  never  mind.  Your  mother  is  so  taken  up  with  Mr. 
Lupin,  that  you  know,  this  being  Wednesday  morning,  she  is  off  to  his  prayer  meet- 
ing, and  so  I  have  had  no  breakfast ;  and  really  I  think  I  must  discharge  Sam" 


- — — . — -■-  -  ■-•-».'  ■  I- 


"Indeed,  father!  what  has  he  done?"  -  cll,,f^ 

"Nothing  at  all,  and  that's  the  very  reason.  I  had  to .take  down  the  shutte  s 
myself  this  morning,  and  what  do  you  think  for?  He  had  the  coolness  to  tell  me 
he  couldn't  take  down  the  shutters  this  morning,  or  sweep  out  the  shop,  because 

his  aunt  had  the  toothache."  "  ,    t      '      ,     ,     .  t-^ 

"  A  poor  excuse,  father,"  said  Johanna,  as  she  bustled  about  and  got  the  break- 
fast ready;  "a  very  poor  excuse."  ,  .  .  ;       x>  *  T 

"Poor  indeed !  but  his  month  is  up  to-day,  and  I  must  get  rid  of  nim.  JJut  1 
suppose  I  shall  have  no  end  of  bother  with  your  mother,  because  his  aunt  belongs 
to  Mr.  Lupin's  congregation ;  but  as  sure  as  this  is  the  20th  day  of  August—- 

"It  is  the  20th  day  of  August,"  said  Johanna,  as  she  sunk  into  a  chair  and  burst 
into  tears.  "  It  is,  it  is !  I  thought  I  could  have  controlled  this,  but  I  cannot, 
father,  I  cannot.  It  was  that  which  made  me  late.  I  knew  mother  was  out ;  I 
knew  that  I  ought  to  be  down  attending  upon  you,  and  I  was  praying  to  Heaven 
for  strength  to  do  so  because  this  was  the  20th  of  August." 

Johanna  spoke  these  words  incoherently,  and  atmdst  sobs,  and  when  she  had 
finished  them,  she  leant  her  sweet  face  upon  her  small  hands,  and  wept  like  a 
child. 

The  astonishment,  not  unmingled  with  positive  dismay,  of  the  old  spectacle- 
maker,  was  vividly  depicted  on  his  countenance,  and  for  some  minutes  he  sat  per- 
fectly aghast,  with  his  hands  resting  on  his  knees,  and  looking  in  the  face  of  his 
beautiful  child — that  is  to  say,  aa  much  as  he  could  see  of  it  between  those 
little  taper  fingers  that  were  spread  upon  it— as  if  he  were  newly  awakened  from 
some  dream. 

"  Good  God,  Johanna !"  he  said  at  length,  "  what  is  this  ?  My  dear  child,  what 
has  happened  ?   Tell  me,  my  dear,  unless  you  wish  to  kill  me  with  grief." 

"  You  shall  know,  father,"  she  said.  "  I  did  not  think  to  say  a  word  about  it, 
but  considered  I  had  strength  enough  of  mind  to  keep  my  sorrows  in  my  own 
breast,  but  the  effort  has  been  too  much  for  me,  and  I  have  been  compelled  to 
yield.  If  you  had  not  looked  so  kindly  on  me — if  I  did  not  know  that  you  loved 
me  as  you  do,  I  should  easily  have  kept  my  secret,  but,  knowing  that  much^  1 
cannot. 

"My  darling,"  said  the  old  man,  "you  are  right,  there ;  I  do  love  you.  What 
would  the  world  be  to  me  without  you  ?  There  was  a  time,  twenty  years  ago, 
when  your  mother  made  up  much  of  my  happiness,  but  of  late,  what  with  Mr. 
Lupin,  and  psalm-singing,  and  tea-drinking,  I  see  very  little  of  her,  and  what  IMe 
I  do  see  is  not  very  satisfactory.  Tell  me,  my  darling,  what  it  is  that  vexes  you, 
and  I'll  soon  put  it  to  rights.   I  don't  belong  to  the  city  trainbands  for  nothing." 

"  Father,  I  know  that  your  affection  would  do  all  for  me  that  it  is  possible  to  do, 
but  you  cannot  recall  the  dead  to  life ;  and  if  this  day  passes  over  and  I  see  him 
not,  nor  hear  from  him,  I  know  that,  instead  of  finding  a  home  for  me  whom  he 
loved,  he  has  in  the  effort  to  do  so  found  a  grave  for  himself.   He  said  he  would 
he  said  he  would."  1 

Here  she  wrung  her  hands,  and  wept  again,  and  with  such  a  bitterness  of  anguish 
that  the  old  spectacle-maker  was  at  his  wit's  end,  and  knew  not  what  on  earth  to 
do  or  say. 

"  My  dear,  my  dear,"  he  cried,  *  who  is  he?   I  hope  you  don't  mean  -  * 
"  Hush,  father,  hush !    I  know  the  name  that  is  hovering  on  your  lips  but 
something  seems  even  now  to  whisper  to  me  he  is  no  more,  and,  being  so,  speak 
nothing  ot  him,  father,  but  that  which  is  good."  F 
"  You  mean  Mark  Ingestrie." 

"  I  do  and  if  he  had  a  thousand  faults,  he  at  feast  lovea  me ;  he  loved  me  trulv 

and  most  sincerely."  mo  M:uv 

"  My  dear,"  said  the  old  spectacle-maker,  *  you  know  that  I  wouldn't  for  all  the 
world  say  anything  to  vex  you,  nor  will  I ;  but  tell  me  what  it  is  that  makeTthia 
day  more  than  any  other  so  gloomy  to  you."  *«<*m»  uus 

"  I  will,  lather ;  you  shall  hear.  It  was  on  this  day  two  years  ago  that  we  last 
met ;  it  was  m  the  Temple-garden,  and  he  had  just  Ld  a  stormy  St^wy^ 

H,— ^,  ,  ,  ,,  ,,„,  T  _    mmm    _  .  „    ,  


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


\ 


his  uncle,  Mr.  Grant,  and  you  will  understand,  father,  that  Mark  Ingestrie  was 
not  to  blame,  because--" 

"  Well,  well,  my  dear,  you  needn't  &ay  anything  more  upon  that  point.  Girls 
very  seldom  admit  their  lovers  are  to  blame,  but  there  are  two  ways,  you  know, 
Johanna,  of  telling  a  story." 

"Yes ;  but,  fattier,  why  should  Mr*  Graut  seek  to  force  him  to  the  study  of  a 
profession  he  so  much  disliked  ?" 

"My' dear,  one  would  have  thought  that  if  Mark  Ingestrie  really  loved  you,  and 
found  that  he  might  make  you  his  wife,  and  acquire  an  honourable  subsistence  for 
you  and  himself — it  seems  a  very  wonderful  thing  to  me  that  he  did  not  do  so. 
You  see,  my  dear,  he  should  have  liked  you  well  enough  to  do  something  else  that 
he  did  not  like/' 

"Yes,  but  father,  you  know  it  is  hard,  when  disagreements  onoe  arise,  for  a 
young  ardent  spirit  to  give  in  entirely ;  and  so  from  one  word,  poor  Mark,  in  his 
disputes  with  his  uncle,  got  to  another,  when  perhaps  one  touch  of  kindness  or 
conciliation  from  Mr.  Grant  would  have  made  him  quite  pliant  in  his  hands." 

"Yes,  that's  the  way,"  said  Mr.  Oakley ;  "there  is  no  end  of  excuses  :  but  go 
On,  my  dear,  go  on,  and  tell  me  exactly  how  this  affair  now  stands." 

"  I  will,  father.  It  was  this  day  two  years  ago  then  that  we  met,  and  he  told 
me  that  he  and  his  uncle  had  at  last  quarrelled  irreconcilably,  and  that  nothing 
could  possibly  now  patch  up  the  difference  between  them.  We  had  a  long 
talk." 

"  Ah !  no  doubt  of  that." 

"  And  at  length  he  told  me  that  he  must  go  and  seek  his  fortune—that  fortune 
which  he  hoped  to  share  with  me.  He  said  that  he  had  an  opportunity  of  under- 
taking a  voyage  to  India,  and  that  if  he  were  successful  he  should  have  sufficient 
to  return  with,  and  commence  some  pursuit  in  London  more  congenial  to  his 
thoughts  and  habits  than  the  law." 

"  Ah,  well !  what  next  ?" 

"He  told  me  that  he  loved  me" 

"And  you  believed  him." 

"  Father,  you  would  have  believed  him  had  you  heard  him  speak.  His  tones 
were  those  of  such  deep  sincerity  that  no  actor  w  ho  ever  charmed  an  audience  with 
an  unreal  existence  could  have  reached  them.  There  are  times  and  seasons  when 
we  know  that  we  are  listening  to  the  majestic  voice  of  truth,  and  there  are  tones 
which  sink  at  once  into  the  heart,  carrying  with  them  a  conviction  of  their  since- 
rity, which  neither  time  nor  circumstance  can  alter ;  and  such  were  the  tones  in 
which  Mark  Ingestrie  spoke  to  me." 

"  And  so  you  suppose,  Johanna,  that  it  is  easy  for  a  young  man  who  kas  not 
patience  or  energy  enough  to  be  respectable  at  home,  to  go  abroad  and  m^ke  his 
fortune.  Is  idleness  so  much  in  request  in  other  countries,  that  it  receives  such 
a  rich  reward,  my  dear  ?" 

"  You  judge  him  harshly,  father ;  you  do  not  know  him." 

"  Heaven  torbid  that  I  should  judge  any  one  harshly !  and  I  will  freely  admit 
that  you  may  know  more  of  his  real  character  than  I  can,  who  of  course  have  only 
seen  its  surface ;  but  go  on,  my  dear,  and  tell  me  all." 

"  We  made  an  agreement,  father,  that  on  that  day  two  years  he  was  to  come  to 
me  or  send  me  some  news  of  his  whereabouts ;  if  I  heard  nothing  of  him  I  was  to 
conclude  he  was  no  more,  and  I  cannot  help  so  concluding  now." 

"But  the  day  has  not  yet  passed." 

"I  know  it  has  not,  and  yet  I  rest  upon  but  a  slender  hope,  father.  Do  you 
believe  that  dreams  ever  really  shadow  forth  coming  events  ?" 

"  I  cannot  say,  my  child ;  l  am  not  disposed  to  yield  credence  to  any  supposed 
fact  because  I  have  dreamt  it,  but  I  must  confess  to  having  heard  some  strange  ms 
stances  where  these  visions  of  the  night  have  come  strictly  true." 

"  Heaven  knows  but  this  may  be  one  of  them !  I  had  a  dream  last  night.  I 
thought  that  I  was  sitting  upon  the  sea-shore,  and  that  all  before  me  was  nothing 
but  a  fathomless  waste  of  waters.    I  heard  the  roar  and  the  dash  of  the  waves  dis- 


mm 


ffe*  9, 


*  ; 


10 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


tinctly,  and  each  moment  the  wind  grew  more  furious  and  fierce,  and  I  saw  in  the 
distance  a  ship — it  was  battling  with  the  waves,  which  at  one  moment  lifted  it 
mountains  high,  and  at  another  plunged  it  far  down  into  such  an  abyss,  that  not  a 
vestige  of  it  could  be  seen  but  the  topmost  spars  of  the  tall  mast.  And  still  the 
storm  increased  each  moment  in  its  fury,  and  ever  and  anon  there  came  a  strange 
sullen  sound  across  the  waters,  and  I  saw  a  flash  of  fire,  and  knew  that  those  in  the 
ill-fated  vessel  were  thus  endeavouring  to  attract  attention  and  some  friendly  aid. 
Tather,  from  the  first  to  the  last  I  knew  that  Mark  Ingestrie  was  there — my  h  eart 
told  me  so :  I  was  certain  he  was  there,  and  I  was  helpless — utterly  helpless, 
utterly  and  entirely  unable  to  lend  the  slightest  aid.  I  could  only  gaze  upon  what 
was  going  forward  as  a  silent  and  terrified  spectator  of  the  scene.  And  at  last  I 
heard  a  cry  come  over  the  deep — a  strange,  loud,  wailing  cry — which  proclaimed  to 
me  the  fate  of  the  Vessel.  I  saw  its  mass  shiver  for  a  moment  in  the  blackened 
air,  and  then  all  was  still  for  a  few  seconds,  until  there  arose  a  strange,  wild 
shriek,  that  I  knew  was  the  despairing  cry  of  those  who  sank,  never  to  rise  again, 
in  that  vessel.  Oh  !  that  was  a  frightful  sound — it  was  a  sound  to  linger  on  the 
ears,  and  haunt  the  memory  of  sleep — it  was  a  sound  never  to  be  forgotten  when 
once  heard,  but  such  as  might  again  and  again  be  remembered  with  horror  and 
affright." 

"  And  all  this  was  in  your  dream  £** 
"  It  was,  father,  it  was." 
"  And  you  were  helpless  r 
"  I  was— utterly  and  entirely  helpless/* 
"  It  was  very  sad." 

"  It  was,  as  you  shall  hear.  The  ship  went  down,  and  that  cry  that  I  had  heard 
was  the  last  despairing  one  given  by  those  who  clung  to  the  wreck  with  scarce  a 
hope,  and  yet  because  it  was  their  only  refuge,  for  where  else  had  they  to  look  for 
the  smallest  ray  of  consolation?  where  else,  save  in  the  surging  waters,  were  thev 
to  turn  for  safety  ?  Nowhere  !  all  was  lost !  all  was  despair  !  I  tried  to  scream 
•—I  tried  to  cry  aloud  to  Heaven  to  have  mercy  upon  those  brave  and  gallant  souls 
who  had  trusted  their  dearest  possession — life  itself — to  the  mercy  of  the  deep ; 
and  while  I  so  tried  to  render  so  inefficient  succour,  I  saw  a  small  speck  in  the  sea' 
and  my  straining  eyes  perceived  that  it  was  a  man  floating  and  clinging  to  a  piece 
of  the  wreck,  and  I  knew  it  was  Mark  Ingestrie/* 

"  But,  my  dear,  surely  you  are  not  annoyed  at  a  dream  ?" 

"  It  saddened  me.  I  stretched  out  my  arms  to  save  him — I  heard  him  pronounce 
my  name,  and  call  upon  me  for  help.  'Twas  all  in  vain ;  he  battled  with  the  waves 
as  long  as  human  nature  could  battle  with  them.  He  could  do  no  more,  and  I  saw 
him  disappear  before  my  anxious  eyes." 

"  Don't  say  vou  saw  him,  my  dear,  say  you  fancy  you  saw  him." 

"It  was  such  a  fancy  as  I  shall  not  lose  the  remembrance  of  for  many  a  day  " 

"  Well,  well,  after  all,  my  dear,  it's  only  a  dream  ;  and  it  seems  to  me,  without 
at  all  adverting  to  anything  that  should  give  you  pain  as  regards  Mark  Ingestrie 
that  you  made  a  very  foolish  bargain ;  for  only  consider  how  many  difficulties  mMit 
arise  m  the  way  of  his  keeping  faith  with  you.    You  know  I  have  your  happiness 
so  much  at  heart  that,  if  Mark  had  been  a  worthy  man  and  an  industrious  one  I 
should  not  have  opposed  myself  to  your  union ;  but,  believe  me,  my  dear  Johanna, 
that  a  young  man  with  great  facilities  for  spending  money,  and  none  whatever  for 
earning  any,  is  just  about  the  worst  husband  you  could  choose,  and  such  a  man 
was  Mark  Ingestrie.   But  come,  we  will  say  nothing  of  this  to  your  mother:  let 
the  secret,  it  we  may  call  it  such,  rest  with  me and  if  you  can  inform  me  in  what 
capacity  and  in  what  vessel  he  left  England,  I  will  not  carry  my  prejudice  so  far 
against  him  as  to  hesitate  about  making  what  inquiry  I  can  concerning  his  fate  " 
I  know  nothing  m0re,  father;  we  parted,  and  never  met  again." 
.  Well,  well !  dry  your  eves,  Johanna,  and,  as  I  go  to  Alderman  Judd's  T'll 
think  over  the  matter,  whic  i,  after  all,  may  not  be  so'bad  as  you Xnk    tL  lad 

"J£%S&££?&  ?n lm' 1  Weve- a-        if  i.«  would  P^ 

to  some  useful  purpose;  but  if  he  goes  scampering  about  the  world  in  an  un- 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  11 


;  settled  manner,  yoa  are  well  rid  of  him,  and  as  for  his  being  dead,  you  must  not 
conclude  that  by  any  means  for  somehow  or  another,  like  a  bad  penny,  these 
fellows  always  come  back." 

There  was  more  consolation  in  the  kindly  tone  of  the  spectacle-maker  than  in 
the  words  he  used;  but,  upon  the  whole,  Johanna  was  well  enough  pleased  that  she 
had  communicated  the  secret  to  her  father,  for  now,  at  all  events,  she  had  some 
one  to  whom  she  could  mention  the  name  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  without  the  necessity 
of  concealing  the  sentiment  with  which  she  did  so ;  and  when  her  father  had  gone, 
she  felt  that,  by  the  mere  relation  of  it  to  him,  some  of  the  terrors  of  her  dream 
had  vanished. 

She  sat  for  some  time  in  a  pleasing  reverie,  till  she  was  interrupted  by  Sam,  the 
shop-boy,  who  came  into  the  parlour  and  said,— 

"  Please,  Miss  Johanna,  suppose  I  was  to  go  down  to  the  docks  and  try  and 
find  out  for  you  Mr.  Mark  Ingestrie.   I  say,  suppose  I  was  to  do  that.   I.  heard 
it  all,  and  if  I  do  find  him  Til  soon  settle  him." 
"  What  do  you  mean  ?" 

"  I  means  that  I  won't  stand  it ;  didn't  I  tell  you,  more  than  three  weeks  ago, 
as  you  was  the  object  of  my  infections  ?  Didn't  I  tell  you  that  when  aunt 
died,  I  should  come  in  for  the  soap  and  candle  business,  and  make  you  my 
missus?" 

The  only  reply  which  Johanna  gave  to  this  was  to  rise  and  leave  the  room,  for 
her  heart  was  too  full  of  grief  and  sad  speculation  to  enable  her  to  do  now  as  she 
had  often  been  in  the  habit  of  doing— viz ,  laugh  at  Sam's  protestations  of  affection, 
so  he  was  left  to  chew  the  cud  of  sweet  and  bitter  fancy  by  himself. 

"  A  thousand  d  s  !"  said  he,  when  he  entered  the  shop :  "  I  always  suspected 

there  was  some  other  fellow,  and  now  I  know  it  I  am  ready  to  gnaw  my  head  off 
that  ever  1  consented  to  come  here.   Confound  him  !    I  hope  he  is  at  the  bottom 
of  the  sea,  and  eat  up  by  this  time.   Oh  !  I  should  like  to  smash  everybody.  If 
I  had  my  way  now  I'd  just  walk  into  society  at  large,  as  they  calls  it,  and  let  it 
know  what  one,  two,  three,  slap  in  the  eye,  is— and  down  it  would  go." 

Mr.  Sam,  in  his  rage,  did  upset  a  case  of  spectacles,  which  went  down  with  a 
tremendous  crash,  and  which,  however  good  imitation  of  the  manner  in  which 
society  at  large  was  to  be  knocked  down,  was  not  likely  to  be  at  all  pleasing  to 

^'FhavT'done  it  now,"  he  said;  "but  never  mind;  I'll  try  the  old  dodge 
whenever  I  break  anything ;  that  is,  I'll  place  it  in  old  Oakley's  way,  and  swear  he 
did  it.  I  never  knew  such  an  old  goose ;  you  may  persuade  him  into  anything ; 
the  idea,  now,  of  his  pulling  down  all  the  shutte*  this  morning  because  I  told 
him  mv  aunt  had  the  tooth-ache ;  that  was  a  go,  to  be  sure.  But  1  11  be  revenged 
of  that  fellow  who  has  took  away,  I  consider,  Johanna  from  me  ;  1 11  let  him  know 
what  a  blighted  heart  is  capable  of.  He  won't  live  long  enough  to  want  a  pair 
spectacles,  I'll  be  bound,  or  else  my  name  ain't  Sam  Bolt. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  earliest  dawn  of  morning  was  glistening  upon  the  masts,  the  Cordage,  and 
the  sails  of  a  fleet  of  vessels  lying  below  Sheerness.  , 

The  crews  were  rousing  themselves  from  their  niglit  s  re Pos\f  d™ K 
appearance  on  the  decks*  of  the  vessels,  from  which  the  night-watch  had  just 

b7mSwar,  which  had  been  the  convoy  of  tiie  fleet 

the  channel,  fired  a  gun  as  the  first  g  impse  of  the  \°^JSfJSS 

tapering  masts.   Then  from  a  battery  in  the  neighbourhood 

report,  and  that  was  answered  by  another  farther  off,  and  then  another,  until  me 


mm 


whoi„  chain  of  batteries  that  girded  the  coast,  for  it  was  a  time  of  war,  had  pro- 
claimed ihe  dawn  of  another  day. 

The  effect  was  very  fine,  in  the  stillness  of  the  early  morn,  of  this  succession 
of  reports  j  and  as  they  died  away  in  the  distance  like  mimic  thunder,  some  order 
was  Riven  on  board  the  man-of-war,  and,  m  a  moment,  the  masts  and  cordage 
seemed  perfectly  alive  with  human  beings  clinging  to  them  in  various  directions. 
Then,  as  if  by  magic,  or  as  if  the  ship  had  been  a  living  thing  itself,  and  had  pos- 
sessed wings,  which,  at  the  Mere  instigation  of  a  wish,  could  be  spread  far  and 
wide,  there  fluttered  out  such  sheets  of  cauyas  as  was  wonderful  to  see;  and,  as 
they  caught  the  morning  light,  and  the  ship  mo,  d  from  the  slight  breeze  that 
sprang  up  from  the  shore,  she  looked,  indeed,  as  if  she 

"Walked  tie  waters  hxe  a  thing  of  life  99 

The  various  crews  of  the  merchantmen  stood  upon  the  decics  of  their  respective 
vessels,  gazing  after  the  ship-of-war,  as  she  proceeded  upon  another  mission 
similar  to  the  one  she  had  just  performed  in  protecting  the  commerce  of  the 
country. 

As  she  passed  one  vessel,  which  had  been,  in  point  of  fact,  actually  rescued 
from  the  enemy,  the  crew,  who  had  been  saved  from  a  foreign  prison,  cheered 
lustily.  ' 

There  wanted  but  such  an  impulse  as  this,  and  then  every  merchant-vessel  that 
the  man-of-war  passed  took  up  the  gladsome  shout,  and  the  crew  of  the  huge  vessel 
were  not  slow  in  their  answer,  for  three  deafening  cheers— such  as  had  frequently 
struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  England's  enemies — awakened  many  an  echo  from 
the  shore. 

It  was  a  proud  and  a  delightful  sight— such  a  sight  as  none  but  an  Englishman 
can  thoroughly  enjoy— to  see  that  vessel  so  proudly  stemming  the  waste  of  waters. 
We  say  none  but  an  Englishman  can  enjoy  it,  because  no  otner  nation  has  ever 
attempted  to  achieve  a  great  maritime  existence  without  being  most  signally 
defeated,  and  leaving  us  still,  as  we  shall  ever  be,  masters  of  the  seas. 

These  proceedings  were  amply  sufficient  to  arouse  the  crews  of  all  the  vessels, 
and  over  the  taffrail  of  one  in  particular,  a  large-sized  merchantman,  which  had 
been  trading  in  the  Indian  seas,  two  men  were  leaning.  One  of  them  was  the 
captain  of  the  vessel,  and  the  other  a  passenger,  who  intended  leaving  that  morn- 
ing. They  were  engaged  in  earnest  conversation,  and  the  captain,  as  he  shaded 
his  eyes  with  his  hand,  and  looked  along  the  surface  of  the  river,  said,  in  reply  to 
some  ooservation  from  his  companion,— 

"I'll  order  my  boat  the  moment  Lieutenant  Thornhill  comes  on  board ;  I  call 
him  Lieutenant,  altnough  I  have  no  right  to  do  so,  because  he  has  held  that  rank 
in  the  king  s  service,  but  when  quite  a  young  man  was  cashiered  for  fighting  a  duel 
with  his  superior  officer/'  °  m 

"  The  service  has  lost  a  good  officer,"  said  the  other. 

"It  has,  indeed ,  a  braver  man  never  stepped,  nor  a  better  officer ;  but  you  see 
they  have  certain  rules  in  he  service,  and  everything  is  sacrificed  to  maintain 
them.  I  can't  think  what  keeps  him ;  he  went  last  night  and  said  he  wou£  pS 
up  to  the  Temple  stairs,  because  he  wanted  to  call  upon  somebody  by  TCwff 
side  and  after  that  he  was  going  to  the  city  to  transact  some  b^Jgtfb^ 

^"dSteer.^^  ^  »i  there  are  plen^of 

miLS/•COmiI18;,  CriCd  thC  °ther;        be  impatient  9  y°u  wiU  «*  him  in  a  few 
"  What  makes  you  think  that  ?" 

towa*  Sly *•"-*""■  *°»  Me'  s™i0«  i»  «*  water,  aud  comiug 
miad  misgives  me  that  aoarethiag  hM  happeSaShe  L  SSTeSSffl 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  13 


Lend  a  hand  there  to  Mr.  Thornhill's  dog,  some  of  you.  Why,  it's  a  hat  he  has  k 
his  mouth/* 

The  dog  made  towards  the  vessel;  but  without  the  assistance  of  the  seamen— 
with  the  whole  of  whom  he  was  an  immense  favourite— he  certainly  could  not  have 
boarded  the  vessel ;  and  when  he  reached  the  deck,  he  sank  down  upon  it  in  a  state 
of  complete  exhaustion,  with  the  hat  still  in  his  grasp. 

As  the  animal  lay,  panting,  upon  the  deck,  the  sailors  looked  at  each  other  in 
amazement,  and  there  was  but  one  opinion  among  them  all  now,  and  that  was  that 
something  very  serious  had  unquestionably  happened  to  Mr.  Thornhill. 

iC  I  dread/5  said  the  captain,  "  an  explanation  of  this  occurrence.  What  on  earth 
can  it  mean  ?  That's  ThornhilFs  hat,  and  here  is  Hector.  Give  the  dog  some  meat 
and  drink  directly — he  seems  thoroughly  exhausted/' 

The  dog  ate  sparingly  of  some  food  that  was  put  before  him ;  and  then,  seizing 
the  hat  again  in  his  mouth,  he  stood  by  the  side  of  the  ship  and  howled  piteously ; 
then  he  put  down  the  hat  for  a  moment,  and,  walking  up  to  the  captain,  he  pulled 
him  by  the  skirt  of  the  coat. 

"Yon  understand  him,"  said  the  captain  to  the  passenger ;  "something  has 
happened  to  Thornhill,  Til  be  bound ;  and  you  see  the  object  of  the  dog  is  to 
get  me  to  follow  him  to  see  what  it's  about." 

"  Think  you  so  ?  It  is  a  warning,  if  it  be  such  at  all,  that  I  should  not  be 
inclined  to  neglect ;  and  if  you  will  follow  the  dog,  I  will  accompany  you ; 
there  may  be  more  in  it  than  we  think  of,  and  we  ought  not  to  allow  Mr. 
Thornhill*  to  be  in  want  of  any  assistance  that  we  can  render  him,  when  we 
consider  what  great  assistance  he  has  been  to  us.  Look  how  anxious  the 
poor  beast  is. 

The  captain  ordered  a  boat  to  be  launched  at  once,  and  manned  by  four 
stout  rowers.  He  then  sprang  into  it,  followed  by  the  passenger,  who  was  a 
Colonel  Jefferv,  of  the  Indian  army,  and  the  dog  immediately  followed  them, 
testifying  by  his  manner  great  pleasure  at  the  expedition  they  were  underta- 
king/and  carrying  the  hat  with  him,  which  he  evidently  showed  an  immense 
disinclination  to  part  with. 

The  captain  had  ordered  the  boat  to  proceed  up  the  river  towards  the  Temple 
stairs,  where  Hector's  master  had  expressed  his  intention  of  proceeding,  and,  when 
the  faithful  animal  saw  the  direction  in  whicn  they  were  going,  he  lay  down  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat  perfectly  satisfied,  and  gave  himself  up  to  that  repose,  of  which 
he  was  evidently  so  much  in  need. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  Colonel  JefFery  suspected  that  anything  of  a  very  serious 
Mature  had  happened ;  indeed,  their  principal  anticipation,  wThen  they  came  to  talk 
it  over,  consisted  in  the  probability  that  Thornhill  had,  with  an  impetuosity  of 
character  they  knew  very  well  he  possessed,  interfered  to  redross  what  he  considered 
some  street  grievance,  and  had  got  himself  into  the  custody  of  the  civil  power  in 
consequence. 

"  Of  course,"  said  the  captain,  "  Master  Hector  would  view  that  as  a  very  serious 
affair,  and  finding  himself  denied  access  to  his  master,  you  see  he  has  come  off  to 
us,  which  was  certainly  the  most  prudent  thing  he  could  do,  ^^jUhould  not  be  at 
all  surprised  if  he  takes  us  to  the  door  of  some  watch-house,  wliera%e  shall  find  our 

friend  snug  enough." 

The  tide  was  running  up ;  and  that  Thornhill  had  not  saved  the  turn  of  it,  by 
dropping  down  earlier  to  the  vessel,  was  one  of  the  things  that  surprised  the  cap- 
tain. However,  they  got  ud  quickly,  and  as  at  that  hour  there  was  was  not  much 
on  the  river  to  impede  their  progress,  and  as  at  that  time  the  Thames  was  not  a 
thoroughfare  for  little  stinking  steam-boats,  they  soon  reacned  the  ancient  Temple 
tairs.  /  . 

The  dog,  who  had  until  then  seemed  to  be  asleep,  suddenly  sprung  up,  and  seiz- 
ing the  hat  again  in  his  mouth,  rushed  again  on  shore,  and  was  closely  followed  by 
the  captain  and  colonel.  ,  ,  „  , . 

He  led  them  through  the  temple  with  great  rapidity,  pursuing  with  admirable 
tact  the  precise  path  that  his  master  had  taken  towards  the  entrance  to  the  lemple, 


■MTb 


THE  STRING  OF  PMRLS. 


r~ —  —  ~Z:%rru^Z^mp    Darting  across  the  road  then,  he  stopped 

in .  Flee t^^rt1^^"^^  ^-*  Proceeding  which  very  much 
with  a  low  growl  at  the  shop  01  ^         ,    p    toJlause  to  hold  a  consultation 

ere  they  proceeded  tamer.  » '  m«  iru  ^  ^  dexterously 
fSdt  SftrfSS  tt  fcrt&*dy  closed  |j£  he  would  toe  oKde 
Sweenev  Todd  regret  such  an  interference. 

^murinquire  into  this,"  said  the  captain ;  "there  seems  to  be  mutual  ill- 
will  between  that  man  and  the  dog."  ;  *  _ 

They  both  tried  to  enter  the  barber's  shop,  but  it  was  fast  on  the  inside ;  and, 
after  repeated  blockings,  Todd  called  from  within,  saying,—  e 

« I  won't  open  the  door  while  thatdog  is  there.  He  is  mad,  or  has  a  spite  against 
me-I  don't  know  nor  care  which— it's  a  fact,  that's  all  I  am  aware  ot. 

« I  will  undertake,"  said  the  captain,  "  that  the  dog  shall  do  you  no  harm ;  but 
open  the  door,  for  in  we  must  come,  and  will"  ,    .         ,      .,  rt„  T 

" I  will  take  your  promise,"  said  Sweeney  Todd;  «  but  nimd  you  keep  it  or  I 
shall  protect  myself,  and  take  the  creature's  life ;  so  if  you  value  it,  you  had  better 
liold  it  fast  55 

°The  captain  pacified  Hector  as  well  as  he  could,  and  likewise  tied  one  end  of  a 
silk  handkerchief  round  his  neck,  and  held  the  other  firmly  m  his  grasp,  after  which 
Todd,  who  seemed  to  have  some  means  from  within  of  seeing  what  was  going  on, 
opened  the  door,  and  admitted  his  visitors.  ,  . 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  shaved,  or  cut,  or  dressed,  I  am  at  your  service  j  which  shall 

I  begin  with  ?"  ,  ,  .      .v  «•  '. 

p  The  dog  never  took  his  eyes  off  Todd,  but  kept  up  a  low  growl  from  the  nrst 

moment  of  his  entrance. 

"It's  rather  a  remarkable  circumstance,"  said  the  captain,  "but  this  is  a  very 
sagacious  dog,  you  see,  and  he  belongs  to  a  friend  of  ours,  who  has  most  unaccount- 
ably disappeared."  ' 

"  Has  he  really  ?"  said  Todd.  "  Tobias !  Tobias !" 
|H  **Yes,  sir.5* 

v  "  Run  to*Mr.  Phillips's,  in  Cateaton-street,  and  get  me  six-pennyworth  of  figs, 
and  don't  say  that  I  don't  give  you  the  money  this  time  when  you  go  a  message. 
I  think  I  did  before,  but  you  swallowed  it ;  and  when  you  come  back,  just  please  to 
remember  the  insight  into  business  I  gave  you  yesterday.'5 

&  "  Yes,55  said  the  boy,  with  a  shudder,  for  he  had  a  great  horror  of  Sweeney  Todd, 
as  well  he  might,  after  the  severe  discipline  he  had  received  at  his  hands,  and 
away  he  went. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,5'  said  Todd,  "  what  is  it  you  require  of  me  ?"  ; 
f  "  We  want  to  know  if  any  one  having  the  appearance  of  an  officer  in  the  navy 
came  to  your  house  ?" 

"  Yes — a  rather  good-looking  man,  weather-beaten,  with  a  bright  blue  eye,  and 
rather  fairhairc55 

"  Yes,  yes !  the  same." 

cc  Oh  !  to  be  sure,  he  came  here,  and  1  shaved  him  and  polished  him  off.5* 
cc  What  do  you  mean  by  polishing  him  off  ?55 

u  Brushing  him  up  a  bit,  and  making  him  tidy  ;  he  said  he  had  got  somewhere 
to  go  in  the  city,  and  asked  me  the  address  of  a  Mr.  Oakley,  a  spectacle-maker. 
I  gave  it  him,  and  then  he  went  away  ;  but  as  I  was  standing  at  my  door  about 
five  minutes  afterwards,  it  seemed  to  me,  as  well  as  J  could  see  the  distance, 
that  he  got  into  some  row  near  the  market.55 

*<Did  this  dog  come  with  him  ?" 

"  A.  dog  came  with  him,  but  whether  it  was  that  dog  or  not  I  don't  know.51 
u  And  that's  all  you  know  of  him  ?'5 

"  You  never  spoke  a  truer  word  in  your  life,35  said  Sweeney  Todd,  as  he  dili- 
gently stropped  a  razor  upon  his  great  horny  hand. 
This  seemed  something  like  a  complete  fix  ;  and  the  captain  looked  at  Colonel 


4        »  ■  ♦ 


tat 


THE  STRI&G  OF  PEARLS. 


15 


Jeffery,  and  the  colonel  at  the  captain,  for  some  moments,  in  complete  silence.  At 
length  the  latter  said, — » 

«•  It's  a  very  extraordinary  thing  that  the  dog  should  come  here  if  he  missed 
his  master  somewhere  else.   I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing." 

"  Nor  I  either,"  said  Eord.  «  It  is  extraordinary  ;  so  extraordinary  that  if  I 
had  not  seen  it,  I  would  not  have  believed.   I  dare  say  you  will  find  him  in  the 

XlC^t)  Wc\t/Cll,*llOVLSC 

The  dog  had  watched  the  countenance  of  all  parties  during  this  brief  dialogue, 
and  twice  or  thrice  he  had  interrupted  it  by  a  strange  howling  cry. 

*  Til  tell  you  what  it  is,"  said  the  barber ;  "  if  that  beast  stays  here,  I'll  be 
the  death  of  him.  I  hate  dogs— detest  them ;  and  I  tell  you,  as  I  told  you 
before,  if  you  value  him  at  ah,  keep  him  away  from  me." 

"  You  say  you  directed  the  person  you  describe  to  us  where  to  find  a  spectacle 
maker  nsmed  Oakley.  We  happen  to  know  that  he  was  going  in  search  of  such 
a  person,  and  as  he  had  property  of  value  about  him,  we  will  go  there  and  as- 
certain if  he  reached  his  destination."  . 

"  It  is  in  Fore-street— a  little  shop  with  two  windows ;  you  cannot  miss  it. 

The  dog  when  he  saw  they  were  about  to  leave,  grew  furious ;  and  it  was  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  they  succeeded,  by  main  force,  in  getting  him  out  of  the 
shop  and  dragging  him  some  short  distance  with  them,  but  then  he  contrived  to 
get  free  of  the 'handkerchief  that  held  him,  and  darting  back,  he  sat  down  at 
Sweeny  Todd's  door,  howling  most  piteously.  , 

They  had  no  resource  but  to  leave  him,  intending  fully  to  call  as  they  came  back 
from  Mr  Oakley's  ;  and,  as  they  looked  behind  them,  they  saw  that  Hector  was 
collecting  a  crowd  round  the  barber's  door,  and  it  was  a  singular  thing  to  see  a 
number  of  persons  surrounding  the  dog,  while  he  to  all  appearance,  appeared  to 
be  making  efforts  to  explain  something  to  the  assemblage.  They  walked  on  until 
thev  reached  the  spectacle-maker's,  there  they  paused ;  for  they  all  ot  a  sudden 
recollected  that  the  mission  that  Mr.  Thornhill  had  to  execute  there  was  of  a 
very  delicate  nature,  and  one  by  no  means  to  be  lightly  executed,  or  even  so 
much  as  mentioned,  probably,  in  the  hearing  of  Mr.  Oakley  himselt. 

"  We  must  not  be  so  hasty,"  said  the  colonel.  . 

"  But  what  am  I  co  do  ?   I  sail  to-night ;  at  least  I  have  to  go  round  to  Liver- 

P°«  Do  noUhlncaU  at  Mr.  Oakley's  at  all  at  present ;  but  leave  me  to  ascertain 

the  fact  quietly  and  secretly."  i  ,  T  t 

"My  anxiety  for  Thornhill  will  scarcely  permit  meio  do  so  ;  but  I  suppose  I 
must,  and  if  you  write  me  a  letter  to  the  Royal  Oak  Hotel,  at  Liverpool^  it  will 
be  sure  to  reach  me,  that  is  to  say,  unless  you  find  Mr.  Thornhill  himself,  mwlnca 
case  I  need  not  by  any  means  give  you  so  much  trouble. 

"You  may  depend  upon  me  My  friendship  for  Mr.  Thornhill,  and  gratitude, 
as  you  know,  for  the  great  service  he  has  rendered  to  us  all,  will  induce  me  to  do 
my  utmost  to  discove?  him ;  and,  but  that  I  know  he  set  his  heart  upon  performing 
the  message  he  had  to  deliver  accurately  and  well,  I  should  recommend  that  we  at 
once  go  into  this  house  of  Mr.  Oakley's,  only  that  the  fear  of  compromising  the 
youn|lady-who  is  in  the  case,  and  who  will  have  quite  enough  to  bear,  poor 

thing  of  her  own  grief — restrains  me/'  .  .    ,    , , 

Afte?  some  more  conversation  of  a  similar  nature,  they  decided  that  this  should 
be  the  plaTadopted.  They  made  an  unavailing  call  at  the  watch-house  of  the  dis- 
trict being  informed  there  that  no  such  person,  nor  any  one  answering  the  descirp- 
tmn  of  Mr§  Thornhill  had  been  engaged  in  any  disturbance,  or  apprehended  by  any 
ofX  con  tables  \  and  this  only  involved  the  thing  in  greater  Pf^^H* 
so  they  went  back  to  try  and  recover  the  dog,  but  that  was  »^^^to> 
desired  and  determined  upon  than  executed,  for  threats  and  persuasions  were  alike 

b  Hettofwould  not  stir  an  inch  from  the  barber's  door.  There  he  4ff^ 
hat  bv  his  side,  a  most  melancholy  and  ;  strange-looking  ff*«™ 
efficient  guard  was  he  for  that  hat,  and  it  was  evident,  that  while  he  chose  to 


4* 


^^^^^^^^^  pot  1 
disposition  to  touch  it  it  ^^^TH^'if  his  mind  bad  been  that  way  m- 
few  copper  coins  into  the  who  shall  describe  the  anger  of 

dined,  was  making  a  very  ^  N  <^'  t  be  s0  beleaguered  ? 

Sweeney  Todd,  when  he  found  that  he was  so  like  y  u>  ^  ^  dog    .  M 

He  doubted,  if,  upon  the  arrival  of  the tost^ cus^  ^  iast,when  a 

dart  in  and  take  him  by  {W|W  M^ffdreJsed,  and  the  dog  allowed 
young  gallant  came  from  the  Temple  to  aye  ms  i  au  ,  ^ 

Jim  to  pass  in  and  out  Jf^KVl  insure?  Sweeney  Todd's 

This  was  something,  at  all  even  s  j  but^ wbrttaff  w  »™  ^ 
personal  safety,,  when  he  himsdf  shou  d  co me  out  was  q  ^  rf  ^ 

1  It  was  an  experiment,  however,  which  he  must  try  « .w  h  ^ 
question  that  he  should  remain  a  prisoner  ^udi  |onger  m  l  ^  /b  ^  done 
I  time,  he  thought  he  might  try  the >  ex^nmeu  ,  and  AJ^Jgd  him,  he  would 

htTanS^  ^k  W  t0  ^  UP°n  ^ 

°C Itlook  some  time,  however,  to  screw  his  ^^*#frg«%  S  the 

Sweeney,  said  aloud—  ,  v  tL  .  T,  .„ 

Sfoi        o»isS  * *  — •  Sr  lori 

keep  your  own  counsel,  or  it  will  be  the  worse  for  you,  and  your  mother  too 

"Thfboy  shrunk  back.  How  had  Sweeney  Todd  terrified  the  boy  about  his 
mother  !  7  He  must  have  done  so,  or  Tobias  would  never  have  shrunk  as  he  did 

Then  that  rascally  barber,  who  we  begin  to  suspect  of  more  crimes  than  fall 
ordinaryly  to  the  share  of  man,  went  cautiously  out  of  his  shop  door :  we  cannot 
pretend  to  account  for  why  it  was  so,  but,  as  faithful  recorders  ot  facts  ye  have 
to  state  that  Hector  did  not  fiy  at  him,  but  with  a  melancholy  and  subdued  ex- 
pression of  countenance  he  looked  up  in  the  face  of  Sweeney  Todd;  then  he 
whined  piteously,  as  if  he  would  have  said,  "  Give  me  my  master,  and  I  will  tor- 
give  you  all  that  you  have  done ;  give  me  back  my  beloved  master,  and  you  shall 
see  that  I  am  neither  revengeful  nor  ferocious." 

This  kind  of  expression  was  as  legibly  written  in  the  poor  creature  s  counte- 
nance as  if  he  had  a<$ually  been  endowed  with  speech,  and  uttered  the  words 
t  h  e  m  s  el  vc  s  . 

This  was  what  Sweeney  Todd  certainly  did  not  expect,  and,  to  tell  the  truth, 
it  staggered  and  astonished  him  a  little.  He  would  have  been  glad  of  an  excuse 
tu  commit  some  act  of  violence,  but  he  had  now  none,  and  as  he  looked  in  tne 
faces  of  the  people  who  were  around,  he  felt  quite  convinced  that  it  would  not  be 
the  most  prudent  thing  in  the  world  to  interfere  with  the  dog  in  any  way  that 
savoured  of  violence. 

" Where's  the  dog's  master  ?"  said  one. 

u  Ah,  where  indeed  ?"  said  Todd ;  "  I  should  not  wonder  if  he  had  come  to  some 
foul  end !" 

"  But  I  say,  old  soap-suds,"  cried  a  boy  ;  "  the  dog  says  you  did  it.3 
There  was  a  general  laugh,  but  the  barber  was  by  no  means  disconcerted,  and 
he  shortly  replied. 

"  Does  he  ?  he  is  wrong  then." 


I  entered  his  own  shop,  in  a  distant  corner  of  wThich 
great  gaunt-looking  arms  over  his  chest,  he  gave 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS*  17 


himself  up  to  thought,  and  if  we  may  judge  from  the  expression  of  his  countenance, 
those  thoughts  were  of  a  pleasant  anticipatory  character,  for  now  and  then  he 
gave  such  a  grim  sort  of  smile  as  might  well  have  sat  upon  the  features  of  some 


ogre. 


And  now  we  will  turn  to  another  scene,  of  a  widely  different  character. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  HE-SHOP,  BELL-YAEB. 


1  : 


Hark!  twelve  o'clock  at  mid-day  is  cheerily  proclaimed  by  St.  Dunstan's 
church,  and  scarcely  have  the  sounds  done  echoing  throughout  the  neighbourhood, 
and  scarce  has  the  clock  of  LincolnVinn  done  chiming  in  with  its  announcement 
of  the  same  hour,  when  Bell-yard,  Temple-bar,  becomes  a  scene  of  commotion. 

What  a  scampering  of  feet  is  there,  what  a  laughing  and  talking,  what  a  jostling 
to  be  first ;  and  what  an  immense  number  of  manceuvres  are  resorted  to  by  some 
of  the  throng  to  distance  others  ! 

And  mostly  from  Lincoln's-inn  do  these  persons,  young  and  old,  but  most  cer- 
tainly a  majority  of  the  former,  come  bustling  and  striving,  although  from  the 
neighbouring  legal  establishments  likewise  there  came  not  a  few ;  the  Temple  con- 
tributes its  numbers,  and  from  the  more  distant  Gray's-inn  there  came  a  goodly 
lot. 

Now  Bell-yard  is  almost  choked  up,  and  a  stranger  would  wonder  what  could 
be  the  matter,  and  most  probably  stand  in  some  doorway  until  the  commotion 
was  over. 

Is  it  a  fire  ?  is  it  a  fight  ?  or  anything  else  sufficiently  alarming  and  extraordi- 
nary to  excite  the  junior  members  of  the  legal  profession  to  such  a  species  of 
madness  ?  No,  it  is  none  of  these,  nor  is  there  a  fat  cause  to  be  run  for,  which, 
in  the  hands  of  some  clever  practitioner,  might  become  quite  a  vested  interest. 
No,  the  enjoyment  is  purely  one  of  a  physical  character,  and  all  the  pacing  and 
racing— all  this  turmoil  and  trouble— all  this  pushing,  jostling,  laughing,  and 
shouting,  is  to  see  who  will  get  first  to  Lovett's  pie-shop. 

Yes,  on  the  left-hand  side  of  Bell-yard,  going  down  from  Carey-street,  was  at 
the  time  we  write  of,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  shops  for  the  sale  of  veal  and 
pork  pies  that  ever  London  produced.  High  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  resorted  to 
it  •  its  fame  had  spread  far  and  wide ;  it  was  because  the  first  batch  of  these  pies 
came  up  at  twelve  o'clock  that  there  was  such  a  rush  of  the  legal  profession  to 

obtain  them.  ,  .  , 

There  fame  had  spread  even  to  great  distances,  and  many  persons  carried  them 
to  the  suburbs  of  the  city  as  quite  a  treat  to  friends  and  relations  there  residing. 
And  well  did  they  deserve  their  reputation,  those  delicious  pies !  there  was  about  them 
a  flavour  never  surpassed,  and  rarely  equalled;  the  paste  was  of  the  most  delicate 
construction,  and  impregnated  with  the  aroma  of  a  delicious  gravy  that  defies  de- 
scription. Then  the  small  portions  of  meat  which  they  contained  were  so  tender, 
and  the  fat  and  tlie  lean  so  artistically  mixed  up,  that  to  eat  one  ot  Lovett  s  pies 
was  such  a  provocative  to  eat  another,  that  many  persons  who  came  to  lunch  stayed 
to  dine,  wasting  more  than  an  hour,  perhaps,  of  precious  time,  and  endangering— 
who  knows  to  the  contrary  ?— -the  success  of  some  law-suit  thereby. 

The  counter  in  Lovett's  shop  was  in  the  shape  of  a  horseshoe,  and  it  was  the 
custom  of  the  young  bloods  from  the  Temple  and  Lincoln's-inn  to  set  m  a  row 
upon  its  edge  while  they  partook  of  the  delicious  pies,  and  chatted  gaily  about  one 
concern  and  another.  .     .    .  , 

Uua  m  appointment  for  the  evening  was  made  m  Lavett «  \m  slioi?*  «M  «wwf 


^I^j^^^gjffgf^^  -1  wain  ■    1 11  r  iwnifflww. itmnintn-'timm-iifir-  v.im  n  m  i  '  ~ 


18  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS, 


a  piece  of  gossiping  scandal  was  there  first  circulated.  The  din  of  tongues  was 
prodigious.  The  ringing  laugh  of  the  boy  who  looked  upon  the  quarter  of  an 
hour  he  spent  at  Lovett's  as  the  brightest  of  the  whole  twenty-four,  mingled  gaily 
with  the  more  boisterous  mirth  of  his  seniors ;  and,  oh !  with  what  rapidity  the 
pies  disappeared. 

They  were  brought  up  on  large  trays,  each  of  which  contained  about  a  hundred, 
and  from  these  trays  they  were  so  speedily  transferred  to  the  mouths  of  Mrs. 
Lovett's  customers  that  it  looked  quite  like  a  work  of  magic. 

And  now  we  have  let  out  some  portion  of  the  secret.  There  was  !a  Mistress 
Lovett ;  but  possibly  our  reader  guessed  as  mv$ h,  for  what  but  a  female  hand, 
and  that  female  buxom,  young,  and  good-looking,  could  have  ventured  upon  the 
production  of  those  pies,  Yes,  Mrs.  Jjovett  was  all  that ;  and  every  eramoured 
young  scion  of  the  law,  as  he  devoured  his  pie,  pleased  himself  with  the  idea  that 
the  charming  Mrs.  Lovett  had  made  that  pie  especially  for  him,  and  that  fate  or 
predestination  had  placed  it  in  his  hands. 

And  it  was  astonishing  to  see  with  what  impartiality  and  with  what  tact  the 
fair  pastry-cook  bestowed  her  smiles  upon  her  admirers,  so  that  none  could  say 
he  was  neglected,  while  it  was  extremely  difficult  for  any  one  to  say  he  was 
preferred. 

This  was  pleasant,  but  at  the  same  time  it  was  provoking  to  all  except  Mrs. 
Lovett,  in  whose  favour  it  got  up  a  kind  of  excitement  that  paid  extraordinarily 
well,  because  some  of  the  young  fellows  thought,  that  he  who  consumed  the  most 
pies,  would  be  in  the  most  likely  way  to  receive  the  greatest  number  of  smiles 
from  the  lady, 

Actiug  upon  this  supposition,  some  of  her  more  enthusiastic  admirers  went  on 
consuming  the  pies  until  they  were  almost  ready  to  burst.  But  there  were  others, 
again,  of  a  more  philosophic  turn  of  mind,  who  went  for  the  pies  only,  and  did 
not  care  one  jot  for  Mrs,  Lovett. 

^  These  declared  that  her  smile  was  cold  and  uncomfortable— that  it  was  upon  her 
lips,  but  had  no  place  in  her  heart— that  it  was  the  set  smile  of  a  ballet-dancer, 
which  is  about  one  of  the  most  unmirthful  things  in  existence. 

Then  there  were  some  who  went  even  beyond  this,  and,  while  thev  admitted  the 
excellence  of  the  pies,  and  went  every  day  to  partake  of  them,  swore  that  Mrs. 
Lovett  had  quite  a  sinister  aspect,  and  that  they  could  see  what  a  merely  superfi- 
cial affair  her  blandishments  were,  and  that  there  was 

"  A  lurking  devil  in  her  eye," 

that,  if  once  roused,  would  be  capable  of  achieving  some  serious  things,  and 
might  not  be  so  easily  quelled  again.  • 

By  five  minutes  past  twelve  Mrs.  Lovett's  counter  was  full,  and  the  savoury 
steam  of  the  hot  pies  went  out  in  fragrant  clouds  into  Bell-yard,  being  sniffed  up 
by  many  a  poor  wretch  passing  by  who  lacked  the  means  of  making  one  in  the 
throng  that  were  devouring  the  dainty  morsels  within. 

"  Why,  Tobias  Bagg,"  said  a  young  man,  with  his  mouth  full  of  pie,  «  where 
have  you  been  since  you  left  Mr,  Snow's  in  Paper-buildings  ?  I  have  not  seen 
you  for  some  days." 

J  No,';  said  Tobias,  "  I  have  gone  into  another  line;  instead  of  being  a  lawyer, 
and  helping  to  shave  the  clients,  I  am  going  to  shave  the  lawyers  now  A  two- 
penny pork  if  you .please,  Mrs  -Lovett.  Ah!  who  would  be  an  emperor,  if  he 
couldn't  get  pies  like  these  ?— eh,  Master  Olift  ?" 

"  Well,  they  are  good ;  of  course  we  know  that,  Tobias ;  but  do  you  mean  to 
say  you  are  going  to  be  a  barber  '  J 

"  Yes,  I  am  with  Sweeny  'iodd,  the  barber  of  Meet-street,  close  to  St. 
xJ  mist tin  s, 

"The  deuce  you  are  !  well,  X  am  going  to  a  party  to-night,  and  I'll  drop  in  and 
get  dressed  and  shaved,  and  patronise  vour  master  " 

Tobias  put  his  mouth  close  to  the  ear  of  the  young  lawyer,  and  in  a  fearful 
sort  ot  whisper  said  the  one  word— "Don't."  '  a  lultlli 


*»  Don't !  what  for  ?" 
Tobias  made  no  answer ;  and,  throwing  down  his  twopence,  scampered  out  of 
the  shop  as  fast  as  he  could.  He  had  only  sent  a  message  by  Sweeny  Todd  in  the 
neighbourhood  ;  but,  as  he  heard  the  clock  strike  twelve,  and  two  penny  pieces 
were  lying  at  the  bottom  of  his  pocket,  it  was  not  in  human  nature  to  resist 
running  into  Lovett's  and  converting  them  into  a  pork  pie. 

"  What  an  odd  thing  !"  thought  the  young  lawyer.  "  I'll  just  drop  in  at 
Sweeney  Todd's  now  on  purpose,  and  ask  Tobias  what  he  means.  I  quite  forgot, 
too,  while  he  was  here*  to  ask  him  what  all  that  riot  was  about  a  dog  at 
Todd's  door." 

"  A  veal  r  said  a  young  man,  rushing  in ;  "a  twopenny  veal,  Mrs.  Lovett.5' 
When  he  got  it;  he  consumed  it  with  voracity,  and  then  noticing  an  acquaintance 
in  the  shop,  he  whispered  to  him,*— 

"I  can't  stand  it  any  more.  I  have  cut  the  spectacle-maker— Johanna  is 
faithless,  and  1  know  not  what  to  do.'1 

"  Have  another  pie." 

"  But  what's  a  pie  to  Johanna  Oakley  ?  You  know,  IMlki,  that  I  only  went 
there  to  be  near  the  charmer.  l)amn  the  shutters  and  curse  the  spectacles  !  She 
loves  another,  and  I'm  a  desperate  individual !  I  should  like  to  do  some  horrible 
and  desperate  act.  Oh,  Johanna,  Johanna  I  you  have  driven  me  to  the  verge  of 
what  do  you  call  it— I'll  take  another  veal,  if  you  please,  Mrs.  Lovett." 

"  Well,  I  was  wondering  how  you  got  on,"  said  his  friend  Dilki,  "  and  thinking 
of  calling  upon  you," 

"  Oh  !  it  was  all  right — it  was  all  right  at  first ;  she  smiled  upon  me/* 

"  You  are  quite  sure  she  didn't  laugh  at  you  ?" 

"Sir!  Mr.DUki!" 

"  I  say,  are  you  sure  that  instead  of  smiling  Upon  you  she  Was  hot  laughing  at 
you !" 

"  Am  I  sure  ?  Do  you  wish  to  insult  me,  Mr.  Dilki  ?  I  look  upon  you  as  a 
puppy,  sir~a  horrid  puppy." 

"  Yery  good ;  now  I  am  convinced  that  the  girl  has  been  having  a  bit  of  fun  at 
your  expense. — 'Are  you  not  aware,  Sam,  that  your  nose  turns  up  so  much  that 
it's  enough  to  pitch  you  head  over  heels.  How  do  you  suppose  that  any  girl  under 
forty-five  would  waste  a  word  upon  you  ?  Mind,  I  don't  say  this  to  offend  you  in 
any  way,  but  just  quietly,  by  way  of  asking  a  question." 

Sam  looked  daggers,  and  probably  he  might  have  attempted  some  desperate  act 
in  the  pie-shop,  if  at  the  moment  he  had  not  caught  the^  eye  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  and 
he  saw  by  the  expression  of  that  lady's  face,  that  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  riot 
would  be  speedily  suppressed,  so  he  darted  out  of  the  place  at  once  to  carry  his 
sorrows  and  his  bitterness  elsewhere. 

It  was  only  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock  that  such  a  tremendous  rush  and 
influx  of  visitors  came  to  the  pie-shop,  for  although  there  was  a  good  custom  the 
whole  day,  and  the  concern  was  a  money-making  one  from  morning  till  night,  it 
was  at  that  hour  principally  that  the  great  consumption  of  pies  took  place. 

Tobias  knew  from  experience  that  Sweeney  Todd  was  a  skilful  calculator  of  the 
time  it  ought  to  take  to  go  to  different  places,  and  accordingly  since  he  had 
occupied  some  portion  of  that  most  valuable  of  all  commodities  at  Mrs.  Lovett's, 
he  arrived  quite  breathless  at  his  master's  shop<> 

There  sat  the  mysterious  dog  with  the  hat,  and  Tobias  lingered  for  a  moment 
to  speak  to  the  animal.  Dogs  are  great  physiognomists ;  and  as  the  preature 
looked  into  Tobias's  face  he  seemed  to  draw  a  favourable  conclusion  regarding  him, 
for  he  submitted  to  a  caress. 

"  Poor  fellow  !"  said  Tobias.  "  I  wish  I  knew  WUt  had  become  of  your  master, 
but  it  made  me  shake  like  a  leaf  to  wake  up  last  night  and  ask  myself  the 
question.  You  shan't  starve,  though,  if  I  can  help  it.  I  haven't  much  for  myself, 
but  you  shall  have  some  of  it." 

As  he  spoke,  Tobias  took  from  his  pocket  some  not  very  tempting  cold  meat, 
which  was  intended  for  his  own  dinner,  and  which  he  had  wrapped  up  in  not  t'ne 


i 


20  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS, 


cleanest  of  cloths.  He  gave  a  piece  to  the  dog,  who  took  it  with  a  dejected  air, 
and  then  crouched  down  at  Sweeney  Todd's  door  again. 

Just  then,  as  Tobias  was  about  to  enter  the  shop,  he  thought  he  heard  from 
within,  a  strange  shrieking  sort  of  sound.  On  the  impulse  of  the  moment  he 
recoiled  a  step  or  two,  and  then,  from  some  other  impulse,  he  dashed  forward  at 

once,  and  entered  the  shop. 

The  first  object  that  presented  itself  to  his  attention,  lying  upon  a  side  table, 
was  a  hat  with  a  handsome  gold-headed  walking- cane  lying  across  it. 

The  arm-chair  in  which  customers  usually  sat  to  be  shaved  was  vacant,  and 
Sweeney  Todd's  face  was  just  projected  into  the  shop  from  the  back  parlour,  and 
wearing  a  most  singular  and  hideous  expression. 

H  Well,  Tobias,"  he  said,  as  he  advanced,  rubbing  his  great  hands  together, 
"  well,  Tobias !  so  you  could  not  resist  the  pie-shop  ?" 

"How  does  he  know?"  thought  Tobias.  "Yes,  sir,  Ihave  been  to  the  pie  • 
shop,  but  I  didn't  stay  a  minute.'*  *v 

"Hark  ye,  Tobias  !  the  onlv  thing  x  can  excuse  in  the  way  of  delay  upon  an 
errand  is,  for  you  to  get  one  of  Mrs.1  Lovett's  pies ;  that  I  can  look  over,  so  think 
no  more  about  it.   Are  they  not  delicious,  Tobias  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  they  are ;  but  some  gentleman  seems  to  have  left  his  hat  and 
stick." 

"Yes,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  "he  has;"  and  lifting  the  stick  he  struck  Tobias 
a  blow  with  it  that  felled  him  to  the  ground.  "  Lesson  the  second  to  Tobias 
Ragg,  which  teaches  him  to  make  no  remarks  about  what  does  not  concern 
him.  You  may  think  what  you  like,  Tobias  Ragg,  but  you  shall  say  only  what 
I  like." 

"  I  won't  endure  it,"  cried  the  boy  ;  "  I  won't  be  knocked  about  in  this  way,  I 
tell  you,  Sweeney  Todd,  I  won't." 
"  You  won't !  have  you  forgotten  your  mother  ?" 

fC  You  say  you  have  a  power  over  my  mother  ;  but5 1  don't  know  what  it  is,  and 
I  cannot  and  will  not  believe  it ;  I'll  leave  you,  and,  6ome  of  it  what  may,  111  go 
to  sea  or  anywhere  rather  than  stay  in  such  a  place  as  this." 

#  u  Oh,  you  will,  will  you  ?  Then,  Tobias,  you  and  I  must  come  to  some  explana- 
tion. I'll  tell  you  what  power  I  have  over  your  mother,  and  then  perhaps  you 
will  be  satisfied.  Last  winter,  when  the  frost  had  continued  eighteen  weeks,  and 
you  and  your  mother  were  starving,  she  was  employed  to  clean  out  the  chambers 
of  a  Mr.  King,  in  the  Temple,  a  cold-hearted,  severe  man,  who  never  forgave  any- 
thing in  all  his  life,  and  never  will.* 

"I  remember,"  said  Tobias  ;  "we  were  starving  and  owed  a  whole  guinea  for 
rent ;  but  mother  borrowed  it  and  paid  it,  and  alter  that  got  a  situation  where 
she  now  is  " 

"  Ah,  you  think  so.  The  rent  was  paid  ;  but,  Tobias,  my  boy,  a  word  in  your 
ear — she  took  a  silver  candlestick  from  Mr.  King's  chambers  to  pay  it.  I  know  it. 
I  can  prove  it.   Think  of  that,  Tobias,  and  be  discreet." 

"  Have  mercy  upon  us,"  said  the  boy  ;  "they  would  take  her  life  !" 
"  Her  life  !*  screamed  Sweeney  Todd ;  "  ay,  to  be  sure  they  would  ;  they 
would  hang  her— hang  her,  I  say  ;  and  now  mind,  if  you  force  me  by  any  conduct 
of  your  own,  to  mention  this  thing,  you  are  your  mother's  executioner.   I  had 
better  go  and  be  deputy  hangman  at  once,  and  turn  her  off." 
"  Horrible,  horrihle  !" 
Oh,  you  don't  like  that  ?   Indeed,  that  don't  suit  you,  Master  Tobias  ?  Be 
discreet  then,  and  you  have  nothing  to  fear.   Do'not  force  me  to  show  a  power 
which  will  be  as  complete  as  it  is  terrific." 
"  I  will  say  nothing — I  will  think  nothing." 

"  'Tis  well ;  now  go  and  put  that  hat  and  stick  in  yonder  cupboard.  I  shall  be 
absent  for  a  short  time  ;  and  if  any  one  comes,  tell  them  I  am  called  out,  and 
shall  not  return  for  .an  hour  or  perhaps  longer,  and  mind  you  take  good  care  of 
the  shop." 


/  ; 


i<^WtJH— wiOlfclMx  *intmt~t,£m  " 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  21 


i    i    i  ■■  i  i 


Sweeney  Todd  look  off  his  apron,  and  put  on  an  immense  coat  with  huge  lappels, 
and  then,  clapping  a  three-cornered  hat  on  his  head,  and  casting  a  strange  wither- 
ing kind  of  look  at  Tobias,  he  sallied  forth  into  the  street. 


CHAPTER  V 

/ 

THE  MEETING  IN   THE  TEMPLE. 

t  AtAs !  poor  J ohanna  Oakley — thy  day  has  passed  away  and  brought  with  it  no 
tidings  of  him  you  love ;  and  oh !  what  a  weary  day,  full  of  fearful  doubts  and 
anxieties,  has  it  been ! 

Tortured  by  doubts,  hopes,  and  fears,  that  day  was  one  of  the  most  wretched 
that  poor  J  ohanna  had  ever  passed.  Not  even  two  years  before,  when  she  had 
parted  with  her  lover,  had  she  felt  such  an  exquisite  pang  of  anguish  as  now  filled 
her  heart,  when  she  saw  the  day  gliding  away  and  the  evening  creeping  on  apace, 
without  word  or  token  from  Mark  Ingestrie. 

She  did  not  herself  know,  until  all  the  agony  of  disappointment  had  come  across 
her,  how  much  she  had  counted  upon  hearing  something  from  him  on  that  occasion ; 
and  when  the  evening  deepened  into  night,  and  hope  grew  so  slender  that  she 
could  no  longer  rely  upon  it  for  the  least  support,  she  was  compelled  to  proceed  to 
her  own  chamber,  and,  feigning  indisposition  to  avoid  her  mother's  questions — for 
Mrs.  Oakley  was  at  home,  and  making  herself  and  everybody  else  as  uncomfortable 
as  possible — she  flung  herself  on  her  humhle  couch  and  gave  way  to  a  perfect 
passion  of  tears. 

"  Oh,  ^  Mark,  Mark  I"  she  said,  "  why  do  you  thus  desert  me,  when  I 
have  relied  so  abundantly  upon  your  true  affection  ?  Oh,  why  have  you  not 
sent  me  some  token  of  your  existence,  and  of  your  continued  love  ?  the 
merest  slightest  word  would  have  been  sufficient,  and  I  should  have  been 
happyi" 

She  wept  then  such  bitter  tears  as  only  such  a  heart  as  her's  can  know,  when  it 
feels  the  deep  and  bitter  anguish  of  desertion,  and  when  the  rock,  upon  which 
it  supposed  it  had  built  its  fondest  hopes,  resolves  itself  to  a  mere  quicksand,  in 
which  becomes  engulphed  all  of  good  that  this  world  can  afford  to  the  just  and  the 
beautiful. 

Oh,  it  is  heartrending  to  think  that  such  a  one  as  she,  J  ohanna  Oakley,  a  being 
so  full  of  all  those  holy  and  gentle  emotions  which  should  constitute  the  truest 
felicity,  should  thus  feel  that  life  to  her  had  lost  its  greatest  charms,  and  that 
nothing  but  despair  remained. 

"  I  will  wait  until  midnight,"  she  said ;  "  and  even  then  it  will  be  a  mockery  to 
seek  repose,  and  to-morrow  I  must  myself  make  some  exertion  to  discover  some 
tidings  of  him." 

Then  she  began  to  ask  herself  what  that  exertion  could  be,  and  in  what 
manner  a  young  and  inexperienced  girl,  such  as  she  was,  could  hope  to 
succeed  in  her  inquiries.  And  the  midnight  hour  came  at  last,  telling  her  that, 
giving  the  utmost  latitude  to  the  word  day,  it  had  gone  at  last,  and  she  was  left 
lespairing. 

She  lay  the  whole  of  that  night  sobbing,  and  only  at  times  dropping  into  an 
unquiet  slumber,  during  which  painful  images  were  presented  to  her,  all,  however, 
having  the  same  tendency,  and  pointing  towards  the  presumed  fact  that  Mark 
Ingestrie  was  no  more. 

But  the  weariest  night  to  the  weariest  waker  will  pass  away,  and  at  length  the 
soft  and  beautiful  dawn  stole  into  the  chamber  of  Johanna  Oakley,  chasing  away 
some  of  the  more  horrible  visions  of  the  night,  but  having  little  effect  in  subduing 
the  sadness  that  had  taken  possession  of  her. 


22 


THE  STRING  01  PEARLS 


She  felt  that  it  would  be  better  for  her  to  make  her  appearance  below, 
than  to  hazard  the  remarks  and  conjectures  that  her  not  doing  so  would  give 
rise  to,  so  all  unfitted  as  she  was  to  engage  in  the  most  ordinary  intercourse, 
she  crept  down  to  the  breakfast-parlour,  looking  more  like  the  ghost  of  her 
former  self  than  the  bright  and  beautiful  being  we  have  represented  her  to  the 
reader. 

Her  father  understood  what  it  was  that  robbed  her  cheeks  of  their  bloom ; 
and  although  he  saw  it  with  much  distress,  yet  he  fortified  himself  with  what  he 
considered  were  some  substantial  reasons  for  future  hopefulness. 

It  had  become  part  of  his  philosophy — it  generally  is  a  part  of  the  philo- 
sophy of  the  old  —  to  consider  that  those  sensations  of  the  mind  that  arise 
from  disappointed  affection  are  of  the  most  evanescent  character ;  and  that, 
although  for  a  time  they  exhibit  themselves  with  violence,  they,  like  grief 
for  the  dead*  soon  pass  away,  scarcely  leaving  a  trace  behind  of  their  former 
existence. 

And  perhaps  he  was  right  as  regards  the  greater  number  of  those  passions  ;  but 

he  was  certainly  wrong  when  he  applied  that  sort  of  worldly-wise  knowledge 

I  to  his  daughter  Johanna.    She  was  one  of  those  rare  beings  whose  hearts  are 

|  not  won  by  every  gaudy  flutterer  who  may  buz  the  accents  of  admiration  in  their 

|  ears.    No ;  she  was  qualified,  eminently  qualified,  to  love  once,  but  only  once ; 

I  and,  like  the  passion-flower,  that  blooms  into  abundant  beauty  onse,  and  never 

afterwards  puts  forth  a  blossom,  she  allowed  her  heart  to  expand  to  the  soft 

influence  of  affection,  which,  when  crushed  by  adversity,  was  gone  for  ever. 

"Really,  Johanna,"  said  Mrs,  Oakley,  in  the  true  conventicle  twang,  "you  look 

so  pale  and  ill  that  J  must  positively  speak  to  Mr.  Lupin  about  you.5' 

"  Mr.  Lupin,  my  dear,"  said  the  spectacle-maker,  u  may  be  all  very  well  in  his 

way,  as  a  parson;  but  I  don't  see  what  lie  can  have  to  do  with  Johdhna  looking 
pale."  ° 

«  mi  pious  man'  Mr'  Oakley,  has  to  do  with  everything  and  everybody." 

"  Then  he  must  be  the  moat  intolerable  bore  in  existence ;  and  I  don't  wonder 
at  his  being  kicked  out  of  some  people's  houses,  as  1  have  heard  Mr.  Lupin  has 
been, 

"  And  if  he  has,  Mr.  Oakley,  I  can  tell  you  he  glories  in  it.  Mr.  Lupin  likes  to 
sutler  for  the  faith ;  and  if  he  were  to  be  made  a  martyr  of  to-morrow,  1  am  quite 
certain  it  would  give  him  a  deal  of  pleasure." 

"My  dear,  1  am  quite  sure  it  would  not  give  him  half  the  pleasure  it  would 


"I 


understand  your  insinuation,  Mr.  Oakley :  you  would  like  to  have  him 
murdered  on  account  of  his  holiness;  but,  though  you  can  say  these  kind  of 
I  lhl^s  at  your  own  breakfast-table,  you  won't  say  as  much  to  him  when  he  comes 
j  to  tea  this  afternoon.'' 

■  "To  tea,  Mrs.  Oakley  !  haven't  I  told  you  over  and  over  again,  that  I  will  not 
have  that  man  m  my  house  ?" 

"  And  haven't  I  told  you,  Mr.  Oakley,  twice  that  number  of  times  that  he  shall 
come  to  tea  ?  and  I  have  asked  him  now,  and  it  can't  be  altered." 
J3ut,  Mrs.  Oakley  " 

"It's  of  no  use,  Mr.  Oakley,  your  talking.  Mr.  Lupin  is  coming  to  tea,  and 
come  he  shall;  and  if  you  don't  like  it,  you^an  go  out.  There  now,  I  am  sure 
you  can  t  complam,  now  you  have  actually  the  liberty  of  going  out;  but  you  are 

pleastjoi?'1"1  °aldey' 1  kn°W  that  Wdl  en0U^  an(*  nothing  will 

SSSdM      of  ***  mt  °f  «* «™  *«*  *  w  — 

^^"f  k1?J  sfid  Mrs- J^ley,  "I  think  my  old  complaint  is  comin* 

on  of  the  beating  of  the  heart,  and  the  hysterics.    I  know  what  produces  it-it's 

f  w  If  T  S  7  f  itj ;  ^  JUSt  b/CaUse  Dr"  Funaassaid  over  and  over  again  that 
I  was  to  be  perfectly  quiet  your  father  seizes  upon  the  opportunity  like  a\v  fd 
beast,  or  a  raving  maniac,  to  try  and  make  me  ill."  J 


mm 


J 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  S3 


Mr.  Oakley  jumped  up,  stamped  his  feet  "upon  the  floor  and  uttering  something 
about  the  probability  of  his  becoming  a  maniac  in  a  very  short  time,  rushed  into 
his  shop,  and  set  to  polishing  the  spectacles  as  if  he  were  doing  it  for  a  wager. 

This  little  affair  between  her  faiuer  and  mother,  certainly  had  had  the  effect,  for 
a  time,  of  diverting  attention  from  Johanna,  and  she  was  able  to  assume  a  cheer- 
fulness she  did  not  feel ;  but  she  had  something  of  her  father's  spirit  in  her  as 
regarded  Mr.  Lupin,  and  most  decidedly  objected  to  sitting  down  to  any  meal 
whatever  with  that  individual,  so  that  Mrs,  Oakley  was  left  in  a  minority  of  one 
upon  the  occasion,  which  perhaps,  as  she  fully  expected  it,  was  no  great  matter 
after  a}l. 

Johanna  went  up  stairs  to  her  own  room,  which  commanded  a  view  of  the  street. 
It  was  an  old-fashioned  house,  with  a  balcony  in  front,  and  as  she  looked  listlessly 
out  into  Eore -street,  which  was  far  then  irom^  being  the  thoroughfare  it  is  now, 
she  saw  standing  in  a  doorway  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  way  a  stranger,  who  was 
looking  intently  at  the  house,  and  who,  when  he  caught  her  ey  e,  walked  instantly 
across  to  it,  and  cast  something  into  the  balcony  of  the  first  floor.  Ihen  he 
touched  his  cap,  and  walked  rapidly  from  the  street. 

The  thought  immediately  occurred  to  Johanna  that  this  might  possibly  be  some 
messenger  from  him  concerning  whose  existence  and  welfare  she  was  so  deeply 
anxious.  It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  with  the  name  of  Mark 
Ingestrie  upon  her  lips  she  should  rush  down  to  the  balcony  in  intense  anxiety  to 
hear,  and  see  if  such  was  really  the  case. 

When  she  reached  the  balcony  she  found  lying  in  it  a  scrap  of  paper,  in  which  a 
stone  was  wrapped  up,  in  order  to  give  it  weight,  so  that  it  might  be  cast  with  a 
certainty  into  the  balcony.  With  trembling  eagerness  she  opened  the  paper,  and 
read  upon  it  the  following  words  - 

"  For  news  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  come  to  the  Temple-gardens  one  hour  before 
sunset,  and  do  not  fear  addressing  a  man  who  will  be  holding  a  white  rose  in  his 

hand.5'  , 

"  He  lives !  he  lives !"  she  cried.  n  He  lives,  and  joy  again  becomes  the  inhabitant 
of  my  bosom  !  Oh,  it  is  daylight  now  and  sunshine  compared  to  the  black  mid- 
night of  despair.   Mark  Ingestrie  lives,  and  1  shall  be  happy  yet." 

She  placed  the  little  scrap  of  paper  carefully  in  her  bosom,  and  then,  with  clasped 
hands  and  a  delighted  expression  of  countenance,  she  repeated  the  brief  and 
expressive  words  it  contained,  adding, — 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  will  be  there  ;  the  white  rose  is  an  emblem  of  his  purity  and  affec- 
tion, his  spotless  love,  and  that  is  why  his  messenger  carries  it.  I  will  be  theie. 
One  hour  ay,  two  hours  before  sunset,  I  will  be  theite.  Joy,  joy !  he  lives,  he  lives ! 
Mark  Ingestrie  lives !  Perchance,  too,  successful  in  his  object,  he  returns  to  tell 
me  that  he  can  make  me  his,  and  that  no  obstacle  can  now  interfere  to  frustrate  our 
union.   Time,  time,  float  onwards  on  your  fleetest  pinions  !" 

She  went  to  her  own  apartment,  but  it  was  not,  as  she  had  last  gone  to  it,  #  to 
weep  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  to  smile  at  her  former  fears,  and  to  admit  the  philo- 
sophy'of  the  assertion  that  we  suffer  much  more  from  a  dread  of  those  things  that 
never  happen  than  we  do  for  actual  calamities  which  occur  in  their  full  force  to 
us. 

"  Oh,  that  this  messenger,"  she  said,  "  had  come  but  yesterday  !  What  hours 
of  anguish  I  should  have  been  spared!  But  I  will  not  complain;  it  shall  not  be 
said  that  I  repine  at  present  joy  because  it  did  not  come  before.  I  will  be  happy 
when  I  can ;  and,  in  the  consciousness  that  I  shall  soon  hear  blissful  tidings  of  Mark 
Ingestrie,  I  will  banish  every  fear." 

The  impatience  which  she  now  felt  brought  its  pains  and  its  penalties  with  it, 
and  yet  it  was  quite  a  different  description  of  feeling  to  any  she  _  had  formerly  en- 
dured, and  certainly  far  more  desirable  than  the  absolute  anguish  that  had  taken 
possession  of  her  upon  hearing  nothing  of  Mark  Ingestrie. 

It  was  strange,  very  strange,  that  the  thought  never  crossed  her  that  the  tidings 
she  had  to  hear  in  the  Temple  Gardens  from  the  stranger  might  be  evil  ones,  but 
certainly  such  a  thought  did  not  occur  to  her,  and  she  looked  forward  with  joy 


24  THE  STRING  OF  IEARLS. 


and  satisfaction  to  a  meeting  which  she  certainly  had  no  evidence  to  know,  might  not 
be  of  the  most  disastrous  character.  t  ! 

She  asked  herself  over  and  over  again  if  she  should  tell  her  lather  what  Had 
occurred,  but  as  often  as  she  thought  of  doing  so  she  shrank  from  carrying  out  the 
mental  suggestion,  and  all  the  natural  disposition  again  to  keep  to  herself  the  j 
secret  of  her  happiness  returned  to  her  in  full  force. 

But  yet  she  was  not  so  unjust  as  not  to  feel  that  it  was  treating  her  father  but 
slightingly  to  throw  all  her  sorrows  into  his  lap,  as  it  were,  and  then  to  keep  from 
him  everything  of  joy  appertaining  to  the  same  circumstances. 

This  was  a  thing  that  she  was  not  likely  to  continue  doing,  and  so  she  made  up  ( 
her  mind  to  relieve  her  conscience  from  the  pang  it  would  otherwise  have  had,  by 
determining  to  tell  him,  after  the  interview  in  the  Temple  Gardens,  what  was  its 
result ;  but  she  could  not  make  up  her  mind  to  do  so  beforehand ;  it  was  so  pleasant 
and  so  delicious  to  keep  the  secret  all  to  herself,  and  to  feel  that  she  alone  knew 
that  her  lover  had  so  closely  kept  faith  with  her  as  to  be  only  one  day  behind  his 
time  in  sending  to  her,  and  that  day,  perhaps,  far  from  beiug  his  fault. 

And  so  she  reasoned  to  herself  and  tried  to  wile  away  the  anxious  hours,  some- 
times succeeding  in  forgetting  how  long  it  was  still  to  sunset,  and  at  others  feeling 
as  if  each  minute  was  perversely  swelling  itself  out  into  ten  times  its  usual  propor- 
tion of  time  in  order  to  become  wearisome  to  her. 

She  had  said  that  she  would  be  at  the  Temple  Gardens  two  hours  before  sunset 
instead  of  one,  aud  she  kept  her  word,  for,  looking  happier  than  she  had  done 
for  weeks,  she  tripped  down  the  stairs  of  her  father's  house,  and  was  about  to 
leave  it  by  the  private  staircase,  when  a  strange  gaunt-looking  figure  attracted 
her  attention. 

This  was  no  other  than  the  lie  v.  Mr.  Lupin :  he  was  a  long  strange -looking  man, 
and  upon  this  occasion  he  came  upon  what  he  called  horseback,  that  is  to  say,  he 
was  mounted  upon  a  very  small  pony,  which  seemed  quite  unequal  to  support  his 
weight,  and  was  so  short  that,  if  the  reverend  gentleman  had  not  poked  his  legs 
out  at  an  angle,  they  must  inevitably  have  touched  the  ground. 

H  Praise  the  Lord  !"  he  said :  "  1  have  intercepted  the  evil  one.  Maiden,  I  have 
come  here  at  thy  mother's  bidding,  and  thou  shalt  remain  and  partake  of  the 
mixture  called  tea." 

Johanna  scarcely  condescended  to  glance  at  him,  but  drawing  her  mantle  close 
around  her,  which  he  actually  had  the  impertinence  to  endeavour  to  lay  hold  of, 
she  walked  on,  so  that  the  reverend  gentleman  was  left  to  make  the  best  he  could 
of  the  matter. 

"  Stop/'  he  cried,  "  stop  I  can  well  peroeive  that  the  devil  has  a  strong  hold 
of  you  :  I  can  well  perceive — the  lord  have  mercy  upon  me  !  this  animal  hath 
some  design  against  me  as  sure  as  fate" 

This  last  ejaculation  arose  from  the  fact  |that  the  pony  had  flung  up  his  heels 
behind  in  a  most  mysterious  manner, 

u  I  am  afraid,  sir,"  said  a  lad  who  was  no  more  than  our  old  acquaintance.,  Sam 
— "  1  am  afraid,  sir,  that  there  is  something  the  matter  with  the  pony."  ;|| 

Up  went  the  pony's  heels  again  in  the  same  unaccountable  manner, 

"  God  bless  me  !"  said  the  reverend  gentleman  ;  "  he  never  did  such  a  thing 
before.  I — there  he  goes  again — murder  !  Young  man>  I  pray  you  to  help  me  to 
get  down  ;  I  think  I  know  you  ;  you  are  the  nephew  of  the  goodly  Mrs.  Pump 
— truly  this  animal  wishes  to  be  the  death  of  me." 

At  this  moment  the  pony  gave  such  a  vigorous  kick  up  behind,  that  Mr.  Lupin 
was  fairly  pitched  upon  his  head,  and  made  a  complete  summerset,  alighting  with 
his  heels  in  the  spectacle-maker's  passage;  and  it  unfortunately  happened  that 
Mrs.  Oakley  at  that  moment,  hearing  the  altercation,  came  rushing  out,  and  the 
first  thing  she  did  \yas  to  fall  sprawling  over  Mr.  Lupin's  feet. 

Sam  now  felt  it  time  to  go  ;  and  as  we  dislike  useless  mysteries,  we  may  as 
well  explain  that  these  extraordinary  circumstances  arose  from  the  fact  that  Sam 
had  brought  from  the  haberdasher's  opposite  a  halfpenny-worth  of  pins,  and  had 
amused  himself  by  making  a  pincushion  of  the  hind  quarters  of  the  Reverend  M* 


lid  hate 

IliT: ! 

offer 


3^  7t 


if 


MS 

J*! 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


25 


i  i 


;  I 


! 


Lupin's  pony,  which,  not  being  accustomed  to  that  sort  of  thing,  had  kicked  out 
vigorously  in  opposition  to  the  same,  and  produced  the  results  we  have 
recorded. 

Johanna  Oakley  was  some  distance  upon  her  ioad  before  the  reverend  gentleman 
was  pitched  into  her  father's  house  in  the  manner  we  have  described,  so  that  she 
knew  nothing  of  it,  nor  would  she  have  cared  if  she  had,  for  her  mind  was  wholly 
bent  upon  the  expedition  she  was  proceeding  on. 

As  she  walked  upon  that  side  ot  the  way  of  Fleet-street  where  Sweeney  Todd's 

house  and  shop  were  situated,  a  feeling  of  curiosity  prompted  her  to  stop  for 

a  moment  and  look  at  the  melancholy-looking  dog  that  stood  watching  a  hat  at  his 
door. 

The  appearance  of  grief  upon  the  creature's  face  could  not  be  mistaken,  and, 
as  she  gazed,  she  saw  the  shop- door  gently  opened  and  a  piece  of  meat  thrown 
out. 

H  These  are  kind  people,"  she  said,  "  be  they  whom  they  may but  when  she 
saw  the  dog  turn  away  with  loathing,  and  herself  observed  that  there  was  a  white 
powder  upon  it,  the  idea  that  it  was  poisoned,  and  only  intended  for  the  poor 
creature's  destruction,  came  instantly  across  her  mind. 

And  when  she  saw  the  horrible-looking  face  of  Sweeney  Todd  glaring  at  her 
from  the  partially-opened  door,  she  could  not  doubt  any  further  the  fact,  for  that 
face  was  quite  enough  to  give  a  warrant  for  any  amount  of  viliany  whatever. 

She  passed  on  with  a  shudder,  little  suspecting,  however,  that  that  dog  had 
anything  to  do  with  her  fate,  or  the  circumstances  which  made  up  the  sum  of  her 
destiny. 

It  wanted  a  full  hour  to  the  appointed  time  of  meeting  when  she  reached  the 
Temple-gardens,  and  partly  blaming  herself  that  she  was  so  soon,  while  at  the 
same  time  she  would  not  for  worlds  have  been  away,  she  sat  down  on  one  of  the 
garden-seats  to  think  over  the  past,  and  to  recall  to  her  memory  with  all  the  vivid 
freshness  of  young  Love's  devotion,  the  many  gentle  words  which  from  time  to 
time  had  been  spoken  to  her  two  summers  since  by  him  whose  faith  she  had 
never  doubted,  and  whose  image  was  enshrined  at  the  bottom  of  her  heart. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  CONFERENCE,  AND  THE  PEARtfUL  NARRATION  IN  THE  GARDEN. 

The  Temple  clock  struck  the  hour  of  meeting,  and  Johanna  looked  anxiously 
around  her  for  anyone  who  should  seem  to  her  to  bear  the  appearance  of  being 
such  a  person  as  she  might  suppose  Mark  Ingestrie  would  choose  for  his 

messenger.  .  , 

She  turned  her  eyes  towards  the  gate,  fcr  she  thought  she  heard  it  close,  and 
then  she  saw  a  gentlemanly-looking  man,  attired  in  a  cloak,  and  who  was  looking 
around  him,  apparently  in  search  of  some  one. 

When  his  eye  fell  upon  her  he  immediately  produced  from  beneath  his  cloak  a 
white  rose,  and  in  another  minute  they  met. 

«  I  have  the  honour,"  he  said,  "  of  sprakmg  to  Miss  Johanna  Oakley  1 

"  Yes,  sir ;  and  you  are  Mark  Ingestrie's  messenger  ?" 

"I  am;  that  is  to  sav,  I  am  he  who  comes  to  bring  you  news  of  Mark  Ingestrie, 
although  I  grieve  to  say  I  am  not  the  messenger  that  was  expressly  deputed  by 

him  so  to  do.'1  .  .„  , ,  J«J« 

"  Oh  !  sir,  your  looks  are  sad  and  serious  ;  you  seem  as  if  you  would  announce 

that  some  misfortune  had  occurred.   Tell  me  that  it  is  not  so  ;  speak  to  me  afc 

onoe,  or  my  heart  will  break  !" 

♦<  Compose  yourself,  lady,  I  pray  you." 


26  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  I  cannot— dare  not  do  so,  unless  you  tell  me  he  lives.  Tell  me  that  Mark 
Ingestrie  lives,  and  then  I  shall  be  all  patience  :  tell  me  that,  and  you  shall 
not  hear  a  murmur  from  me.  Speak  the  word  at  once— at  once  !  It  is  cruel, 
believe  me,  it  is  cruel  to  keep  me  in  this  suspense/' 

"  This  is  one  of  the  saddest  errands  I  ever  came  upon,"  said  the  stranger,  as 
he  led  Johanna  to  a  seat.  "  Recollect,  lady,  what  creatures  of  accident  and  chance 
we  are— recollect  how  the  slightest  circumstances  will  affect  us,  in  driving  us  to 
the  confines  of  despair,  and  remember  by  how  frail  a  tenure  the  best  of  us  hold 
existence." 

"  No  more— no  more !"  shrieked  Johanna,  as  she  clasped  her  hands—"  I  know 
all  now,  and  am  desolate." 
She  let  her  face  drop  upon  her  handstand  shook  as  with  a  convulsion  of  grief. 
"Mark,  Mark  !"  she  cried,  "you  have  gone  from  me  !  I  thought  not  this— I 
thought  not  this.  Oh,  Heaven !  why  have  I  lived  so  long  as  to  have  the  capacity 
to  listen  to  such  fearful  tidings  ?  Lost-— los Wall  lost !  God  of  Heaven  !  what  a 
wilderness  the  world  is  now  to  me !" 

"Let  me  pray  you,  lady,  to  subdue  this  passion  of  grief,  and  listen  truly  to  what 
I  shall  unfold  to  you.  There  is  much  to  hear  and  much  to  speculate  upon ;  and  if, 
from  all  that  I  have  learnt,  I  cannot,  dare  not  tell  you  that  Mark  Ingestrie  lives,  I 
likewise  shrink  from  telling  you  he  is  no  more." 

?f  Speak  again— say  those  words  again !  There  is  a  hope,  then-— oh,  there  is  a 
hope  I 

"  There  is  a  hope ;  and  better  is  it  that  your  mind  should  receive  the  first  shock 
of  the  probability  of  the  death  of  him  whom  you  have  so  anxiously  expected,  and 
then  afterwards,  from  what  I  shall  relate  to  you,  gather  hope  that  it  may  not  be  so, 
than  that  from  the  first  you  should  expect  too  much,  and  then  have  those  expec- 
tations rudely  destroyed." 

"  It  is  so— it  is  so ;  this  is  kind  of  you,  and  if  I  cannot  thank  you  as  I  ought, 
you  will  know  that  it  is  because  I  am  in  a  state  of  too  great  affliction  so  to  do,  and 
not  from  want  of  will ;  you  will  understand  that— -I  am  sure  you  will  understand 
that." 

"  Make  no  excuses  to  me.  Believe  me,  I  can  fully  appreciate  all  that  you  would 
say,  and  all  that  you  must  feel.  I  ought  to  tell  you  who  I  am,  that  you  may  have 
confidence  in  what  I  have  to  relate  to  you.  My  name  is  Jeffery,  and  I  am  a  colonel 
in  the  Indian  army." 

"I  am  much  beholden  to  you,  sir;  but  you  bring  with  vou  a  passport  to  my 
confidence,  in  the  name  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  which  is  at  once  sufficient.  I  live  again 
in  the  hope  that  you  have  given  me  of  his  continued  existence,  and  in  that  hope  I 
will  maintain  a  cheerful  resignation  that  shall  enable  me  to  bear  up  against  all  you 
have  to  tell  me,  be  it  what  it  may,  and  with  a  feeling  that  through  much  suffering 
there  may  come  joy  at  last.  You  shall  find  me  very  patient,  ay,  extremely  patient 
—so  patient  that  you  shall  scarcely  see  the  havoc  that  grief  has  already  made 
here." 

She  pressed  her  hands  upon  her  breast  as  she  spoke,  and  looked  in  his  face  with 
such  an  expression  of  tearful  melancholy  that  it  was  quite  heartrending  to  witness 
it ;  and  he,  although  not  used  to  the  melting  mood,  was  compelled  to  'pause  for  a 
few  moments  ere  he  could  proceed  in  the  task  he  had  set  himself. 

"  I  will  be  as  brief,"  he  said,  "  as  .possible,  consistent  with  stating  all  that  is 
requisite  for  me  to  state,  and  I  must  commence  by  asking  you  if  you  are  aware  un- 
der what  circumstances  it  was  that  Mark  Ingestrie  was  abroad  ?" 
|  "  I  am  aware  of  so  much,  that  a  quarrel  with  his  uncle,  Mr.  Grant,  was  the  great 
cause,  and  that  his  main  endeavour  was  to  better  his  fortunes,  so  that  we  might  be 
happy,  and  independent  of  those  who  looked  not  with  an  eye  of  favour  upon  our 
projected  union." 

?  les,  but,  what  I  meant  was,  were  you  aware  of  the  sort  of  adventure  he 
embarked  in  to  the  Indian  seas  ?" 

"  No,  I  know  nothing  further ;  we  met  here  on  this  spot,  we  parted  at  yonder 
gate,  and  we  have  never  met  again." 


•wo,  m,i 

Kupec- 

fitful 


it  to 


1^  n/i* 


cur 


"  Then  I  have  something  to  tell  you,  in  order  to  make  the  narrative  clear  and 
explicit/* 

They  both  sat  upon  the  garden  seat ;  and  while  Johanna  fixed  her  eyes  upon  her 
companion's  face,  expressive  as  it  was  of  the  most  generous  emotions  and 
noble  feelings,  he  commenced  relating  to  her  the  incidents  which  never  left  her 
memory,  and  in  which  she  took  so  deep  an  interest. 

"  You  must  know/3  he  said,  "  that  what  it  was  which  so  much  inflamed  the 
imagination  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  consisted  in  this.  There  came  to  London  a  man 
with  a  well-authenticated  and  extremely  well  put  together  report,  that  there  had 
been  discovered,  in  one  of  the  small  islands  near  the  Indian  seas,  a  river  which 
deposited  an  enormous  quantity  of  gold-dust  in  its  progress  to  the  ocean.  He  told 
his  story  so  well,  and  seemed  to  be  such  a  perfect  master  of  all  the  circumstances 
connected  with  it,  that  there  was  scarcely  room  for  a  doubt  upon  the  subject. 
The  thing  was  kept  quiet  and  secret;  and  a  meeting  was  held  of  some 
influential  men—influential  on  account  of  the  money^  they  possessed,  among  whom 
was  one  who  had  towards  Mark  Ingestrie  most  friendly  feelings ;  so  Mark  at- 
tended the  meeting  with  this  friend  of  his,  although  he  felt  his  utter  incapacity, 
from  want  of  resources,  to  take  any  part  in  the  affair,  But  he  was  not  aware  of 
what  his  friend's  generous  intentions  were  in  the  matter  until  they  were  explained 
to  him,  and  they  consisted  in  this  :  —  He,  the  friend,  was  to  provide  the 
necessary  means  for  embarking  in  the  adventure,  so  far  as  regarded  taking  a 
share  in  it,  and  he  told  Mark  Ingestrie  that,  if  he  would  go  personally  on  the 
expedition,  he  should  share  in  the  proceeds  with  him,  be  they  what  they  might. 
Now,  to  a  young  man  like  Ingestrie,  totally  destitute  of  personal  resources,  but  of 
ardent  and  enthusiastic  temperament,  you  can  imagine  how  extremely  tempting 
such  an  offer  was  likely  to  be.  He  embraced  it  at  once  with  the  greatest  pleasure, 
and  from  that  moment  he  took  an  interest  in  the  affair  of  the  closest  and  most 
powerful  description.  It  seized  completely  hold  of  his  imagination,  presenting 
itself  to  him  in  the  most  tempting  colours  ;  and  from  the  description  that  has  been 
given  me  of  his  enthusiastic  disposition,  I  can  well  imagine  with  what  kindness  and 
impetuosity  he  would  enter  into  such  an  affair.3* 

You  know  liim  well  ?"  said  Johanna,  gently.  t  t 

No,  I  never  saw  him.  All  that  I  say  concerning  him  is  from  the  description 
of  another  who  did  know  him  well,  and  who  sailed  with  him  in  the  vessel  that 
ultimately  left  the  port  of  London  on  the  vague  and  wild  adventure  I  have 
mentioned/3 

"  That  one,  be  he  who  he  may,  must  have  known  Mark  Ingestrie  well,  and  have 
enjoyed  much  of  his  confidence  to  be  able  to  describe  him  so  accurately/3 

' '  I  believe  that  such  was  the  case ;  and  it  is  from  the  lips  of  that  one,  instead 
of  from  mine,  that  you  ought  to  have  heard  what  I  am  now  relating.  That  gentle- 
man, whose  name  was  Thornhill,  ought  to  have  made  to  you  this  communication ; 
but  by  some  strange  accident  it  seems  he  has  been  prevented,  or  you  would  not  be 
here  listening  io  me  upon  a  subject  which  would  have  come  better  from 
his  lips/3 

"  And  was  he  to  have  come  yesterday  to  me  ?" 

"  He  was/3  , 

"  Then  Mark  Ingestrie  kept  his  word  ;  and  but  for  the  adverse  circumstances 
which  delayed  his  messenger,  I  should  yesterday  have  heard  what  you  are  now 
relating  to  me.    I  pray  you  go  on,  sir,  and  pardon  this  interruption/3 

"  I  need  not  trouble  you  with  all  the  negotiations,  the  trouble,  and  the 
difficulty  that  arose  before'the  expedition  could  be  started  fairly— suffice  it  to  say, 
that  at  length,  after  much  annoyance  and  trouble,  it  was  started,  and  a  vessel  was 
duly  chartered  and  manned  for  the  purpose  of  proceeding  to  the  Indian  seas  m 
search  of  the  treasure,  which  was  reported  to  be  there  for  the  first  adventurer  who 
had  the  boldness  to  seek  it/3  , 

"It  was  a  gallant  vessel.  I  saw  it  many  a  mile  from  England  ere  it  sunk 
beneath  the  waves,  never  to  rise  again/* 

"Sunk!" 


— f".v>-*" 


28  THE  STRING  OF  JPEAELS.  ^  

"•'"Yes;  it  was  an  ill-fated  ship,  and  it  did  sink ;  but  I  must  not  anticipated— lej 
me  proceed  in  my  narrative  with  regularity.   The  ship  was  called  the  Star;  and  it 
those  who  went  with  ic  looked  upon  it  as  the  star  of  their  destiny,  they  were ; 
correct  enough,  and  it  might  be  considered  an  evil  star  for  them,  inasmuch  as 
nothing  but  disappointment  and  bitterness  became  their  ultimate  portion.  And 
Mark  Ingestrie,  1  am  told,  was  the  most  honeful  man  on  board.    Already  in 
imagination  he  could  fancy  himself  homeward-bound  with  the  vessel,  ballasted  and 
crammed  with  the  rich  produce  of  that  shining  river.    Already  he  fancied  what 
he  could  do  with  his  abundant  wealth,  and  I  have  not  a  doubt  but  that,  in  common 
with  many  who  went  on  that  adventure,  he  enjoyed  to  the  full  the  spending  of  the 
!  wealth  he  should  obtain  in  imagination—perhaps,  indeed,  more  than  if  he  had 
obtained  it  in  reality.   Among  the  adventurers  was  one  Thornhill,  who  had  been 
a  lieutenant  in  the  itoyal  Navy,  and  between  him  and  young  Ingestrie  there  arose 
a  remarkable  friendship— a  friendship  so  strong  and  powerful,  that  there  can  be  no 
1 1  doubt  that  they  communicated  to  each  other  all  their  hopes  and  fears;  and 
'  if  anything  could  materially  tend  to  beguile  the  tedium  of  such  a  weary  voyage 
as  those  adventurers  had  undertaken,  it  certainly  would  be  the^  free  communica- 
tion and  confidential  intercourse  between  two  such  kindred  spirits  as  Thornhill 
and  Mark  Ingestrie.   You  will  bear  in  mind,  Miss  Oakley,  that  in  making  this 
communication  to  you,  I  am  putting  together  what  I  myself  heard  at  different 
times,  so  as  to  make  it  for  you  a  distinct  narrative,  which  you  can  have  no 
difficulty  in  comprehending,  because,  as  I  before  stated,  I  never  saw  Mark  Ingestrie, 
and  it  was  only  once,  for  about  five  minutes,  that  I  saw  the  vessel  in  which  he 
went  upon  his  perilous  adventure— for  perilous  it  turned  out  to  be— to  the  Indian  ! 
seas.    It  was  from  Thornhill  I  got  my  information  during  the  many  weary  and 
monotonous  hours  consumed  in  a  home-bound  voyage  from  India.    It  appears 
that  without  accident  or  cross  of  any  description  the  Star  reached  the  Indian 
ocean,  and  the  supposed  immediate  locality  of  the  spot  where  the  treasure  was  to 
be  found,  and  there  she  was  spoken  with  by  a  vessel  homeward-bound  from  India, 
called  the  Neptune   It  was  evening,  and  the  sun  had  sunk  in  the  horizon  with 
some  appearances  that  betokened  a  storm.    I  was  on  board  that  Indian  vessel ; 
we  did  not  expect  anything  serious,  although  we  made  every  preparation  for  rough 
j  weather,  and  as  it  turned  out,  it  was  well  indeed  we  did,  for  never  within  the 
I  memory  of  the  oldest  seamen,  had  such  a  storm  ravished  the  coast,    A  furious 
■  gale,  which  it  was  impossible  to  withstand,  drove  us  southward ;  and  but  for  the 
utmost  precautions,  aided  by  courage  and  temerity  on  the  part  of  the  seamen, 
such  as  I  had  never  before  witnessed  in  the  merchant-service,  we  escaped  with 
:  J  trifling  damage,  but  we  were  driven  at  least  200  miles  out  of  our  course ; 

and  instead  of  getting^  as  we  ought  to  have  done,  to  the  Cape  by  a  certain  time, 
j  we  were  an  immense  distance  eastward  of  it.  It  was  just  as  the  storm,  which 
lasted  three  nights  and  two  days,  began  to  abate,  that  towards  the  horizon  we  saw 
a  dull  red  light ;  and  as  it  was  not  in  a  quarter  of  the  sky  where  any  such  ap- 
pearance might  be  imagined,  nor  were  we  in  a  latitude  where  electro-phenomena 
might  be  expected,  we  steered  toward  it,  surmising  what  turned  out  afterwards 
to  be  fully  correct.' 99 
"  It  was  a  ship  on  fire  \n  said  J ohanna. 

« It  was."  | 
"Alas !  alas !  I  guessed  it.   A  frightful  suspicion  from  the  first  crossed  my  mind. 

It  was  a  ship  on  fire,  and  that  ship  was  V 

The  Star  was  bound  uf  on  its  adventurous  course,  although  driven  far  out  of  it 
by  adverse  winds  and  waves.  After  about  half  an  hour's  sailing  we  came  within 
sight  distinctly  of  a  blazing  vessel.  We  could  hear  the  roar  of  the  flames,  and 
through  our  glasses  we  could  see  them  curling  up  the  cordage,  and  dancing  from 
mast  to  mast,  like  fiery  serpents,  exulting  in  the  destruction  they  were  making. 
We  made  all  sail,  and  strained  every  inch  of  canvas  to  reach  the  ill-fated  vessel, 
for  distances  at  sea  that  look  small  are  in  reality  very  great,  and  an  hoar's  hard 
saililg  in  a  fair  wind,  with  every  stitch  of  canvas  set,  would  not  do  more  than 
enable  us  to  reach  that  ill-fated  bark ;  but  fancy  in  an  hour  what  ravages  the 


THE  STRING  OFPEABLS.  29 


flames  might  make  !  The  vessel  was  doomed.  The  fiat  had  gone  forth  that  it 
was  to  be  among  the  things  that  had  been ;  and  long  before  we  could  reach  the 
spot  upon  which  it  floated  idly  on  the  now  comparatively  calm  waters,  we  saw  a 
bright  shower  of  sparks  rush  up  into  the  air.  Then  came  a  loud  roaring  sound 
over  the  surface  of  the  deep,  and  all  was  still — the  ship  had  disappeared,  and  the 
water  closed  over  it  for  ever/  " 

"  But  how  knew  you,"  said  Johanna,  as  she  clasped  her  hands,  and  the  pallid 
expression  of  her  countenance  betrayed  the  deep  interest  she  took  in  the  narration, 
"how  knew  you  that  the  ship  was  the  Star  ?  might  it  not  have  been  some  othe 
ill-fated  vessel  that  met  with  so  dreadful  a  fate  ?" 

"  I  will  tell  you :  although  we  had  seen  the  ship  go  down,  we  kept  on  our 
course,  straining  every  effort  to  reach  the  spot,  with  the  hope  of  picking  up  some 
of  the  crew,  who  surely  had  made  an  effort  by  the  boats  to  leave  the  burning 
vessel.  The  captain  of  the  Indiaman  kept  his  glass  at  his  eye,  and  presently  he 
said  to  me, — c  There  is  a  floating  piece  of  wreck,  and  something  clinging  to  it;  I 
know  not  if  there  be  a  man,  but  what  I  can  perceive  seems  to  me  to  be  the  head  o 
a  dog.5  I  looked  through  the  glass  myself,  and  saw  the  same  object ;  but  as  we 
neared  it,  we  found  it  was  a  large  piece  of  the  wreck,  with  a  dog  and  a  man  sup- 
ported by  it,  who  were  clinging  with  all  the  energy  of  desperation,  In  ten  minutes 
more  we  had  them  on  board  the  vessel — the  man  was  the  Lieutenant  Thornhill  I 
have  before  mentioned,  and  the  dog  belonged  to  him.  He  related  to  us  that  the  ship, 
we  had  seen  burning  was  the  Star ;  and  that  it  had  never  reached  its  destination, 
and  that  he  believed  all  had  perished  but  himself  and  the  dog  ;  for,  although  one 
'  c»f  the  boats  had  been  launched,  so  desperate  a  rush  was  made  into  it  by  the  crew 
that  it  had  swamped,  and  all  perished.  Such  was  his  own  state  of  exhaustion, 
that,  after  he  had  made  this  short  statement,  it  was  some  days  before  he  left  his 
I  hammock ;  but  when  he  did,  and  began  to  mingle  with  us,  we  found  an  intelligent, 
j  cheerful  companion — such  a  one,  indeed,  as  we  were  glad  to  have  on  board,  and  in 
confidence  he  related  to  the  captain  and  myself  the  object  of  the  voyage  of  the 
Star,  and  the  previous  particulars  with  which  I  have  made  you  acquainted.  And 
then,  during  a  night-watch,  when  the  soft  and  beautiful  moonlight  was  more  than 
usually  inviting,  and  he  and  I  were  on  the  deck,  enjoying  the  coolness  of  the  night, 
after  the  intense  heat  of  the  day  in  the  tropics,  he  said  to  me, — c  I  have  a  very 
sad  mission  to  perform  when  I  get  to  London.  On  board  our  vessel  was  a  young 
man  named  Mark  Ingestrie  ;  and  some  short  time  before  the  vessel  in  which  we 
were  went  down,  he  begged  of  me  to  call  upon  a  young  lady  named  Johanna  Oakley, 
the  daughter  of  a  spectacle-maker  in  London,  providing  I  should  he  saved  and  he 
perish ;  and  of  the  latter  event,  he  felt  so  strong  a  presentiment  that  he  gave  me 
a  string  of  pearls,  which  I  was  to  present  to  her  in  his  name ;  but  where  he  got 
them  I  have  not  the  least  idea,  for  they  are  of  immense  value.'  Mr.  Thornhill 
showed  me  the  pearls,  which  were  of  different  sizes,  roughly  strung  together,  but 
of  great  value ;  and  when  we  reached  the  river  Thames,  which  was  only  three 
days  since,  he  left  us  with  his  dog,  carrying  his  string  of  pearls  with  him,  to  find 
out  where  you  reside/' 
"Alas!  he  never  came." 

"No;  from  all  the  inquiries  we  can  make,  and  all  the  information  we  can  learn, 
it  seems  he  disappeared  somewhere  about  Meet-street/' 
M  Disappeared  \n 

"Yes ;  we  can  trace  him  to  the  Temple-stairs,  and  from  thence  to  the  barber' 
shop,  kept  by  a  man  named  Sweeny  Todd ;  but  beyond  there  no  information  o 
him  can  be  obtained." 
"  Sweeny  Todd  !" 

"  Yes  ;  and  what  makes  the  affair  more  extraordinary,  is,  that  neither  forceno 
persuasion  will  induce  Thornhiirs  dog  to  leave  the  place."  ^        ^  I 

"  I  saw  it— I  saw  the  creature,  and  it  looked  imploringly,  although  kindly,  in 
my  face;  but  little  did  I  think,  when  I  paused  a  moment  to  look  upon  that 
melancholy  but  faithful  animal,  that  it  held  a  part  in  my  destiny.    Oh  !  Mark 


30  THE  STRING  <W  PEARLS, 


Inffestrie,  Mark  Ingestrie,  dare  I  hope  that  you  live  when  all  else  have 
pcrisliccl  ?" 

"  I  have  told  you  all  that  I  can  tell  you,  and,  according  as  your  own  judg- 
ment may  dictate  to  you,  you  can  encourage  hope,  or  extinguish  it  for  ever, 
I  have  kept  back  nothing  from  you  which  can  make  the  affair  worse  or  better 
—I  have  added  nothing ;  but  you  have  it  simply  as  it  was  told  to  me/' 
"  He  is  lost— he  is  lost." 

"  I  am  one,  lady,  who  always  thinks  certainty  of  any  sort  preferable  to 
suspense  ;  aniatthough,  while  there  is  no  positive  news  of  death,  the  eontmuance 
of  life  ought  fairly  to  be  assumed,  yet  you  must  perceive,  from  a  review  of 
all  the  circumstances,  upon  how  very  slender  a  foundation  all  our  hopes 
must  rest " 

"  I  have  no  hope— I  have  no  hope— he  is  lost  to  me  for  ever  !  It  were 
madness  tol  think  he  lived.  Oh,  Mark,  Mark  !  and  is  this  the  end  of  all  our  fond 
affection  ?  did  I  indeed  look  my  last  upon  that  face,  when  on  this  spot  we 
parted  ?" 

*  The  uncertainty,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  wishing  to  withdraw  as  much  as 
possible  from  a  consideration  of  her  own  sorrows,  "the  uncertainty,  too,  that 
prevails  with  regard  to  the  fate  of  poor  Mr.  Thornhill,  is  a  sad  thing.  I  much  j 
fear  that  those  precious  jjearls  he  had,  have  been  seen  by  some  one  who  has  not  j 
scrupled  to  obtain  possession  of  them  by  his  death"  j 

"  Yes,  it  would  seem  so  indeed  ;  but  what  are  pearls  to  me  ?  Oh !  would  that  I 
they  had  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  that  Indian  sea,  from  whence  they  had  been 
plucked.  Alas,  alas  !  it  has  been  their  thirst  for  gain  that  has  produced  all  these 
evils.  We  might  have  been  poor  here,  but  we  should  have  been  happy.  Bich  we 
ought  to  have  been,  in  contentment ;  but  now  all  is  lost,  and  the  world  to  me  can 
present  nothing  that  is  to  be  desired,  but  one  small  spot  large  enough  to  be 
my  grave." 

She  leant  upon  the  arm  of  the  garden-seat,  and  gave  herself  up  to  such  a 
passion  of  tears  that  Colonel  Jeffery  ifelt  he  dared  not  interrupt  her.  There  is 
something  exceeding  sacred  about  real  grief  which  awes  the  beholder,  and  it 
was  with  an  involuntary  feeling  of  respect  that  Colonel  Jeffery  stepped  a  few 
paces  off,  and  waited  until  that  burst  of  agony  had  passed  away.  It  was 
during  those  brief  moments  that  he  overheard  some  words  uttered  by  one  i 
who  seemed  likewise  to  be  suffering  from  that  prolific  source  of  all  affliction, 
disappointed  affection.  Seated  at  some  short  distance  was  a  maiden,  and  one  not  j 
young  enough  to  be  called  a  youth,  but  still  not  far  enough  advanced  in  existence 
to  have  had  all  his  better  feelings  crushed  by  an  admixture  with  the  eok!  world, 
and  he  was  listening  while  the  maiden  spoke, 

"  It  is  the  neglect,"  she  said,  "  which  touched  me  to  the  heart.    But  one 
word  spoken  or  written,  one  message  of  affection,  to  tell  me  that  the  memory  of 
a  love  I  thought  would  be  eternal,  still  lingered  in  your  heart,  would  have  been  a  J 
world  of  consolation ;  but  it  came  not,  and  all  was  despair."  1 

"  Listen  to  me,"  said  her  companion,  "  and  if  ever  in  this  world  you  can  believe 
that  one ^  who  truly  loves  can  be  cruel  to  be  kind,  believe  that  I  am  that  one.  I 
yielded  for  a  time  to  the  fascination  of  a  passion  which  should  never  have  found 
a  home  within  my  heart ;  but  yet  it  was  far  more  of  a  sentiment  than  a  passion, 
inasmuch  as  never  for  one  moment  did  an  evil  thought  mingle  with  its  pure 
aspirations* 

"  It  was  a  dream  of  joy,  which  for  a  time  obliterated  a  rememberance  that  ought 
never  to  have  been  forgotten  ;  but  when  I  was  rudely  awakened  to  the  fact  that 
those  whose  opinions  were  of  importance  to  your  welfare  and  your  happiness 
knew  nothing  of  love,  but  in  its  grossest  aspect,  it  became  necessary  at  once  to 
crush  a  feeling,  which,  in  its  continuance,  could  shadow  forth  no*hing'biit  evil" 

"You  may  not  imagine,  and  you  may  never  know— for  I  cannot  tell  the  heart- 
pangs  that  it  has  cost  me  to  presevere  in  a  line  of  conduct  which  I  felt  was  due  to 
you— whatever  heart-pangs  it  might  cost  me.  I  have  been  content  to  imagine  that 
your  affection  would  turn  to  indifference,  perchance  to  hatred ;  that  a  consciousness 


a   .  ., , . , — 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  31 


of  being  slighted  would  arouse  in  jour  defence  all  a  woman's  pride,  and  that  thus 
•ou  would  be  lifted  above  regret,  farewell  for  ever  !  I  dare  not  love  you 
lonestly  and  truly  ;  and  better  is  it  thus  to  part  than  to  persevere  in  a  delusive 
dream  that  can  but  terminate  in  degradation  and  sadness." 

"  Do  you  hear  those  words  ?"  whispered  Colonel  Jeffery  to  Johanna.  "  You 
perceive  that  others  suffer,  and  from  the  same  cause,  the  perils  of  affection.' ' 

"  1  do.  I  will  go  home,  and  pray  for  strength  to  maintain  my  heart  against  this 
sad  affliction," 

"The  course  of  true  love  never  yet  ran  smooth;  wonder  not,  therefore, 
Johanna  Oakley,  that  yours  has  suffered  such  a  blight.  It  is  the  great  curse  of  the 
highest  and  noblest  feelings  of  which  humanity  is  eapable,  that  while,  under 
felicitous  circumstances,  they  produce  to  us  an  extraordinary  amount  of  happiness ; 
when  anything  adverse  occurs,  they  are  most  prolific  sources  of  misery.  Shall  I 
accompany  you  ?" 

Johanna  felt  grateful  for  the  support  of  the  colonel's  arm  towards  her  own  home, 
and  as  they  passed  the  barber's  shop  they  were  surorised  to  see  that  the  dog  and 
the  hat  were  gone.  -  - 


CHAPTERJII. 

THE  BARBER  AND  THE  lAHDARY. 

It  is  night ;  and  a  man,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  lapidaries  in  London,  but  yet 
a  man  frugal  withal,  although  rich,  is  putting  up  the  shutters  of  his  shop. 

This  lapidary  is  an  old  man ;  his  scanty  hair  is  white,  and  his  hands  shake  as  he 
secures  the  fastenings,  and  then,  over  and  over  again,  feels  and  shakes  each  shutter, 
to  be  assured  that  his  shop  is  well  secured. 

This  shop  of  his  is  in  Moorfields,  then  a  place  very  much  frequented  by 
dealers  in  bullion  and  precious  stones.  He  was  about  entering  his  door,  just 
having  cast  a  satisfied  look  upon  the  fastening  of  his  shop,  when  a  tall, 
ungainly-looking  man  stepped  up  to  him.  This  man  had  a  three-cornered  hat, 
much  too  small  for  him,  perched  upon  the  top  of  his  great  hideous-looking  head, 
while  the  coat  he  wore  had  ample  skirts  enough  to  have  made  another  of  ordinary 
dimensions. 

Our  readers  will  have  no  difficulty  in  recognising  Sweeney  Todd,  and  well  might 
the  little   old  lapidary  start  as  such  a  very  unprepossessing-looking  personage 

addressed  him. 

"  You  deal,"  he  said,  "  in  precious  stones." 

"  Yes,  1  do,"  was  the  reply ;  "  but  it's  rather  late.  Do  you  want  to  buy 
or  sell  ?" 

"  To  sell."  _  _ 

"  Humph  !   Ah,  I  dare  say  it's  something  not  in  my  line ;  the  only  order  I 

get  is  for  pearls,  and  they  are  not  in  the  market." 

"  And  I  have  nothing  but  pearls  to  sell,"  said  Sweeney  Todd  ;  "  I  mean  to 
keep  all  my  diamonds,  my  garnets,  topazes,  brilliants,  emeralds,  and  rubies.* 

"  The  deuce  you  do  !  Why,  you  don't  mean  to  say  you  have  any  of  them  r 
Be  off  with  jou' !   I  am  too  old  to  joke  with,  and  am  waiting  for  my  supper." 

"  Will  you  look  at  the  pearls  I  have  ?" 

"  Little  seed  pearls,  I  suppose  ;  they  are  of  no  value,  and  I  don't  want  them, 
we  have  plenty  of  those.  It's  real,  genuine,  large  pearls  we  want.  Pearls  worth 
thousands." 

"  Will  vou  look  at  mine  ?" 

"  No  ;  good  night  !*  _  M1 

*  Very  good  ;  then  I  will  take  them  to  Mr.  Coventry  up  the  street  tie  mlf, 
perhaps,  deal  with  me  for  them  if  you  cannot." 


MLiyw^f  i»  win*1  ■■»»'  )*h  "I*,IW"'*'    ■■t.i'-'.n.  "■faj'yw^p^.i  i,i    «yi  i .  i  »  m>  r**  'M^wp'  n  H+ii^mui  iif..^wwww^*l>^**^»**H"1  »^»Hji  Wi'i1""!"  .tHMlB.W""-  'L'-IWU'1  »■--  -  ■■v.— ■•  --  -  -  - 


33  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


~ThP  lan^arv  hesi^eo^^Stop,"  he  said;  «  what's  the  use  of  going  to  Mr. 
Coventvrp  tis  no  ti  e  means  0Pf  purchasing  what  I  can  pay  present  cash  for. 
fW S  romp  in  •  I  will  at  all  events,  look  at  what  you  have  for  sale. 

TWeSoTm"ed  SweeSe Todd  entered  the  little,  low,  dusky  shop  and  he 
lapidary  ^  poured  a  light,  and  taken  care  to  keep  his  customer  outside  the 
counter,  put  on  his  spectacles,  and  said— 

I  %  «  ^Z^MZZ^S^  he  laid  a  string  of  twenty-four  pearls  before 

.^The1 Si'an's  eyes  opened  to  an  enormous  width,  and  he  pushed  his  spectacle* 
rig li  upon  his  forehead  as  he  glared  in  the  face  of  Sweeney  Todd  with  undisguised 
astonishment.    Then  down  came  his  spectacles  again,  and  taking  up .  the  stung 
of  pearls  he  rapidly  examined  every  one  ot  them,  after  which,  he  exclaimed,— 
"  Real,  real,  by  Heaven !    All  real !"  .    * ,  ,  , 

Then  he  pushed  his  spectacles  up  again  to  the  top  ot  his  head,  and  took 

another  lone  stare  at  Sweeney  Todd.  ... 
"Iknowthey  are  real,"  said  the  latter.   «  Will  vou  deal  with  me  or  will  you 

not  ?" 

"Will  I  deal  with  you  ?  Yes;  I  am  not  quite  sure  they  are  real.  Let  me  look 
again.  Oh,  I  see,  counterfeits  ;  but  so  well  done,  that  really  tor  the  curiosity  ot 
the  thing,  I  will  give  fifty  pounds  for  them." 

« J  am  fond  of Curiosities,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  "and  as  they  are  not  real,  I 
will  keep  them  ;  they  will  do  for  a  present  to  some  child  or  another." 

"What  £?ive  those  to  a  child  ?  you  must  be  mad— that  is  to  say,  not  mad,  but 
certainly  indiscreet.  Come,  now,  at  a  word,  I'll  give  you  one  hundred  pounds  lor 
tlx  cm  " 

"Hark  ye,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  "  it  neither  suits  my  inclination  nor  my  time  to 
stand  here  chaffing  with  you,  1  know  the  value  of  the  pearls,  and,  as  a  matter  ot 
ordinary  and  every-day  business,  I  will  sell  them  to  you  so  that  you  may  get  a 
handsome  profit " 

"What  do  you  call  a  handsome  profit  ?"  .       . ,  „ 

u  The  pearls  are  worth  twelve  thousand  pounds,  and  I  will  let  you  have  them  tor 
ten.   What  do  you  think  of  that  for  an  offer  ?" 
*  What  odd  noise  was  that  ?" 

"  Oh,  it  was  only  I  who  laughed.  Come,  what  do  you  say,  at  once ;  are  we  to 
do  business  or  are  we  not  ?"  .  . 

<c  Hark  ye,my  friend;  since  you  do  know  the  value  ot  your  pearls,  and  this  is  to  be 
a  downright  business  transaction,  I  think  I  can  find  a  customer  who  will  give  eleven 
thousand  pounds  xor  tnem,  and  if  so,  I  have  no  obiection  to  give  you  eight  thousand 
pounds. " 

"  Give  me  the  eight  thousand  pounds,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  and  let  me  go, 
I  hate  bargaining."  ,  n  Tr 

"  Stop  a  bit ;  there  are  some  rather  important  things  to  consider.  You  must  know, 
my  friend,  that  a  string  or  pearls  of  this  value  are  not  be  bought  like  a  few  ounces 
of  old  silver  of  anybody  who  might  come  with  it.  Such  a  string  of  pearls  as  these 
are  like  a  house,  or  an  estate,  and  when  they  change  hands,  the  vendor  must  give 
every  satisfaction  as  to  how  he  came  by  them,  and  prove  how  he  can  give  to  the 
purchaser  a  good  right  and  title  to  them." 

"  Pshaw !"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  u  who  will  question  vou,  you  are  well  known  to 
be  in  the  trade,  and  to  be  continually  dealing  in  such  things?" 

"  That's  all  very  fine ;  but  I  don't  see  why  I  should  give  you  the  full  value  of  an 
article  without  evidence  as  to  how  you  came  by  it." 

"  In  other  words  you  mean,  you  don't  ca*e  how  I  came  by  them,  provided  I 
sell  them  to  you  at  a  thief  s  price,  but  if  I  want  their  value  you  mean  to  be 
particular."  i 
"  My  good  sir,  you  may  conclude  what  you  like.  Show  me  that  you  have  a 
right  to  dispose  of  the  pearls,  and  you  need  go  no  further  than  my  shop  for  a 
customer." 


JE 


The  dog  never  took  his  eyes  off  Todd,  but  kept  up  a  low  growl  from  the  moment 
of  his  entrance.  "  Fts  rather  a  remarkable  circumstance,53  said  the  Captain.  4(  but 
tLis  is  a  very  sagacious  dog,  you  see,  and  he  belongs  to  a  friend  of  ours,  who  has 
most  unaccountably  disappeared/' 


CO 
CO 


U  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


■■   i—     —  ■  ■  ■■■  i  ■■  i  ■■■■        — w       ■       -         ...  -—  ■  — ....  •  ^ 

"  I  am  no  disposed  to  take  that  trouble,  so  I  shall  bid  you  good  night,  and  if  yon 
want  any  pearls  again,  I  wouki  certainly  advise  you  not  to  be  so  wonderfully  parti- 
cular where  you  get  them." 

Sweeney  Todd  strode  towards  the  door,  but  the  lapidary  was  not  going  to  part 
with  him  so  easy,  so  springing  over  his  counter  with  an  agility  one  would  not  have 
expected  from  so  old  a  man,  he  was  at  the  door  in  a  moment,  and  shouted  at  the 
top  of  his  lungs — 

*'  Stop  thief!  Stop  thief!  Stop  him !  There  he  goes !  The  big  fellow  with 
the  three-cornered  hat !    Stop  thief!   Stop  thief  V* 

These  cries,  uttered  with  great  vehemence  as  they  were,  could  not  be  totally 
ineffectual,  but  they  roused  the  whole  neighbourhood,  and  before  Sweeney  Todd 
had  proceeded  many  yards  a  man  made  an  attempt  to  collar  him,  but  was  repulsed 
by  such  a  terrific  blow  in  the  face,  that  another  person,  who  had  ran  half-way  across 
the  road  with  a  similar  object,  turned  and  went  back  again,  thinking  it  scarcely 
prudent  to  risk  his  own  safety  in  apprehending  a  criminal  for  the  good  of  the 
public.  Having  got  rid  thus  of  one  of  his  foes,  Sweeney  Todd,  with  an  inward 
determination  to  come  back  some  day  and  be  the  death  of  the  old  lapidary,  looked 
anxiously  about  for  some  court  down  which  he  could  plunge,  and  so  get  out 
of  sight  of  the  many  pursuers  who  were  sure  to  attack  him  in  the  public  streets. 
His  ignorance  of  the  locality,  however,  was  a  great  bar  to  such  a  proceeding,  for 
the  great  dread  he  had  was,  that  he  might  get  down  some  blind  alley,  and  so  be 
completely  caged,  and  at  the  mercy  of  those  who  followed'  him.  He 
pelted  on  at  a  tremendous  speed,  but  it  was  quite  astonishing  to  see  how 
the  little  old  lapidary  ran  after  him,  falling  down  every  now  and  then,  and 
never  stopping  to  pick  himself  up,  as  people  say,  but  rolling  on  and  getting 
on  his  feet  in  some  miraculous  manner,  that  was  quite  wonderful  to  behold, 
particularly  m  one  so  aged  and  so  apparently  unable  to  undertake  any  active 
exertion.  There  was  one  thing,  however,  he  could  not  continue  doing,  and  that  was 
to  cry  " slop  thief V*  for  he  had  lost  his  wind,  and  was  quite  incapable  of 
uttering  a  word.  How  long  he  would  have  continued  the  chase  is  doubtful,  but 
his  career  was  suddenly  put  an  end  to,  as  regards  that,  by  tripping  his  foot  over  a 
projecting  stone  in  the  pavement,  and  shooting  headlong  down  a  cellar  which  was 
open.  But  abler  persons  than  the  little  old  lapidary  had  taken  up  the  chase,  and 
Sweeney  Todd  was  hard  pressed ;  and,  although  he  ran  very  fast,  the  pro- 
vokmg  thing  was,  that  m  consequence  of  the  cries  and  shouts  of  his  pursuers 
new  people  took  up  the  chase,  who  were  fresh  and  vigorous  and  close  to  him* 
1  here  is  something  awful  in  seeing  a  human  being  thus  hunted  bv  his  fellows  ' 
and  althougu  we  can  have  no  sympathy  with  such  a  man  as  Sweeney  Todd' 
because,  from  all  that  has  happened,  we  begin  to  have  some  very  horrible  susl 
picion  concerning  him,  still,  as  a  general  principle,  it  does  not  decrease  the  fact 
that  it  is  a  dreadful  thing  to  see  a  human  being  hunted  through  the  streets 

2?  u  J°P  °f  h.1S  S?eJd>  strUduS  down  whoever  mosed  him,  until  at 

S«  v   V?0  C°v  d  have°ut™n  Mm  gave  up  the  chase,  not  liking  to  enc  * 
Sftvf  -      TU  bl™  which  such  a  hand  as  his  seemed  capable  of  Inflicting  Hk 
teeth  were  set,  and  his  breathing  became  short  and  laborious,  iust  as  a  man  I™" 
0ut  at  a  shop-door  and  succeeded  in  laying  hold  of  him.       1  sprun2 
"I  have  get  you  have  I  ?"  he  said. 

^SStU^^Alf  *  *°rAbut'  pultin=  forth  an  "M**  of  strength  that 
his  clothes  behind,  and  flung  him  through  a  shop-window,  smashing  glass  frame- 
work,  and  everything  m  its  progress.  The  man*  gave  a  shriek,  fo/it  was  bis  own 
shop  and  he  was  a  dealer  in  fancy  goods  of  the  most  flimsy  texture  lo  that  the 
smash  with  which  he  came  down  among  his  stock-in-trade,  Woduced  at  «T.y 
the  haberdashers  are  so  delightedwith  in  the  present  day^ffialSS^rS? 
11ns  occurrence  had  a  great  effect  upon  Sweeney  Todd's  pmJSs  TtmSt  ttm 
the  practical  wisdom  of  not  interfering  with5  a  man  PpS  ev Sent lv  of 


 III 


MMMH 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  35 


such  tremendous  powers  of  mischief,  and  consequently,  as  just  about  this  period 
the  defeat  of  the  little  lapidary  took  place,  he  got  considerably  the  start  of  his 
j  pursuers.  He  was  by  no  means  safe.  The  cry  of  "  stop  thief  [*  still  sounded  in  his 
ears,  and  on  he  flew,  panting  with  the  exertion  he  made,  till  he  heard  a  man  behind 
him,  say, — 

"  Turn  into  the  second  court  on  your  right,  and  you  will  be  safe— -I'll  follow  you. 
They  shan't  nab  you,  if  I  can  help  it/1 

Sweeney  Todd  had  not  much  confidence  in  human  nature— it  was  not  likely  he 
would  ;  but,  panting  and  exhausted  as  he  was,  the  voice  of  any  one  speaking  in 
friendly  accents  was  welcome,  and,  rather  impulsively  than  from  reflectipn,  he 
darted  down  the  second  court  to  his  right. 


CHAPTER  Vllt 


THE  THIEVES5  HOME. 


Tn  a  very  few  minutes  Sweeney  Todd  found  that  this  court  had  no 
thoroughfare,  and  therefore  there  was  no  outlet  or  escape,  but  he  immediately 
concluded  that  something  more  was  to  be  found  than  was  at  first  sight  to  be 
seen,  and  casting  a  furtive  glance  beside  him  in  the  direction  in  which  he  had 
come,  rested  his  hand  upon  a  door  which  stood  close  hy.  The  door  gave 
way,  and  Sweeney  Todd,  hearing,  as  he  imagined,  a  noise  in  the  street,  dashed  in,  and 
closed  the  door,  and  then  he,  heedless  of  ail  consequences,  walked  to  the  end  of 
a  long  dirty  passage,  and,  pushing  open  a  door,  descended  a  short  flight  of  steps, 
to  the  bottom  of  which  he  had  scarcely  got,  when  the  door  which  faced  him  at 
the  bottom  of  the  steps  opened  by  some  hand,  and  he  suddenly  found  himself  in 
the  presence  of  a  number  of  men  seated  round  a  large  table.  In  an  instant  all 
eyes  were  turned  towards  Sweeney  Todd,  who  was  quite  unprepared  for  such  a 
scene,  and  for  a  minute  he  knew  not  what  to  say  ;  but,  as  indecision  was  not 
Sweeney  Todd's  characteristic,  he  at  once  advanced  to  the  table  and  sat  down. 
There  was  some  surprise  evinced  by  the  persons  who  were  seated  in  that  room, 
of  whom  there  were  many  more  than  a  score,  and  much  talking  was  going  on 
among  them,  which  did  not  appear  to  cease  on  his  entrance.  Those*  who  were 
near  him  looked  hard  at  him,  but  nothing  was  said  for  some  minutes,  and  Sweeney 
Todd  looked  about  to  understand,  if  lie  could,  how  he  was  placed,  though  it 
could  not  be  much  a  matter  of  doubt  as  to  the  character  of  the  individuals  preseilt. 

Their  looks  were  often  an  index  to  their  vocations,  for  all  grades  of  the  worst 
of  characters  were  there,  and  some  of  {  them  were  by  no  means  complimentary  to 
human  nature,  for  there  were  some  of  the  most  desperate  characters  that  were 
to  be  found  in  London.  Sweeney  Todd  gave>a  glance  around  him,  and  at  once 
satisfied  himself  of  the  desperate  nature  of  the  assembly  into  yrhich  he  had  thrust 
himself.  They  were  dressed  in  various  fashions,  some  after  the  manner  of  the'  city 
— some  more  gay,  and  some  half  military,  while  not  a  few  wore  the  garb  of 
countrymen  ;  but" there  was  in  all  that  an  air  of  scampish,  off-hand  behaviour,  not 
unmixed  with  brutality. 

"  Friend/'  said  one,  who  sat  near  him,  "  how  came  you  here  ;  are  you  known 
here  F1 

"  I  came  here,  because  I  found  the  door  open3  and  I  was  told  by  some  one  to 

come  here,  as  I  was  pursued." 

"  Pursued  ?"  '  '  ' 

"  Ay,  some  one  running  after  me,  you  know/3 


36  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.   = 

Iknov/ what  being  pursued  is/'  replied  the  man,  "and  yet  I  know  nothing 


°f  That  is  not  at  all  astonishing,"  said  Sweeney,  *  seeing  that  l^J^T^ 
before,  nor  you  me;  ,but  that  makes  no  difference.  I'm  in  difficulties,  and  I 
suppose  a  man  may  do  his  best  to  escape  the  consequences  i 

"  Yes,  he  may,  yet  that  is  no  reason  why  he  should  come  here  ;  this  is  tne 
place  for  free  friends,  who  know  and  aid  one  another."  .  . 

"And  such  I  am  willing  to  be ;  but  at  the  same  time  I  must  have  a  beginning. 
I  cannot  be  initiated  without  some  one  introducing  me.  I  have  sought  protec- 
tion, and  I  have  found  it  j '  if  there  be  any  objection  to  my  remaining  here  any 

longer,  I  will  leave."  %       , ,     ,  ,t:    i  n        T  ,       ,  i 

"No,  no,"  said  a  tall  man  on  the  other  side  of  the  table,  "  I  have  heard 
what  you  have  said,  and  we  do  not  usually  allow  any  such  things  ;  you  .have  come 
here  'unasked,  and  now  we  must  have  a  little  explanation—our  own  safety 
may  demand  it  ;  at  all  events  we  have  our  customs,  and  they  must  be  com- 
plied with." 

"  And  what  are  your  customs?"  demanded  Todd. 

"  This  :  you  must  answer  the  question  which  we  shall  propound  unto  you  ;  now 
answer  truly  what  we  shall  ask  of  you." 

"  Speak,"  said  Todd,  "  and  I  will  answer  all  that  you  propose  to  me,  if 

possible."  ' 

"  We  will  not  tax  you  too  hardly,  depend  upon  it :  who  are  you  ? 

"  Candidly,  then,"  said  Todd,  that's  a  question  I  do  not  like  to  answer,  nor  do 
I  think  it  is  one  that  you  ought  to  ask.  It  is  an  inconvenient  thing  to  name 
oneself — you  must  pass  by  that  inquiry." 

"  Shall* we  do  so  ?"  inquired  the  interrogator  of  those  around  him,  and  gathering 
his  cue  from  their  looks,  he,  after  a  brief  space,  continued— 

"  Well,  we  will  pass  over  that,  seeing  it  is  not  necessary,  but  you  must  tell  us 
what  you  are — cutpurse,  footpad,  or  what  not  ?" 

"  I  am  neither." 

"Then  tell  us  in  your  own  words,"  said  the  man,  "and  be  candid  with  us. 

What  are  you  ?" 

"1  am  an  artificial  pearl-maker— or  sham  pearl-maker,  whichever  way  you  please 

to  call  it."  ■ 

"  A  sham  pearl-maker  !  that  may  be  an  honest  trade  for  all  we  know,  and  that 
will  hardly  be  your  passport  to  our  house,  friend  sham  pearl-maker  !" 

"  That  may  be  as  you  say,"  replied  Todd,  "but  I  will  challenge  any  man  to 
equal  me  in  my  calling.  I  have  made  pearls  that  would  pass  with  almost  a  lapi- 
dary, and  which  would  pass  with  nearly  all  the  nobility," 

"  I  begin  to  understand  you,  friend  ;  but  I  would  wish  to  have  some  proof  of 
what  you  say  ;  we  may  hear  a  very  good  tale,  and  yet  none  of  it  shall  be  true  ;  we 
are  not  men  to  be  made  dupes  of,  besides,  there  are  enough  to  take  vengeance,  if 
we  desire  ic."       '  - 

"  Ay,  to  be  sure  there  is,"  said  a  gruff  voice  from  the  other  end  of  the 
table,  which  was  echoed  from  one  to  the  other,  till  it  came  to  the  top  of  the 
table.  .[] 

"  Proof !  proof  !  proof !"  now  resounded  from  one  end  of  the  room  to  the 
other. 

"  My  friends,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  rising  up,  and  advancing  to  the  table,  and 
thrusting  his  hand  into  his  bosom  and  drawing  out  the  string  of  twenty-four 
pearls,  "  I  challenge  you,  or  any  one,  to  make  a  set  of  articial  pearls  equal  to  these ; 
they  are  my  make,  and  Fll  stand  to  it  in  any  reasonable  sum,  that  you  cannot  bring 
a  man  who  shall  beat  me  in  my  calling." 
' 6  Just  hand  them  to  me,"  said  the  man  who  had  made  himself  interrogator, 
Sweeney  Todd  threw*the  pearls  on  the  table  carelessly,  and  then  said— 
"  There,  look  at  them  well,  they'll  bear  it,  and  I  reckon,  though  there  may  be 
some  good  judges  amongst  you,  that  you  cannot  any  of  you  tell  them  from  real 
pearls,  if  you  had  not  been  told  so." 


Oh,  yes,  we  know  pretty  well/'  said  the  man,  "what  these  tilings  are,  we 
have  now  and  then  a  good  string  in  our  possession,  and  that  helps  us  to  judge  of 
them.    Well,  this  is  certainly  a  good  imitation." 

"  Let  me  see  it,"  said  a  fat  man ;  "  I  was  bred  a  jeweller,  and  I  might  say 
born,  only  I  couldn't  stick  to  it;  nobody  likes  working  for  years  upon  little  pay, 
and  no  fun  with  the  gals.  ^  I  say,  hand  it' here !" 

"Well,"  said  Todd,  "  if  you  or  anybody  ever  produced  as  good  an  imitation, 
Til  swallow  the  whole  string;  and  knowing  there's  poison  in  the  composition,  it 
would  not  be  a  comfortable  thing  to  think  pf." 

"  Certainly  not,"  said  the  big  man,  "certainly  not,  but  hand  them  over,  and 
ril  tell  you  all  about  it." 

The  pearls  were  given  into  his  hands  ;  and  Sweeney  Todd  felt  some  misgivings 
about  his  precious  charge,  and  yet  he  showed  it  not,  for  he  turned  to  the  man  who 
sat  beside  him,  saying — 

"  If  he  can  tell  true  pearls  from  them,  he  knows  more  than  I  think  he  does,  for 
I  am  a  maker,  and  have  often  had  the  true  pearl  in  my  hand." 

"And  I  suppose,"  said  the  man,  "you  have  tried  your  hand  at  putting  the  one 
for  the  other,  and  so  doing  your  confiding  customers. 

"Yes,  yes,  that  is  the  dodge,  I  can  see  very  well,"  said  another  man,  winking 
at  the  first ;  "  and  a  good  one  too,  1  have  known  them  do  so  with  diamonds.'' 

"  Yes,  but  never  with  pearls ;  however,  there  are  some  trades  that  it  is  desirable 
to  know." 

"  You're  right.51 

The  fat  man  now  carefully  examined  the  pearls,  set  them  down  on  the  table,  and 
looked  hard  at  them. 

"  There  now,  I  told  you  I'could  bother  you.  You  are  not  so  good  a  judge  that 
you  would  not  have  known,  if  you  had  not  been  told  they  were  sham  pearls,  but 
what  they  were  real." 

"  I  must  say,  you  have  produced  the  best  imitations  I  have  ever  seen.  Why  you 
ought  to  make  your  fortune  in  a  few  years—a  handsome  fortune  V* 

"  bo  I  should,  but  for  one  thing.'"  , 

"And  what  is  that?' ' 

"The  difficulty,"  said  Todd,  "of  getting  rid  of  them;  if  you  ask  anything 
below  their  value,  you  are  suspected,  and  you  run  the  chance  of  being  stopped  and 
losing  them  at  the  least,  and  perhaps  entail  a  prosecution." 

"Very  true;  but  there  is  risk  in  everything ;  we  all  run  risks;  but  then  the 
harvest  V 

"  That  may  be,"  said  Todd,  "  but  this  is  peculiarly  dangerous.  I  have  not  the 
means  of  getting  introduction  to  the  nobility  themselves,  and  if  I  had  I  should  be 
doubted,  for  they  would  say  a  working  man  cannot  come  honestly  by  such  valuable 
things,  and  then  I  must  concoct  a  tale  to  escape  the  Mayor  of  London.* 

<<Ha!-ha!—ha!" 

"  Well,  then,  you  can  take  them  to  a  goldsmith."  , 

"  There  are  not  many  of  them  who  would  do  so  :  they  would  not  deal  in  them ; 
and,  moreover,  I  have  been  to  one  or  two  of  them ;  as  for  a  lapidary,  why,  he  is 
not  so  easily  cheated." 

"  Have  you  tried  ?" 

"I  did,  and  had  to  make  the  best  of  my  way  out,  pursued  as  quickly  as  they 
could  run,  and  I  thought  at  one  time  I  must  have  been  stopped,  bat  a  few  lucky 
turns  brought  me  clear,  when  I  was  told  to  turn  up  this  court ;  and  I  came  in 

here." 

"  Well,"  said  one  man,  who  had  been  examining  the  pearls,  "  and  did  the  lapi- 
dary find  out  they  were  not  real  ?"  t  . 

"  Yes,  he  did ;  and  he  wanted  to  stop  me  and  the  string  together,  for  trying  to 
impose  upon  him  ;  however,  I  made  a  rush  at  the  door,  which  he  tried  to  shut, 
but  I  was  the  stronger  man,  and  here  I  am." 

"  It  has  been  a  close  chance  for  you,"  said  one.         yr  % 

"Yes,  it  just  has,"  replied  Sweeney,  taking  up  the  string  of  pearls,  whicn 


38  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


he  replaced  in  his  clothes,  apd  continued  to  converse  with  some  of  those  around 

Things  now  subsided  into  their  general  course  ;  and  little  notice  was  taken  of 
Sweeney,  There  was  some  drink  on  the  board,  of,  which  all  partook.  Sweeney 
had  some,  too,  and  look  the  precaution  of  emptying  his  pockets  before  them  all, 
and  gave  them  a  share  of  his  money  to  pay  his  footing.  This  was  policy,  and; 
they  all  drank  to  his  success,  and  were  very  good  companions.  Sweeney,  however, 
was  desirous  of  getting  out  as  soon  as  he  could,  and  more  than  once  cast  his  eyes 
towards  the  door  ;  but  he  saw  there  were  eyes  upon  him,  and  dared  not  excite 
suspicion,  for  he  might  undo  all  that  he  had  done.  To  lose  the  precious  treasure 
he  possessed  would-be  maddening  •  he  had  succeeded  to  admiration  in  inducing 
the  belief  that  what  he  showed  them  was  merely  a  counterfeit ;  but  he  knew  so 
well  that  they  were  real,  and  that  a  latent  feeling  that  they  were  humbugged  might 
be  hanging  about ;  and  that  the  fi*&t  suspicious  movement  he  would  be  watched, 
and  some  desperate  attempt  made  to  make  him  give  them  up.  It  was  with  no 
small  violence  to  his  own  feelings  that  he  listened  to  their  conversation,  and 
appeared  to  take  an  interest  in  their  proceedings. 
*  Well,"  said  one,  who  sat  nest  him,  "I'm  just  off  for  the  north-road" 
"  Any  fortune  there  V  • 

"Not  much;  and  yet  I  mustn't  complain:  these  last  three  weeks,  the  best  I 
have  had  has  been  two  sixties/' 
"Well,  that  would  do  very  well." 

"Yes,  the  last  man  I  stopped  was  a  regular  looby  Londoner;  he  appeared  like 
a  don,  complete  tip-top  man  of  fashion;  but,  Lord !  when  I  came  to  look  over  him, 
he  hadn't  as  much  as  would  carry  me  twenty-four  miles  on  the  road/' 

f '  Indeed  !  don't  you  think  he  had  any  hidden  about  him  ? — they  do  do  so  now." 
"  Ah,  ah!"  returned  another,  "well  said,  old  fellow;  'tis  a  true  remark,  that 
we  can't  always  judge  a  man  from  appearances.  Lor  !  bless  me,  now,  who'd  'a 
thought  your  swell,cove  proved  to  be  out  o'  luck  ?  Well,  I'm  sorry  for  you  ;  but 
you  know  'tis  a  long  lane  that  has  no  turning,  as  Mr.  Somebody  says — so, 
perhaps,  you'll  be  more  fortunate  another  time.  But  come,  cheer  up,  whilst  ] 
relate  an  adventure  that  occurred  a  little  time  ago  ;  'twas  a  slice  of  good  luck, 
I  assure  you,  for  1  had  no  difficulty  in  bouncing  my  victim,  out  of  a  good 
swag  of  tin;  for  you  know  farmers  returning  from  market  are  not  always  too 
wary  and  careful,  especially  as  'the  lots  of  wine  they  take  at  the  market  dinners 
pake  the  cosy  old  boys  ripe  and  mellow  for  sleep,  Well,  I  met  one  of  these 
jolly  gentlemen,  mounted  on  horseback,  who  declared  he  had  nothing  but  a  few 
paltry  guineas  about  him ;  however,  that  would  not  do— I  searched  him,  an(j 
found  a  hundred  and  four  pounds  secreted  about  his  person." 
"  Where  did  you  find  it  ?" 

"  About  him.    I  tore  his  clothes  to  ribands.    A  pretty  figure  he  looked  upon 
horseback,  I  assure  you.    By  Jove,  I  could  hardly  help  laughing  ;  in  fact,  I  did 
laugh  at  him,  which  so  enraged  him,  that  he  immediately  threatened  to  horse- 
whip me,  and  yet  he  dared  not  defend  his  money;  but  I  threatened  to  shoot  him 
and  that  soon  brought  him  to  his  senses." 

Todd  Sh0Uld  imagine  so'   Did  y°u  ever  lmve  a  fiSM  for  iij  V'  inquired  Sweeney 

;  • '  Yes,  several  times.    Ah !  it's  by  no  means  an  easy  life,  you  may  depend  It 
is  tree,  but  dangerous.    I  have  been  fired  at  six  or  seven  times  " 
"So  many?" 

"les.  I  was  near  York  once,  when  I  stopped  a  gentleman;  I  thought  him 
an  easy  conquest  but  not  as  he  turned  out,  for  he  was  a  regular  devil .»  S 

Jxesistecf  you  ? ' 

"Yes,  he  did.  I  was  coming  along  when  I  met  him,  and  I  demanded  h% 
eareTiJ"  ^  Said'  <aDdd0  not  ^M^SS^ 

"  But  I  want  it,"  said  I ;  "  your  money  or  your  life." 


o 


At,:. 


"In 

^  and 


best  I 


J  lie 

m  ll 


n 


Of. 

ttat 
4  i 
;  bet 


—  V 


too 


i 


mm 


I  -lIlMiilM,  .  , 


THE  STRING  OE  PEAHLS. 


39 


You  must  have  both,  for  we  are  not  to  be  parted,"  he  said,  presenting  his  pistol 

at  me;     and  then  I  had  only  time  to  escape  from  the  effect  of  the  shot:  1  struck 

the  pistol  up  vnth  my  riding-whip,  and  the  bullet  passed  bv  my  temples,  and 

almost  stunned  me.    I  cocked  and  fired ;  he  did  the  same,  but  I  hit  him,  and  he 

leiL  however,  bus  missed  me.    I  was  down  upon  him:  he  ber^ed 

hard  for  life.  00 

"  Did  you  give  it  him  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  I  dragged  him  to  the  side  of  the  road,  and  then  left  him.  Umm 
aone  so  much,  L  mounted  my  horse  and  came  away  as  fast  as  I  could,  and  then 
I  made  tor  London,  and  spent  a  merry  day  or  two  there." 

"  1  can  imagine  you  must  enjoy  your  trips  into  the  country,  and  then  von  must 
nave  suit  greater  relish  for  the  change  when  you  come  to  London— the  'change  is 
so  great  and  so  entire." 

"  So  it  is ;  but  have  you  never  any  run  of  luck  in  your  line  ?  I  should  think  you 
must  at  times  succeed  in  tricking  the  public." 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  Todd,  "now  and  then  we  do— but  I  tell  you  it  is  only  now  and 
then  ;  and  I  have  been  afraid  of  doing  too  much.  In  small  sums  I  have  been 
a  gainer ;  but  Iwant  to  do  something  grand.  I  tried  it  on,  but  at  the  same 
time  1  have  failed.' 

"  That  is  bad ;  but  you  may  have  more  opportunities  by  and  by.  Luck  is  all 
chance. 

"  1  es,"  said  Todd,  "  that  is  true,  but  the  sooner  the  better,  for  I  am  crowinG" 
impatient.  ,  ' 

Conversation  now  went  on ;  each  man  speaking  of  his  exploits,  which  were 
always  some  species  of  rascality  and  robbery,  accompanied  by  violence  generally ; 
some  were  midnight  robbers  and  breakers"  into  people's  houses;  in  fact,  all  the' 
crimes  that  could  be  imagined.  This  place  was,  in  fact,  a  complete  house  of 
rendezvous  for  thieves,  cutpurses,  highwaymen,  footpads,  and  burglars  of  every 
grade  and  description— a  formidable  set  of  men  of  the  most  determined  and 
desperate  appearance.  Sweeney  Todd  hardly  knew  how  to  rise  and  leave  the 
place,  though  it  was  now  growing  very  late,  and  he  was  most  anxious  to  get 
safe  out  of  the  den  he  was  in ;  but  how  to  do  that,  was  a  problem  yet  to  be 
solved. 

"  What  is  the  time  ?"  he  muttered  to  the  man  next  to  him, 
"  Past  midnight,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Then  I  must  leave  here,"  he  answered,  "  for  I  have  work  that  I  must  be  at 
in  a  very  short  time,  and  I  shall  not  have  too  much  time." 
,  So  saying  he  watched  his  opportunity,  and  rising,  walked  up  to  the  door,  which 
he  opened  and  went  out  ;  after  that  he  walked  up  the  five  steps  that  led  to  the 
passage,  and  this  latter  had  hardly  been  gained  when  the  street-door  opened,  and 
another  man  came  in  at  the  same  moment,  and  met  him  face  to  face. 

"  What  do  you  do  here  ?" 

"  I  am  going  out,"  said  Sweeney  Todd. 

"  You  are  going  back ;  come  back  with  me." 

"  I  will  not,"  said  Todd.  "  lou  must  be  a  better  man  than  I  am,  if  you  make 
me ;  I'll  do  my  best  to  resist  your  attack,  if  you  intend  one." 

"  That  I  do,"  replied  the  man ;  and  he  made  a  determined  rush  upon  Sweeney, 
who  was  scarcely  prepared  for  such  a  sudden  onslaught,  and  was  pushed  back  till 
he  came  to  the  head  of  the  stairs,  where  a  struggle  took  place,  and  both  rolled 
down  the  steps.  The  door  was  thrown  open,  and  every  one  rushed  out  to  see 
what  was  the  matter,  but  it  was  some  moments  before  they  could  make  it  out. . 
m  "What  does  he  do  here  ?"  said  the  first,  as  soon  as  he  could  speak,  and  point- 
ing to  Sweeney  Todd. 

"  It's  all  right." 

"All  wrong,  I  say." 

,  ?.?s  a  sham-pearl  maker,  and  has  shown  us  a  string  of  sham  pearls  that  are 
beautiful." 

"Psha!" 


I  MMNN 


if 


« I  wilt  insist  upon  seeing  them  ;~give  them  tome/'  he  said,  "or  you  do  not 
leave  this  place." 

"  I  will  not/'  said  Sweeney.  -v    ."  ^waftn?" 

«  You  must.   Here,  help  me— but  I  don't  want  help,  I  can  do  it  by  mysell. 

As  he  spoke,  he  made  a  desperate  attempt  to  collar  Sweeney  and  pull  him  to  the 
earth,  but  he  had  miscalculated  his  strength  when  he  imagined  that  he  was  supe- 
rior to  Todd,  who  was  by  far  the  more  powerful  man  of  the  two,  and  resisted  tne 
attack  with  success.  Suddenly,  by  an  Herculean  effort,  he  caught  his  adversary 
below  the  waist,  and  lifting  him  up,  he  threw  him  upon  the  floor  with  great  force ; 
and  then,  not  wishing  to  see  how  the  gang  would  take  this— whether  they  would 
take  the  part  of  their  companion  or  of  himself  he  knew  not— he  thought  he  had 
an  advantage  m  the  distance,  and  he  rushed  up  stairs  as  fast  as  be  could,  and 
reached  the  door  before  they  could  overtake  him  to  prevent  him.  Indeed,  tor 
more  than  a  minute  they  were  irresolute  what  to  do ;  but  they  were  somehow  pre- 
judicial in  favour  of  their  companion,  and  they  rushed  up  after  Sweeney  just  as  he 
had  got  to  the  door.  He  would  have  had  time  to  escape  them,  but,  by  some 
means,  the  door  became  fast,  and  he  could  not  open  it,  exert  himself  how  he  would. 
There  was  no  time  to  lose ;  they  were  coming  to  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and 
Sweeney  had  hardly  time  to  reach  the  stairs,  to  fly  upwards,  when  he  felt  himself 
grasped  by  the  throat.  Th»s  he  soon  released  himself  from  ;  for  he  struck  the 
man  who  seized  him  a  heavy  blow,  and  he  fell  backwards,  and  Todd  found  his  way 
up  to  the  first  floor,  but  he  was  closely  pursued.  Here  was  another  struggle ; 
and  again  Sweeney  Todd  was  the  victor,  but  he  was  hard  pressed  by  those  who 
followed  him — fortunately  for  him  there  was  a  mop  left  in  a  pail  of  water,  this  he 
seized  hold  of,  and,  swinging  it  over  his  head,  he  brought  it  full  on  the  head  of 
the  first  man  who  came  near  him.  Dab  it  came,  soft  and  wet,  and  splashed  over 
some  others  who  were  close  at  hand.  It  is  astonishing  what  an  effect  a  new 
weapon  will  sometimes  have.  There  was  not  a  man  among  them,  who  would  nGt 
have  faced  danger  in  more  ways  than  one,  that  would  not  have  rushed  headlong 
upon  deadly  and  destructive  weapons,  but  who  were  quite  awed  when  a  heavy  wet 
mop  was  dashed  into  their  faces.  They  were  completely  paralysed  for  a  moment ; 
indeed,  they  began  to  look  upon  it  as  something  between  a  joke  and  a  serious 
matter  and  either  would  have  been  taken  just  as  they  might  be  termed. 


Get  the  pearls !"  shouted  the  man  who  had  first  stopped  him ;  "  seize  the  spy! 
seize  him— secure  him — rush  at  him  !    You  are  men  enough  to  hold  one  man I 

Sweeney  Todd  saw  matters  were  growing  serious,  and  he  plied  his  mop  most 
vigorously  upon  those  who  were  ascending,  but  they  had  become  somewhat  used 
to  the  mop,  and  it  had  lost  much  of  its  novelty,  and  was  by  no  means  a  dangerous 
weapon.  Thev  rushed  on,  despite  the  heavy  blows  showered  by  Sweeney,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  give  way  stair  after  stair.  The  head  of  the  mop  came  off,  and 
then  there  remained  but  the  handle,  which  formed  an  efficient  weapon,  and  which 
made  fearful  havoc  on  the  heads  of  the  assailants ;  and  despite  all  that  their 
slouched  hats  could  do  in  the  way  of  protecting  them,  yet  the  staff  came  with  a 
crushing  effect.  The  best  fight  in  the  world  cannot  last  for  ever ;  and  Sweeney 
again  found  numbers  were  not  to  be  resisted  for  long  ;  indeed,  he  could  not  have 
physical  energy  enough  to  sustain  his  own  efforts,  supposing  he  had  received  no 
blows  in  return.  He  turned  and  fled  as  he  was  forced  back  to  the  landing,  and 
then  came  to  the  next  stair-head,  and  again  he  made  a  desperate  stand.  This 
went  on  for  stair  after  stair,  and  continued  for  more  than  two  or  three  hours. 
There  were  moments  of  cessation  when  they  all  stood  still  and  looked  at  each 
other. 

w  Fire  upon  him !"  said  one. 

*  No,  no ;  we  shall  have  the  authorities  down  upon  us,  and  then  all  will  go 
wrong." 

"  I  think  we  had  much  better  have  let  it  alone  in  the  first  place,  as  he  was  in, 
for  you  may  be  sure  this  won't  make  him  keep  a  secret ;  we  shall  all  be  split 
upoi>  as  sure  as  fate." 


i 

i 


MMM 


V, 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


4i 


;  "  Well,  then,  rush  upon  him,  and  down  with  him.  Never  let  him  out !  On  to 
him  !    Hurrah !" 

Away  they  went,  but  they  were  resolutely  met  by  the  staff  of  Sweeney  Todd, 
who  had  gained  new  strength  by  the  short  rest  he  had  had. 


BIO  BEN  COMPELS  MB.  LUPIN  TO  DO  PENANCE. 


"  Down  with  the  spy !"  '  ' 

This  was  shouted  out  by  the  men,  but  as  each  of  them  approached,  they  were 
struck  down,  and  at  length,  finding  himself  on  the  second  floor  landing,  and  oeing 
fearful  that  some  one  was  descending  from  above,  he  rushed  into  one  of  the,  inner 
rooms.    In  an  instant  he  had  locked  the  doors,  which  were  strong  and  po  werluJ. 


111— I  Ml  'ilfHT"  — <r~*~ 


No.  6, 


THE  STEING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Now,"  he  muttered,  "  for  means  to  escape/' 

He  waited  a  moment  to  wipe  the  sweat  from  his  brow,  and  then  he  crossed  the 
floor  to  the  windows,  which  were  open.  They  were  the  old-fashioned  bay-windows, 
with  the  heavy  ornamental  work  which  some  houses  possessed,  and  overhung  the 
low  door-ways,  and  protected  them  from  the  weather. 

u  This  will  do,"  he  said,  as  he  looked  down  to  the  pavement—"  this  will  do.  I 
will  try  this  descent,  if  I  fall." 

The  people  on  the  other  side  of  the  door  were  exerting  all  their  force  to  break 
it  open,  and  it  had  already  given  one  or  two  ominous  creaks,  and  a  few  minutes 
more  would  probably  let  them  into  the  room.  The  streets  were  clear — no  human 
being  was  moving  about,  and  there  were  faint  signs  of  the  approach  of  morning. 
He  paused  a  moment  to  inhale  the  fresh  air,  and  then  he  got  outside  of  the 
1  window.  By  means  of  the  sound  oaken  ornaments,  he  contrived  to  get  down  to 
the  drawing-room  balcony,  and  then  he  soon  got  down  into  the  street.  As  he 
walked  slowly  away,  he  could  hear  the  crash  of  the  door,  and  a  slight  cheer,  as 
they  entered  the  room ;  and  he  could  imagine  to  himself  the  appearance  of  the 
faces  of  those  who  entered,  when  they  found  the  bird  had  flown,  and  the  room  was 
empty.  Sweeney  Todd  had  not  far  to  go ;  he  soon  turned  into  Meet-street,  and 
made  for  his  own  house.  He  looked  about  him,  but  there  were  none  near  him ; 
he  was  tired  and  exhausted,  and  right  glad  was  he  when  he  found  himself  at  his 
own  door.  Then,  stealthily  he  put  the  key  into  the  door*  and  slowly  -entered  the 
bouse. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

JOHANNA  AT  HOME,  AND  THE  KEBOLVTION. 

Johanna  Oakley  would  not  allow  Colonel  Jeffery  to  accompany  her  all  the 
way  home,  and  he,  appreciating  the  scruples  of  the  young  girl,  aid  not  press 
his  attention  upon  her,  but  left  her  at  the  corner  of  Fore-street,  after  getting 
from  her  a  half  promise  that  she  would  meet  him  again  on  that  day  week,  at 
the  same  hour,  in  the  Temple-gardens. 

"  I  ask  this  of  you,  Johanna  Oakley,"  he  said,  "  because  I  have  resolved  to 
make  all  the  exertion  in  my  power  to  discover  what  has  become  of  Mr.  Thornhill, 
in  whose  fate  I  am  sure  1  have  succeeded  in  interesting  you,  although  you  care 
so  little  for  the  string  of  pearls  which  he  has  in  trust  for  you/' 

**Ido,  indeed,  care  little  for  them,"  said  Johanna,  "  so  little,  that  it  may  be 
said  to  amount  to  nothing." 

"But  still  they  are  yours,  and  you  ought  to  have  the  option  of  disposing  of 
them  as  you  please.  It  is  not  well  to  despise  such  gifts  of  fortune;  for  if  you 
can  yourself  do  nothing  with  them,  there  are  surely  some  others  whom  you  may 
know,  upon  whom  they  would  bestow  great  happiness." 

"A  string  of  pearls,  great  happiness?"  said  Johanna,  inquiringly. 
"  Your  m»nd  is  so  occupied  by  your  grief  that  you  quite  forget  such  strings 
are  of  great  value.   I  have  seen  those  pearls,  Johanna,  and  can  assure  you  that 
*they  are  in  themselves  a  fortune." 

"  I  suppose,"  she  said  sadly,  "it  is  too  much  for  human  nature  to  expect  two 
blessings  at  once.  I  had  the  fond,  warm  heart  that  loved  me  without  the  fortune, 
that  would  have  enabled  us  to  live  in  comfort  and  affluence ;  and  now,  when 
that  is  perchance  within  my  grasp,  the  heart,  that  was  by  far  the  more  costly 
possession,  and  the  richest  jewel  of  them  all,  lies  beneath  the  wave  witn 
ita  bright  influences,  and  its  glorious  and  romantic  aspirations,  quenched  for 


evor." 


You  will  meet  me  then,  as  I  request  of  you,  to  hear  i£  I  ha?e  any  news 


W»J>i'—Mi     ,   »aa»AT:...  ..v... — :jir  ■ 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  43 


"  I  will  endeavour  so  to  do.   I  have  all  the  will  j  but  Heaven  knows  if  I  may 
have  the  power/5 
4C  What  mean  you,  Johanna ?" 

"I  cannot  tell  what  a  week's  anxiety  may  do;  I  know  not  but  a  sick  bed 
may  be  my  resting-place,  until  I  exchange  it  for  the  tomb.  I  feel  even  now 
my  strength  fail  me,  and  that  I  am  scarcely  able  to  totter  to  my  home. 
Farewell,  sir !  I  owe  you  my  best  thanks,  as"  well  for  the  trouble  you  have 
taken,  as  for  the  kindly  manner  in  which  you  have  detailed  to  me  what  has 
passed." 

"  Remember,3'  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  "  that  I  bid  you  adieu,  with  the  hope  of 
meeting  you  again." 

It  was  thus  they  parted,  and  Johanna  proceeded  to  her  father's  house.  Who 
now  that  had  met  her  and-  had  chanced  not  to  see  that  sweet  face,  which  could 
never  be  forgotten,  would  have  supposed  her  to  be  the  once  gay  and  sprightly 
Johanna  Oakley  ?  Her  steps  were  sad  and  solemn,  and  all  the  juvenile  elasticity 
of  her  frame  seemed  like  one  prepared  for  death ;  and  she  hoped  that  she  would  be 
able  to  glide,  silently  and  unobserved,  to  her  own  little  bed-chamber — that  cham- 
ber where  she  had  slept  since  she  was  a  child,  and  on  the  little  couch,  on  which 
she  had  so  often  laid  down  to  sleep  that  holy  and  calm  slumber  which  such  hearts 
as  hers  can  only  know.  But  she  was  doomed  to  be  disappointed,  for  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Lupin  was  still  there,  and  as  Mrs.  Oakley  had  placed  before  that  pious  indi- 
vidual a  great  assortment  of  creature  comforts,  and  among  the  rest  some  mulled 
wine,  which  seemed  particularly  to  agree  with  him,  he  showed  no  disposition  to 
depart.  It  unfortunately  happened  that  this  wine,  of  which  the  reverend  gentle- 
man partook  with  such  a  holy  relish,  was  kept  in  a  cellar,  and  Mrs.  Oakley  had  had 
occasion  twice  to  go  down  to  procure  a  fresh  supply,  and  it  was  on  a  third  journey 
for  the  same  purpose  that  she  encountered  poor  Johanna,  who  had  just  let  herself 
in     the  private  door.  s 

"  Oh  !  you  have  come  home,  have  you  P  said  Mrs.  Oakley ;  "  I  wonder  where 
you  hav3  been  to,  gallivanting ;  but  I  suppose  1  may  wonder  long  enough  before 
you  will  tell  me.    Go  into  the  parlour,  I  want  to  speak  to  you/' 

Now  poor  Johanna  had  quite  forgotten  the  very  existence  of  Mr.  Lupin — so, 
rather  than  explain  to  her  mother,  which  she  knew  would  beget  more  questions, 
she  wished  to  go  to  bed  at  once,  notwithstanding  it  was  an  hour  before  the  usual 
time  for  so  doing,  bhe  walked  unsuspectingly  into  the  parlour,  and  as  Mr.  Lupin 
was  sitting,  the  slightest  movement  of  his  chair  closed  the  door,  so  she  could  not 
escape.  Under  any  other  circumstances  probably  Johanna  would  have  insisted  upon 
leaving  the  apartment ;  but  a  glance  at  the  countenance  of  the  pious  individual 
was  quite  sufficient  to  convince  her  that  he  had  been  sacrificing  sufficiently  to 
Bacchus  to  be  capable  of  any  amount  of  effrontery,  so  that  she  dreaded  passing 
him,  more  especially  as  he  swayed  his  arms  about  like  the  sails  of  a  windmill. 
She  thought  at  least  that  when  her  mother  returned  she  would  rescue  her  ;  but  in 
that  hope  she  was  mistaken,  and  Johanna  had  no  more  idea  of  the  extent  to  which 
religious  fanaticism  will  carry  its  victim,  than  she  had  of  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  moon*  When  Mrs.  Oakley  did  return,  she  had  some 
difficulty  in  getting  into  the  apartment,  inasmuch  as  Mr.  Lupin's  chair  occupied 
so  large  a  portion  of  it ;  but  when  she  did  obtain  admission,  and  Johanna  said— 

"  Mother,  I  beg  of  you  to  protect  me  against  this  man,  and  allow  me  a  free 
passage  from  the  apartment ! " 

Mrs.  Oakley  affected  to  lift  up  her  hands  in  amusement,  as  she  said— • 

"  How  dare  you  speak  so  disrespectfully  of  a  chosen  vessel  ?  How  dare  you,  I 
lay,  do  such  a  thing—it's  enough  to  drive  any  one  ^?ad  to  see  the  young  girls 
now-aslay*  ?" 

" Don't  snub  ner— don't  snub  the  virgin/'  said  Mr.  Lupin;  she  don't  knew  the 
honour  yet  that's  intended  her." 

"  She  don't  deserve  it,"  said  Mrs.  Oafuey,  "  she  don't  deserve  it." 

"  Never  mind,  madam— never  mind ;  we— we— we  don't  get  all  what  we  deserve 
in  this  world." 


«  Yes  •  I— I  rather  think  I  have  a  little.  Isn't  it  a  shame  that  anybody  so 
Intimate  'with  the Lord  should  have  the  hiccups  ?   What  a  lot  of  lights  you  have 

^Sl Iw^^pin!  Why,  ifer,  is  only  one;  but  perhaps  you 
allud^to  th^g|s  of  damnthe  f  the        Abat  is  to 

say,  I  mean  damn  all  backslider's !  But  there  is  a  lot  of  lights  and  no  mistake, 
Mrs.  Oakley.   Give  me  a  drop  of  something,  I  m  as  dry  as  dust. 

"There  is  some  more  mulled  wine,  Mr.  Lupin ;  but  I  am  surprised  that  you 
think  there  is  more  than  one  light,"  .  . ...  "'.  T  . :  -   P -+t, 

"It's  a  miracle,  madam,  in  consequence  of  my  great  faith.   1  have  taitn  m 

s— .s — s — six  lights,  and  here  they  are."  .  , 

"Do  you  see  that,  Johanna  ^exclaimed  Mrs.  Oakley,  "are  you  not  convinced 

now  of  the  holiness  of  Mr.  Lupin  ?"  .  , 

"I  am  convinced  of  his  drunkenness,  mother,  and  entreat  of  you  to  let  me 

leave  the  room  at  once."  „  ,      .      ,  ,, 

Tell  her  of  the  honour,'*  said  Mr.  Lupin-"  tell  her  of  the  honour. 
I  don't  know,  Mr.  Lupin ;  but  don't  you  think  it  would  be  better  to  taKo 
some  other  opportunity  ?" 

"  Very  well,  then,  this  is  the  opportunity."  . 
"If  it's  your  pleasure,  Mr.  \ Lupin,  I  will.  You  must  know,  then,  Johanna, 
that  Mr.  Lupin  has  beea  kind  enough  to  conoent  to  s»ve  tpj  soul,  on  condition 
that  you  marry  him,  and  I  am  auite  sure  you  can  have  no  reasonable  objection ; 
indeed,  I  think  it's  the  least'  you  can  do,  whether  you  have  any  o^ction  or 
not." 

"Well  put,"  said  Mr. Lupin,  "  excellently  well  put. '  /,  t 

"Mother,"  said  Johanna,  "if  you  arc  so  far  gone  in  superstition,  as  to  believe 
this  miserable  drunkard  ought  to  come  between  you  and  heaven,  I  am  so  lost  as 
not  to  be  ab'e  to  reject  the  offer  with  more  scorn  and  contempt  than  ever  I  thought 
I  could  have  entertained  for  any  human  being ;  but  hypocrisy  never,  to  my  mind, 
wears  so  disgusting  a  garb  as  when  it  attires  itself  in  the  outward  show  of 

religion."  .  ... 

"This  conduct  is  unbearable,"  cried  Mrs.  Oakley;  "am  1  to  have  one  of  the 

Lord's  saints  under  my  own  roof  ?"  , 

"  If  he  were  ten  times  a  saint,  mother,  instead  of  being  nothing  but  a  miserable, 
drunken  profligate,  it  would  be  better  that  he  should  be  insulted  ten  times  over, 
than  that  you  should  permit  your  own  child  to  have  passed  through  the  indignity 
of  having  to  reject  such  a  proposition  as  that  which  has  just  been  made.  I  must 
claim  the  protection  of  my  father ;  he  will  not  suffer  one,  towards  whom  he  has 
ever  shown  an  affection,  the  remembrance  of  which  sinks  deep  into  my  heart,  to 
meet  with  so  cruel  an  insult  beneath  his  roof." 

"  That's  right,  my  dear,"  cried  Mr.  Oakley,  at  that  moment  pushing  open  the 
parlour-door.  "That's  right,  my  dear;  you  never  spoke  truer  words  in  all  your 
life." 

A  faint  scream  came  from  Mrs.  Oakley,  aud  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lupin  immediately 
seized  upon  the  fresh  jug  of  mulled'wine,  and  finished  it  at  a  draught. 

"  Get  behind  me,  Satan,"  he  said.  "  Mr.  Oakley,  you  will  be  damned  if  you 
say  a  word  to  me." 

"It's  all  the  same,  then,"  said  Mr.  Oakley; /'for  I'll  be  damned  if  I  don't, 
Then,  Ben  !  Ben  !  come — come  in,  Ben." 

"  I'm  a  coming,"  said  a  deep  voice,  and  a  man  about  six  feet  four  inches  in 
height,  and  nearly  two-thirds  of  that  amount  in  width,  entered  the  parlour.  "  I'm 
*  coming,  Oakley,  my  boy.   Put  on  your  blessed  spectacles,  and  tell  me  which  is 


me  fellow." 


"  I  could  have  sworn  it,"  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  as  she  gave  the  table  a  Jcnocx  wita 
her  fist, — "  I  could  have  sworn  when  you  came  in,  Oakley— I  could  have  sworn* 
vou  little  snivelling,  shrivelled- up  wretch,  you'd  no  more  have  dared  to  come  int* 


■■■'>'  -■'  '  ■  —  ■  —  '  ■  ■  '■"         n.    » —V*~<   ~"~  I 

'l«l.T.J>— 1  1  .U       K    I  "-.■■■■■■Hm— M»llll|-Ill  H  !■  •»   •  I 


 ^      _      _  — ^ ^ — — —    im  — i —  i  !■     ^im—     li  ill     ill»iln    ill  m*m*m mmtmm  in  III  i    ■!  HI   wwniKm       ,r  ,  ^  ^  ^  -il|n> 

'  i    '-■-—»"    ■»  —   —    .  «  —  »  i  .  ,  i.  ,  ^— .   *«nilnwi«..i..ii1  -.-  —  »,  ......    .  „„  i.,,,.  ,  ~.  ..         —  .   Jfc  .1—^. 

THE  STRING  OP  PEAULS.  45 

this  parlour  as  never  was  with  those  words  in  your  mouth,  than  you'd  have  dared 
to  have  flown,  if  you  hadn't  had  your  cousin,  Big  Ben,  the  beef-cater,  from  the 
Tower,  with  you." 

"  Take  it  easy,  ma'am/1  said  Ben,  as  he  sat  down  in  a  chair,  which  immediately 
broke  all  to  pieces  with  his  weight.  " Take  it  easy,  ma'am;  the  devil— what's 
this?" 

"Never  mind,  Ben,"  said  Mr.  Oakley,  "it's  only  a  chair  ;  get  up." 
"  A  cheer,"  said  Ben;  "do  you  caU  that  a  cheer  ?  but  never* mind— take  it 
easy," 

"  Why,  you  big,  bullying,  idle,  swilling  and  guttling  ruffian !" 
"  Go  on,  marm,  go  on." 

"  You  good-for-nothing  lump  of  carrion;  a  dog  wears  his  own  coat,  but  you 
wear  your  master's,  you  great  stupid,  overgrown,  lurking  hounci.  You  parish- 
brought-up  wild  beast,  go  and  mind  your  lions  and  elephants  in  the  Tower,  and 
don't  come  into  honest  people's  houses,  you  cut-throat,  bullying,  pickpocketing 
wretch." 

"  Go  on,  marm,  go  on." 

This  was  a  kind  of  dialogue  that  could  not  last,  and  Mrs.  Oakly  sank  down 
exhausted,  and  then  Ben  said— 

"  I  tell  you  what,  marm,  I  considers  you—I  looks  upon  you,  marm,  as  a  female 
wariety  of  that  ere  animal  as  is  very  useful  and  sagacious,  marm." 

There  was  no  mistake  in  this  'allusion,  and  Mrs.  Oakley  was  about  to  mako 
some  reply,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lupin  rose  from  his  chair,  saying— 

"  Bless  you  all !  I  think  I'll  go  home." 

"Not  yet,  Mr.  Tulip,"  said  Ben;  "you  had  better  sit  down  again— we've  got 
something  to  say  to  you." 

"  Young  man,  young  man,  let  me  pass.  If  you  do  not,  you  will  endanger  your 
soul." 

"I  aint  got  none,"  said  Ben;  "I'm  only  a  beef-eater,  aud  don't  pretend  to  such 
luxuries." 

"The  heathen!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Oakley,  "the  horrid  heathen!  but  there's  one 
consolation,  and  that  is,  th  t  he  will  be  fried  in  his  own  fat  for  everlasting." 

"Oh,  that's  nothing,"  said  Ben;  "  I  think  1  shall  like  it,  especially  if  it's  any 
pleasuie  to  you.  I  suppose  that's  what  you  call  a  Christian  consolation,  Will 
you  sit  down,  Mr.  Tulip  ?* 

"  My  name  aint  Tulip,  but  Lupin ;  but  if  you  wish  it,  I  don't  mind  sitting  down, 
of  couise." 

The  beef-eater,  with  a  movement  of  his  foot,  kicked  away  the  reverend  gentle- 
man's chair,  and  down  he  sat  with  a  dab  upon  the  floor. 

"  My  dear,"  said  Mr.  Oakley  to  Johanna,  "you  go  to  bed,  and  then  your  mother 
can't  say  you  have  anything  to  do  with  this  affair.  I  intend  to  rid  my  house  of 
this  man.    Good  night,  my  dear,  good  night." 

Johanna  kissed  her  father  on  the  cheek,  and  then  left  the  room,  not  at  all  sorry 
that  so  vigorous  a  movement  was  about  being  made  for  the  suppression  of  Mr. 
Lupin.    When  she  was  gone,  Mrs,  Oakley  spoke,  saying— 

"  Mr.  Lupin,  I  bid  you  good  night,  and,  of  course,  after  the  rough  treatment  of 
these  wretches,  I  can  hardly  expect  you  to  come  again.  Good  night,  Mr.  Lupin, 
goodnight."  :  ^ 

"That's  all  very  well,  marm,"  said  Ben,  "  but  before  this  ere  wild  beast  of  a 
parson  goes  away,  I  want  to  admonish  him.  He  don't  seem  to  be  wide  awake,  and 
I  must  rouse  him  up/' 

Ben  took  hold  of  the  reverend  gentleman's  nose,  and  gave  it  such  an  awful 
pinch,  that  when  he  took  his  finger  and  thumb  away,  it  was  perfectly  blue, 

"Murder  !  oh,  murder !  my  nose !  my  nose  !"  shrieked  Mr.  Lupin,  and  at  that 
moment  Mrs.  Oakley,  who  was  afraid  to  attack  Ben,  gave  her  husband  such  an 
open-handed  whack  on  the  side  of  his  head,  that  the  little  man  reeled  again,  and 
saw  a  great  many  more  lights  than  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lupin  had  done  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  mulled  wine. 


46  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Very  good/*  said  Ben ;  "  now  we  are  getting  into,  the  thick  of  it. 

With  this  Ben  took  from  his  pocket  a  coil  of  rope,  one  end  of  which  was  a  noose, 
and  that  he  dexterously  threw  over  Mrs.  Oakley's  head. 

"  Murder !  *  she  shrieked.  "  Oakley,  are  you  going  to  see  me  murdered  before 
your  eyes  ?" 

"  There  is  such  a  singing  in  my  ears/'  said  Mr.  Oakley,  "  that  I  can  t  see  any- 
thing." 

"This  is  the  way,"  said  Ben,  "we  manages  the  wild  beastesses  when  they 
shuts  their  ears  to  all  sorts  of  argument.    Now,  marm,  if  you  please,  a  little  this 


way." 


Ben  looked  about  until  he  found  a  strong  hook  in  the  wall,  over  which,  in  con^ 
sequence  of  his  great  height,  he  was  enabled  to  draw  the  rope,  and  then  the  other 
end  of  it  he  tied  securely  to  the  leg  of  a  heavy  secretaire  that  was  in  the  room,  so 
that  Mrs.  Oakley  was  well  secured. 

"Murder !"  she  cried.  "Oakley,  are  you  a  man,  that  you  stand  by  and  sec  me 
treated  in  this  way  by  this  big  brute  ?" 

"I  can't  see  anything,"  said  Mr.  Oakley ;  "there  is  such  a  singing  in  my  ears  ; 
I  told  you  so  before — I  can't  see  anything." 

"  Now,  ma'am,  you  may  just  say  what  you  like,"  said  Ben ;  "it  won't  matter  a 
bit,  any  more  than  the  grumbling  of  a  bear  with  a  sore  head  ;  and  as  for  you,  Mr, 
Tulip,  you'll  just  get  down  on  your  knees,  and  beg  Mr.  Oakley  s  pardon  for  coming 
and  drinking  his  tea  without  his  leave,  and  having  the  infernal  impudence  to  speak 
*i  to  his  daughter." 

" Don't  do  it,  Mr.  Lupin,"  cried  Mrs.  Oakley—"  don't  do  it." 
"  You  hear,"  said  Ben,  "  what  the  lady  advises.    Now,  I  am  quite  different ;  I 
advise  you  to  do  it — for,  if  you  don't,  I  shan't  hurt  you,  but  it  strikes  me  I  ik%\\ 
be  obliged  to  fall  on  you  and  crush  you." 

"I  tnink  I  will,"  said  Mr.  Lupin;  "the  saints  were  always  forced  to  yield  to  the 
Philistines." 

"  Tf  you  call  me  any  names,"  said  Ben,  u  I'll  just  wring  your  neok." 
"  Young  man,  young  man,  let  me  exhort  you.    Allow  me  to  go,  and  I  will  put 
up  prayers  for  your  conversion." 

"  Confound  your  impudence  !  what  do  you  suppose  the  beasts  in  the  Tower 
would  do,  if  I  was  converted  ?  Why,  that  'ere  tiger,  we  have  had  lately,  would 
eat  his  own  tail,  to  think  as  I  had  turned  out  such  an  ass.  Come,  I  can5  6  waste  any 
more  of  my  precious  time;  and  if  you  don't  get  down  on  your  knees  directly,  we'll 
see  what  we  can  do." 

"I  must,"  said  Mr.  Lupin,  "I  must,  I  suppose;"  and  down  he  flopped  on  his 
knees. 

"Very  good;  now  repeat  after  me.— I  am  a  wolf  that  stole  sheeps'  cloth- 
ing.'3 

"  Yes ;  i  I  am  a  wolf  that  stole  sheeps'  clothing  \ — the  Lord  forgive  me." 
"  Perhaps  he  may,  and  perhaps  he  mayn't.    Now  go  on — all  that's  wirtuous  is 
my  loathing." 

"  Oh  dear,  yes — *  all  that's  wirtuous  is  my  loathing.' " 
"  Mr.  Oakley,  I  have  offended. 

"  Yes ;  I  am  a  miserable  sinner,  Mr.  Oakley,  I  have  offended." 
"  And  asks  his  pardon,  on  my  bended  " 

"  Oh  dear,  yes — I  asks  his  pardon  on  my  bended-^The  Lord  have  mercy  upon 
us,  miserable  sinners !" 
"  Knees — I  won't  do  so  no  more." 
"  Yes, — knees,  I  won't  do  so  no  more  " 
"  As  sure  as  I  lies  on  this  floor." 

"  Yes,— -as  sure  as  I  lies  on  this  floor.— Death  and  the  devil,  you  ve  killed 
me  !" 

t  Ben  took  hold  of  the  reverend  gentleman  by  the  back  of  the  neck,  and  pressed 
his  head  down  upon  the  floor,  until  his  nose,  which  had  before  been  such  a  sufferer, 
was  nearly  completely  flattened  with  his  face. 


4 


1 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  47 


S3 


u  Now  you  may  go aaid  Ben. 

Mr.  Lupin  scrambled  to  his  feet ;  but  Ben  followed  him  into  the  passage,  and 
did  not  yet  let  him  go,  until  he  had  accelerated  his  movements  by  two  hearty  kicks. 
And  then  the  victorious  beef-eater  returned  to  the  parlour. 

«  Why,  Ben,"  said  Mr*  Oakley,  "  you  are  quite  a  poet, 

C'I  believe  you,  Oakley,  my  boy,"  said  Ben,  "  and  now  let  us  be  off,  and  have 
a  pint  round  the  corner." 

"What !"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Oakley,  "  and  leave  me  here,  you  wretches  ?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Ben,  "  unless  you  promises  never  to  be  a  female  variety  of  a  use- 
ful animal  again,  and  begs  pardon  of  Mr.  Oakley,  for  giving  him  all  this  trouble ; 
as  for  me,  Til  let  you  off  cheap,  you  shall  only  give  me  a  kiss,  and  say  you  loves 
me." 


9> 


"  If  I  do,  may  I  be- 
"  Damned,  you  mean.3 
"  No,  1  don't;  choked  I  was  going  to  say." 

"  Then  you  may  be  choked,  for  you  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  let  your  legs  go 
from  under  you,  and  you  will  be  hung  as  comfortable  as  possible— come  along, 
Oakley."1 

"  Mr.  Oakley — stop,  stop— don't  leave  me  here.   I  am  sorry." 

"That's  enough,"  said  Mr.  Oakley;  "and now,  my  dear,  bear  in  mind  one 
thing  from  me — I  intend  from  this  time  forward  to  be  master  in  my  own  house. 
If  you  and  I  are  to  live  together,  we  must  do  so  on  very  different  [terms  to  what 
we  have  been  living,  and  if  you  won't  make  yourself  agreeable,  Lawyer  Hutchins 
tells  me  that  I  can  turn  you  out  and  give  you  a  maintenance  ;  and,  in  that  case, 
I'll  have  my  sister  Rachel  home  to  mind  house  for  me;  so  now  you  know  my 
determination,  and  what  you  have  to  expect.  If  you  wish  to  begin,  well,  do  so  at 
once,  by  getting  something  nice  and  tasty  for  Ben's  supper." 

Mrs.  Oakley  made  the  required  promise,  and  being  released,  she  set  about  pre- 
parations for  the  supper  in  real  earnest,  but  whether  she  was  really  subdued  or  not 
we  shall,  in  due  time,  see. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  COLONEL  AND  HIS  FRIEND. 


Colonel  Jeffeey  was  not  at  all  satisfied  with  the  state  of  affairs,  as  regarded 
the  disappointment  of  Mr.  Thornhill,  for  whom  he  entertained  a  sincere  regard, 
both  on  account  of  the  private  estimation  in  whieh  he  held  him,  and  on  account  of 
actual  services  rendered  to  Thornhill  by  him.  Not  to  detain  J ohanna  Oakley  in 
the  Temple-gardens,  he  had  stopped  his  narrative,  completely  at  the  point  when 
what  concerned  her  had  ceased,  and  had  said  nothing  of  much  danger  which  the 
ship  "Neptune"  and  its  crew  and  passengers  had  gone  through,  after  Mr.  Thorn- 
hill had  been  taken  on  board  with  his  dog.  The  fact  is,  the  storm  which  he  had 
mentioned  was  only  tbe  first  of  a  series  of  gales  of  wind  that  buffeted  the  ship 
about  for  some  weeks,  doing  it  much  damage,  and  enforcing  almost  the  necessity 
of  putting  in  somewhere  for  repairs.  But  a  glance  at  the  map  will  be  sufficient 
to  show,  that,  situated  as  the  "  Neptune"  was,  the  nearest  port  at  which  they 
could  at  all  expect  assistance,  was  the  British  Colony,  at  the  Cape  of  Gooa 
Hope ;  but  such  was  the  contrary  nature  of  the  winds  and  waves, 
that  just  upon  the  evening  of  a  tempestuous  day,  they  found  them- 
selves bearing  down  close  in  shore,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Madagascar. 
There  was  much  apprehension  that  the  vessel  would  strike  on  a  rocky  shore ;  but 
the  water  was  deep,  and  the  vessel  rode  well ;  there  was  a  squall,  and  they  let  go 
both  anchors  to  secure  the  vessel,  as  they  were  so  close  in  shore,  lest  they  should 
be  driven  in  and  stranded*  It  was  fortunate  they  had  so  secured  themselves*  for 


48  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 

-==^^  of  her  mast, 

andtme  J I^^X^  ^  however,  entailed  upon  them  the  necessiy 
^^^^^^  days,  to  cut  timber  to  repair  their  masts  and  to  obtain 

It^^^Tbm  *  b^  little  t0  interest  a  general  "f aer  1U  iht  desTP^U 
of  a  sale ^P  Order  after  order  was  given  until  the  masts  and  spars  went  one  by  one 

£d then  the  order,  for  clearing  the  wreck  were  .given.   There  was  much  work  to 

be  done  and  but  little  pleasure  in  doing  it,  for  it  was  wet  and  miserable  while  it 

las  ted  and  there  was  the  danger  of  being  driven  upon  a  lee  shore,  and  knocked  to 

pTeces'  w**™™**-   This°danger  was"  averted,  and  they  anchored  safe  at  a  very 

short  distance  from  the  shore  in  comparative  security.  ^maflli 

••We  are  safe  now,"  remarked  the  captain,  as  he  gave  his  second  m  command 
charge  of  the  deck,  and  approached  Mr.  Thorahill  and  Colonel  Jeftery. 

"  I  am  happy  it  is  so,"  replied  Jeffery . 

"Well,  captain;1  said  Mr.  Thornhill,  "I  am  glad  we  have  done  with  being 
knocked  about;  we  are  anchored,  and  the  water  here  appears  smooth  enough. 

"It  is  so  and  I  dare  say  it  wiil  remain  so ;  it  is  a  beautiful  basin  ot  water- 
deep  and  good  anchorage ;  but  you  see  it  is  not  large  enough  to  make  a  line 
harbour." 

"True;  but  it  is  rocky-"  .  , 

"It  is,  and  that  mav  make  it  sometimes  dangerous,  though  I  don  t  know  that 
it  would  be  so  in  some  gales.  The  sea  may  beat  in  at  the  opening,  which  is  deep 
enough  for  anything  to  enter— even  Noah's  ark  would  enter  easily  enough. 

Ci  What  will  vou  do  now?"  . 

"  Stay  here  a  day  or  so,  and  send  boats  ashore  to  cut  some  pine  trees,  to  relit 

the  ship  with  masts." 

"  You  have  no  staves,  then?" 

"  Not  enough  for  such  a  purpose ;  and  we  never  do  go  out  stored  with  suca 
things." 

"  You  obtain  them  wherever  you  may  go  to."  s> 
"  Yes,  any  part  of  the  world  will  furnish  them  in  some  shape  or  other* '  ^ 
"When  you  send  ashore,  will  you  permit  me  to  accompany  the  boat's  crew?" 
said  Jeffery. 

"  Certainly ;  but  the  natives  of  this  country  are  violent  and  intractable,  and 
should  you  get  into  any  row  with  them,  there  is  every  probability  of  your  being 
captured,  or  some  bodily  injury  done  you." 

"But  I  will  take  care  to  avoid  all  that." 

"  Very  well,  colonel,  you  shall  be  welcome  to  go." 

u  I  must  beg  the  same  permission/'  said  Mr.  Thornhill,  <c  for  I  should  rrtuch 
like  to  see  the  country,  as  well  as  to  have  some  acquaintance  with  the  natives 
themselves." 

By  no  means  trust  yourself  alone  with  them,"  said  the  captain,  "for  if  you 

"  ,jL    11       1       1  what  I  say." 

but  where  the  boat's  company 

goes." 
*•  You  will  be  safe  then." 

"  But  do  you  apprehend  any  hostile  attack  from  the  natives  P*  inquired  Colonel 
Jeffery. 

"  No,  I  do  not  expect  it ;  but  such  things  have  happened  before  to-day,  and  I 
have  seen  them  when  least  expected,  though  1  have  been  on  this  coast  before,  and 
yet  I  never  met  with  any  ill-treatment ;  but  there  have  been  many  who  have 
touched  on  this  coast,  who  have  had  a  brush  with  the  natives  and  come  off  second 
Vest,  the  natives  generally  retiring  when  the  ship's  company  muster  strong  in 
number,  and  calling  out  the  chiefs,  who  come  down  in  great  force,  that  we  may  not 
conqcrer  theni." 

The  next  morning  the  boats  were  ordered  out  to  go  ashore  with  crews,  prepared 
for  cutting  timber,  and  obtaining  such  staves  as  the  ship  was  in  want  of.  With 
these  boats  old  Thornhill  and  Colonel  Jeffery  went  both  of  them  on  board,  and 

Hjril,l4ypiKimi..ii""   I  ■»■'       -i  i.*i>J"Ll»«»  mm         uin.nj»iii  i    ■  >'    i  j        I'il    I   I  Ml  m  III1  nil    ...mil  ■   u  ..        l    i  i      ■ .   -  ■  ' 


-m~^  J   —  TT  ~  "  »»  —  *  1 

live  you  will  have  cause  to  repent  it— depend  upon  what  I  say." 
"I  will,"  said  Thornhill ;  "1  will  go  nowhere  I 


~  —       ■  -  -     "    •       •-  1   ""_  »  1  ■    ^"  ■■   w-  .  . -„  .     .  ,   ,    ,  B  M  ^   ^  ...^ 

THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  49 


aft  er  a  short  ride  they  reached  the  rshore  of  Madagascar.  It  was  a  beautiful 
country,  and  one  in  which  vegetables  appear  luxuriant  and  abundant,  and  the 
party  in  search  of  timber  for  shipbuilding  purposes  soon  came  to  some  lordly 
monarchs  of  the  forest,  which  would  have  made  vessels  of  themselves.  But  ithis 


JFHORNHILL  RESCUES  CoLOKEL  JEFFERYS  FROM  THE  SAVAGES. 

was  not  what  was  wanted  j  but  where  the'trees  grew  thicker  and  taller,  they  began 
to  cut  some  tall  pine-trees  down.  This  was  the  wood  they  most  desired ;  in  fact, 
it  was  exactly  what  they  wanted ;  but  they  hardly  got  through  a  few  such  trees, 
when  the  natives  came  down  upon  them,  apparently  to  reconnoitre.   At  first  they 


No.  7. 


60_   THE  STRING  OP  PEARL8.  

were  quiet  and  tractable  enough,  but  anxious  to  see  and  inspect  everything,  being 
very  inquisitive  and  curious.  However,  that  was  easily  borne,  but  at  length  they 
became  more  numerous,  and  began  to  pilfer  all  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon, 
which,  of  course  brought  resentment,  and,  after  some  time,  a  blow  or  two  was 
exchanged.  Colonel  Jeffery  was  forward,  and  endeavouring  to  prevent  some 
violence  being  offered  to  one  of  the  wood-cutters;  in  fact,  he  was  interposing  him- 
self between  the  two  contending  parties,  and  tried  to  restore  order  and  peace,  but 
several  armed  natives  rushed  suddenly  upon  him,  secured  him,  and  were  hurrying  him 
away  to  death  before  any  one  could  stir  in  his  behalf.  His  doom  appeared  certain, 
for,  had  they  succeeded,  they  would  have  cruelly  and  brutally  murdered  him. 
However,  just  at  that  moment  aid  was  at  hand,  and  Mr.  Thornhill,  seeing  how 
matters  stood,  seized  a  musket  from  one  of  the  sailors,  and  rushed  after  the  natives 
who  had  Colonel  Jeffery.  There  were  three  of  them,  two  others  had  gone  on  to 
apprise,  it  was  presumed,  the  chiefs.  When  Mr.  Thornhill  arrived,  they  had  thrown 
a  blanket  over  the  head  of  Jeffery ;  but  Mr.  Thornhill  in  an  instant  hurled  one 
down  with  a  blow  from  the  butt-end  of  his  musket,  and  the  second  met  the  same 
fate,  as  he  turned  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  The  third,  seeing  the  coionel  free, 
and  the  musket  levelled  at  his  own  head,  immediately  ran  after  the  other  two,  to  i 
avoid  any  serious  consequences  to  himself.  ' 
( "  Thornhill,  you  have  saved  my  life,"  said  Colonel  J effery,  excitedly. 
"  Come  away,  don't  stop  here— to  the  ship ! — to  the  ship  1"  And  as  he  spoke, 
they  hurried  after  the  crew  ;  and  they  succeeded  in  reaching  the  boats  and  the 
ship  ip  safety ;  congratulating  themselves  not  a  little  upon  so  lucky  an  escape  from 
a  people  quite  warlike  enough  to  do  mischief,  but  not  civilized  enough  to  distinguish 
when  to  do  it. 

When  men  are  far  away  from  home,  and  in  foreign  lands,  with  the  skies  of 
other  climes  above  them,  their  hearts  become  more  closely  knit  together  in  those 
ties  of  brotherhood  which  certainly  ought  to  actuate  the  whole  universe,  but 
which  as  certainly  do  not  do  so,  except  in  very  rare  instances.  One  of  these  in- 
stances, however,  would  be  found  in  the  conduct  of  Colonel  Jeffery  aud  Mr. 
Thornhill,  even  under  any  circumstances,  for  they  were  most  emphatically  what 
might  be  termed  kindred  spirits ;  but  when  we  come  to  unite  to  that  fact  the 
remarkable  manner  in  which  they  had  been  thrown  together,  and  the  mutual  ser- 
vices that  they  had  it  in  their  power  to  render  to  each  other,  we  should  not  be 
surprised  at  the  almost  romantic  friendship  that  arose  vbetween  them.  It  was 
then  that  Thornhill  made  the  colonel's  breast  the  depository  of  all  his  thoughts 
and  all  his  wishes,  and  a  freedom  of  intercourse  and  a  community  of  feeling 
ensued  between  them,  which,  when  it  does  take  place  between  persons  of  really 
congenial  dispositions,  produces  the  most  delightful  results  of  human  companionship. 
No  one  who  has  not  endured  the  tedium  of  a  sea  voyage,  can  at  all  be  aware  of  what 
a  pleasant  thing  it  is  to  have  some  one  on  board,  in  the  rich  stores  of  whose 
intellect  and  fancy  one  can  find  a  never-ending  amusement.  The  winds  might 
now  whistle  through  the  cordage,  and  the  waves  toss  the  great  ship  on  their 
foaming  crests,t  still  Thornhill  and  Jeffery  were  together,  finding  in  the  midst  of 
danger,  solace  in  each  other's  society,  and  each  animating  the  other  to  the  per- 
formance of  deeds  of  daring  that  astonished  the  crew.  The  whole  voyage  was 
one  of  the  greatest  peril,  and  some  of  the  oldest  seamen  on  board  did  not  scruple, 
during  the  continuance  of  their  night  watches,  to  intimate  to  their  companions 
that  the  ship,  in  their  opinion,  would  never  reach  England,  and  that  she  would 
founder  somewhere  along  the  long  stretch  of  the  African  coast.  The  captain,  of 
course,  made  every  possible  exertion  to  put  a  stop  to  such  prophetic  sayings,  but 
when  once  they  commenced,  in  a  short  time  there  is  no  such  thing  as  completely 
eradicating  them  5  and  they,  of  course,  produced  the  most  injurious  effect,  paraly- 
sing the  exertions  of  the  crew  in  times  of  danger,  and  making  them  believe  that 
they  are  in  a  doomed  ship,  aud  consequently  all  they  can  do  is  useless.  Sailors 
are  extremely  superstitious  on  such  matters,  and  there  cannot  be  any  reasonable 
doubt,  but  that  some  of  the  disasters  that  befel  the  Neptune  on  her  homeward 
voyage  from  India,  may  be  attributed  to  this  feeling  of  fatality  getting  hold  of 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  51 


the  seamen,  and  inducing  them  to  think  that,  let  them  try  what  they  might,  they 
could  not  save  the  ship.  It  happened  that  after  they  had  rounded  the  Cape,  a 
dense  fog  came  on,  such  as  had  not  been  known  on  that  coast  for  many  a  yearj 
although  the  western  shore  of  Africa  at  some  seasons  of  the  year  is  rather  subject 
to  such  a  species  of  vaporous  exhalation.  Every  object  was  wrapped  in  the  mpst 
profound  gloom,  and  yet  there  was  a  strong  eddy  or  current  of  tne  ocean,  flowing 
parallel  with  the  laud,  and  as  the  eaptain  hoped,  rather  off  than  on  the  shore.  Still 
there  was  a  suspicion  that  the  ship  was  making  lee-way,  which  must  eventually 
bring  it  on  shore,  by  some  of  the  low  promontories  that  were  by  the  maps  indi- 
cated to  be  upon  the  coast.  In  consequence  of  this  fear,  the  greatest  anxiety  pre- 
vailed on  board  the  vessel,  and  lights  were  left  burning  on  all  parts  of  the  deck, 
while  two  men  were  continnally  engaged  making  soundings*  It  was  about  half- 
an-hour  after  midnight,  as  the  chronometer  indicated  a  storm,  that  suddenly  the 
men,  who  were  on  watch  on  the  deck,  raised  a  loud  cry  of  dismay.  They  had 
suddenly  seen  close  on  to  the  larboard  bow,  lights  which  must  belong  to  some 
vessel  that,  like  the  Neptune,  was  encompassed  in  the  fog,  and  a  collision  was 
quite  inevitable,  for  neither  ship  had  time  to  put  about.  The  only  doubt,  which 
was  a  fearful  and  an  agonising  one  to  have  solved,  was  whether  the  stronger  vessel 
was  of  sufficient  bulk  and  power  to  run  them  down,  or  they  it ;  and  that  fearful 
question  was  one  which  a  few  moments  must  settle.  In  fact,  almost  before  the 
echo  of  that  cry  of  horror  which  had  come  from  the  men,  had  died  away,  the 
vessels  met.  There  was  a  hideous  crash— one  shriek  of  dismay  and  horror,  and 
then  all  was  still.  The  Neptune,  with  considerable  damage,  and  some  of  her 
bulwarks  stove  in,  sailed  on ;  but  the  other  ship  went,  with  a  surging  sound,  to  the 
bottom  of  the  sea.  Alas !  nothing  could  be  done.  The  fog  was  so  dense,  that 
coupled,  too,  as  it  was  with  the  darkness  of  the  night,  there  could  be  no  hope 
of  rescuing  one  of  the  ill-fated  crew  of  the  ship ;  and  the  officers  and  seamen  of 
the  Neptune,  although  they  shouted  for  some  time,  and  then  listened,  to  hear  if 
any  survivors  of  the  ship  that  had  been  run  down  were  swimming,  no  answer  came 
to  them  ;  and  when  in  about  six  hours  more,  they  sailed  out  of  the  fog  into  a  clear 
sunshine,  where  there  was  not  so  much  as  a  cloud  to  be  seen,  they  looked  at  each 
other  like  men  newly  awakened  from  some  strange  and  fearful  dream. 
They  never  discovered  the  name  of  the  ship  they  had  run  down,  and  the  whole 
affair  remained  a  profound  mystery.  When  the  Neptune  reached  the  port  of 
London,  the  affair  was  repeated,  ana  every  exertion  was  made  to  obtain  some 
information  concerning  the  ill-fated  ship  that  had  met  with  so  fearful  a  doom. 
Such  were  the  circumstances  which  awakened  all  the  liveliest  feelings  of  gratitude 
on  the  part  of  Colonel  Jeffery  towards  Mr.  Thornhill ;  and  hence  was  it  that  he 
considered  it  a  sacred  duty,  now  that  he  was  in  London,  and  had  the  necessary 
leisure  to  do  so,  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  to  discover  what  had  become  of  him. 
After  deep  and  anxious  thought,  and  feeling  convinced  that  there  was  some  mystery 
which  it  was  beyond  his  power  to  discover,  he  resolved  upon  asking  the  opinion  of 
||  a  friend,  likewise  in  the  army,  a  Captain  Rathbone,  concerning  the  whole  of  the 
facts.  This  gentleman,  and  a  gentleman  he  was  in  the  fullest  acceptance  of  the 
term,  was  in  London ;  in  fact,  he  had  retired  from  active  service,  and  inhabited  a 
small  but  pleasant  house  in  the  outskirts  of  the  metropolis.  It  was  one  of  those 
old-fashioned  cottage  residences,  with  all  sorts  of  odd  places  and  corners  about  it, 
and  a  thriving  garden  full  of  fine  old  wood,  such  as  are  rather  rare  near  to  London, 
and  which  are  daily  becoming  more  rare,  in  consequence  of  the  value  of  land 
immediately  contiguous  to  the  metropolis  not  permitting  large  pieces  to  remain 
attached  to  small  residences.  Captain  Rathbone  had  an  amiable  family  about  him, 
such  as  he  was  and  might  well  be  proud  of,  and  was  living  in  as  great  a  state  of 
domestic  felicity  as  this  world  could  very  well  afford  him.  It  was  to  this  gentle- 
man, then,  that  Colonel  Jefferv  resolved  upon  going  to  lay  all  the  circumstances 
before  him  concerning  the  probable  fate  of  poor  Thornhill.  This  distance  was  not 
J  so  great  but  that  he  could  walk  it  conveniently,  and  he  did  so,  arriving,  towards 
'  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  on  the  following  day  to  that  which  had  witnessed  his 
deeply  interesting  interview  with  Johanna  Oakley  in  the^Temple-garden^*  There 


! 


ag^w«gw»-.iiinpiw^wi|.in  i»-|jinMu  I,  inmnmmtmstM    .  i  iMwinuMiaieiwwin.r.   <  m<<tttt^m-}iMMi>  nmtjET^  .jQBii.iirn.n-  •  iLITWifnitiwri *      ■ ' -ntut  iirr  i  f'- 


52 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


is  nothing  on  earth  so  delightfully  refreshing,  after  a  dusty  and  rather  a  Ion* 
country  walk,  as  to  suddenly  enter  a  well-kept  and  extremely  verdant  garden ;  and 
this  was  the  case  especially  to  the  feelings  of  Colonel  Jeffery,  when  he  arrived  at 
Lime  Tree  Lodge,  the  residence  of  Captain  Rathbone.  He  met  him  with  a  most 
cordial  and  frank  welcome— a  welcome  which  he  expected,  but  which  was  none 
the  less  delightful  on  that  account ;  and,  after  sitting  awhile  with  the  family  m 
the  house,  he  and  the  captain  strolled  into  the  garden,  and  then  Colonel  Jeffery 
commenced  his  revelation.  The  captain,  with  very  few  interruptions,  heard  him 
to  an  end ;  and,  when  he  concluded  by  saying— 

"  And  now  I  am  come  to  ask  your  advice  upon  all  these  matters  the  captain 
immediately  replied,  in  his  warm,  off-hand  manner— 

"  I  am  afraid  you  won't  find  my  advice  of  much  importance ;  but  I  offer  you  my 
active  co-operation  in  anything  you  think  ought  to  be  done  or  can  be  done  in  this 
affair,  which,  I  assure  you  deeply  interests  me,  and  gives  me  the  greatest  possible 
impulse  to  exertion,  xou  have  but  to  command  me  in  the  matter,  and  1  am  com- 
pletely at  your  disposal." 

"  I  was  quite  certain  you  would  say  as  much.  But,  notwithstanding  the 
manner  in  which  you  shrink  from  giving  an  opinion,  I  am  anxious  to  know  what 
you  really  think  with  regard  to  what  are,  you  will  allow,  most  extraordinary  cir- 
cumstances/5 

Cf  The  most  natural  thing  in  the  world,"  said  Captain  Rathbone,  "  at  the  first 
flush  of  the  affair,  seemed  to  be,  that  we  ought  to  look  for  your  friend  Thornhill  at 
the  point  where  he  disappeared/' 

"  At  the  barber's  in  Meet-street  P" 

"  Precisely.    Did  he  leave  the  barber,  or  did  he  not  ?" 

u  Sweeney  Todd  says  that  he  left  him,  and  proceeded  down  the  street  towards 
the  city,  in  pursuance  of  a  direction  he  had  given  him  to  Mr.  Oakley,  the  spec  • 
tacle-maker,  and  that  he  saw  him  get  into  some  sort  of  disturbance  at  the  end  of 
the  market;  but  to  put  against  that,  we  have  the  fact  of  the  dog  remaining  by 
the  barber's  door,  and  his  refusing  to  leave  it  on  any  amount  of  solicitation.  Now 
the  very  fact  that  a  dog  could  act  in  such  a  way  proclaims  an  amount  of  sagacity 
that  seems  to  tell  loudly  against  the  presumption  that  such  a  creature  could  make 
any  mistake." 

"It  does.  What  say  you,  now,  to  go  into  town  to-morrow  morning,  and 
making  a  call  at  the  barber's,  without  peoclaimingw  we  have  any  special 
errand,  except  to  be  shaved  and  dressed  ?  Do  you  think  he  would  know  you 
again  r 

"  Scarcely,  in  plain  clothes.  J  was  in  my  undress  uniform  when  I  called 
with  the  captain  of  the  Neptune,  so  that  his  impression  of  me  must  be  of 
decidedly  a  military  character  ;  and  the  probability  is,  that  he  would  not  know 
me  at  all  in  the  clothes  of  a  civilian.  I  like  the  idea  of  giving  a  call  at  the 
barber's/1 

"  Do  you  think  your  friend  Thornhill  was  a  man  likely  to  talk  about  the  valuable 
pearls  he  had  in  his  possession  ?" 
"  Certainly  not/' 

"I  merely,  ask  you,  because  they  might  have  offered  a  great  temptation} 
and  if  he  has  experienced  any  foul  play  at  the  hands  of  the  barber,  the  idea 
or  becoming  possessed  of  such  a  valuable  treasure  might  have  been  the  induce- 
ment/' 

"  I  do  not  think  it  probable,  but  it  has  struck  me  that,  if  we  obtain  any  infor- 
mation whatever  of  Thornhill,  it  will  be  in  consequence  of  these  very  .pearls. 
They  are  of  great  value,  and  not  likely  to  be  overlooked ;  and  yet,  unless  a  cus- 
tomer be  found  for  them,  they  are  of  no  value  at  all ;  and  nobody  buys  jewels  of 
that  character  but  from  the  personal  vanity  of  making,  of  course,  some  public  dis- 
play of  them.'* 

"  That  is  true  ;  and  so,  from  hand  to  hand,  we  might  trace  those  pearls  until  we 
come  to  the  individual  who  must  have  had  them  from  Thornhill  himself,  and  wh<i 


*CT> 


I 


THE  STRING  OF  PEAHLS. 


53 


might  be  forced  to  account  most  strictly  for  the  manner  in  which  they  came  into 
his  possession." 

After  some  more  desultory  conversation  upon  the  subject,  it  was  agreed  that 
Colonel  Jeffery  should  take  a  bed  for  the  night  at  Lime  Tree  Lodge,  and 
that,  in  the  morning,  they  should  both  start  for  London,  and,  disguising  them- 
selves as  respectable  citizens,  make  some  attempts,  by  talking  about  jewels  and 
precious  stones,  to  draw  out  the  barber  into  a  confession  that  he  had  something  of 
the  sort  to  dispose  of ;  and,  moreover,  they  fully  intended  to  take  away  the  dog, 
with  the  care  of  which  Captain  Rathbone  charged  himself.  We  may  pass  over 
the  pleasant,  social  evening  which  the  colonel  passed  with  the  amiable  family  of 
the  ttathbones,  and,  skipping  likewise  a  conversation  of  some  strange  and  confused 
dreams  which  Jeffery  had  during  the  night  concerning  his  friend  Thornhill,  we 
will  presume  that  both  the  colonel  and  the  captain  have  breakfasted,  and  that  they 
have  proceeded  to  London  and  are  at  the  shop  of  a  clothier  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  Strand,  in  order  to  procure  coats,  wigs,  and  hats,  that  should  disguise  them 
for  their  visit  to  Sweeney  Todd.  Then,  arm  in  arm,  they  walked  towards  Pleet- 
street,  and  soon  arrived  opposite  the  little  shop  within  which  there  appears  to  be  so 
much  mystery. 

t"The  dog,  you  perceive,  is  not  here/'  said  the  colonel;  "I  had  my  sus- 
picions, however,  when  I  passed  with  Johanna  Oakley  that  something  was  amiss 
with  him,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  rascally  barber  has  fairly  compassed  his 
destruction." 

"  If  the  barber  be  innocent,"  said  Captain  Rathbone,  "  you  must  admit  that  it 
would  be  one  of  the  most  confoundedly  annoying  things  in  the  world  to  have  a 
dog  continually  at  his  door  assuming  such  an  aspect  of  accusation,  and  in  that 
case  I  can  scarcely  wonder  at  his  putting  the  creature  out  of  the  way.3' 

€?  No,  presuming  upon  his  innocence,  certainly ;  but  we  will  say  nothing  about 
all  that,  and  remember  we  must  come  in  as  perfect  strangers,  knowing  nothing  of 
the  affair  of  the  dog,  and  presuming  nothing  about  the  disappearance  of  any  one 
in  this  locality." 

"  Agreed,  come  on ;  if  he  should  see  us  through  the  window,  hanging  about 
at  all  or  hesitating,  his  suspicions  will  be  at  once  awakened,  and  we  shall  do  no 
good." 

They  both  entered  the  shop  and  found  Sweeney  Todd  wearing  an  extraordinary 
singular  appearance,  for  there  was  a  black  patch  over  one  of  his  eyes,  which  was 
kept  in  its  place  by  a  green  riband  that  went  round  his  head,  so  that  he  looked 
more  fierce  and  diabolical  than  ever ;  and  having  shaved  off  a  small  whisker  that 
he  used  to  wear,  his  countenance,  although  to  the  full  as  hideous  as  ever,  cer- 
tainly had  a  different  character  of  ugliness  to  that  which  had  before  characterised 
it,  and  attracted  the  attention  of  the  colonel.  That  gentleman  would  hardly  have 
known  him  again  any  where  but  in  his  own  shop,  and  when  we  come  to  consider 
Sweeney  Todd's  adventures  of  the  preceding  evening,  we  shall  feel  not  surprised  t  hat 
he  saw  the  necessity  of  endeavouring  to  make  as  much  change  in  his  appearance 
as  possible,  for  fear  he  should  come  across  any  of  the  parties  who  had 
chased  him,  and  who,  for  all  he  knew  to  the  contrary,  might,  quite 
unsuspectingly,  drop  in  to  be  shaved  in  the  course  of  the  morning,  perhaps  to 
retail  at  that  acknowledged  mart  for  all  sorts  of  gossip — a  barber's  shop— some 
of  the  very  incidents  which  he  has  so  well  qualified  himself  to  relate. 

"  Shaved  and  dressed,  gentlemen  ?"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  as  his  customers  made 
their  appearance. 

"  Shaved  only."  said  Captain  Rathbone,  who  had  agreed  to  be  principal  spokes- 
man, in  case  Sweeney  Todd  should  have  any  remembrance  of  the  colonel's  voice, 
and  so  suspect  him. 


mysterious  circumstance,  if  it's  true,  but  you  can't  believe,  you  know  sir,  all  that 
is  put  in  newspapers." 


ii 


h 
j 


U  THE  STRING  01  PEARLS. 


K  Thank  you— thank  you,"  said  the  colonel  i  . 

Captain  Rathbone  sat  down  to  be  shaved,  for  he  had  purposely  omitted  that 
operation  at  home,  in  order  that  it  should  not  appear  a  mere  excuse  to  get  mto 

s  Sweeney  Todd's  shop.  9  . 

45  Why,  sir,"  continued  Sweeney  Todd,  "as  I  was  saying,  it  is  a  most  remark- 

able  circumstance." 
"Indeed!" 

"  Yes,  sir,  an  old  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Fidler  had  been  to  receive  a  sum 
of  money  at  the  west-end  of  the  town,  and  has  never  been  heard  of  since;  that 
was  yesterday,  sir,  and  here  is  a  description  of  him  in  the  papers  of  to-day.  CA 
snuff-coloured  jcoat,  and  velvet  smalls— black  velvet,  I  should  have  said — silk 
stockings,  and  silver  shoe-buckles,  and  a  gold-headed  cane,  with  W.  D.  IV  upon 
it,  meaning  William  Dumpledown  Fidler"— a  most  mysterious  affair,  gentlemen/" 
A  sort  of  groan  came  from  the  corner  of  the  shop,  and,  on  the  impulse  of  the 
moment,  Colonel  Jeffery  sprang  to  his  feet,  exclaiming— 
"  What's  that— what's  tnat  ?" 

"Oh,  it's  only  my  apprentice,  Tobias  Ragg.   He  has  got  a  pain  in  his  stomach 
from  eating  too  many  of  Lovett's  pork  pies.   Aint  that  it,  Tobias,  my  bud  ?" 
"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Tobias  with  another  groan. 

"  Oh,  indeed,"  said  the  colonel,  "  it  ought  to  make  him  more  careful  for  the 
future." 

"It's  to  be  hoped  it  will,  sir;  Tobias,  do  you  hear  what  this  gentleman  says  : 
it  ought  to  make  you  more  careful  in  future.  I  am  too  indulgent  to  you,  that's 
the  fact.  .Now,  sir,  I  believe  you  are  as  clean  shaved  as  ever  you  were  in  your  life." 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Captain  Eathbone,  "  I  think  that  will  do  very  well ;  and  now, 
Mr.  Green" — addressing  the  colonel  by  that  assumed  named — "and  now,  Mr. 
Green,  be  quick,  or  we  shall  be  too  late  for  the  duke,  and  so  lose  the  sale  of  some 
of  our  jewels." 

"  We  shall  indeed,"  said  the  colonel,  "if  we  don't  mind,  We  sat  too  long 
over  our  breakfast  at  the  inn,  and  his  grace  is  too  rich  and  too  good  a  customer  to 
lose— he  don't  mind  what  price  he  gives  for  things  that  take  his  fancy,  or  the  fancy 
of  his  duchess." 

"  Jewel  merchants,  gentlemen,  I  presume,"  said  Sweeny  Todd. 
"  Yes,  we  have  been  in  that  line  for  some  time  ;  and  by  one  of  us  trading  in 
one  direction,  and  the  other  in  another,  we  manage  extremely  well,  because 
we  exchange  what  suits  our  different  customers,  and  keep  up  two  distinct  con- 


nexio  s." 
it 


A  very  good  plan,"#  said  Sweeney  Todd.   "  I'll  be  as  quick  as  I  can  with  you, 
sir.   Dealing  in  jewels  is  better  than  shaving." 
"I  dare  say  it  is." 

"Of  course,  it  is,  sir;  here  have  I  been  slaving  for  some  years  in  this  shop, 
and  not  done  much  good— that  is  to  say,  when  I  talk  of  not  having  done  much 
good,  I  admit  I  have  made  enough  to  retire  upon  quietly  and  comfortably,  and  I 
mean  to  do  so  very  shortly.  There  you  are,  sir,  shaved  with  celerity  you  seldom 
meet  with,  and  as  clean  as  possible,  for  the  small  charge  of  one  penny.  Thank 
you,  gentlemen— there's  your  change ;  good  morning," 

They  had  no  resource  but  to  leave  the  shop ;  and  when  they  had  gone,  Sweeney 
Todd,  as  he  stropped  the  razor  he  had  been  using  upon  his  hand,  gave  a  most 
diabolical  grin,  muttering— 

"  Clever— very  ingenious— but  it  won't  do.  Oh  dear,  no,  not  at  all !  I  am  not 
so  easily  taken  in— diamond  merchants,  ah!  ah  !  and  no  objection,  of  course,  to 
deal  in  pearls— a  good  jest  that,  truly,  a  capital  jest.  If  I  had  been  accustomed 
to  be  so  easily  defeated,  1  had  not  now  been  here  a  living  man.  Tobias  Tobias  I 
say."  '  f 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  lad,  dejectedly. 

"  Have  vou  forgotten  your  mother's  danger  in  case  you  breathe  a  syllable  of 
anythiiigr  that  has  occurred  here,  or  that  you  think  has  occurred  here,  or  so  much 
as  dream  of  P 99 


THE  STRING  OF  PMULS.  55 

*"Tr      -+b  W***.  Mi».t&*  »<frBi«  »r<  «ejj^»\ii  '■  ifrUfci  fc**  mn  n—  n     -j*«t  j»— ■aMi'*aw>*Afcll<.—  . »»       —  ,     „  ,  ,,-     ■  ,,     ,      ,  t  ,,    „   ■- m  n  -  r>.  .i  j  .i  l  uwu«PjmiU*l»0»nrMMBir<«^  1  ^WilKlllLjlP 

<i*i^;'[  '  "1"  •'   i  ■    -  -  Mitin  im  ■    i  -i  ■-!  m  ii  ji  i  "i  ii  i  if'-         ii    ii  -   i-i-iii   i        1 1  *iM  --        -    umim,m-t  .,    ,„,_„    ,1,     m  i  r       -hh      [--   'iii    ;„■„-•    ,  ,.  -         ■  ,  ' — ~~  ■   ,   ■  ,  —   

;  "No,*'  said  the  boy,  "  indeed  I  have  not.   I  never  can  forget  it,  if  I  were  to 

live  a  hundred  years/' 

'c  That's  well,  prudent,  excellent,  Tobias*   Go  out  now,  and  if  those  two  persons 

who  were  here  last,  waylay  you  in  the  street,  let  them  say  what  they  will,  and  do 

you  reply  to  them  as  shortly  as  possible ;  but  be  sure  you  come  back  to  me 

quickly  and  report  what  they  do  say.   They  turned  to  the  left,  towards  the  city— 

now  be  off  with  you/' 

*  .*  &  m  w  &  * 

u  It's  of  no  use,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery  to  the  captain  ;  "  the  barber  is  either  too 
cunning  for  me,  or  he  is  really  innocent  of  all  participation  in  the  disappearance 
of  Thornhill." 

"  And  yet  there  are  suspicious  circumstances.  I  watched  his  countenance  when 
the  subject  of  jewels  was  mentioned,  [and  1  saw  a.  sudden  change  come  over  it ;  it 
was  but  momentary,  but  still  it  gave  me  a  suspicion  that  he  knew  something  which 
caution  alone  kept  within  the  recesses  of  his  breast.  The  conduct  of  the  boy, 
too,  was  strange ;  and  then  again,  if  he  has  the  string  of  pearls,  their  value  would 
ive  him  all  the  power  to  do  what  he  says  he  is  about  to  do^viz.,  to  retire  from 
msiness  with  an  independence." 
"  Hush  !  There,  did  you  see  that  lad  P* 
"  Yes ;  why  it's  the  barber's  boy." 

u  It  is  the  same  lad  he  called  Tobias—shall  we  speak  to  him  ?" 
"  Let's  make  a  bolder  push,  and  offer  him  an  ample  reward  for  any  information 
he  may  give  us." 
"  Agreed,  agreed." 

They  both  walked  up  to  Tobias,  who  was  listlessly  walking  along  the  streets, 
and  when  they  reached  him,  they  were  both  struck  with  the  appearance  of  care 
and  sadness  that  was  upon  the  boy's  face.  He  looked  perfectly  haggard  and  care- 
worn— an  expression  sad  to  see  upon  the  face  of  one  so  young ;  and,  when  the 
colonel  accosted  him  in  a  kindly  tone,  he  seemed  so  unnerved  that  tears  immedi- 
ately darted  to  his  eyes,  although  at  the  same  time  he  shrank  back  as  if  alarmed. 

"  My  lad,"  said  the  colonel,  ?■  you  reside,  1  think,  with  Sweeney  Todd,  the 
barber.    Is  he  not  a  kind  master  to  you,  that  you  seem  so  unfosppy  ?" 

"No,  no— that  is,  I  mean  yes,  I  have  nothing  to  tell.   Let  me  pass  on." 

"  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  confusion  P" 

"  Nothing,  nothing." 

"I  say,  my  lad,  here  is  a  guinea  for  you,  if  you  will  tell  us  what  became  of  the 
man  of  a  sea-faring  appearance,  who  came  with  a  dog  to  y(  >ur  master's  house, 


some  days  since,  to  be  shaved." 
u  1  cannot  tell  you,"  said  the  boy, 


"I  cannot  tell  yom  what  I  do  not 

know." 

"But,  you  have  some  idea,  probably.  Come,  we  will  make  it  worth  your  while, 
and  thereoy  protect  you  from  Sweeney  Todd.  We  have  the  power  to  do>  so,  and 
all  the  inclination  ;  but  you  must  be  quite  explicit  with  us,  and  tell  us  frankly 
what  you  think,  and  what  you  know  concerning  the  man  in  whose  fate  we  are 
interested." 

"  I  know  nothing,  I  think  nothing,"  said  Tobias.    "  Let  me  go,  I  have  nothing 

to  say,  except  that  he  was  shaved,  and  went  away." 
"  But  how  came  he  to  leave  his  dog  behind  him  P" 
4<  I  cannot  tell.    I  know  nothing.'"  , 
"  It  is  evident  that  you  do  know  something,  but  hesitate  either  from  fear  or 

some  other  motive  to  tell  it ;  as  you  are  inaccessible  to  fair  m&  ans,  we  must 

resort  to  others,  and  you  shall  at  once  come  before  a  magistrate,  u  /ho  will  force 

you  to  speak  out." 

"  Po  with  me  what  you  will,"  said  Tobias,  i€ I  cannot  help  it.  I  have 
nothing  to  say  to  you,  nothing  whatever.  Oh,  my  poor  mother*  if  it  were  not 
for  you  " 

"What  then?" 

"  Nothing !  nothing !  nothing  I" 


"0-''-"<Pw 


50 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


It  was  but  a  threat  of  the  colonel  to  take  the  boy  before  a  magistrate,  for  he 
had  really  no  grounds  for  so  doing;  and  if  the  boy  chose  to  keep  a  secret,  if  he 
had  one,  not  all  the  magistrates  in  the  world  could  force  words  from  his  lips  that 
he  felt  not  inclined  to  utter ;  and  so,  after  one  more  effort,  they  felt  that  they  must 
leave  him. 

"Boy/  said  the  colonel,  you  are  young,  and  cannot  well  judge  of  the  eonse* 
quences  of  particular  lines  of  conduct ;  you  ought  to  weigh  well  what  you  are 
about,  and  hesitate  long  before  you  determine  keeping  dangerous  secrets :  we  can 
convince  you  that  we  have  the  power  of  completely  'protecting  jou  from  all  that 
Sweeney  Todd  could  possibly  attempt.  Think  again,  for  this  is  an  opportunity 
of  saving  yourself  perhaps  from  much  future  misery,  that  may  never  arise  again/1 
"I  have  nothing  to  say/'  said  the  boy,  "I  have  nothing  to  say/* 
He  uttered  these  words  with  such  an  agonized  expression  of  countenance,  that 
they  were  both  convinced  he  had  something  to  say,  and  that,  too,  of  the  first 
importance — a  something  which  would  be  valuable  to  them  in  the  way  of  informa- 
tion, extremely  valuable  probably,  and  yet  which  they  felt  the  utter  impossibility 
of  wringing  from  him.  They  were  compelled  to  leave  him,  and  likewise  with  the 
additional  mortification,  that,  far  from  making  any  advance  in  the  matter,  they  had 
placed  themselves  and  their  cause  in  a  much  worse  position,  in  so  far  as  they  had 
awakened  all  Sweeney  Todd's  suspicions  if  he  were  guilty,  and  yet  advanced  not 
one  step  in  the  transaction.  And  then,  to  make  the  matter  all  the  more  perplexing, 
there  was  still  the  possibility  that  they  might  be  altogether  upon  a  wrong  scent, 
and  that  the  barber  of  Fleet-street  had  no  more  to  do  with  the  disappearance  of 
Mr.  Thornhill  than  they  had  themselves. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


f  HE  STRANGER  AT  LOVETT  S* 


Towards  the  dusk  of  the  evening  of  that  day,  after  the  last  batch  of  pies  at 
Lovett's  had  been  disposed  of,  there  walked  into  the  shop  a  man  most  miserably 
clad,  and  who  stood  for  a  few  moments  staring  with  weakness  and  hunger  at  the 
counter  before  he  spoke.  Mrs.  Lovett  was  there,  but  she  had  no  smile  for  him, 
and  instead  of  its  usual,  bland  expression,  her  countenance  wore  an  aspect  of  anger, 
as  she  forestalled  what  the  man  had  to  say,  by  exclaiming— 

"  Go  away,  we  never  give  anything  to  heggars.3' 

There  came  a  flush  of  colour  for  the  moment  across  the  features  of  the  stranger, 
and  then  he  replied— 

"Mistress  Lovett,  I  do  not  come  to  ask  alms  of  you,  but  to  know  if  you  can 
recommend  me  to  any  employment  ?" 

Recommend  you !  recommend  a  ragged  wretch  like  you  ?" 
"Iam  a  ragged  wretch,  and,  moreover,  quite  destitute.  In  better  times  I 
have  sat  at  your  counter,  and  paid  cheerfully  for  what  I  wanted,  and  then  one  of 
your  softest  smiles  has  ever  been  at  my  disposal.  I  do  not  say  this  as  a  reproach 
to  you,  because  the  cause  of  your  smile  was  well  known  to  be  a  self- 
interested  one,  and  when  that  cause  had  passed  away,  I  can  no  longer  expect 
it;  but  I  am  so  .situated,  that  I  am  willing  to  do  anything  for  a  mere  sub- 
sistence" 

"  Oh,  yes,  and  :then  when  you  get  into  a  better  case  again,  I  have  no  doubt  but 
you  have  quite  sufficient  insolence  to  make  you  unbearable  ;  besides,  what  employ- 
ment can  we  have  but  pie-making,  and  we  have  a  man  already  who  suits  us  very 
well  with  the  exec  ption  that  he,  as  you  would  do  if  we  were  to  exchange  him,  has 
grown  msolent,^anii  fancies  himself  master  of  the  place." 

"  Well,  well,"  suidthe  stranger,  u  of  course,  there  is  always  sufficient  argument 


i 


kdMI  - — -sWj 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


57 


against  the  poor  and  destitute  to  keep  them  so.  If  you  will  assert  that  my  coiT 
duct  will  be  the  nature  you  describe,  it  is  quite  impossible  for  me  to  prove  the 
contrary." 

He  turned  and  was  about  to  leave  the  shop,  but  Mrs.  Lovett  called  after  him 


saym0 


\V\X-^    — 

\\\\  Sl  jWi'U  i'.PI 

f  .\\\v  |1  Hi  i 

H\m\  ■  r 


1 


I 

la 


'/r 


THE  STRANGER  AT  MRS,  LOVETT'S  PIE  SHOP, 


u  Come  in  again  in  two  hours." 
H  e  paused  a  moment  or  two,  and  then,  turning  his  emaciated  countenance  upon 
her,  said— - 

"  I  wiJl  if  my  strength  permit  me — water  from  the  pumps  in  the  street  is  but 
a  poor  thing  for  a  man  to  subsist  upon  for  twenty-four  hours."   


"You  may  take  one  pie. 5 5  ,  . 

The  half-famished,  miserable-looking  man  seized  upon  a  pie,  and  devoured  it  m 

an  instant.  _ 

"My  name,55  he  said,  "  is  Jarvis  Williams ;  I'll  be  here,  never  fear,  Mrs.  Lovett, 
in  two  hours ;  and,  notwithstanding  all  you  have  said,  you  shall  find  no  change  in 
my  behaviour  because  I  may  be  well  kept  and  better  clothed  ;  but  if  I  should  feel 
dissatisfied  with  my  situation,  I  will  leave  it,  and  no  harm  done.55 

So  saying,  he  walked  from  the  shop,  and  when  he  was  gone,  a  strange  ex- 
pression came  across  the  countenance  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  and  she  said  in  a  low  tone 
to  herself—** 

"  He  might  suit  for  a  few  months,  like  the  rest,  and  it  is  clear  that  we  must 
get  rid  of  the  one  we  have ;  I  must  think  of  it.55 

There  is  a  cellar  of  vast  extent,  and  of  dim  and  sepulchral  aspect— -some  rough 
red  tiles  are  laid  upon  the  floor,  and  pieces  of  flint  and  large  jagged  stones  have 
been  hammered  into  the  earthen  walls  to  strengthen  them ;  while  here  and  there 
rough  huge  pillars  made  by  beams  of  timber  rise  perpendicularly  from  the  floor, 
and  prop  large  flat  pieces  of  wood  against  the  ceiling,  to  support  it.  ^  Here  and 
there  gleaming  lights  seem  to  be  peeping  out  from  furnaces,  and  there  is  a  strange 
hissing,  simmering  sound  going  on,  while  the  whole  air  is  impregnated  with  a 
rich  and  savoury  vapour.   This  is  Lovett5s  pie  manufactory  beneath  the  pave- 
ment of  Bell-yard,  and  at  this  time  a  night-batch  of  some  thousands  is  being 
made  for  the  purpose  of  being  sent  by  carts  the  first  thing  in  the  morning  all  over 
the  suburbs  of  London.   By  the  earliest  dawn  of  day  a  crowd  of  itinerant  hawkers 
of  pies  would  make  their  appearance,  carrying  off  a  large  quantity  to  regular 
customers  who  had  them  daily,  and  no  more  thought  of  being  without  them,  than 
of  forbidding  the  milkman  or  the  baker  to  call  at  their  residences.   It  will  be 
seen  and  understood,  therefore,  that  the  retail  part  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  businesss  which 
took  place  principally  between  the  hours  of  twelve  and  one,  was  by  no  means  the 
f  most  important  or  profitable  portion  of  a  concern  which  was  really  of  immense 
* 1  magnitude,  and  which  brought  in  a  large  yearly  income.   To  stand  in  the  cellar 
when  this  immense  manufacture  of  what,  at  first  sight,  would  appear  such 
a  trivial  article  was  carried  on,  and  to  look  about  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  was  by  no  means  to  have  a  sufficient  idea  of  the  extent 
of  the   place  ;   for  there  were   as  many   doors   in   different  directions 
and  singular  low-arched  entrances  to  different  vaults,  which  all  appeared 
as  black  as  midnight,  that  one  might  almost  suppose  the   inhabitants  of 
all  the  surrounding  neighbourhood  had,  by  common  consent  given  up  their  cellars 
to  Lovett's  pie  factory.   There  is  but  one  miserable  light,  except  the  occasional 
I  fitful  glare  that  comes  from  the  ovens  where  the  pies  are  stewing,  hissing,  and 
*  spluttering  in  their  own  luscious  gravy.   There  is  but  one  man,  too,  throughout  all 
the  place,  and  he  is  sitting  on  a  low  three-legged  stool  in  one  corner,  with  his 
heaa  resting  upon  his  hands,  and  gently  rocking  to  and  fro,  as  he  utters  scarcely 
audible  moans.    He  is  but  lightly  clad ;  in  fact,  he  seems  to  have  but  little  on 
him  except  a  shirt  and  a  pair  of  loose  canvas  trousers.    The  sleeves  of  the  former 
are  turned  up  beyond  his  elbows,  and  on  his  head  he  has  a  white  night-cap.  It 
seems  astonishing  that  such  a  man,  even  with  the  assistance  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  could 
make  so  many  pies  as  are  required  in  a  day ;  but  then,  system  does  wonders,  and 
m  those  cellars  there  are  various  mechanical  contrivances  for  kneading  the  dough 
chopping  up  the  meat,  &c,  which  greatly  reduced  the  labour.    But  what  a 
miserable  object  is  that  man— what  a  sad  and  soul-striken  wretch  he  looks  !  His 
taceis  pale  and  haggard,  his  eyes  deeply  sunken ;  and,  as  he  removes  his  hands 
trom  before  his  visage,  and  looks  about  him,  a  more  perfect  picture  of  horror 
could  not  have  been  found. 

"  1  must  leave  to-night,55  he  said,  in  course  accents—"  I  must  leave  to-night. 
L  know  too  much~my  brain  is  full  of  horrors.  I  have  not  slept  now  for  five 
nights,  nor  dare  I  eat  anything  but  the  raw  flour.  1  will  leave  to-night  if  thev 
do  not  wateh  me  too  closely.   Oh !  if  I  could  but  get  into  the  streets— if  I  could 


but  once  again  breathe  the  "fresh  air!  Hush  .'  what's that?  I  thought  I  heard  a 
noise." 

He  rose,  and  stood  trembling  and  listening;  but  all  was  still,  save  the  simmering 
and  hissing  of  the  pies,  and  then  he  resumed  his  seat  with  a  deep  sigh. 

"  All  the  doors  fastened  upon  me,"  he  said,  "  what  can  it  mean  ?  It's 
very  horrible,  and  my  heart  dies  within  me.  Six  weeks  only  have  I  been  here 
•—-only  six  weeks.  I  was  starving  before  I  came,  Alas,  alas !  how  much  better 
to  have  starved !  ^  1  should  have  been  dead  before  now,  and  spared  all  this  agony." 

"  Skinner  f ?  cried  a  voice,  and  it  was  a  female  one— "  Skinner,  how  long  will 
the  ovens  be  ?" 

"  A  quarter  of  an  hour-*»a  quarter  of  an  hour,  Mrs.  Lovett.  God  help  me !" 
"  What  is  that  you  say  ?" 

H I  said,  God  help  me  ! — surely  a  man  may  say  that  without  offence." 
A  door  slammed  shut,  and  the  miserable  man  was  alone  again, 
"  How  strangely,"  he  said,  "  on  this  night  my  thoughts  go  back  to  early  days, 
and  to  what  I  once  was.  The  pleasant  scenes  of  my  youth  recur  to  me.  I  see 
again  the  ivy-mantled  porch,  and  the  pleasant  village  green.  I  hear  again  the 
merry  ringing  laughter  of  my  playmates,  and  there,  in  my  mind's  eye,  appears  to 
me  the  bubbling  stream,  and  the  "ancient  mill,  the  old  mansion-house,  with  its  tall 
turrets,  and  its  air  of  silent  grandeur.  1  hear  the  music  of  the  birds,  and  the  winds 
making  rough  melody  among  the  trees.  Tis  very  strange  that  all  those  sights  and 
sounds  should  come  back  to  me  at  such  a  time  as  this,  as  if  just  to  remind  me  what 
a  wretch  I  am." 

He  was  silent  for  a  few  moments,  during  which  he  trembled  with  emotion ;  then 
he  spoke  again,  saying— 

"  Thus  the  forms  of  those  whom  I  once  knew,  and  many  of  whom  have  gone 
already  to  the  silent  tomb,  appear  to  come  thronging  round  me.  They  bend  their 
eyes  momentarily  upon  me,  and,  with  settled  expressions,  show  acutely  the  sym- 
pathy they  feel  for  me.  I  see  her,  too,  who  first,  in  my  bosom,  lit  up  the  flame  of 
soft  affection.  I  see  her  gliding  past  me  like  the  dim  vision  of  a  dream,  indistinct, 
but  beautiful ;  no  more  than  a  shadow— and  yet  to  me  most  palpable,  What  am  I 
now — what  am  I  now  ?" 

He  resumed  his  former  position,  with  his  head  resting  upon  his  hands ;  he 
rocked  himself  slowly  to  and  fro,  uttering  those  moans  of  a  tortured  spirit,  which 
we  have  before  noticed.  But  see,  one  of  the  small  arch  doors  open,  in  the  gloom 
of  those  vaults,  and  a  man,  in  a  stooping  posture,  creeps  in — a  half-mask  is  upon 
his  face,  and  he  wears  a  cloak ;  but  both  his  hands  are  at  liberty.  In  one  pi  them 
he  carries  a  double-headed  hammer,  with  a  powerful  handle,  of  about  ten  inches  in 
length.  He  has  probably  come  out  of  a  darker  place  than  the  one  into'which  he  now 
so  cautiously  creeps,  for  he  shades  the  light  from  his  eyes,  as  if  it  were  suddenly 
rather  too  much  for  him,  and  then  he  looks  cautiously  round  the  vault,  until  he 
sees  the  crouched-up  figure  of  the  man  whose  duty  it  is  to  attend  the  ovens.  From 
that  moment  he  looks  at  nothing  else ;  but  advances  towards  him,  steadily  and 
cautiously.  It  is  evident  that  great  secresy  is  his  object,  for  he  is  walking  on  his 
stocking  soles  only ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  hear  the  slightest  sounds  of  his  foot- 
steps. Nearer  and  nearer  he  comes,  so  slowly,  and  yet  so  surely,  towards  him, 
who  still  keeps  up  the  low  moaning  sound,  indicative  of  mental  anquish. .  Now^  he 
is  close  to  him,  and  he  bends  over  him  for  a  moment,  with  a  look  of  fiendish  malice. 
It  is  a  look  which,  despite  his  mask,  glances  full  from  his  eyes,  and  then  grasping 
the  hammer  tightly,  in  both  hands,  he  raises  it  slowly  above  his  head,  and  gives 
it  a  swinging  motion  through  the  air.  There  is  no  knowing  what  induced  the 
man  that  was  crouching  on  the  stool  to  rise  at  that  moment ;  but  he  did  so,  and 
'  paced  about  with  great  quickness.  A  sudden  shriek  burst  from  his  lips,  as  he 
beheld  so  terrific  an  apparition  before  him ;  but,  before  he  could  repeat  the 
word,  the  hammer  descended,  crushing  into  his  skull,  and  he  fell  lifeless,  without  a 

moan.  ^ 

#  *  %  m  *  m  *  * 

"  And  so,  Mr.  Jarvis  Williams,  you  have  kept  your  word,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett 


'»  111      ■"  —        m  i,         i    i  in  iflHaij  .mmmmmxM,  ,    m    i  wift'iun  I* 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


 -r-r  r— — ^^T^Si^er   who  had  solicited  employment  of  her, 

to  the  emaciated,  care-worn  stager,  wno  naa  y  employment  f 

tterefl  it Ts  only  so'me'  comm«d  ordi/ary  employment  that  I  can  hope  to  get, 

make  a  trial  o£  you,  at  all  events,  so  if 
you  hie1 to  g ^down  into  the  bakehouse,  I  will  follow  you  and  show  you  what 
IZ  ave  to  do  You  remember  that  you  have  to  live  entirely  upon  the  pies, 
S  s Ton  Uke  to  purchase  for  yourself  anything  else,  which  you  may  do  if  you  can 
get lUZn^ '.  We  give  none;  and  you  must  likewise  agree  never  to  leave  the 
bakehouse." 

«§™,lSSS>yorieave  it  for  good,  and  for  all;  if  upon  those  conditions  you 
choose  to  accept  the  situation,  you  may,  and  if  not,  you  can  go  about  your  business 


at  once,  and  leave  it  alone."  .  .  ,  , 

"Alas,  madam,  I  have  no  resource;  but  you  spoke  of  having  a  man  already. 
«  Yes :  but  he  has  gone  to  his  friends ;  he  has  gone  to  some  of  his  very  oldest 
friends,  who  will  be  cjuite  glad  to  see  him,  so  now  say  the  word     are  you  willing 
or  are  you  not,  to  take  the  situation  ?" 

« My  poverty  and  my  destitution  consent,  if  my  wdl  be  averse,  Mrs.  .Lovett , 
but,  of  course,  I  quite  understand  that  I  leave  when  I  please."  . 

"Oh,  of  course,  we  never  think  of  keeping  anybody  many  hours  alter  they  begin 
to  feel  uncomfortable.  If  you  be  ready,  follow  me."      '     .  .  . 

"  I  am  quite  ready,  and  thankful  for  a  shelter.  All  the  brightest  visions  of  my 
early  life  have  long  since  faded  away,  and  it  matters  little  or  indeed  notluug  what 
now  becomes  of  me ;  I  will  follow  you,  madam,  freely,  upon  the  conditions  you 

have  mentioned."  , .  ,  . 

Mrs.  Lovett  lifted  up  a  portion  of  the  counter  which  permitted  him  to  pass 
behind  it,  and  then  he  followed  her  into  a  small  room,  which  was  at  the  back  of 
the  shop.  She  then  took  a  key  from  her  pocket,  and  opened  an  old  door  which 
was  in  the  wainscoting,  and  immediately  behind  which  was  a 

fli^lit  ^ ^  stairs* 

These  she  descended,  and  Jarvis  Williams  followed  her,  to  a  considerable  depth, 
after  which  she  took  an  iron  bar  from  behind  another  door,  and  flung  it  open,  show- 
ing her  new  assistant  the  interior  of  that  vault  which  we  have  already  very  briefly 
described. 

"  These/3  she  said,  "  are  the  ovens,  and  I  will  proceed  to  show  you  how  you 
can  manufacture  the  pies,  feed  the  furnaces,  and  make  yourself  generally  useful. 
Flour  will  be  always  let  down  through  a  trap- door  from  the  upper  shop,  as  well  as 
everything  required  for  making  the  pies  but  the  meat,  and  that  you  will  always 
find  ranged  upon  shelves  either  in  lumps  or  steaks,  in  a  small  room  through  this 
door,  but  it  is  only  at  particular  limes  you  will  find  the  door  open ;  and  whenever 
you  do  so,  you  had  better  always  take  out  what  meat  you  think  you  will  require 
for  the  next  batch." 

"  I  understand  all  that,  madam,"  said  Williams,  "  but  how  does  it  get  there  ?" 
"  That's  no  business  of  yours ;  so  long  as  you  are  supplied  with  it,  that  is 
sufficient  for  you ;  and  now  I  will  go  through  the  process  of  making  one  pie,  so 
that  you  may  know  how  to  proceed,  and  you  will  find  with  what  amazing  quickness 
they  can  be  manufactured  if  you  set  about  them  in  the  proper  manner." 

She  then  showed  him  how  a  piece  of  meat  thrown  into  a  machine  became  finely 
minced  up,  by  merely  turning  a  handle ;  and  then  how  flour  and  water  and  lard 
were  mixed  up  together,  to  make  the  crust  of  the  pies,  by  another  machine, 
which  threw  out  the  paste  thus  manufactured  in  small  pieces,  each  just  large 
enough  for  a  pie.  Lastly,  she  showed  him  how  a  tray,  which  just  held  a  hun- 
dred, could  be  filled,  aud,  by  turning  a  windlass,  sent  up  to  the  shop,  through  a 
square  trap-door,  which  went  right  up  to  the  very  counter. 


jriici 


i 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


61 


And  now, '  she  said,  "I  must  leave  you.  As  long  as  you  are  industrious 
you  will  go  on  very  well,  but  as  soon  as  you  begin  to  be  idle,  and  neglect  the 
orders  which  are  sent  to  you  by  me,  you  will  get  a  piece  of  information  which 
will  be  usetul,  and  which  if  yoa  be  a  prudent  man  will  enable  you  to 
know  what  you  are  about/1  - 

"  What  is  that  ?  you  may  as  well  give  it  to  me  now/' 

1  *?,s,w?  seldom  find  there  is  °ccasion  for  it  at  first,  but,  after  a  time,  when  you 
get  well  fed,  yoa  are  pretty  sure  to  want  it/*  «v 

So  saying  she  left  the  place,  and  he  heard  the  door  by  which  he  had  entered, 
carefully  barred  after  her.  Suddenly  then  he  heard  her  voice  again,  and  so 
clearly  and  distinctly,  too,  that  he  thought  she  must  have  come  back  again;  but 
upon  looking  up  at  the  door,  he  found  that  that  arose  from  her  speaking  through 
a  small  gratingfat  the  uper  part  of  it,  to  which  her  mouth  was  closely  placed. 

"  Remember  your  duty/'  she  said,  "and  I  warn  you,  that  any  attempt  to  leave 
here  will  be  as  futile  as  it  will  be  dangerous/' 

"  Except  with  your  consent,  when  I  relinquish  the  situation/' 

"  Oh,  certainly— certainly,  you  are  quite  right  there,  everybody  who  relinquishes 
the  situation  goes  to  his  old  friends,  whom  he  has  not' seen  for  many  years, 
perhaps.* 

"  What  a  strange  manner  of  talking  she  has  !*  said  Jarvis  Williams  to  himself, 
when  he  found  he  was  alone.  "There  seems  to  be  some  singular  and  hidden 
meaning  in  every  word  she  utters.  What  can  she  mean  by  a  communication  being 
made  to  me,  if  I  neglect  my  duty  !  It  is  very  strange ;  and  what  a  singular  looking 
place  this  is !  I  think  it  would  he  quite  unbearable  if  it  were  not  for  the  delightful 
odour  of  the  pies,  and  they  are  indeed  delicious— perhaps  more  delicious  to  me, 
who  has  been  famished  so  long,  and  have  gone  through  so  much  wretchedness ; 
there  is  no  one  here  but  myself,  and  I  am  hungry  now^frightfully  hungry,  and 
whether  the  pies  be  done  or  not,  Til  have  half  a  dozen  of  them  at  any  rate,  so 
here  goes/5 

He  opened  one  of  the  ovens,  and  the  fragrant  steam  that  came  out  was  perfectly 
delicious,  and  he  sniffed  it  up  with  a  satisfaction  such  as  he  had  never  felt  before, 
as  regards  anything  that  was  eatable. 

"  Is  it  possible/'  he  said  "  that  I  shall  be  able  to  make  such  delicious  pies  ? 
At  all  events  one  can't  starve  here,  and  if  it  be  a  kind  of  imprisonment,  it's  a 
)leasant  one.  Upon  my  soul,  they  are  nice,  even  half-cooked— delicious !'  Ill 
lave  another  half-dozen,  there  are  lots  of  them— delightful !  I  can't  keep  the 
gravy  from  running  out  of  the  comers  of  my  mouth*  TTpon  my  soul,  Mrs.  Lovett, 
I  don't  know  where  you  get  your  meat,  but  it's  all  as  tender  as  young  chickens, 
and  the  fat  actually  melts  away  in  one's  mouth*  Ah,  these  are  pies,  something 
like  pies ! — they  are  positively  fit  for  the  gods  !  •* 

Mrs.  Lovett's  new  man  ate  twelve  threepenny  pies,  and  then  he  thought  of  leav- 
ing off.  It  was  a  little  drawback  not  to  have  anything  to  wash  them  down  with 
but  cold  water ;  but  he  reconciled  himself  to  this. 

"  For/'  as  he  said,  "after  all  it  would  be  a  pity  to  take  the  flavour  of  such  pies 
out  of  one's  mouth — indeed,  it  would  be  a  thousand  pities,  so  I  won't  think  of  it, 
but  just  put  up  with  what  I  have  got  and  not  complain.  I  might  have  gone 
further  and  fared  worse  with  a  vengeance,  and  I  cannot  help  looking  upon  it  as  a 
singular  piece  of  good  fortune  that  made  me  think  of  coming  here  in  my  deep  dis- 
tress to  try  and  get  something  to  do.  I  have  no  friends  ana  no  money ;  she  whom 
I  loved  is  faithless,  and  here  I  am,  master  of  as  many  pies  as  I  like,  and  to  all 


abdicate  it  when  I  like,  and  when  JL  am  tired  or  those  delicious  pies,  it^  sucn  a 
thing  be  possible,  which  I  really  very  much  doubt,  I  can  give  up  my  situation,  and 
think  of  something  else.  If  I  do  that,  I  will  leave  England  for  ever ;  it's  no  place 
for  me  after  the  many  disappointments  I  have  had.  No  friend  left  me-— my  girl 
false — not  a  relation  but  who  would  turn  his  back  upon  me !  I  will  go  somewheae 
where  I  am  unknown  and  can  form  new  connexions,  and  perhaps  make  new  friena* 


i 


62  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS, 


shipso^  and  stable  l^p^Tto  the  old  ones,  which  have  all 

proved  so  false  to  me;  and,  in  the  meantime,  I'll  make  and  eat  pies  as  fast  as  I 
can." 


CHAPTER  XII, 

IBB  RESOLUTION  COME  TO  BY  JOHANNA  OAKMY. 

The  beautiful  Johanna— when  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  her  father  she 
left  him,  and  begged  him  (the  beef-eater)  to  manage  matters  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Lupin—did  not  proceed  directly  up  stairs  to  her  apartment,  buj;  lingered  on  the 
staircase  to  hear  what  ensued ;  and  if  anything  in  her  dejected  state  of  mind  could 
have  given  her  amusement,  it  would  certainly  have  been  the  waj  in  which  the 
beef-eater  exacted  a  retribution  from  the  reverend  personage,  who  was  not  likely 
again  to  intrude  himself  into  the  house  of  the  spectacle-maker,  But  when  he  was 
gone,  and  she  heard  that  a  sort  of  peace  had  been  patched  up  with  her  mother— a 
peace  which,  from  her  knowledge  of  the  high  contracting  parties,  she  conjectured 
would  not  last  long — she  returned  to  her  room,  and  locked  herself  in ;  so  that  u 
any  attempt  were  made  to  get  her  down  to  partake  of  the  supper,  it  might  be  sup- 
posed she  was  asleep,  for  she  felt  herself  totally  unequal  ^  to  the  task  of  making 
one  in  any  party,  however  much  she  might  respect  the  individual  members  that 
composed  it.  And  she  did  respect  Ben  the  beef-eater;  for  she  had  a  lively  recol- 
lection of  much  kindness  from  him  during  her  early  years,  and  she  knew  that 
he  had  never  come  to  the  house  when  she  was  a  child  without  bringing  <  her 
some  token  of  his  regard  in  the  shape  of  a  plaything,  or  some  little 
article  of  doll's  finery,  which  at  that  time  was  very  precious.  She 
was  not  wrong  in  her  conjectures  that  Ben  would  make  an  attempt  to  get  her 
down  stairs,  for  her  father  came  up  at  the  beef-eater's  request,  and  tapped  at  her 
door.  She  thought  the  best  plan,  as  indeed  it  was,  would  be  to  make  no  answer, 
so  that  the  old  spectacle-maker  concluded  at  once  what  she  wished  him  to  con- 
clude, namely,  that  she  had  gone  to  sleep ;  and  he  walked  quietly  down  the  stairs 
again,  glad  that  he  had  not  disturbed  her,  and  told  Ben  as  much.  Now,  feeling 
herself  quite  secure  from  interruption  for  the  night,  Johanna  did  not  attempt  to 
seek  repose,  but  set  herself  seriously  to  reflect  upon  what  had  occurred.  She 
almost  repeated  to  herself,  word  for  word,  what  Colonel  Jeffery  had  told  her ; 
and,  as  she  revolved  the  matter  over  and  over  again  in  her  brain,  a  strange  thought 
took  possession  of  her,  which  she  could  not  banish,  and  which,  when  once  it  found 
a  home  within  her  breast,  began  to  gather  probability  from  every  slight  circum- 
stance that  was  in  any  way  connected  with  it.  This  thought,  strange  as  it  may 
appear,  was,  that  the  Mr.  Thornhill,  of  whom  Colonel  Jeffery  spoke  in  terms  of 
Such  high  eulogium,  was  no  other  than  Mark  Ingestrie  himself.  It  is  astonishing, 
when  once  a  thought  occurs  to  the  mind,  that  makes  a  strong  impression,  how, 
with  immense  rapidity,  a  rush  of  evidence  will  appear  to  come  to  support 
it.  And  thus  it  was  with  regard  to  this  supposition  of  Johanna  Oakley.  She 
immediately  remembered  a  host  of  little  things  which  favoured  the  idea,  and 
among  the  rest,  she  fully  recollected  that  Mark  Ingestrie  had  told  her  he  meant  to 
change  his  name  when  he  left  England ;  for  that  he  wished  her  and  her  only  to 
know  anything  of  him,  or  what  had  become  of  him ;  and  that  his  intention  was 
to  baffle  inquiry,  in  case  it  should  be  made,  particularly  by  Mr.  Grant,  towards 
whom  he  felt  a  far  greater  amount  of  indignation,  than  the  circumstances  at  all 
warranted  him  in  feeling.  Then  she  recollected  all  that  Colonel  Jeffery  had  said 
with  regard  to  the  gallant  and  noble  conduct  of  this  Mr.  Thornhill,  and,  girl  like, 
she  thought  that  those  high  and  noble  qualities  could  surely  belong  to  no  one  but 
her  own  lover,  to  such  an  extent ;  and  that,  therefore,  Mr.  Thornhill  and  Mark 
Ingestrie  must  be  one  and  the  same  person.  Over  and  over  again,  she  regretted 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,   63 

she  had  not  asked  Colonel  Jeffery  for  a  personal  description  of  Mr.  Thornhill,  for 
that  would  have  settled  all  her  doubts  at  once,  and  the  idea  that  she  had  it  still  in 
her  power  to  do  so,  in  consequence  of  the  appointment  he^  had  made  with  her 
for  that  day  week,  brought  her  some  consolation.  * 

"It  must  have  been  he,"  she  said;  "his  anxiety  to  Jeave  the  ship,  and  get 
here  by  the  day  he  mentions,  proves  it ;  besides,  how  improbable  it  is,  that  at  the 
burning  of  the  ill-fated  vessel,  Ingestrie  should  place  in  the  hands  of  another  what 
he  intended  for  me,  when  that  other  was  quite  as  likely,  and  perhaps  more  so,  to 
meet  with  death  as  Mark  himself." 

Thus  she  reasoned,  forcing  herself  each  moment  into  a  stronger  belief  of  the 
identity  of  Thornhill  with  Mark  Ingestrie,  and  so  certainly  narrowing  her  anxieties 
to  a  consideration  of  the  fate  of  one  person  instead  of  two. 

"  I  will  meet  Colonel  Jeffery,"  she  said,  *  and  ask  him  if  this  Mr.  Thornhill 
had  fair  hair,  and  a  soft  and  pleasing  expression  about  the  eyes,  that  could  not  fail 
to  be  remembered.  I  will  ask  him  how  he  spoke,  and  how  he  looked;  and  get 
him,  if  he  can,  to  describe  to  me  even  the  very  tones  of  his  voice ;  and  then  I 
shall  be  sure,  without  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  that  it  is  Mark.  J5ut  then,  oh  ! 
then  comes  the  anxious  question,  of  what  has  been  his  fate  ?" 

When  poor  Johanna  began  to  consider  the  multitude  of  things  that  might  have 
happened  to  her  lover  during  his  progress  from  Sweeney  Todd's,  in  Meet-street,  to 
her  father's  house,  she  became  quite  lost  in  a  perfect  maze  of  conjecture,  and 
then  her  thoughts  always  painfully  reverted  back  to  the  barber's  shop  where  the 
dog  had  been  stationed;  and  she  trembled  to  reflect  for  a  moment  upon  the  fright- 
ful danger  to  which  that  string  of  pearls  might  have  subjected  him. 

"Alas!  alas!"  she  cried,  "lean  well  conceive  that  the  man  whom  I  saw 
attempting  to  poison  the  dog  would  be  capable  of  any  enormity.  I  saw  his  face 
but  for  a  moment,  and  yet  it  was  one  never  again  to  oe  forgotten.  It  was  a  face 
in  which  might  be  read  cruelty  and  evil  passions ;  besides,  the  man  who  would  put 
an  unoffending  animal  to  a  cruel  death,  shows  an  absence  of  feeling,  and  a  base- 
ness of  mind,  which  make  him  capable  of  any  crime  he  thinks  he  can  commit 
with  impunity.    What  can  I  do— oh !  what  can  I  do  to  unravel  this  mystery  ?" 

No  one  could  have  been  more  tenderly  and  gently  brought  up  than  Johanna 
Oakley,  but  yet,  inhabitive  of  her  heart,  was  a  spirit  and  a  determination  which 
few  indeed  could  have  given  her  credit  for,  by  merely  looking  on  the  gentle  and 
affectionate  countenance  which  she  ordinarily  presented.  But  it  is  no  new  pheno- 
menon in  the  history  of  the  human  heart  to  find  that  some  of  the  most  gentle  and 
loveliest  of  human  creatures  are  capable  of  the  highest  efforts  of  perversion;  and 
when  Johanna  Oakley  told  herself,  which  she  did,  she  was  determined  to  devote 
her  existence  to  a  discovery  of  the  mystery  that  enveloped  the  fate  of  Mark 
Ingestrie,  she  likewise  made  up  her  mind  that  the  most  likely  man  for  accomplish- 
ing that  object  should  not  be  rejected  by  her  on  the  score  of  danger,  and  she  at 
once  set  to  work  considering  wnat  those  means  should  be.  This  seemed  an  end- 
less  task,  but  still  she  thought  that  if,  by  any  means  whatever,  she  could  get 
admittance  to  the  barber's  house,  she  might  be  able  to  come  to  some  conclusion 
as  to  whether  or  not  it  was  there  where  Thornhill,  whom  she  believed  to  be 
Ingestrie,  had  been  stayed  in  his  progress, 

€s  Aid  me  Heaven,"  she  cried,  "  in  the  adoption  of  some  means  of  action  on  the 
occasion.  Is  there  any  one  with  whom  I  dare  advise.  Alas !  I  fear  not,  for  the 
only  person  in  whom  I  have  put  my  whole  heart  is  my  father,  and  his  affection 
for  me  would  prompt  him  at  once  to  interpose  every  possible  obstacle  to  my 
proceeding,  for  fear  danger  should  come  of  it.  To  be  sure,  there  is  Arabella 
Wilmot,  my  old  school  fellow  and  bosom  friend,  she  would  advise  me  to  the  best 
of  her  ability,  but  I  much  fear  she  is  too  romantic  and  full  of  odd,  strange  actions, 
that  she  has  taken  from  books,  to  be  a  good  adviser ;  and  yet  what  can  I  do  ?  I 
must  speak  to  some  one,  if  it  be  but  in  case  any  accident  happening  to  me,  my 
father  may  get  news  of  it,  and  I  know  of  no  one  else  whom  I  can  trust  but 
Arabella." 

After  some  little  more  consideration,  JFohanna  made  up  her  mind  that  on  the 


64  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


following  morning  she  would  go  to  the  house  of  her  old  school  friend,  which  was 
in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  hold  a  conversation  with  her.  r  . 

"I  shall  hear  something/'  she  said,  "at  least  of  a  kindly  and  a  consoli  ng  cha- 
racter; for  what  Arebella  may  want  in  calm  and  steady  judgment,  she  tally  com- 
oensates  for  in  actual  feeling,  and  what  is  most  of  all,  I  know^  I  can  trust  ner 
word  implicitly,  and  that  my  secret  will  remain  as  safely  locked  m  her  breast  as  it 

it  were  in  my  own.*  , 

It  was  something  to  come  to  a  conclusion  to  ask  advice,  and  she  telt  ttiat  some 
portion  of  her  anxiety  was  lifted  from  her  mind  by  the  mere  fact  that  she  had 
made  so  firm  a  mental  resolution,  that  neither  danger  nor  difficulty  should  deter 
her  from  seeking  co  know  the  fate  of  her  lover.  She  retired  to  rest  now  with  a 
greater  hope,  and  while  she  £  courting  repose,  notwithstanding  the  chance  of 
the  discovered  images  that  fancy  may  present  to  her  in  her  slumbers,  we  will 
take  a  glance  at  the  parlour  below,  and  see  how  far  Mrs.  Oakley  is  conveying 
out  the  pacific  intention  she  had  so  tacitly  expressed,  and  how  the  supper  is 
going  forward,  which,  with  not  the  best  grace  in  the  world,  she  is  preparing  for 
her  husband,  who  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  had  began  to  assert  his  rights,  and 
for  big  Ben,  the  beef-eater,  whom  she  as  cordially  disliked  as  it  was  possible  for 
any  woman  to  detest  any  man.  Mrs.  Oakley  by  no  means  preserved  her  taciturn 
demeanour,  for  after  a  little  she  spoke,  saying — 


"  Well,  I  don't  know,"  said  Ben  the  beef-eater,  "  sausages  are  all  very  well 
in  their  way,  but  you  need  such  a  plaguey  lot  of  them;  for  if  you  only  eat 
them  one  at  a  time,  how  soon  will  you  get  through  a  dozen  or  two." 

"A  dozen  or  two,51  said  Mrs.  Oakley ;  "  why,  there  are  only  five  to  a  pound." 

"  Then,"  said  Ben,  making  a  mental  calculation,  "  then,  I  think,  ma'am,  that 
you  ought  not  to  get  more  than  nine  pounds  of  them,  and  that  will  be  a  matter  of 
forty-five  mouthfuls  for  us." 

"  Get  nine  pounds  of  them/'  said  Mr.  Oakley,  "  if  they  be  wanted ;  I  know 
Ben  has  an  appetite." 

"  Indeed,"  said  Ben,  "  but  I  have  fell  off  lately,  and  don't  take  to  my  wittals 
as  I  used ;  you  can  order,  missus,  if  you  please,  a  gallon  of  half-and-half  as  you 
go  along.  One  must  have  a  drain  of  drink  of  some  sort ;  and  mind  you  don't  be 
going  to  any  expense  on  my  account,  and  getting  anything  but  the  little  snack  I 
nave  mentioned,  for  ten  to  one  I  shall  take  supper  when  I  get  to  the  Tower ; 
only  human  nature  is  weak,  you  know,  missus,  and  requires  something  to  be  a 
continually  a  holding  of  it  up." 

"  Certainly,"  said  Mr.  Oakley,  "certainly,  have  what  you  like,  Ben;  just  say 
the  word  before  Mrs.  Oakley  goes  out,  is  there  anything  else  ?" 
1    "No,  no,"  said  Ben,  "  oh  dear  no,  nothing  to  speak  of;  but  if  you  should  pass 
a  shop  where  they  sells  fat  bacon,  about  four  or  five  pounds,  cut  into  rashers, 
you'll  find,  missus,  will  help  down  the  blessed  sausages." 
i    "Gracious  Providenee,"  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  "who  is  to  cook  it  r" 
•   "  Who  is  fco  cook  it,  ma'am  ?  why  the  kitchen  fire,  I  suppose ;  but  mind  ye  if 
the  man  aint  got  any  sausages,  there's  a  shop  where  they  sells  biled  beef  at  the 
corner,  and  I  shall  be  quite  satisfied  if  you  brings  in  about  ten  or  twelve  pounds 
of  that.    You  can  make  it  up  into  about  half  a  dozen  sandwiches." 

"  Go,  my  dear,  go  at  once,"  said  Mr.  Oakley,  "  and  get  Ben  his  supper.  I  am 
quite  sure  he  wants  it,  and  be  as  quick  as  you  can." 

"  Ah,"  said  Ben,  when  Mrs.  Oakley  was  gone,  "  I  didn't  tell  you  how  I  was 
sarved  last  week  at  Mrs.  Harveys.  You  know  they  are  so  precious  genteel  there 
that  they  don't  speak  above  their  blessed  breaths  for  fear  of  wearing  themse  jves 
out ;  and  they  eats  down  in  a  chair  as  if  it  were  balanced  only  on  one  leg,  an  d  a 
little  more  one  way  or  t'other  would  upset  them.  Then,  if  they  sees  a  crumb  a 
laying  on  the  floor  they  rings  the  bell,  and  a  poor  half-starved  devil  of  a  servant 
comes  and  saye,  «  Did  you  ring,  ma'am  ?'  and  then  they  says  6  Yes,  bring  a  dust- 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS, 


65 


No.  9. 


,.-iT.,  ■ 


-THE  STRING  OF.  PEARLS. 


you  all,"  «,  I,  •  bring  a scavenger  8nd  looks  a. 


cinder 
blue  as 


pull  out  the  red/  so  * ,  «jj  flrf pkoe,  and  thou  drank  it  all 

Jo00-  Now  "aS  ye  '  we  L  '  JonXfa  att  this  is  mighty  genteel  and  line,  but 

Kon%  an'dt»S£  S  to*be  ft,  ^^^F^t  K 
on  •  and,  if  ever  you  catch  me  here  again,  1 11  oe  genieei  100,  emu  x  j 

SAflk  Go  to  the  devil,  all  of  ye/  So  ^  iTn'hSJ  Ste 
little  accident  in  the  hall,  for  they  had  got  a  sort  of  ^P^fg^J  m 
somehow  or  'nother,  my  head  went  bang  into  it,  and  I  car  ed  it  out^tmd 
neck;  but  when  I  did  get  out  i  took  it  off,  and  shied  it  slap  in  at g^  parlour 
window.  You  never  heard  such  a  smash  in  all  your  lite.  I  daie  say  tney  au 
fainted  away  for  about  a  week,  the  blessed  humbugs. 

«  Well,  1  should  not  wonder,"  said  Mr.  Oakley,  «* 
because  I  don't  like  their  foolish  pomposity  and  pride,  -which,  upon  very  slender 
resources,  tries  to  ape  what  it  don't  at  all  understand  ;  but  here  is  Mrs.  Oakley 
with  the  sausages,  and  I  hope  you  will  make  yourself  comfortable,  Ben.  .  , 

«  Comfortable  1 1  believe  ye,  I  rather  shall.   I  means  it,  and  no  mistake. 

"  I  have  brought  three  pounds,"  said  Mrs.  Oakley, «  and  told  the  man  to  calf 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hoar,  incase  there  is  any  more  wanted. 

"  The  devil  you  have ;  and  the  bacon,  Mrs.  Oakley,  the  bacon  1 

"  1  could  not  get  any— the  man  had  nothing  but  hams.  ; 

"  Lor',  ma'am,  I'd  put  up  with  a  ham  cut  thick,  and  never  nave  said  a  word 
about  it.  I  am  a  angel  of  a  temper,  and  if  you  did  but  know  it.  Halloa,  look,  is 
that  the  fellow  with  the  half-and  half  ?" 

"  Yes.  here  it  is— a  pot." 

« A  what?" 

"  A  pot,  to  be  sure."  ,  .  ,  , , 

«« "Well,  I  never  ;  you  are  getting  genteel,  Mrs.  Oakley.    Then  give  us  a  hold 

of  it." 

Ben  took  the  pot,  and  emptied  it  at  a  draught,  and  then  he  gave  a  tap  at  the 
bottom  of  it  with  his  knuckles,  to  signify  that  he  had  accomplished  that  feat,  and 
then  he  said,  "  I  tells  you  what,  ma'am,  if  you  takes  me  for  a  baby,  it's  a  great 
mistake,  and  any  one  would  think  you  did,  to  see  you  offering  me  a  pot  merely ; 
it's  an  insult,  ma'am." 

*'  Fiddle-de-dee,''  said  Mrs.  Oakley ;  "  it's  a  much  greater  insult  to  drink  it  all 
up,  and  give  nobody  a  drop." 

"  Is  it?  I  wants  to  know  how  you  are  to  stop  it,  ma'am,  when  you  gets  it  to 
your  mouth?  that's  what  I  axes  you — how  are  you  to  stop  it,  ma'am  ?  You  didn't 
want  me  to  spew  it  back  again,  did  you,  eh,  ma'am  ?" 

"  You  vile,  low  wretch  !" 

"  Come,  come,  my  dear,"  said  Mr.  Oakley,  (t  you  know  our  cousin.  Ben  don't 
live  among  the  most  refined  society,  and  so  you  ought  to  be  able  to  look  over  a 
little  of— of — his — I  may  say,  I  am  sure,  without  offence,  roughness  now  and  then ; 
—come,  come,  there  is  no  harm  done,  I'm  sure.  a?orget  and  forgive  say  I.  That's 
my  maxim,  and  has  always  been,  and  will  always  be." 

"  Well,"  said  the  beef-eater,  "  it's  a  good  one  to  get  through  the  world  with, 
and  so  there's  an  end  of  it.   I  forgives  you,  Mother  Oakley." 

"  You  forgive  — " 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure.  Though  I  am  only  a  beaf-eater,  I  suppose  as  I  may  forgive 
people  for  ail  that — eh,  Cousin  Oakley  ?" 
"  Oh,  of  course,  Ben,  of  course.  Come,  come,  wife,  you  know  as  well  as  I  that 


THE  STRING  OF  PEAKLS.  67 


Ben  has  many  good  qualitiesTa^dThat  take  him  for  all  iiTall,  as  the  man  in  th^w 
says,  we  shan't  m  a  hurry  look  upon  his  like  again,"  ^  J 

"And  I'm  sure  I  don't  want  to  look  upon  his  like  again,"  said  Mrs.  Oakley; 
i  d  rather  by  a  good  deal  keep  him  a  week  than  a  fortnight.  He's  enough  to 
oreed  a  famine  m  the  land,  that  he  is.3* 

"Oh,  bless  you,  no/Jsaid  Ben,  "that's amongst  your  littl e  mistakes,  ma'am,  I 
can  assure  you.  By  the  bye,  what  a  blessed  long  time  that  fellow  is  coming  with 
tiie  rest  of  the  beer  and  the  other  sausages—why,  what's  the  matter  with'  you, 
cousin  Oakley—eh,  old  chap,  you  look  out  of  sorts  ?" 

J  4  don't  feel  i.ust  the  tilin&  d°  you  know,  Ben." 

\i  ^T^e  thing— why— why,  now  you  come  to  mention  it,  I  somehow  feel  as 
it  all  my  blessed  inside  was  on  a  turn  and  a  twist.  The  devil— I— don't  feel 
comfortable  at  all  I  don't/' 

"  And  I'm  getting  very  ill,"  gasped  Mr,  Oakley. 

"  And  I'm  getting  iller,"  said  the  beef-eater,  manufacturing  a  word  for  the 
occasion.  "  Bless  my  soul  !  there's  something  gone  wrong  in  my  inside.  I  know 
there's  murder— there's  a  go— oh,  Lord  !  it's  a  doubling  me  up,  it  is." 

u  I  feel  as  if  my  last  hour  had  come,"  said  Mr.  Oakley—"  I'm  a— a— dying 
man — I  am— oh,  good  gracious  !  there  was  a  twinge  !" 

Mrs.  Oakley,  with  all  the  coolness  in  the  world,  took  down  her  bonnet  from 
behind  the  parlour-door  where  it  hung,  and,  as  she  put  it  on  said,— 

"I  told  you  both  that  some  judgment  would  come  over  you,  and  now  you  see 
it  has.  How  do  you  like  it  ?  Providence  is  good,  of  course,  to  its  own,  and  I 
have  " 

"What— what  p" 

"  Phoned  the  half-and-half." 

Big  Ben,  the  beef-eater,  fell  off  his  chair  with  a  deep  groan,  and  poor  Mr.  Oakley 
sat  glaring  at  his  wife,  and  shivering  with  apprehension,  quite  unable  to  speak, 
while  she  placed  a  shawl  over  her  shoulders,  as  she  added,  in  the  same  tone  of 
calmness  she  had  made  the  terrific  announcement  concerning  the  poisoning — 

"  Now,  you  wretches,  you  see  what  a  woman  can  do  when  she  makes  up  her 
mind  for  vengeance.  As  Jong  as  you  all  live,  you'll  recollect  me ;  but,  if  you 
don't,  that  won't  much  matter,  for  you  won't  live  long,  I  can  tell  you,  and  now  I'm 
going  to  my  sister's,  Mrs.  Tiddiblow." 

-So  saying,  Mrs.  Oakley  turned  quickly  round,  and,  with  an  insulting  toss  of  her 
head,  and  not  at  all  caring  for  the  pangs  and  sufferings  of  her  poor  victims,  she 
left  the  place,  and  proceeded  to  her  sister's  house,  where  she  slept  as  comfortably 
as  if  she  had  not  by  any  means  committed  two  diabolical  murders.    But  has  she 
done  so,  or  shall  we,  for  the  honour  of  human  nature,  discover  that  she  went  to  a 
neighbouring  chemist's,  and  only  purchased  some  dreadfully  powerful  medicinal 
compound,  which  she  placed  in  the  half-and-half,  and  which  began  to  give  those 
angs  to  Big  Ben,  the  beef-eater,  and  to  Mr.  Oakley,  concerning  which  they  were 
.  oth  so  eloquent  ?    This  must  have  been  the  case ;  for  Mrs.  Oakley  could  not 
have  been  such  a  fiend  in  a  human  guise  as  to  laugh  as  she  passed  the  chemist's 
shop.    Oh  no !  she  might  not  have  felt  remorse,  but  that  is  a  very  different  thing, 
indeed,  from  laughing  at  the  matter,  unless  it  were  really  laughable  and  not  serious, 
at  all.  Big  Ben  and  Mr.  Oakley  must  have  at  length  found  out  how  they  had  been 
hoaxed,  and  the  most  probable  thing  was  that  the  before-mentioned  chemist  himself 
told  them;  for  they  sent  for  him  in  order  to  know  if  anything  could  be  done  to 
-  save  their  lives.  Ben  from  that  day  forthwith  made  a  determination  that  he  would 
not  visit  Mr.  Oakley,  and  the  next  time  they  met  lie  said — 

"  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  that  old  hag,  your  wife,  is  one  too  many  for  us,  that's  a 
fact ;  she  gets  the  better  of  me  altogether — -so,  whenever  you  feels  a  little  inclined 
for  a  gossip  about  old  times,  just  you  come  down  to  the  Tower." 
"  I  will  Ben." 


"Do ;  we  can  always  find  something  to  drink,  and  you  can  amuse  yourself,  too, 
by  looking  at  the  animals.   Remember,  feeding  time  is  two  o'clock ;  so,  now  and 


»«Kamag;E..»  -   .'I.,*.,, .«.■.,»*.  ■  s  j ■  '  '  n  in'    j  j 


V 


then,  I  shall  expect  to  see  you,  and,  above  all,  be  sure  you  let  me  know  if  that 
canting  parson,  Lupin,  comes  any  more  to  your  house/1 
"  I  will,  Ben  " 

"  Ah,  do ;  and  I'll  give  him  another  lesson  if  he  should,  and  I  tell  you  how  I'll 
do  it.  Til  get  a  free  admission  to  the  wild  beastesses  in  the  Tower,  and  when  he 
comes  to  see  'em,  for  them  'ere  sort  of  fellows  always  goes  everywhere  they  can  go 
for  nothing,  I'll  just  manage  to  pop  him  into  a  cage  along  of  some  of  the  most 
cantankerous  creatures  as  we  have." 

"But  would  not  that  be  dangerous?"  1        ^  '"^  « 

"  Oh  dear  no !  we  has  a  laughing  hysena  as  would  frighten  him  out  of  his  wits ; 
but  I  don't  think  as  he'd  bite  him  much,  do  you  know.  He's  as  playful  as  a  kitten, 
and  very  fond  of  standing  on  his  head." 

"Well,  then,  Ben,  I  have,  of  course,  no  objection,  although  I  do  think  that  the 
lesson  you  have  already  given  to  the  reverend  gentleman  will  and  ought  to  be  fully 
sufficient  for  all  purposes,  and  I  don't  expect  we  shall  see  him  again." 
"  But  how  does  Mrs.  O.  behave  to  you  ?"  asked  Ben, 

"  Well,  Ben,  I  don't  think  there's  much  difference ;  sometimes  she's  a  little 
civil,  and  sometimes  she  ain't ;  it's  just  as  she  takes  it  into  her  head." 
"  Ah  !  that  all  comes  of  marrying." 

"  I  have  often  wondered,  though,  Ben,  that  you  never  married.'' 
Ben  gave  a  chuckle  as  he  replied— 

"  Have  you  though,  really  ?  Well,  Cousin  Oakley,  I  don't  mind  telling;  you, 
but  the  real  fact  is,  once  I  was  very  near  being  served  out  in  that  sort  of  way. 

"Indeed!" 

t  "  Yes.  I'll  tell  you  how  it  was ;  there  was  a  girl  called  Angelina  Day,  and  a 
nice-looking  enough  creature  she  was  as  you'd  wish  to  see,  ard  didn't  seem 
as  if  she'd  got  any  claws  at  all ;  leastways  she  kept  them  in,  like  a  cat  at  meal 
times." 

"  Upon  my  word,  Ben,  you  have  a  great  knowledge  of  the  world." 

"  I  believe  you,  I  have  !  Haven't  I  been  brought  up  among  the  wild  beasts  in 
the  Tower  all  my  life  ?  That's  the  place  to  get  a  knowledge  of  the  world  in,  my 
boy.    I  ought  to  know  a  thing  or  two,  and  in  course  I  does." 

"Well,  but  how  was  it,  Ben,  that  you  did  not  marry  this  Angelina  you 
speak  of?'' 

"  I'll  tell  you ;  she  thought  she  had  me  as  safe  as  a  hare  in  a  trap,  and  she  was 
as  amiable  as  a  lump  of  cotton.  You'd  have  thought,  to  look  at  her,  that  she 
did  nothing  but  smile ;  and,  to  hear  her,  that  she  said  nothing  but  nice,  mild, 
pleasant  things,  and  I  really  began  to  think  as  I  had  found  out  the  proper  sort  of 
animal." 

"  But  you  were  mistaken  ?" 

"  I  believe  you,  I  was.  One  day  I'd  been  there  to  see  her,  I  mean,  at  her 
father's  house,  and  she'd  been  as  amiable  as  she  could  be ;  I  got  up  to  go  away, 
with  a  determination  that  the  next  time  I  got  there  I  would  ask  her  to  say  yes' 
and  when  I  had  got  a  little  way  out  of  the  garden  of  the  house  where  they  lived* 
— it  was  out  of  town  some  distance — I  found  I  had  left  my  little  walking-cane 
behind  me,  so  I  goes  back  to  get  it,  and  when  I  got  into  the  garden  I  heard, a 


voice." 


,    "Whose  voice?" 

"  Why  Angelina's,  to  be  sure ;  she  was  speaking  to  a  poor  little  dab  of  a  servant 
they  had ;  and  oh,  my  eye  !  how  she  did  rap  out,  to  be  sure  !    Such  a  speech  as 
1  never  heard  in  all  my  life.    She  went  on  a  matter  of  ten  minutes  without  stop- 
ping, and  every  other  word  was  some  ill  name  or  another ;  and  her  voice — oh 
gracious  !  it  M'as  like  a  bundle  of  wire  all  of  a  tangle— it  was."  * 

"And  what  did  you  do,  then,  upon  making  such  a  discovery  as  that  in  so  verv 
odd  and  unexpected  a  manner  ?" 

"  Do  !    What  do  you  suppose  I  did  ?" 

"  I  really  cannot  say,  as  you  are  rather  an  eccentric  fellow." 

ff  Well  then,  I'll  tell  you.   I  went  up  to  the  house,  and  just  popped  in  my  head 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  69 


and  says  I,  '  Angelina,  I  find  out  that  all  cats  have  claws  after  all ;  good  evening 
and  no  more  from  your  humble  servant,  who  don't  mind  the  job  of  taming  any 
wild  animal  but  a  woman;'  and  then  off  I  walked,  and  I  never  heard  of  her 
afterwards." 

"Ah,  Ben,  it's  true  enough  !   You  never  know  them  beforehand ;  but  after  a 
little  time,  as  you  say,  then  out  come  the  claws.'* 
"They  does — they  does." 

"And  I  suppose  you  since,  then,  made  up  your  mind  to  be  a  bachelor  for  the 
rest  of  your  life,  Ben  ?" 

"Of  course  I  did.  After  such  experience  as  that,  I  should  have  deserved  all  I 
got,  and  no  mistake,  I  can  tell  you ;  and  if  ever  you  catches  me  paying  any  atten- 
tion to  a  female  woman,  just  put  me  in  mind  of  Angelina  Day,  and  "you'll  see  how 
I  shall  be  off  at  once  like  a  shot.55 

"Ah!"  said  Mr.  Oakley,  with  a  sigh,  "everybody,  Ben,  aint  born  with  your 
good  luck,  I  can  tell  you.  You  are  a  most  fortunate  man,  Ben,  and  that's  a  fact. 
You  must  have  been  born  under  some  lucky  planet  I  think,  Ben,  or  else  you  never 
would  have  had  such  a  warning  as  you  have  had  about  the  claws.  I  found  'em 
out,  Ben,  but  it  was  a  deal  too  late ;  so  I  had  only  to  put  up  with  my  fate,  and 
put  the  best  face  I  could  upon  the  matter/3 

"Yes,  that's  what  learned  folks  call  — what's  its  name  —  fill  —  fill  —  some- 
thing." 

.   "  Philosophy,  I  suppose  you  mean,  Ben." 

"  Ah,  that's  it — you  must  put  up  with  what  you  can't  help,  it  means,  I  take  it. 
It's  a  fine  name  for  saying  you  must  grin  and  bear  it." 
"  I  suppose  that  is  about  the  truth,  Ben." 

It  cannot,  however,  be  exactly  said  that  the  little  incident  connected  with  Mr* 
Lupin  had  no  good  effect  upon  Mrs.  Oakley,  for  it  certainly  shook  most  alarmingly 
her  confidence  in  that  pious  individual.    In  the  first  place,  it  was  quite  clear 
that  he  shrank  from  the  horrors  of  martyrdom;  and,  indeed,  to  escape  aiiy 
bodily  inconvenience,  was  perfectly  willing  to  put  up  with  any  amount  of  degra- 
dation or  humiliation  that  he  could  be  subjected  to ;  and  that  was,  to  the  appre- 
hension of  Mrs.  Oakley,  a  great  departure  from  what  a  saint  ought  to  be.  Then 
again,  her  faith  in  the  fact  that  Mr.  Lupin  was  such  a  chosen  morsel  as  he  had 
represented  himself,  was  shaken  from  the  circumstance  that  no  miracle  in  the 
shape  of  a  judgment  had  taken  place  to  save  him  from  the  malevolence  of  Big 
Ben,  the  beef-eater  ;  so  that,  taking  one  thing  in  connexion  with  another,  Mrs. 
Oakley  was  not  near  so  religious  a  character  after  that  evening  as  she  had  been 
before  it,  and  that  was  something  gained.   Then  circumstances  soon  occurred,  of 
which  the  reader  will  very  shortly  be  fully  aware,  which  were  calculated  to  awaken 
all  the  feelings  of  Mrs.  Oakley,  if  she  had  really  any  feelings  to  awaken,  and 
to  force  her  to  make  common  cause  with  her  husband  in  an  affair  that  touched  him 
to  the  very  soul,  and  did  succeed  in  awakening  some  feelings  in  her  heart  that  had  j 
lain  dormant  for  a  long  time,  but  which  were  still  far  from  being  completely  des<  j 
troyed.    These  circumstances  were  closely  connected  with  the  fate  of  one  in  whom  I 
we  hope,  that  by  this  time,  the  reader  has  taken  a  deep  and  kindly  interest — we  I 
mean  Johanna — that  young  and  beautiful,  and]  gentle,  creature,  ^who  seemed  to 
have  been  created  with  all  the  capacity  to  be  so  very  happy,  and  yet  whose  fate 
had  become  so  clouded  by  misfortune,!  and  who  appears  now  to  be  doomed 
through  her  best  affections  to  suffer  so  great  an  amount  of  sorrow,  and  to  go 
through  so  many  sad  difficulties.   Alas,  poor  Johanna  Oakley  !    Better  had  you 
loved  some  one  of  less  aspiring  feelings,  and  of  less  ardent  imagination,  than  he 
possessed  to  whom  you  have  given  your  heart's  young  affections.    It  is  true  that 
Mark  Ingestrie  possessed  genius,  and  perhaps  it  was  the  glorious  light  that  hovers 
around  that  fatal  gift  which  prompted  you  to  love  him.    But  genius  is  not  only  a 
blight  and  a  desolation  to  its  possessor,  but  it  is  so  to  all  who  are  bound  to  the 
gifted  being  by  the  ties  of  fond  affection.   It  brings  with  it  that  unhappy  rest- 
lessness of  intellect  which  is  ever  straining;!  afterjthe  unattainable,  and  which  is  never 
content  to  know  the  eud  and  ultimatum  of  earthly  hopes  ^nd  wishes  j  no,  the  whole 


THE  STRING  OE  PlAULo. 


delusive  and  flickering  beams. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

JOHANNA'S  INTERVIEW  WITH  ARABELLA  WItMOT,  AND  THE  ADVICE. 

Alas  I  poor  Johanna,  thou  ^  chosen  ^ 

tl  speeS-maker's  daughter  made  up  her  mm  to  ™bosPmf^^  £ 
Sat  any  one  could  wish  as  regards  honour,  goodness,  and 
was  one  of  those  creatures  who  yet  look  upon  the  world  as  a  fresh  gi §f den' 
Ind  had  not  yet  lost  that  romance  of  existence  which  the         and  to  ™  hav-  I 
banish  from  the  breasts  of  ail.    She  was  young,  even  almo jt  to  ^Uicwd,  and  hay 
inc,  been  the  idol  of  her  family  circle,  she  knew  just  about  as  little  ot  the i  great 
wo^rld  as  a  child.   But  while  we  cannot  but  to  some  extent 
should  have  chosen  such  a  confidant  and  admirer  we  with  feelings  o  great  fresh 
ness  and  pleasure  proceed  to  accompany  her  to  that  young  girl  s  house    jnow,  a 
visit  from  Johanna  Oakley  to  the  Wilmots  was  not  so  rare  a  thing,  that  it  should 
excite  any  unusual  surprise,  but  in  this  cse  it  did  excite  unus ual  pleas aire  bee ause 
they  had  not  been  there  for  some  time.   And  the  reason  that  she  had  not,  may 
well  be  found  in  the  peculiar  circumstanees  that  had  for  a  considerable  period 
environed  her.    She  had  a  secret  to  keep  which,  although  it  migut  not  proclaim 
what  it  was  most  legibly  upon  her  countenance,  yet  proclaimed  that  it  had  an 
existence,  and  as  she  had  not  made  Arabella  a  confidant,  she  dreaded  the  other  s 
friendly  questions  of  the  young  creature.    It  may  seem  surprising  tnat  Johanna 
Oakley  had  kept  from  one  whom  she  so  much  esteemed,  and  with  whom  she  had 
made  such  a  friendship,  the  secret  of  her  affections  ;  but  that  must  be  accounted 
for  by  a  difference  of  ages  between  them  to  a  sufficient  extent  m  that  early  period 
of  life  to  show  itself  palpably.    That  difference  was  not  quite  two  years,  but  when 
we  likewise  state,  that  Arabella  was  of  that  small,  delicate  style  of  beauty,  which 
makes  her  look  like  a  child,  when  even  upon  the  very  verge  of  womanhood,  we 
shall  not  be  surprised  that  the  girl  of  seventeen  hesitated  to  confide  a  secret 
of  the  heart  to  what  seemed    but  a  beautiful  child.    The  last  year,  however, 
had  made  a  great  difference  in  the  appearance  of  Arabella,  for,  although  she  still 
looked  a  year  or  so  younger  than  she  really  was,  a  more  staid  and  thoughtful 
expression  had  come  over  her  face,  and  she  no  longer  presented,  at  times  when 
she  laughed,  that  child-like  expression,  which  had  been  as  remarkable  in  her  as  it 
was  delightful.    She  was  as  different  looking  from  Johanna  as  she  could  be,  for 
whereas  Johanna's  hair  was  of  a  rich  and  glossy  brown,  so  nearly  allied  to  black 
that  it  was  commonly  called  such  ;  the  long  waving  ringlets  that  shaded  the  sweet 
countenance  of  Arabella  Wilmot  were  like  amber  silk  blended  to  a  pale  beauty. 
Her  eyes  were  nearly  blue,  and  not  that  pale  grey,  which  courtesy  calls  of  that 
celestial  colour,  and  their  long,  fringing  lashes  hung  upon  a  cheek  of  the  most, 
delicate  and  exquisite  hue  that  'nature  could  produce.    Such  was  the  young, 
loveable,  and  amiable  creature  who  had  made  one  of  those  girlish  friendships  with 
Johanna  Oakley  that,  when  they  do  endure  beyond  the  period  of  almost  mere 
childhood,  endure  for  ever,  and  become  one  among  the  most  dear  and  cherished 
sensations  of  the  heart.    The  acquaintance  had  commenced  at  school,  and  might 
have  been  of  that  evanescent  character  of  so  many  school  friendships,  which,  in 
after  life,  are  scarcely  so  much  remembered  as  the  mosc  dim  visions  of  a  dream ; 
but  it  happened  that  they  were  congenial  spirits,  which,  let  them  be  thrown 


together  under  any  circumstances  whatever/  would  have  come  together  with  a 
perfect  and  a  most  endearing  confidence  in  each  other's  affections.  That  they 
were  school  companions  was  the  mere  accident  that  brought  them  together,  and 
not  the  cause  of  their  friendship.  Such,  then,  was  the  being  to  wljpm  Johanna 
Oakley  looked  for  counsel  and  assistance ;  and  notwithstanding  all  that  we  have 
said  respecting  the  likelihood  of  that  counsel  being  of  an  inactive  and  girlish 
character,  we  cannot  withhold  our  meed  of  approbation  to  Johanna,  that  she  had 
selected  one  so  much  in  every  way  worthy  of  her  honest  esteem.  The  hour  at 
which  she  called  was  such  as  to  ensure  Arabella  being  within,  and  the  pleasure 
which  showed  itself  upon  the  countenance  of  the  young  girl,  as  she  welcomed  her 
old  playmate,  was  a  feeling  of  the  most  delightful  and  unaffecting  character. 

"  Why,  Johanna,"  she  said,  "you  so  seldom  call  upon  me  now,  that  I  suppose 
I  must  esteem  it  as  a  very  special  act  of  grace  and  favour  to  see  you  " 

"Arabella,"  said  Johanna,  " I  do  not  know  what  you  will  say  to  me  when  I 
tell  you  that  my  present  visit  is  because  I  am  in  a  difficulty,  and  want  your 
advice." 

"Then  you  could  not  have  come  to  a  better  person,  for  I  have  read  all  the 
novels  in  London,  and  know  all  the  difficulties  that  anybody  can  possibly  get  into, 
and,  what  is  more  important,  too,  I  know  all  the  means  of  getting  out  of  them, 
let  them  be  what  they  may." 

"And  yet,  Arabella,  scarcely  in  all  your  novel  reading  will  you  find  anything  so 
strange  and  so  eventful  as  the  circumstances,  I  grieve  to  say,  it  is  in  my  power  to 
record  to  you.  Sit  down,  and  listen  to  me,  dear  Arabella,  and  you  shall  know 
all" 

"  You  surprise  and  alarm  me  by  that  serious  countenance,  Johanna." 
"  The  subject  is  a  serious  one.   I  love." 

"Oh!  is  that  all?  So  do  I;  there's  a  young  Captain  Desbrookin  the  King's 
Guards.  He  comes  here  to  buy  his  gloves ;  and  if  you  did  but  hear  him  sigh  as  he 
leans  over  the  counter,  you  would  be  astonished." 

"Ah!  but,  Arabella,  I  know  you  well.  Yours  is  one  of  those  fleeting 
passions  that,  like  the  forked  lightning,  appear  for  a  moment,  and  ere  you  can 
say  behold,  is  gone  again.  Mine  is  deeper  in  my  heart,  so  deep,  that  to  divorce  it 
from  it  would  be  to  destroy  its  home  for  ever." 

!  "But,  why  so  serious,  Johanna  ?  You  do  not  mean  to  tell  me  that  it  is  possi- 
ble for  you  to  love  any  man  without  his  loving  you  in  return  ?" 

|  "  You  are  right  there,  Arabella.  I  do  not  come  to  speak  to  you  of  a  hopeless 
passion — far  from  it ;  but  you  shall  hear.  Lend  me,  my  dear  friend,  your  serious 
attention,  and  you  shall  hear  of  such  mysterious  matters." 

|  "  Mysterious ! — then  I  shall  be  in  my  very  element.  Eor  know  that  I  quite  live 
and  exult  in  mystery,  and  you  could  not  possibly  have  come  to  any  one  who 
would  more  welcomely  receive  such  a  commission  from  you ;  I  am  all  impatience." 

Johanna  then,  with  great  earnestness,  related  to  her  friend  the  whole  of  the 
particulars  connected  with  her  deep  and  sincere  attachment  to  Mark  Ingescrie. 
She  told  her  how,  in  spite  of  all  circumstances  which  appeared  to  have  a  tendency 
to  cast  a  shadow  and  blight  upon  their  young  affection,  they  had  loved,  and  loved 
truly  ;  how  Ingestrie,  disliking,  both  from  principle  and  distaste,  the  study  of  the 
law,  had  quarrelled  with  his  uncle,  Mr.  Grant,  and  then  how,  as  a  bold  adventurer, 
he  had  gone  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  the  Indian  seas ;  fortunes  which  promised  to 
be  splendid,  but  which  might  end  in  disappointment  and  defeat,  and  that  they  had 
ended  in  such  calamities  most  deeply  and  truly  did  she  mourn  to  becompelled  to 
state.    And  she  concluded  by  saying-— 

"  And  now,  Arabella,  you  know  all  I  have  to  tell  you.  You  know  how  truly  I 
have  loved,  and  how,  after  teaching  myself  to  expect  happiness,  I  have  met  with 
nothing  but  despair ;  and  you  may  judge  for  yourself,  how  sadly  the  fate,  or  rather 
the  mystery,  which  hangs  over  Mark  Ingestrie,  must  deeply  affect  me,  and  how  lost 
my  mind  must  be  in  all  kinds  of  conjecture  concerning  him."  #  . 

The  hilarity  of  spirits  which  had  characterised  Arabella  in  the  earlier  part  ot 
their  interview,  entirely  left  her  as  Johanna  proceeded  in  her  mournful  narration, 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


and  by  the  time  she  had  concluded,    ears  of  the  most  genuine  sympathy  stood  in 
her  eyes.   She  took  the  hands  of  Jo   anna  in  bothher  own,  and  said  to  her— - 

"  Why,  my  poor  Johanna,  I  nev  xpected  to  hear  from  your  lips  so  sad  a  tale. 
This  is  most  mournful,  indeed  mournful ;  and,  although  I  was  half  inclined 
before  to  quarrel  with  you  for  this  t  dy  confidence — for  you  must  recollect  that  it 
is  the  first  I  have  heard  of  this  whole  affair — but  now  the  misfortunes  that  oppress 
you  are  quite  sufficient,  Heaven  knows,  without  me  adding  to  them  by  the  shadow 
of  a  reproach." 

"They  are  indeed,  Arrabella,  and  believe  me,  if  the  course  of  my  love  ran 
smoothly,  instead  of  being,  as  it  has  been,  full  of  misadventures,  you  should  have 
had  nothing  to  complain  of  on  the  score  of  want  of  confidence ;  but  I  will  own  I 
did  hesitate  to  inflict  on  you  my  miseries,  for  miseries  they  have  been,  and,  alas ! 
miseries  they  seem  destined  to  remain." 

"  Johanna,  you  could  not  have  used  an  argument  more  delusive  than  that.  It 
is  not  one  which  should  have  come  from  your  lips  to  me." 
"  But  surely  it  was  a  good  motive  to  spare  you  pain  ?" 

"And  did  you  think  so  lightly  of  my  friendship  that  it  was  to  be  entrusted  with 
nothing  but  what  wore  a  pleasant  aspect  ?  True  friendship  surely  is  best  shown 
in  the  encounter  of  difficulty  and  distress.  I  grieve,  Johanna,  indeed,  that  you 
have  so  much  mistaken  me." 

"  Nay,  now  you  do  me  an  injustice  :  it  was  not  that  I  doubted  your  friendship 
for  one  moment,  but  that  I  did  indeed  shrink  from  casting  the  shadow  of  my 
sorrows  over  what  should  be,  and  what  I  hope  is,  the  sunshine  of  your  heart.  That 
was  the  respect  which  deterred  me  from  making  you  a  confidant  of,  what  I  suppose 
I  must  call,  this  ill-fated  passion  " 

"No,  not  ill-fated,  Johanna.  Let  us  still  believe  that  the  time  will  come  when  ,/ 
it  will  be  far  otherwise  than  ill-fated." 

"  But  what  do  you  think  of  all  that  I  have  told  you  ?   Can  you  gather  from  it 
any  hope  ?" 

"Abundance  of  hope,  Johanna,    You  have  no  certainty  of  the  death  of 
Ingestrie." 

"  I  certainly  have  not,  as  far  as  regards  the  loss  of  him  in  the  Indian  seas ;  but, 
Arabella,  there  is  one  supposition  which,  from  the  first  moment  that  it  found  a 
home  in  my  breast,  has  been  growing  stronger  and  stronger,  and  that  supposition 
is,  that  this  Mr.  Thornhill  was  no  other  than  Mark  Ingestrie  himself." 

"  Indeed !  Think  you  so  ?  That  would  be  a  strange  supposition.  Have  you 
any  special  reasons  for  such  a  thought  ?" 

"  None — further  than  a  something  which  seemed  ever  to  tell  my  heart  from  the 
first  moment  that  such  was  the  case,  and  a  consideration  of  the  improbability  of 
the  story  related  by  Thornhill.  Why  should  Mark  Ingestrie  have  given  him  the 
string  of  pearls  and  the  message  to  me,  trusting  to  the  preservation  of  this 
Thornhill,  and  assuming,  for  some  strange  reason,  that  he  himself  must  fall  ?" 

"  There  is  good  argument  in  that,  Johanna." 

"And,  moreover,  Mark  Ingestrie  told  me  he  intended  altering  his  name  upon 
the  expedition." 

"It  is  strange;  but  now  you  mention  such  a  supposition,  it  appears,  do  you 
know,  Johanna,  each  moment  more  probable  to  me.  Oh,  that  fatal  string  of 
pearls !"  • 

"  Eatal,  indeed !  for  if  Mark  Ingestrie  and  Thornhill  be  one  and  the  same 
person,  the  possession  of  those  pearls  lias  been  the  temptation  to  destroy 
him." 

"  There  cannot  be  a  doubt  upon  that  point,  Johanna,  and  so  you  will  find  in 
all  tales  of  love  and  of  romance,  that  jealousy  and  wealth  nave  been  the 
sources  of  all  the  abundant  evils  which  fond  and  attached  hearts  have  from  time 
to  time  suffered." 

"  It  is  so ;  I  believe,  it  is  so,  Arrabella ;  but  advise  me  what  to  do,^or  truly  1 
am  myself  incapable  of  action.   Tell  me  what  you  think  it  is  possible  to  do, 


73 


under  those  disastrous  circumstances,  far  there  is  nothing  which  I  will  not  dare 

Li.  X  *J 


ttempt. 


<c  Why,  my  dear  Joliama,  you  mist  prce've  tint  all  the  evidence 
regarding  this  Thornhiii,  follows  him  up  to  that  ba  ber's  shop  in  Fleet- 


no  farther." 


you  have 
street,  and 


— -    — jt  — » 


TOBIAS  ALARMED  AT  THE  MYSTERIOUS  APPEARANCE  OF  TODD. 

H  It  does,  indeed." 

"  Can  you  not  imagine,  then,  that  there  lies  the  mystery  of  his  fate ;  and,  from 
what  you  have  yourself  seen  of  this  man,  Todd,  do  you  think  he  is  one  who  won  Id 

hesitate  even  at  murder  ?'* 
"  Oh,  horror  !  my  own  thoughts  have  taken  that  dreadful  turn,  but  I  dreaded^  to 


«w".|i."".*'.  X!" 


No*  10, 


74  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


pronounce  the  word  which  would  embody  them.  If,  indeed,  that  fearful-looking 
man  fancied  that,  by  any  deed  of  blood,  he  could  become  possessed  of  such  a 
treasure  as  that  which  belonged  to  Mark  Ingestrie,  unchristian  and  illiberal  as  it 
may  sound,  the  belief  clings  to  me  that  he  would  not  hesitate  to  do  it " 

""Do  not,  however,  conclude,  Johanna,  that  such  is  the  case.  It  would  appear 
from  all  you  have  heard  and  seen  of  these  circumstances,  that  there  is  some  fear- 
ful mystery  ;  but  do  not,  Johanna,  conclude  hastily  that  that  mystery  is  one  of 
death." 

"Beit  so,  or  not/'  said  Johanna,  "  I  must  solve  it,  or  go  distracted.  Heaven 
have  mercy  upon  me ! — for  even  now  I  feel  a  fever  in  my  brain  that  precludes 
almost  the  possibility  of  rational  thought/' 

"  Be  calm,  be  calm— -we  will  think  the  matter  over  calmly  and  seriously ;  and 
who  knows  but  that,  mere  girls  as  we  are,  we  may  think  of  some  adventitious  mode 
of  arriving  at  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  ;  and  now  I  am  going  to  tell  you  some- 
thing, which  your  narrative  has  recalled  to  my  mind." 

*  Say  on,  Arabella*  I  shall  listen  to  you  with  deep  attention." 

"  A  short  time  since,  about  six  months,  I  think,  an  apprentice  of  my  father,  in 
the  last  week  of  his  servitude,  was  sent  to  the  west-end  of  the  town,  to  take  a 
considerable  sum  of  money  ;  but  he  never  came  back  with  it,  and  from  that  day 
to  this  we  have  heard  nothing  of  him,  although,  from  inquiry  that  my  father  made, 
lie  ascertained  that  he  received  the  money,  and  that  he  met  an  acquaintance  in 
the  Strand,  who  parted  from  him  at  the  corner  of  Milford-lane,  and  to  whom  he 
said  that  he  intended  to  call  at  Sweeney  Todd's,  the  barber,  in  Eleet-street,  to 
have  his  hair  dressed,  because  there  was  to  be  a  regatta  on  the  Thar$es,  and  he 
was  determined  to  go  to  it  whether  my  father  liked  or  not." 

"  And  he  was  never  heard  of  P 

"ISlever.  Of  course,  my  father  made  every  inquiry  upon  the  subject,  and 
called  upon  Sweeney  Todd  for  the  purpose ;  but,  as  he  declared  that  no  such 
person  had  ever  called  at  his  shop,  the  inquiry  there  terminated." 

"  'Tis  very  strange." 

"  And  most  mysterious ;  for  the  friends  of  the  youthj  were  indeed  indefatigable 
in  their  searches  for  him ;  and,  by  subscribing  together  for  tfce  purpose,  they 
offered  a  large  reward  to  any  one  who  could  or  would  give  them  information 
regarding  his  fate." 

"  And  was  it  all  in  vain  ?" 

"All;  nothing  could  be  learned  whatever.  Not  even  the  remotest  clue  was 
obtained,  and  there  the  affair  has  rested,  in  the  most  profound  of  mysteries." 

J ohanna  shuddered,  and  for  some  few  moments  the  two  young  girls  were  silent. 
It  was  Johanna  who  broke  that  silence,  by  exclaiming— 

"  Arabella,  assist  me  with  what  advice  you  can,  so  that  I  may  set  about 
what  I  purpose  with  the  best  prospect  of  success  and  the  least  danger;  not  that 
I  shrink  on  my  own  account  from  risk,  but  if  any  misadventure  were  to  occur 
to  me,  I  might  thereby  be  incapacitated  from  pursuing  that  object,  to  which  I  will 
now  devote  the  remainder  of  my  life." 

"  But  what  can  you  do,  my  dear  Johanna  P  It  was  but  a  short  time  since  there 
was  a  placard  m  the  barber's  window  to  say  that  he  wanted  a  lad  as  an  assistant 
m  his  business,  but  that  has  been  removed,  or  we  might  have  procured  some  one 
proceedino-s  " tuatl0n  f°rthe  exPress  Purpose  of  playing  the  spy  upon  the  barber's 

"But,  perchance,  still  there  may  be  an  opportunity  of  accomplishing  something 
in  that  way,  it  you  knew  of  any  one  that  would  undertake  the  adventure." 

ihere  will  be  no  difficulty,  Johanna,  in  discovering  one  willing  to  do  so 
although  we  might  be  long  in  finding  one  of  sufficient  capacity  that  we  could  trust  • 
•  am  adventurous,  Johanna,  as  you  know,  and  I  think  I  could  have  got  my 
cousin  Albert  to  personate  the  character,  only  that  I  think  he's  rather  a  gidd v 
youth,  and  scarcely  to  be  trusted  with  a  mission  of  so  much  importance  " 

"i  f ?  n  miSS10n  ^is^  A^lla,  which,  by  a  single  false  step,' might  be 
made  frightfully  dangerous.  n    &  uo 


"  It  might  indeed.53 

"Then  it  will  be  unfair  to  place  it  upon  any  one  but  those  who  feel  most  deeply 
for  its  success/3 

f c  Johanna,  the  enthusiasm  with  which  you  speak  awakens  in  me  a  thought  which 
I  shrink  from  expressing  to  you,  and  which,  I  fear,  perhaps  more  originates  from  a 
certain  feeling  of  romance,  which,  I  believe,  is  a  besetting  sin,  than  from  any  other 
cause." 

"  Name  it,  Arabella ;  name  it " 

"  It  would  be  possible  for  you  or  I  to  accomplish  the  object,  by  going  disguised 
to  the  barber's,  and  accepting  such  a  situation,  if  it  were  vacant,  for  a  period  of 
about  twenty-four  ^  hours,  in  order  that  during  that  time  an  opportunity  might 
be  taken  of  searching  in  his  house  for  some  evidence  upon  the  subject  nearest"  to 
your  heart." 

"  It  is  a  happy  thought,"  said  Johanna,  "and  why  should  I  hesitate  at  en- 
countering any  risk,  or  toil,  or  difficulty,  for  him  who  has  risked  so  much  for  me  ? 
What  is  there  to  hinder  me  from  carrying  out  such  a  resolution  ?  At  any  moment, 
if  great  danger  should  beset  me,  I  can  rush  into  the  street,  and  claim  protection 
from  the  passers-by." 

"  And  moreover,  Johanna,  if  you  went  on  such  a  mission,  remember  you  go  with 
my  knowledge,  and  that  consequently  I  would  bring  you  assistance,  if  you  appeared 
not  in  the  specified  tim§  for  your  return." 

"  Each  moment,  Arabella,  the  plan  assumes  to  my  mind  a  better  shape.  If 
Sweeney  Todd  be  innocent  of  contriving  anything  against  the  life  and  liberty  of 
those  who  seek  his  shop,  I  have  nothing  to  fear ;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  he  be 
guilty,  danger  to  me  would  be  the  proof  of  such  guilt,  and  that  is  a  proof  which  I 
am  willing  to  chance  encountering  for  the  sake  of  the  great  object  I  have  in  view ; 
but  how  am  I  to  provide  myself  with  the  necessary  means  ?" 

"  Be  at  rest  upon  that  score.  My  consin  Albert  and  you  are  as  nearly  of  a  size 
as  possible .  He  will  be  staying  here  shortly,  and  I  will  secure  from  his  ward- 
robe a  suit  of  clothes,  which  I  am  certain  will  answer  your  purpose.  But  let 
me  implore  you  to  wait  until  you  have  had  your  second  interview  with  Colonel 
Jeffery." 

"That  is  well  thought  of;  I  will  meet  him,  and  question  him  closely  as  to  the 
personal  appearance  of  this  Mr.  Thornhill ;  beside,  I  shall  hear  if  he  has  any  con- 
firmed suspicion  on  the  subject." 

f  That  is  well,  you  will  soon  meet  him,  for  the  week  is  running  on ;  and  let  me 
implore  you,  Johanna,  to  come  to  me  the  morning  after  you  have  so  met  him, 
and  then  we  will  again  consult  upon  this  plan  of  operations,  which  appears  to  us 
feasible  and  desirable." 

Some  more  conversation  of  a  similar  character  ensued  between  these  young 
girls  ;  and  upon  the  whole,  Johanna  Oakley  felt  much  comforted  by  her  visit,  and 
more  able  to  think  calmly  as  well  as  seriously  upon  the  subject  which  engrossed 
her  whole  thoughts  and  feelings ;  and  when  she  returned  to  her  own  home,  she 
found  that  much  of  the  excitement  of  despair  which  had  formerly  Jhad  possession 
of  her,  had  given  way  to  hope  ;  and  with  that  natural  feeling  of  joyousness,  and 
that  elasticity  of  mind  which  belongs  to  the  young,  she  began  to  build  in  her 
imagination  some  airy  fabrics  of  future  happiness.  Certainly,  these  suppositions 
went  upon  the  fact  that  Mark  Ingestrie  was  a  prisoner,  and  not  that  his  life  had 
been  taken  by  the  mysterious  barber ;  for  although  #  the  possibility  of  his  having 
been  murdered  had  found  a  home  in  her  imagination,  still  to  her  pure  spirit  it 
seemed  by  far  too  hideous  to  be  true,  and  she  scarcely  could  be  said  really  and 
truly  to  entertain  it  as  a  matter  which  was  likely  to  be  true* 


CHAPTER,  XIV. 
tobias's  threat,  and  its  consequences. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  pitiable  objects  now  in  our  history  is  poor  Tobias, 
Sweeney  Todd's  boy,  who  certainly  bad  bis  suspicions  aroused  in  the  most  terrific 
manner,  but  who  was  terrified,  by  the  threats  of  what  the  barber  was  capable  of 
doing  against  his  mother,  from  making  any  disclosures.  The  effect  upon  his  per- 
sonal appearance  of  this  wear  and  fear  of  his  intellect  was  striking  and  manifest. 
The  hue  of  youth  and  health  entirely  departed  from  his  cheeks,  and  he  looked  so 
sad  and  careworn,  that  it  was  quite  a  terrible  thing  to  look  upon  a  young  lad  so, 
as  it  were,  upon  the  threshold  of  existence,  and  in  whom  anxious  thoughts  were 
making  such  war  upon  the  physical  energies.  His  cheeks  were  pale  and  sunken ; 
his  eyes  had  an  unnatural  brightness  about  them,  and,  to  look  upon  his  lips,  one 
wou'd  think  they  had  never  parted  in  a  smile  for  many  a  day,  so  sadly  were  they 
compressed  together.  He  seemed  ever  to  be  watching  likewise  for  something 
fearful,  and  even  as  he  walked  the  streets  he  would  frequently  turn  and  look  in- 
quiringly around  him  with  a  shudder ;  and  in  his  brief  interview  with  Colonel 
Jeffery  and  his  friend  the  captain,  we  can  have  a  tolerably  good  comprehension  of 
the  state  of  his  mind.  Oppressed  with  fears,  and  all  sorts  of  dreadful  thoughts, 
panting  to  give  utterance  to  what  he  knew  and  to  what  he  suspected,  yet  terrified 
into  silence  for  his  mother's  sake,  we  cannot  but  view  him  as  signally  entitled  to 
the  sympathy  of  the  reader,  and  as,  in  ail  respects,  one  sincerely  to  be  pitied  for 
the  cruel  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed.  The  sun  is  shining  brightly,  and 
even  that  busy  region  of  trade  and  commerce,  Fleet-street,  is  looking  gay  and 
beautiful ;  but  not  for  that  poor  spirit-stricken  lad  are  any  of  the  sights  and  sounds  j 
which  used  to  make  up  the  delight  of  his  existence,  reaching  his  eyes  or  ears  now  j 
with  their  accustomed  force.  He  sits  moody  and  alone,  and  in  the  position  which  j 
he  always  assumes  when  Sweeney  Todd  is  from  home — that  is  to  say,  with  his 
head  resting  on  his  hands,  and  looking  the  picture  of  melancholy  abstraction. 

"What  shall  I  do?"  he  said  to  himself,  "  what  will  become  of  me  ?  I  think 
if  1  live  here  any  longer,  I  shall  go  out  of  my  senses.  Sweeney  Todd  is  a  mur- 
derer— I  am  quite  certain  of  it,  and  I  wish  to  say  so,  but  I  dare  not  for  my 
mother's  sake.  Alas  !  alas  !  the  end  of  it  will  be,  that  he  will  kill  me,  or  that  I 
shall  go  out  of  my  senses,  and  then  I  shall  die  in  some  mad-house,  and  no  one  will 
care  what  I  say." 

The  boy  wept  bitterly  after  he  had  uttered  these  melancholy  reflections,  and  he 
felt  his  tears  something  of  a  relief  to  him,  so  that  he  looked  up  after  a  little  time, 
and  glanced  around  him. 

"What  a  strange  thing."  he  said,  "  that  people  should  come  into  this  shop,  to 
my  certain  knowledge,  who  never  go  out  of  it  again,  and  yet  what  becomes  of  them 
I  cannot  tell." 

He  looked  with  a  shuddering  anxiety  towards  the  parlour,  the  door  of  which 
Sweeney  Todd  took  care  to  lock  always  when  he  left  the  place,  and  he  thought 
that  lfe  should  like  much  to  have  a  thorough  examination  of  that  room. 

"I  have  been  in  it,"  he  said,  "and  it  seems  full  of  cupboards  and  strange  holes  ! 
and  corners,  such  as  I  never  saw  before,  and  there  is  an  odd  stench  in  it  that  I 
cannot  make  out  at  all;  but  it's  out  of  the  question  thinking  of  ever  being  iu  it  ' 
above  a  few  minutes  at  a  time,  for  Sweeney  Todd  takes  good  care  of  that." 

The  boy  rose,  and  opened  a  small  cupboard  that  was  iii  the  shop.   It  was  per- 
fectly empty. 

Now,  that's  strange,"  he  said,  "there  was  a  walking-stick  with  an  ivory  top 
to  it  here  just  before  he  went  out,  and  I  could  swear  it'  belonged  to  a  man  who 
came  in  to  be  shaved.  More  than  once— ah !  and  more  than  twice,  too,  when  I 
have  come  m  suddenly,  I  have  seen  people's  hats,  and  Sweeney  Todd  would  try 
and  make  me  believe  that  people  go  away  after  being  shaved,  aud  leave  their  hats 
behind  them.  ' 


tfMM 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  77 


He  walked  up  to  the  shaving  chair  as  it  was  called,  which  was  a  large,  old- 
fashioned  piece  of  furniture,  made  of  oak,  and  carved ;  and,  as  the  boy  threw  him? 
self  into  it,  he  said — 

" What  an  odd  thing  it  is  that  this  chair  is  screwed  so  tight  to  the  floor! 
Here  is  a  complete  fixture,  and  Sweeney  Todd  says   it  is  so  because  it's  in  the  I 
best  possible  light,  and  if  he  were  not  to  make  it  fast  in  such  a  way,  the  cus-  j 
tomers  would  shift  it  about  from  place  to  place,  so  that  he  could  not  conveniently 
shave  them ;  it  may  be  true,  but  I  don't  know." 

"  And  you  have  your  doubts,"  said  the  voice  of  Sweeney  Todd,  as  that  indivi-  ! 
dual,  with  a  noiseless  step,  walked  into  the  shop — "you  have  your  doubts, 
Tobias  ?    I  shall  have  to  cut  your  throat,  that  is  quite  clear.3' 

"  No,  no,  have  mercy  upon  me ;  I  did  not  mean  what  I  said." 

u  Then  it's  uncommonly  imprudent  to  say  it,  Tobias.  Do  you  remember  our 
last  conversation  ?  Do  you  remember  that  1  can  hang  your  mother  when  I  please, 
because,  if  you  do  not,  I  beg  to  put  you  in  mind  of  that  pleasant  little  circum- 
stance?5' 

"  I  cannot  forget—I  do  not  forget." 

"  'T is  well ;  and  mark  me,  I  will  not  have  you  assume  such  an  aspect  as  you 
wear  when  I  am  not  here.  You  don't  look  cheerful,  Tobias ;  and,  notwithstanding 
your  excellent  situation,  with  little  to  do,  and  the  number  of  Lovett's  pies  you  eat, 
you  fall  away/1 

"I  cannot  help  it,"  said  Tobias,  "  since  you  told  me  what  you  did  concerning  my 
mother.   1  iiave  been  so  anxious  that  I  cannot  help  " 

"  Why  should  you  be  anxious  ?  Her  preservation  depends  upon  yourself,  and 
upon  yourself  wholly.  You  have  but  to  keep  silent,  and  she  is  safe ;  but  if  you 
utter  one  word  that  shall  be  displeasing  to  me  about  my  affairs,  mark  me,  Tobias, 
she  comes  to  the  scaffold ;  and  if  I  cannot  conveniently  place  you  in  the  same  mad- 
house where  the  last  boy  I  had  was  placed,  I  shall  certainly  be  under  the  trouble- 
some necessity  of  cutting  your  throat." 

"  I  will  be  silent— I  will  say  nothing,  Mr.  Todd.  I  know  I  shall  die  soon, 
and  then  you  will  <?et  rid  of  me  altogether,  and  I  don't  care  how  soon  that 
may  be,  for  I  am  quite  weary  of  my  life— I  shall  be  glad  when  it  is  over." 

"  Very  good,"  said  the  barber  ;  "  that's  all  a  matter  of  taste.  And  now,  Tobias, 
I  desire  that  you  look  cheerful  and  smile,  for  a  gentleman  is  outside  feeling 
his  chin  with  his  hand,  and  thinking  he  may  as  well  come  in  and  be  shaved. 
I  may  want  you,  Tobias,  to  go  to  Billingsgate,  and  bring  me  a  pennyworth  of 
shrimps."  , 

"  Yes,"  thought  Tobias,  with  a  groan— u  yes,  while  you  murder  lum.  9:J 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  SECOND  INTERVIEW  BETWEEN  JOHANNA  AND  THE  COLONEL  IN  THE  TEMPLE 

GARDENS. 

Now  that  there  was  a  great  object  to  gaiu  by  a  second  interview  with  Colonel 
Jefferv,  the  anxiety  of  Johanna  Oakley  to  have  it  became  extremely  great,  and  she 
counted  the  very  hours  until  the  period  should  arrive  when  she  could  again  proceed 
to  the  Temple-gardens  with  something  like  a  certainty  of  finding  him,  ilie  object, 
of  course,  was  to  ask  him  for  a  description  of  Mr.  Thornhill,  sufhcient  y  accurate  to 
enable  her  to  come  to  something  like  a  positive  conclusion  as  t o  w  hethe r  s Jc  ougjt 
to  call  him  to  her  own  mind  as  Mark  Ingestrie  or  not.  And  Co lonel  Jetluy  M  as 
not  a  bit  the  less  anxious  to  see  her  than  she  was  to  look  upon  him;  lor  althouga 
in  divers  lands  he  had  looked  upon  many  a  fair  face,  and  heard  many  a  voict ,  t  au 
had  sounded  soft  and  musical  in  his  ears,  he  had  seen  none  that,  to  iiib  minu. 


was  so  feir,  and  had  heard  no  voice  that  he  had  considered  really  so  musical  and 
charming  to  listen  to,  as  Johanna  Oakley's.  A  man  of  more  honourable  and  strict 
sense  of  honour  than  Colonel  Jeffery  could  not  have  been  found,  and,  therefore, 
it  was  that  he  allowed  himself  to  admire  the  beautiful  under  any  circumstances, 
because  he  knew  that  his  admiration  was  of  no  dangerous  quality,  but  that,  on  the 
contrary,  it  was  one  of  those  feelings  which  might  exist  in  a  bosom  such  as  his, 
quite  undebased  by  a  meaner  influence.  We  think  it  necessary,  however,  before 
he  has  his  second  meeting  with  Johanna  Oakley,  to  give  such  an  explanation  of  his 
thoughts  and  feelings  as  It  is  in  our  power.  When  first  he  met  her,  the  purity  of 
her  mind,  and  the  genuine  and  beautiful  candour  of  all  she  said,  struck  him  most 
forcibly,  as  well  as  her  great  beauty,  which  could  not  fail  to  be  exremely  manifest. 
After  that  he  began  to  reason  with  himself  as  to  what  ought  to  be  his  feelings  with 
regard  to  her — namely,  what  portion  of  these  ought  to  be  suppressed,  and  what 
ought  to  be  encouraged.  If  Mark  Ingestrie  were  dead,  there  was  not  a  shadow  of 
interference  or  dishonour  in  him,  Colonel  Jeffery,  loving  the  beautiful  girl,  who  was 
surely  not  to  be  shut  out  of  the  pale  of  all  affection  because  the  first  person  to 
whom  her  heart  had  warmed  with  a  pure  and  holy  passion,  was  no  more. 

"  It  may  be,"  he  thought,  "  that  she  is  incapable  of  feeling  a  sentiment  which 
can  at  all  approach  that  which  once  she  has  felt ;  but  still  she  may  be  happy  and 
serene,  and  may  pass  many  joyous  hours  as  the  wife  of  another." 

He  did  not  positively  make  these  reflections  as  applicable  to  himself,  although 
they  had  a  tendency  that  way,  and  he  was  fast  verging  to  a  state  of  mind  which 
mi^ht  induce  him  to  give  them  a  more  actual  application.  He  did  not  tell  him- 
self that  he  loved  her-— no,  the  word  "  admiration"  took  the  place  of  the  more 
powerful  term ;  but  then,  can  we  not  doubt  that,  at  this  time,  the  germ  of  a  very 
pure  and  holy  affection  was  lighted  up  in  the  heart  of  Colonel  Jeffery  for  the 
beautiful  creature  who  suffered  the  pangs  of  so  much  disappointment,  and  who 
loved  one  so  well,  who,  we  almost  fear,  if  he  were  living,  was  scarcely  the  sort  cf 
person  fully  to  requite  such  an  affection.  But  we  know  so  little  of  Mark 
Jngestrie,  and  there  appears  to  be  so  much  doubt  as  to  whether  he  be  alive  or 
dead,  that  we  should  not  prejudge  him  upon  such  verjr  insufficient  evidence. 
Johanna  Oakley  did  not  think  of  taking  Arabella  Wilmot  with  her  to  this  meeting 
with  Colonel  J effery,  but  she  abandoned  the  idea,  because  it  really  looked  as  if 
she  was  either  afraid  of  him  or  afraid  of  herself,  so  she  resolved  to  go  alone ;  and 
when  the  hour  of  appointment  came,  she  was  then  walking  upon  that  broad 
gravelled  path,  which  has  been  trodden  by  some  of  the  best*  and  some  of  the 
most  eminent,  as  well  as  some  of  the  worst  of  human  beings.  It  was  not  likely  that 
with  the  feelings  of  Colonel  Jeffery  towards  her,  he  would  keep  her  waijing.  In- 
deed, he  was  then  a  good  hour  before  the  time,  and  his  only  great  dread  was,  that 
she  might  not  come.  He  had  some  reason  for  this  dread,  because  it  will  be 
readily  recollected  by  the  reader,  that  she  had  not  positively  promised  to  come  ; 
so  that  all  he  had  was  a  hope  that  way  tending  and  nothing  further.  As  minute 
after  minute  had  passed  away,  she  came  not,  although  the  time  had  not  yet  really 
arrived ;  his  apprehension  that  she  would  not  give  him  the  meeting  had  grown  in 
his  mind  almost  to  a  certainty,  when  he  saw  her  timidly  advancing  along  the  garden 
walk.  He  rose  to  meet  her  at  once,  and  for  a  few  moments  after  he  had  greeted 
her  with  kind  civility  she  could  do  nothing  but  look  inquiringly  in  his  face,  to 
know  if  he  had  any  news  to  tell  her  of  the  object  of  her  anxious  solicitude.*' 

"  I  have  heard  nothing,  Miss  Oakley,"  he  said,  "that  can  give  you  any  satisfac- 
tion concerning  the  fate  of  Mr.  Thornhill,  but  we  have  much  suspicion— I  say  we, 
because  I  have  taken  a  friend  into  my  confidence—that  something  serious  must 
have  happened  to  him,  and  that  the  barber,  Sweeney  Todd,  in  Fleet-street,  at  whose 
door  the  dog  so  mysteriously  took  his  post,  knows  something  of  that  circumstance, 
be  it  what  it  may." 

He  led  her  to  a  seat  as  she  spoke,  and  when  she  had  recovered  sufficiently 
the  agitation  of  her  feelings  to  speak,  she  said  in  a  timid,  hesitating  voice— 
"  Had  Mr.  Thornhill  fair  hair,  and  large,  clear,  grey  eyes  ?" 


of 


\m 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  79 


"Yes,  he  had  such  ;  and,  I  think,  his  smile  was  the  most  singularly  beautiful 
I  ever  beheld  in  a  man." 
**  Heaven  help  me  !"  said  Johanna* 

"  Have  you  any  reason  for  asking  that  question  concerning  Thornhill  ?" 
u  God  grant  I  had  not ;  but,  alas  !  I  have  indeed.   I  feel  that  in  Thornhill,  I 
must  recognise  Mark  Ingestrie  himself/' 
"You  astonish  me." 

"  It  must  be  so,  it  must  be  so;  you  have  described  him  to  me,  and  I  cannot 
doubt  it;  Mark  Ingestrie  and  Thornhill  are  one!  I  knew  that  he  was  going  to 
change  his  name,  when  he  went  out  upon  that  wild  adventure  to  the  Indian  Sea. 
I  was  well  aware  of  that  fact." 

"  I  cannot  think,  Miss  Oakley,  that  you  are  correct  in  that  supposition.  There 
are  many  things  which  induce  me  to  think  otherwise ;  and  the  first  and  foremost 
of  them  is,  that  the  ingenuous  character  of  Mr.  Thornhill  forbids  the  likelihood  of 
such  a  thing  occurring.   You  may  depend  it  is  not — cannot  be,  as  you  suppose." 

"  The  proofs  are  too  strong  for  me,  and  I  find  I  dare  not  doubt  them.  It  is  so, 
Colonel  3effery,  as  time,  perchance,  may  show ;  it  is  sad,  very  sad,  to  think  that 
it  is  so,  but  I  dare  not  doubt  it,  now  thafc  you  have  described  Him  to  me  exactly  as 
he  lived." 

11 1  must  own,  that  in  giving  an  opinion  on  such  a  point  to  you,  I  may  be  accused 
of  arrogance  and  presumption,  for  I  have  had  no  description  of  Mark  Ingestrie, 
and  never  saw  him ;  and  although  you  never  saw  certainly  Mr.  Thornhill,  yet  I 
have  described  him  to  you,  and  therefore  you  are  able  to  judge  from  that  description 
something  of  him." 

"  I  am  indeed,  and  I  cannot— dare  not  doubt.  It  is  horrible  to  be  positive  on 
this  point  to  me,  because  I  do  fear  with  you  that  something  dreadful  has  occurred, 
and  that  the  barber  in  Meet-street  could  unravel  a  frightful  secret,  if  he  chose, 
connected  with  Mark  Inges^rie's  fate." 

"  I  do  sincerely  hope  from  my  heart  that  you  are  wrong ;  I  hope  it,  because  I 
tell  you  frankly,  dim  and  obscure  as  the  hope  that  Mark  Ingestrie  may  have  been 
picked  up  from  the  wreck  of  bis  vessel,  it  is  yet  stronger  than  the  supposition  that 
Thornhill  has  escaped  the  murderous  hands  of  Sweeney  Todd,  the  barber."' 

Johanna  looked  in  his  face  so  imploringly,  and  with  such  an  expression  of  hope- 
lessness, that  it  was  most  sad  indeed  to  see  her,  and  quite  involuntarily  he 

exclaimed—  i*  *      *  «  ^ 

"  If  the  sacrifice  of  my  life  would  be  to  you  a  relief,  and  save  you  from  the 

pangs  you  suffer,  believe  me,  it  should  be  made." 

She  started  as  she  said—  ■ 

"  No,  no :  Heaven  knows  enough  has  been  sacrificed  already— more  than  enough, 
much  more  than  enough.  But  do  not  suppose  that  I  am  ungrateful  for  the 
generous  interest  you  have  taken  in  me.  Do  not  suppose  that  I  think  any  the 
less  of  the  generosity  and  nobility  of  soul  that  would  offer  a  sacrifice,  because  it  is 
one  that  I  would  hesitate  to  accept.  No,  believe  me,  Colonel  Jeffery,  that  among 
the  few  names  that  are  enrolled  in  my  breast— and  such  to  me  will  ever  be 
honoured— remember  yours  will  be  found  while  I  live,  but  that  will  not  be  long- 
but  that  will  not  be  long." 

"  Nay,  do  not  speak  so  despairingly. 

"  Have  I  not  cause  for  despair  f " 

"  Cause  have  you  for  great  grief,  but  yet  scarcely  for  despair.  You  are  young 
yet,  and  let  me  entertain  a  hope  that  even  if  a  feeling  of  regret  may  mingle  with 
your  future  thoughts,  time  will  achieve  something  in  tempering  your  sorrow ;  and 
if  not  great  happiness,  you  may  know  yet  great  serenity." 

11 1  dare  not  hope  it,  but  I  know  your  words  are  kindly  spoken,  and  most  kindly 

meant " 

"  You  may  well  assure  yourself  that  they  are  so." 

"  I  will  ascertain  his  fate,  or  perish."  .  •, 

"  You  alarm  me  by  those  words,  as  well  as  by  your  manner  of  uttering  tnem. 
Let  me  implore  you,  Miss  Oakley,  to  attempt  nothing  rash;  remember  how  weak 


and  inefficient  must  be  the  exertions  of  a  young  girl  like  yourself,  one  who  knows ! 
so  little  of  the  world,  and  can  really  understand  so  little  of  its  wickedness.3' 

"  Affection  conquers  all  obstacles,  and  the  weakest  and  most  inefficient  girl  that 
ever  stepped,  if  she  have  strong  within  her  that  love  wrhich,  in  al)  its  sacred  j 
intensity,  knows  no  fear,  shall  indeed  accomplish  much.    I  feel  that,  in  such  a  j 
cause,  I  could  shake  off  all  girlish  terrors  and  ordinary  alarms ;  and  if  there  be  j 
danger,  I  would  ask,  what  is  life  to  me  without  all  that  could  adorn  it  and  make  it 
beautiful  ?"  ;  .1 

"This,  indeed,  is  the  very  enthusiasm  of  affection,  when,  believe  me,  it  will  lead 
you  to  some  excess — to  some  romantic  exercise  of  feeling,  such  as  will  bring  great 
danger  in  its  train,  to  the  unhappiness  of  those  wno  love  you."  J 
"Those  who  love  me — who  is  there  to  love  me  now?" 

"Johanna  Oakley,  I  dare  not  and  will  not  utter  words  that  come  thronging  to 
my  lips,  but  which  1  fear  might  be  unwelcome  to  your  ears ;  I  will  not  say  that  I 
can  answer  the  question  that  you  have  asked,  because  it  would  sound  ungenerous 
at  such  a  time  as  this,  when  you  have  met  me  to  talk  about  the  fate  of  another. 
Oh !  forgive  me,  that,  hurried  away  by  tne  feeling  of  a  moment,  I  have  uttered 
these  words,  for  I  meant  not  to  utter  them." 

Johanna  looked  at  him  in  silence,  and  it  might  be  that  there  was  the  slightest 
possible  tinge  of  reproach  in  her  look,  but  it  was  very  slight,  for  one  glance  at  that 
ingenuous  countenance  would  be  sufficient  to  convince  the  most  sceptical  of  the 
truth  and  single- mindedness  of  its  owner :  of  this  there  could  be  no  douot  whatever, 
and  if  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  reproach  was  upon  the  point  of  coming  from  her 
lips,  she  forbore  to  utter  it. 

"  May  I  hope,"  he  added,  "  that  I  have  not  lowered  myself  in  your  esteem, 
Miss  Oakley,  by  what  I  have  said  ?" 

"  I  hope,"  she  said  gently,  "  that  you  will  continue  to  be  my  friend." 
He  laid  an  emphasis  on  the  word  "friend,"  and  he  fully  understood  what  she 
meant  to  imply  thereby,  and  after  a  moment's  pause  said— 

"Heaven  forbid  that  ever,  by  word  or  by  action,  Johanna,  I  should  do  aught  to 

deprive  myself  of  that  privilege.    Let  me  be  yet  your  friend,  since  V 

He  left  the  sentence  unfinished,  but  if  he  had  added  the  words—"  Since  I  can 
do  no  more,"  he  could  not  have  made  it  more  evident  to  Johanna  that  those  were 
the  words  he  intended  to  utter. 

"  And  now,"  he  added,  "  that  I  hope  and  trust  we  understand  each  other  better 
than  we  did,  and  you  are  willing  to  call  me  by  the  name  of  friend,  let  me  once 
more  ask  of  you,  by  the  privilege  of  such  a  title,  to  be  careful  of  yourself,  and  not 
to  risk  much  in  order  that  you  may,  perhaps,  have  some  remote  chance  of  achieving 
very  little." 
"  But  can  1  endure  this  dreadful  suspense  ?" 

u  It  is,  alas !  too  common  aa  infliction  on  human  nature,  Johanna.   Pardon  me 
for  addressing  you  as  Johanna." 

"  Nay,  it  requires  no  excuse.  I  am  accustomed  so  to  be  addressed  by  all  who 
feel  a  kindly  interest  for  me.  Call  me  Johanna  if  you  will,  and  I  shall  feel  a 
greater  assurance  of  your  friendship  and  your  esteem." 

"  I  will  then  avail  myself  of  that  permission,  and  again  and  again  I  will  entreat 
you  to  leave  to  me  the  task  of  making  what  attempts  may  be  made  to  discover  the 
fate  of  Mr.  Thornhiil.  There  must  be  danger  even  in  inquiring  for  him,  if  he  has 
met  with  any  foul  play,  and  therefore  I  ask  you  to  let  that  danger  be  mine." 

Johanna  asked  herself  if  she  should  or  not  tell  him  of  the  scheme  of  operations 
that  had  been  suggested  by  Arabella  Wilmot,  but,  somehow  or  another,  she  shrank 
most  wonderfully  from  so  doing,  both  on  account  of  the  censure  which  she  con- 
cluded he  would  be  likely  to  cast  upon  it,  and  the  romantic,  strange  nature  of  the 
plan  itself,  so  she  said,  gently  and  quickly— 

"I  will  attempt  nothing  that  shall  not  have  some  possibility  of  success  attend- 
ing it.  I  will  be  careful,  you  may  depend,  for  many  considerations.  My  father,  I 
know,  centres  all  his  affections  in  me,  and  for  his  sake  I  will  be  careful." 

"  I  shall  be  content  then,  and  now  may  I  hope  that  this  day  week  I  may  see 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS 


81 


you  here  again,  in  order  that  I  may  teil  you  if  I  have  made  any  discovery,  and 
that  you  may  tell  me  the  same ;  for  my  interest  in  Thornhill  is  that  of  a  sincere 
friend,  to  say  nothing  of  the  deen  interest  in  your  happiness  which  I  feel,  and 
which  now  has  become  an  element  in^the  transaction  of  the  highest  value  ?" 
£t  I  will  come,"  said  Johanna,  f<  if;l£cau  come." 


£the  barber  acts  the  duke  to  pawn  the  pkaels. 


"You  do  not  doubt?"  "    '  '  .  . 

<(  No,  no.  I  will  come,  and  I  hope  to  bring  you  some  news  of  him  in  whom 
you  are  so  much  interested.    It  shall  be  no  fault  of  mine  if  I  come  not." 

He  walked  with  her  from  the  gardens,  and  together  they  passed  the  shop  ot 
Sweeney  Todd,  but  the  door  was  close  shut,  and  they  saw  nothing  of  the  barber, 


No.  11. 


82  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS, 


or  of  that  poor  boy,  his  apprentice,  who  was  so  much  to  be  pitied.  .  He  parted 
with  Johanna  near  to  her  father's  house,  and  he  walked  slowly  away  with  his  mind 
so  fully  impressed  with  the  excellence  and  beauty  of  the  spectacle-maker's  daughter, 
that  it  was  quite  clear,  as  long  as  he  lived,  he  would  not  be  able  to  rid  himself  of 
the  favourable  impression  she  had  made  upon  him. 

"I  love  her/'  he  said  i  "I  love  her,  but  she  seems  in  no  respect  willing  to  en- 
chain her  affections.  Alas  !  alas  !  how  sad  it  is  fur  me,  that  the  being  who  above 
all  others  I  could  wish  to  call  my  own,  instead  of  being  a  joy  to  me,  I  have  only 
encountered  that  she  might  impart  a  pang  to  my  heart.  Beautiful  and  ex- 
cellent Johanna,  I  love  you,  but  I  can  see  that  your  own  affections  are  withered 
for  ever." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  BAftBER  MAKES  ANOTHER  ATTEMPT  to  SELL  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  ( 

It  would  seem  as  if  Sweeney  Todd,  after  his  adventure  in  already  trying  to 
dispose  of  the  string  of  pearls  which  he  possessed,  began  to  feel  little  doubtful 
about  his  chances  df  success  in  that  matter,  for  he  waited  patiently  for  a  consider- 
able period  before  he  again  made  the  attempt,  and  then  he  made  it  after  a  totally 
different  fashion.  Towards  the  close  of  night  on  that  same  evening  when  Johanna 
Oakley  had  met  Colonel  Jeffery,  for  the  second  time,  in  the  Temple  Garden,  and 
while  Tobias  sat  alone  in  the  shop  in  his  usual  deep  dejection,  a  stranger  entered 
the  place,  tvith  a  large  blue  bag  in  his  hand,  and  looked  inquiringly  about 
him. 

"  Mm  my  lad  !"  said  he,  "  is  this  Mr.  Todd's  ?> 
atmr  said  Tobias  ;  "  but  he  is  not  at  home.    What  do  you  want  p" 
"Well,  III  be  hanged/5  said  the  man,  "if  this  don't  beat  everything;  you 
don't  mean  to  teM  me  he  is  a  barber,  do  you?" 
"  Indeed  I  do  j  don't  you  see  ?" 

"Yes,  I  see,  to  be  sure;  but  I'D  be  shot  if  I  thought  of  it  beforehand.  What 
do  you  think  he  has  been  doing  P" 

"Doing,"  said  Tobias,  with'animation;  "do  you  think  he  will  be  hung?5' 

u  Why,  no,  I  don't  say  it  is  a  hanging  matter,  although  you  seem  as  if  you 
wished  it  was ;  but  I'll  just  tell  you  now  we  are  artists  at  the  west-end  of  the 
town."  t  m 

"  Artists  !    Do  you  mean  to  say  you  draw  pictures  ?" 

"  No,  no,  we  make  clothes ;  but  we  call  ourselves  artists  now,  because  tailors 
are  out  of  fashion.'* 
"Oh,  that's  it,  is  it?'5 

"  Yes,  that's  it ;  and  you  would  scarcely  believe  it,  but  he  came  to  our  shop 
actually,  and  ordered  a  suit  of  clothes,  wrhich  were  to  come  to  no  less  a  sum  than 
thirty  pounds,  and  told  us  to  make  them  up  in  such  a  style  that  they  were  to  do 
for  any  nobleman?  and  he  gave  his  name  and  address,  as  Mr.  Todd,  at  this  number 
in  Fleet-street,  but  I  hadn't  the  least  idea  that  he  was  a  barber;  if  I  had,  I  am 
quire  certain  the  clothes  would  not  have  been  finished  in  the  style  they  are,  but 
quite  the  reverse/' 

"Well,"  said  Tobias,  "  I  can't  think  what  he  wants  such  clothing  for,  but  I 
suppose  it's  all  right.    Was  he  a  tall,  ugly-looking  fellow  ?" 

"  As  ugly  as  the  very  devil.  I'll  just  show  you  the  things,  as  he  is  not  at  home. 
The  coat  is  of  the  finest  velvet,  lined  with  silk,  and  trimmed  with  lace.  Did  you 
ever,  in  all  your  life,  see  such  a  coat  for  a  barber  ?" 

"  Indeed,  I  never  did  ;  but  it  is  some  scheme  of  his,  of  course.  It  is  a  superb 
coat." 

"  Yes,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  dress  is  of  the  same  style ;  what  on  earth  he  can  be 
going  to  do  with  it  I  can't  think,  for  it's  only  fit  to  go  to  conrt  in.5' 


THE  STRING  OF  PEA11LS.  83 


"  Oh,  well,  I  know  nothing  about  it,"  said  Tobias,  with  a  sigh,  you  can  leave 
it  or  not  as  you  like,  it  is  all  one  to  me." 

"  Well,  you  do  seem  the  most  melancholy  wretch  ever  I  came  near  ;  what's 
the  matter  with  you  ?" 

"  The  matter  with  me  ?  Oh,  nothing.  Of  conrse,  I  vm  as  happy  as  I  can  be. 
Ain't  I  Sweeney  Todd's  apprentice,  and  ain't  that  enough  to  make  anybody  sing 
all  day  long?" 

"  It  may  be  for  all  1  Know,  but  certainly  you  don't  seem,  to  be  in  a  singing 
humour  ;  but,  however,  we  artists  cannot  waste  our  time,  so  just  be  so  good  as 
to  take  care  of  the  clothes,  and  be  sure  you  give  them  to  your  master  ;  anJ  so  I 
wash  my  hands  of  the  transaction." 

"  Very  good,  he  shall  have  them  ;  but  do  you  mean  to  leave  such  valuable 
clothes  without  getting  the  money  for  them  ?" 

**  Not  exactly,  for  they  are  paid  for." 

"  Oh  !  that  makes  all  the  difference — he  shall  have  them." 

Scarcely  had  this  tailor  left  the  place,  when  a  boy  arrived  with  a  parcel,  and, 
looking  around  him  with  undisguised  astonishment,  said — 

"  Isn't  there  some  other  Mr.  Todd,  in  Fleet-street  ?'' 

H  Not  that  I  know  of/'  said  Tobias.    "  What  have  you  got  there  ?" 

"  Silk  stockings,  gloves,  lace,  cravats,  ruffles,  and  so  on." 

"  The  deuce  you  have  ;  I  dare  say  it's  all  right."  . 

"  I  shall  leave  them — they  are  paid  for.  This  is  the  name,  and  this  is  the 
number." 

H  Now,  stupid !"  ...  , 

This  last  exclamation  arose  from  the  fact  that  this  boy,  m  going  out,  ran  up 

against  another  who  was  coming  in. 

"  Can't  you  see  where  vou  are  going  V  said  the  new  arrival. 

"  What's  that  to  vou  ?  1  have  a  good  mind  to  punch  your  head."  _ 

<•  Do  it,  and  then  come  down  our  court,   and  see  what  a  licking  1 11 


give  vou.'" 

«'  Will  you  ?   Why  don't  you  ?  Only  let  me  catch  you,  that's  all." 

They  stood  for  some  moments  so  closely  together  that  their  noses  very  nearly 
touched  ;  and  then,  after  mutual  assertions  of  what  they  would  do  if  they  caught 
eacli  other-although,  in  either  case,  to  stretch  out  an  arm  would  have  been 
quite  sufficient  to  We  accomplish,  d  that  object— they  separated,  and  the  last 
comer  said  to  Tobias,  in  a  tone  of  irritation,  probably  consequent  upon  the  mis- 
understanding he  had  just  had  with  the  hosier's  boy— 

"  You  can  tell  Mr.  Todd  that  the  carriage  will  be  ready  at  half-past  seven 

Pr  And  then  he  went  away,  leaving  Tobias  in  a  state  of  great  bewilderment  as  to 
what  Sweeney  Todd  could  possibly  be  about  to  do  with  such  an  amount  ot  finery 
as  that  which  was  evidently  coming  home  for  him. 

« I  can't  make  it  out,"  he  said.  « It's  some  villany,  of  course,  but  I  can  t  make 
out  what  it  is— I  wish  I  knew ;  I  might  thwart  him  in  it.  He  is  a  villain,  and 
neither  could  nor  would  project  anything  good  ;  but  what  can  I  do  ?  I  am  quite 
helpless  in  this,  and  will  just  let  it  take  its  course.  I  can  only  wish  for  a  power  o 
action  I  shall  never  possess.  Alas,  alas  !  I  am  very  sad,  and  know  not  what  will 
become  of  me.  I  wish  that  I  was  in  my  grave,  and  there  I  am  sure  1  shall  be  soon 
unless  something  happens  to  turn  the  t%of  all  this  wretched  evil  fortune  that  has 

C°Ttewas°inrvain  for  Tobias  to  think  of  vexing  himself  with  conjectures  as  to  what 
Sweenev  Todd  was  about  to  do  with  so  much  finery,  for  he  had  not  the  remotest 
foundato  to  go  upon  in  the  matter,  and  could  not  for  the  life 
possible  contingency  or  chance  which  should  make  it  necessary  for  the  barber  to 
Lk  himself  in  such  gaudy  apparel.  AH  he  could  do  was  to  lay  down  m ^  own 
mind  a  general  principle  as  regarded  Sweeney  Todd's .conduct ,  and I  that  pointed 
ha  the  fact,  that  whatever  might  be  his  plans,  and  whatever  might  be  h  s  obj 
they  were  for  no  good  purpose^ ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  were  most  certainly  intended 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS 


for  the  accomplishment  of  some  great  evil  which  that  most  villanous  person  in- 
tended to  perpetrate. 

"  I  will  observe  all  I  can,"  thought  Tobias  to  himself,  "and  do  wnac  I  can  to 
put  a  stop  to  his  mischiefs ;  but  I  fear  it  will  be  very  little  he  will  allow  me  to 
observe,  and  perhaps  still  less  that  he  will  allow  me  to  do  ;  but  I  can  but  try,  and 
do  my  best." 

Poor  Tobias's  best,  as  regarded  achieving  anything  against  Sweeney  Todd,  we 
may  well  suppose  would  be  little  indeed,  for  that  individual  was  not  the  man  to 
give  anybody  an  opportunity  of  doing  much;  and,  possessed-as  he  was  of  the  most 
consummate  art,  as  well  as  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  unscrupulousness,  there 
can  be  very  ^  little  doubt  but  that  any  attempt  poor  Tobias  might  make  would 
recoil  upon  himself,  In  about  half  an  hour  the  barber  returned,  and  his  first  ques- 
tion was— 

!    "  Have  any  things  been  left  for  me  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir/'  said  Tobias,  "here  are  two  parcels,  and  a  boy  has  been  to  say  that 
the  carriage  will  be  ready  at  half-past  seven  precisely/' 

"  'Tis  well/5  said  the  barber,  "  that  will  do ;  and  Tobias,  you  will  be  careful, 
whilst  I  am  gone,  of  the  shop.  I  shall  be  back  in  half  an  hour,  mind  you,  and 
not  later;  and  be  sure  that  I  find  you  here  at  your  post.  But  you  may  say,  if  any 
one  comes  here  on  business,  there  will  be  neither  snaving  nor  dressing  to-night. 
You  understand  me  P"  ° 
j    "Yes,  sir,  certainly." 

!  Sweeney  Todd  then  took  the  bundles  which  contained  the  costly  apparel,  and 
retired  into  the  parlour  with  them ;  and,  as  it  was  then  seven  o'clock,  Tobias  cor- 
rectly enough  supposed  that  he  had  gone  to  dress  himself,  and  he  waited  with  a 
considerable  amount  of  curiosity  to  see  what  sort  of  an  appearance  the  barber 
would  cut  in  his  fine  apparel.  Tobias  had  not  to  control  his  impatience  long,  for 
in  less  than  twenty  minutes,  out  came  Sweeney  Todd,  attired  in  the  very  height  of 
fashion  for  the  period.  His  waistcoat  wras  something  positively  gorgeous,  and 
his  fingers  were  loaded  with  such  costly  rings,  that  they  quite  dazzled  the  sight  of 
Tobias  to  look  upon ;  then,  moreover,  he  wore  a  sword  with  a  jewelled  hilt,  but  it 
was  one  which  Tobias  really  thought  he  had  seen  before,  for  he  had  a  recollection 
that  a  gentleman  had  come  to  have  his  hair  dressed,  and  had  taken  it  off,  and  laid 
just  such  a  sword  across  his  hat  during  the  operation* 

"Remember,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  "remember  your  instructions;  obey  them 
to  the  letter,  and  no  doubt  you  will  ultimately  become  happy  and  independent/' 

^  With  these  words,  Sweeney  Todd  left  the  place,  and  poor  Tobias  looked  after 
him  with  a  frown,  as  he  repeated  the  words— 

f  "  Happy  and  independent.  Alas  !  what  a  mockery  it  is  of  this  man  to  speak  to 
me  in  such  a  way— I  only  wish  that  1  were  dead  !" 

But  we  will  leave  Tobias  to  his  own  reflections,  and  follow  the  more  interesting 
progress  of  Sweeney  Todd,  who,  for  some  reason  best  known  to  himself,  was  then 
playing  so  grand  a  part,  and  casting  away  so  large  a  sum  of  money.  He  made  his 
way  to  a  livery-stables  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  and  there,  sure  enough, 
the  horses  were  being  placed  to  a  handsome  carriage  ;  and  all  being  very  soon  in 
readiness,  Sweeney  Todd  gave  some  whispered  directions  to  the  driver,  and  the 
vehicle  started  off  westward.  At  that  time  Hyde  Park  Corner  was  very  nearly 
out  of  town,  and  it  looked  as  if  you  were*getting  a  glimpse  of  the  country,  and 
actually  seeing  something  of  the  peasantry  of  England,  when  you  got  another 
couple  of  miles  off,  and  that  was  the  direction  in  which  Sweeney  Todd  went ;  and 
as  he  goes,  we  may  as  well  introduce  to  the  reader  the  sort  of  individual  whom  he 
wras  going  to  visit  in  so  much  state,  and  for  whom  he  thought  it  necessary  to  go  to 
such  great  expense.  At  that  period  the  follies  and  vices  of  the  nobility  were 
somewhere  about  as  great  as  they  are  now,  and  consequently  extravagance  in- 
duced on  many  occasions  tremendous  sacrifice  of  money,  and  it  was  found 
extremely  convenient  on  many  occasions  for  them  to  apply  to  a  man  of  the 
name  of  John  Mundel,  an  exceedingly  wealthy  person,  a  Dutchman  by  extraction, 
who  was  reported  to  make  immense  sums  of  money  by  lending  to  the  nobility  and 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  85_ 

others  what  they  required  on  emergencies,  at  enormous  rates  of  interest.   But  it 
must  not  be  ^  supposed  that  John  Mundel  was  so  confiding  as  to  iend  his  money 
without  security.    It  was  quite  the  reverse,  for  he  took  care  to  have  the  jewels, 
some  costly  plate,  or  the  title-deeds  of  an  estate,  perchance,  as  security,  before  he 
wotild  part  with  a  single  shilling  of  his  cash.   In  point  of  fact,  John  Mundel  was 
nothing  more  than  a  pawnbroker  on  a  very  extensive  scale,  and,  although  he  had  an 
office  in  town,  he  usually  received  his  more  aristocratic  customers  at  his  private 
residence,  which  was  about  two  miles  off,  on  the  Uxbridge  Road.   After  this 
explanation,  it  can  very  easily  be  imagined  what  was  the  scheme  of  Sweeney  Todd, 
and  that  he  considered,  if  he  borrowed  from  John  Mundel  a  sum  equal  in  amount 
to  half  the  real  value  of  the  pearls,  he  should  be  well  rid  of  a  property  which  he 
certainly  could  not  sufficiently  well  account  for  the  possession  of,  to  enable  him  to 
dispose  of  it  openly  to  the  highest  bidder.    We  give  Sweeney  Todd  great  credit  for 
the  scheme  he  proposed.    It  was  eminently  calculated  to  succeed,  and  one  which, 
in  the  way  he  undertook  it,  was  certainly  set  about  in  the  best  possible  style. 
During  the  ride,  he  revolved  in  his  mind  exactly  what  he  should  say  to  John 
Mundel,  and,  from  what  we  know  of  him,  we  may  be  well  convinced  that  Sweeney 
Todd  was  not  likely  to  fail  from  any  amount  of  bashfulness  in  the  transaction  ; 
but  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  was  just  the  man  to  succeed  in  any  scheme  which 
required  great  assurance  to  carry  it  through ;  for  he  was  most  certainly  master  of 
great  assurance,  and  possessed  of  a  kind  of  diplomatic  skill,  which,  had  fortune 
placed  him  in  a  more  elevated  position  of  life,  would  no  doubt  have  made  a  great 
man  of  him,  and  gained  him  great  political  reputation.  John  MundePs  villa,  which 
was  called,  by  the  by,  Mundel  House,  was  a  large,  handsome,  and  modern  structure, 
surrounded  by  a  few  acres  of  pleasure-gardens,  which,  however,  the  money-lender 
never  looked  at,  for  his  whole  soul  was  too  much  engrossed  by  his  love  for  cash  to 
enable  him  to  do  so  ;  and,  if  he  derived  any  satisfaction  at  all  from  it,  that  satis- 
faction must  have  been  entirely  owing  to  the  fact,  that  he  had  wrung  mansion, 
grounds,  and  all  the  costly  furnishing  of  the  former,  from  an  improvident  debtor, 
who  had  been  forced  to  fly  the  country,  and  leave  his  property  wholly  in  the  hands 
of  the  money-lender  and  usurer.  It  was  but  a  short  drive  with  the  really  handsome 
horses  that  Sweeney  Todd  had  succeeded  in  hiring  for  the  occasion,  and  he  soon 
found  himself  opposite  the  entrance  gates  of  the  residence  of  John  Mundel. 
His  great  object  now  was  that  the  usurer  should  see  the  equipage  which  he  had 
brought  down ;  and  he  accordingly  desired  the  footman  who  accompanied  him 
at  once  to  ring  the  bell  at  the  entrance-gate,  and  to  say  that  a  gentleman  was 
waiting  in  his  carriage  to  see  Mr.  MundeL   This  was  done  ;  and  when  the 
money-lender's  servant  reported  to  him  that  the  equipage  was  a  costly  one,  and 
that,  in  his  opinion,  the  visitor  must  be  some  nobleman  of  great  rank,  John 
Mundel  made  no  difficulty  about  the  matter,  but  walked  down  to  the  gate  at 
once,  where  he  immediately  mentally  subscribed  to  the  opinion  of  his  servant, 
by  admitting  to  himself  that  the  equipage  was  faultless,  and  presumed  at 
once  that  it  did  belong  to  some  person  of  great  rank.  ■  He  was  proportionally 
humble,  as  such  men  always  are,  and,  advancing  to  the  side  of  the  carriage,  he 
begged  to  know  what  commands  his  lordship—for  so  he  called  him  at  once — had 
for  him  ? 

"  1  wish  to  know,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  "Mr.  Mundel,  if  you  are  inclined  to  lay 
under  an  obligation  a  rather  illustrious  lady,  by  helping  her  out  of  a  little  pecuniary 
difficulty  ?" 

John  Mundel  glanced  again  at  the  equipage,  and  he  likewise  saw  something  of 
the  rich  dress  of  his  visitor,  who  had  not  disputed  the  title  which  had  been  applied 
to  him,  of  lord  ;  and  he  made  up  his  mind  accordingly  that  it  was  just  one  of  the 
transactions  that  would  suit  him,  provided  the  security  that  would  be  offered  was 
of  a  tangible  nature.  That  was  the  only  point  upon  which  John  Mundel  ^  had  the 
remotest  doubt,  but,  at  all  events,  he  urgently  pressed  his  visitor  tdy  alight  and 
walk  in. 


CHAP  TEE  XIV. 

THE  GREAT  CHANGE  IN  THE  PROSPECTS  OP  SWEENEY  TODD. 

As  Sweeney  Todd's  object,  so  far  as  regarded  the  money-lender  having 
seen  the  carriage,  was  fully  answered,  he  had  no  objection  to  enter  the  house, 
which  he  accordingly  did  at  once,  being  preceded  by  John  Mundel,  who  became 
each  moment  more  and  more  impressed  with  the  fact,  as  he  considered  it,  that 
his  o-uest  was  some  person  of  very  great  rank  and  importance  in  society.  He 
ushered  him  into  a  splendidly-furnished  apartment,  and  after  offering  him  refresh- 
ments, which  Sweeney  Todd  politely  declined,  he  waited  with  no  small  degree 
of  impatience  for  his  visitor  to  be  more  explicit  with  regard  to  the  object  of 

^^Tshould/'  said  Sweeney  Todd,  "  have  myself  accommodated  the  illustrious 
lady  with  the  sum  of  money  she  requires,  but  as  1  could  not  do  so  without  incum- 
bering some  estates,  she  positively  forbade  me  to  think  of  it."  ? 

"Certainly"  said  Mr.  Mundel,  "she  is  a  very  illustrious  lady,  I  presume  ?  ' 

ff  Very  illustrious  indeed,  but  it  must  be  a  condition  of  this  transaction,  if  you  at 
all  enter  into  it,  that  you  are  not  to  inquire  precisely  who  she  is,  nor  are  you  to 

inquire  precisely  who  I  am."  . 

"  It's  not  my  usual  way  of  conducting  business,  but  if  everything  else  be  satis- 
factory, I  shall  not  cavil  at  that." 

8  Very  good ;  by  everything  else  being  satisfactory,  I  presume  you  mean  the 

security  offered  ?" 

"  Why,  yes,  that  is  of  great  importance,  my  lord."  • 
1    i*  I  informed  the  illustrious  lady,  that,  as  the  affair  was  to  -  be  wrapped  up  m 
something  of  a  mysterv,  the  security  must  be  extremely  ample."         .  . 

"  That's  a  very  proper  view  to  take  of  the  matter,  my  lord.  I  wonder,  thought 
John  Mundel,  "  if  he  is  a  duke ;  Til  call  him  «  your  grace'  nest  time,  and  see  it  he 

objects  to  it*"  ,      _  •     .     ,  .        ,  , 

"  Therefore,"  continued  Sweeney  Todd.  "  the  illustrious  lady  placed  m  my  hands 

security  to  a  third  greater  amount  than  she  required." 

"  Certainly,  certainly,  a  very  proper  arrangement,  your  grace ;  may  I  ask  the 

nature  of  the  proffered  security  ?" 
«  Jewels." 

"  Highly  satisfactory  and  unexceptionable  security ;  they  go  into  a  small  space, 
and  do  not  deteriorate  in  value." 

"  And  if  they  do,"  said  the  barber,  "deteriorate  in  value,  it  would  make  no 
difference  io  you,  for  the  illustrious  person's  honour  would  be  committed  to  your 
redemption." 

"  I  don't  doubt  that,  your  grace,  in  the  least ;  I  merely  made  the  remark  inci- 
dentally, quite  incidentally." 

"Of  course,  of  course  ;  and  I  trust,  before  going  further,  that  you  are  quite  in 
a  position  to  enter  into  this  subject." 

"  Certainly  I  am,  and,  I  am  proud  to  say,  to  any  amount.  Show  me  the  money's 
worth,  your  grace,  and  I  will  show  you  the  money — that's  my  way  of  doing 
business;  and  no  one  can  say  that  John  Mundel  ever  shrunk  from  a  matter  that 
was  brought  fairly  before  him,  and  that  he  considered  worth  his  going  into." 

"  It  was  by  hearing  such  a  character  of  you  that  I  was  induced  to  come  to  you- 
What  do  you  think  of  that  ?" 

Sweeney  Todd  took  from  his  pocket,  with  a  careless  air,  the  string  of  pearls, 
and  cast  them  down  before  the  eyes  of  the  money-lender,  who  took  them  up  and 
ran  them  rapidly  through  his  fingers  for  a  few  seconds  before  he  said— * 

"I  thought  there  was  but  one  string  like  this  in  the  kingdom,  and  those  belonged 
to  the  Queen." 

"  Well,"  said  Sweeney  Todd, 


THE  STRING  01  PEARLS-  87 


u  I  humbly  beg  your  grace's  pardon.  How  much  money  does  your  grace  require 
on  these  pearls?'5 

s  "Twelve  thousand  pounds  is  their  current  value,  if  a  sale  of  them  was  enforced  ; 
eight  thousand  pounds  are  required  of  you  cn  their  security/' 

"Eight  thousand  is  a  large  sum.  As  a  general  thing  1  iend  but  half  the  value 
upon  anything ;  but  in  this  case,  to  oblige  your  grace  and  the  illustrious  personage, 
I  do  not,  of  course,  hesitate  for  one  moment,  but  shall  for  one  month  lend  you  the 
required  amount/' 

"That  will  do,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  scarcely  concealing  the  exultation  he  felt 
at  getting  so  much  more  from  John  Mundel  than  he  expected,  and  which  he  cer- 
tainly would  not  have  got  if  the  money-lender  had  not  been  most  fully  and 
completely  impressed  with  the  idea  that  the  pearls  belonged  to  the  Queen,  and 
that  he  had  actually  at  length  majesty  itself  for  a  customer.  He  did  not  suppose 
for  one  moment  that  it  was  the  queen  who  wanted  the  money ;  but  his  view  of  the 
case  was,  that  she  had  lent  the  pearls  to  this  nobleman  to  meet  some  exigency  of 
his  own,  and  that,  of  course,  they  would  be  redeemed  very  shortly.  Altogether  a 
more  pleasant  transaction  for  John  Mundel  could  njt  have  been  imagined.  It  was 
just  the  sort  of  thing  he  would  have  looked  out  for,  and  had  the  greatest  satisfac- 
tion in  bringing  to  a  conclusion,  and  he  considered  it  was  opening  the  door  to  the 
highest  class  of  business  in  his  way  that  he  was  capable  of  doing. 

u  In  what  name,  your  grace/'  he  said,  "  shall  I  draw  a  cheque  upon  my 
banker?" 

"In  the  name  of  Colonel  George." 
.  "  Certainly,  certainly ;  and  if  your  grace  will  give  me  an  acknowledgment  for 
eight  thousand  pounds,  and  please  to  understand  that  at  the  end  of  a  month  from 
this  time  the  transaction  will  be  renewed  if  necessary,  I  will  give  you  a  cheque  for 
seven  thousand  five  hundred  pounds." 

u  Why  seven  thousand  five  hundred  only,  when  you  mentioned  eight  thousand 
pounds?" 

"  The  five  hundred  pounds  is  my  little  commission  upon  the  transaction.  Your 
grace  will  perceive  that  I  appreciate  highly  the  honour  of  your  grace's  custom,  and 
consequently  charge  the  lowest  possible  price.  I  can  assure  your  grace  I  could 
get  more  for  my  money  by  a  great  deal,  but  the  pleasure  of  being  able  to  meet  your 
grace's  views  is  so  great,  that  I  am  willing  to  make  a  sacrifice,  and  therefore  it  is 
that  I  say  five  hundred,  when  I  really  ought  to  say  one  thousand  pounds,  taking 
into  consideration  the  great  scarcity  of  money  at  the  present  juncture;  and  I  can 
assure  your  grace  that  " 

u  Peace,  peace,"  said  Sweeney  Todd ;  <c  and  if  it  be  not  convenient  to  redeem 
the  jewels  at  the  end  of  a  month  from  this  time,  you  will  hear  from  me  most 
assuredly." 

u  I  am  quite  satisfied  of  that,"  said  John  Mundel,  and  he  accordingly  drew  a 
cheque  for  seven  thousand  five  hundred  pounds,  which  he  handed  to  Sweeney  Todd, 
who  put  it  in  his  pocket,  not  a  little  delighted  that  at  last  he  had  got  rid  of  his 
pearls,  even  at  a  price  so  far  beneath  their  real  value,, 

u  I  need  scarcely  urge  upon  you,  Mr.  Mundel,"  he  said, "  the  propriety  of  keep- 
ing this  affair  profoundly  secret." 

"  Indeed  you  need  not,  your  grace,  for  it  is  part  of  my  business  to  be  discreet 
and  cautious.  I  should  very  soon  have  nothing  to  do  in  my  line,  your  grace  may 
depend,  if  I  were  to  talk  about  it.  No,  this  transaction  will  for  ever  remain 
locked  up  in  my  own  breast,  and  no  living  soul  but  your  grace  and  I  need  know 
what  has  occurred." 

With  this,  John  Mundel  showed  Sweeney  Todd  to  his  carriage,  with  abundance 
of  respect,  and  in  two  minutes  more  he  was  travelling  along  towards  town  with 
what  might  be  considered  a  small  fortune  in  his  pocket.  We  should  have  noticed 
earlier  that  Sweeney  Todd  had,  upon  the  occasion  of  his  going  to  sell  the  pearls  to 
the  lapidary,  in  the  city,  made  some  great  alterations  in  his  appearance,  so  that  it 
was  not  likely  he  should  be  recognised  again  to  a  positive  certainty.  For  example—- 
having  no  whiskers  whatever  of  his  own,  he  had  put  on  a  large  black  pair  of  false 


ones,  as  well  as  moustachios,  and  he  had  given  some  colour  to  his  cheeks  likewise 
which  had  so  completely  altered  his  appearance,  that  those  who  were  most  intimate 
with  him  would  not  have  known  him  except  by  his  voice,  and  that  he  took  good 
care  to  alter  in  his  intercourse  with  John  Mundel,  so  that  it  should  not  become 
a  future  means  of  detection. 

"I  thought  that  this  would  succeed/5  he  muttered  to  himself,  as  he  went 
towards  town,  "  and  I  have  not  been  deceived.  For  three  months  longer,  and 
only  three,  I  will  carry  on  the  business  in  Fleet-street,  so  that  any  sudden 
alteration  in  my  fortunes  may  not  give  rise  to  suspicion." 

He  was  then  silent  for  some  minutes,  during  which  he  appeared  to  be  revolving 
some  very  knotty  question  in  his  brain,  and  then  he  said,  suddenly— 

"  Well,  well,  as  regards  Tobias,  I  think  it  will  be  safer,  unquestionably,  to  put 
him  out  of  the  way  by  taking  his  life,  than  to  try  to  dispose  of  hirn  in  a  mad- house, 
and  I  think  there  are  one  or  two  more  persons  whom  it  will  be  highly  necessary  to 
prevent  being  mischievous,  at  all  events  at  present.  I  must  think — I  must 
think." 

j  When  such  a  man  as  Sweeney  Todd  set  about  thinking,  there  could  be  no 
possible  doubt  but  that  some  serious  mischief  was  meditated,  and  any  one  who  could 
have  watched  his  face  during  that  ride  home  from  the  money-lender's,  would  have 
seen  by  its  expression  that  the  thoughts  which  agitated  him  were  of  a  dark  and 
desperate  character,  and  such  as  anybody  but  himself  would'  have  -shrunk  from 
aghast.  But  he  was  not  a  man  to  shrink  from  anything,  and,  on  the  contrary,  the 
more  a  set  of  circumstances  presented  themselves  in  a  gloomy  and  a  terrific  aspect, 
the  better  they  seemed  to  suit  him,  and  the  peculiar  constitution  of  his  mind. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  love  of  money  was  the  predominant  feeling  in 
Sweeney  Todd's  intellectual  organization,  and  that,  by  the  amount  it  would  bring 
him,  or  the  amount  it  would  deprive  him  of,  he  measured  everything.  With  such 
a  man,  then,  no  question  of  morality  or  ordinary  feeling  could  arise,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  he  would  quite  willingly  have  sacrificed  the  whole  human  race,  if, 
by  so  doing,  he  could  have  achieved  any  of  the  objects  of  his  ambition.  And 
so,  on  his  road  homeward,  he  probably  made  up  his  mind  to  plunge  still  deeper 
into  criminality,  and  perchance  to  indulge  in  acts  that  a  man  not  already  so 
deeply  versed  in  iniquity  would  have  shrunk  from  with  the  most  positive  terror. 
And  by  a  strange  style  of  reasoning,  such  men  as  Sweeney  Todd  reconcile 
themselves  to  the  most  heinous  crimes  upon  the  ground  of  what  they  call  policy. 
That  is  to  say,  that  having  committed  some  serious  offence,  they  are  compelled  to 
commit  a  great  number  more  for  the  purpose  of  endeavouring  to  avoid  the  conse- 
quences of  the  first  lot,  and  hence  the  continuance  of  criminality  becomes  a  matter 
necessary  to  self-defence,  and  an  essential  ingredient  in  their  consideration  of  self- 
preservation.  Probably  Sweeney  Todd  had  been  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life, 
aiming  at  the  possession  of  extensive  pecuniary  resources,  and,  no  doubt,  by  the 
aid  of  a  superior  intellect,  and  a  mind  full  of  craft  and  design,  he  had  managed  to 
make  others  subservient  to  his  views  ;  and  now  that  those  views  were  answered, 
and  that  his  underlings  and  accomplices  were  no  longer  required,  they  became 
positively  dangerous.  He  was  well  aware  of  that  cold-blooded  policy  winch 
teaches  that  it  is  far  safer  to  destroy  than  to  cast  away  the  tools  by  which  a  man 
carves  his  way  to  power  and  fortune. 

"  They  shall  die/'  said  Sweeney  Todd — "dead  men  tell  no  tales,  nor  women 
nor  boys  either,  and  they  shall  all  die ;  after  which  there  will,  I  think,  be  a  serious 
fire  in  Fleet-street.  Ha !  ha !  it  may  spread  to  what  mischief  it  likes,  always 
provided  it  stops  not  short  of  the  entire  destruction  of  my  house  and  premises. 
Rare  sport — rare  sport  will  it  be  to  me,  for  then  I  will"  at  once  commence  a 
new  career,  in  which  the  barber  will  be  forgotten,  and  the  man  of  fashion  only 
seen  and  remembered,  for  with  this  sad  addition  to  my  means,  I  am  fully  capable 
of  vying  with  the  highest  and  the  noblest,  let  them  be  whom  they  may." 

This  seemed  a  pleasant  train  of  reflections  to  Sweeney  Todd,  and  as  the  coach 
entered  Fleet-street,  there  sat  such  a  grim  smile  upon  his  countenance  that  he 
looked  like  some  fiend  in  human  shape,  who  had  just  completed  the  destruction  of  a 


"■■  '     I'UI        ■  IM^MMWW— —■■■—WIIIIM  ■"  !■     Ill  H  U.  I   i.  i  


-y^^Rfc^fc--;^- IJ.fr  ,Ui  ■.t'H^-^V-'V'B-'r~:g^~r*up^-,-w'*  


,      -  «•  ■  THE  STRING  01  PEARLS.  89 

human  soul.   When  he  reached  the  livery  stables     which  he  directed lhTm~  to 
drive,  instead  of  his  own  shop,  he  rewarded  all  who  had  gone  with  him  most 
liberally,  so  that  the  coachman  and  footman,  who  were  both  servants  out  of  place 
would  have  had  no  objection  for  Sweeney  Todd  every  day  to  have  gone  on  some 
such  an  expedition,  so  that  they  should  receive  as  liberal  wages  for  the  small  part 


THE  SCHOOLFELLOWS,   JOHANNA  AND  ARABELLA. 


they  enacted  in  it  as  they  did  upon  that  occasion.  He  then  walked  from  the 
stables  toward  his  own  house,  but  upon  reaching  there  a  little  disappointment 
awaited  him,  for  he  found  to  his  surprise  that  no  light  was  burning;  and  when 
he  placed  his  hand  upon  the  shop-door,  it  opened,  but  there  mk  no  trace  of 
Tobias,(although  he,  Sweeney  Todd,  called  loudly  upon  him  the  moment  he  set  foot  | 
within  the  shop.   Then  a  feeling  of  apprehension  crept  across  the  barber,  and  he  * 


go  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Si     i  *"  '  *  iii'   _  —  —  ■  '  1    1  '   '   ■  ■  i  . 

^pedT  anxiously  about  for  some  matches,  by  the  aid  of  which  he  hoped  to 
procure  a  light,  and  then  an  explanation  of  the  mysterious  absence  of  Tobias,  But 
in  order  that  we  may,  in  its  proper  form,  relate  how  it  was  that  Tobias  had  had  the 
darino-  thus,  in  open  contradiction  of  his  master,  to  be  away  from  the  shop,  we 
must^devote  to  Tobias  a  chapter,  which  will  plead  his  extenuate 


CHAPTI2R  XV* 

lOBIAs'S  ADVENTTJEES  DUBINGr  SHE  ABSENCE  0?  SWEENEY  T0DP# 

Tobias  guessed,  and  guessed  rightly  too,  that  when  Sweeney  Todd  said  he 
would  be  away  half  an  hour,  he  only  mentioned  that  short  period  of  time,  in  order 
to  keep  the  lad's  vigilance  on  the  alert,  and  to  prevent  him  from  taking  any  advan- 
tage of  a  more  protracted  absence.  The  very  style  and  manner  in  which  he  had 
gone  out,  precluded  the  likelihood  of  it  being  for  so  short  a  period  of  time ;  and 
that  circumstance  set  Tobias  seriously  thinking  over  a  situation  which  was 
becoming  more  intolerable  every  day.  The  lad  had  the  sense  to  feel  that  he 
could  not  go  on  much  longer  as  he  was  going  on,  and  that  in  a  short  time  such  a 
life  would  destroy  him. 

"  It  is  beyond  endurance,"  he  said,  "  and  I  know  not  what  to  do ;  and  since 
Sweeney  Todd  has  told  me  that  the  boy  he  had  before  went  out  of  his  senses,  and 
is  now  in  the  cell  of  a  mad-house,  I  feel  that  such  will  be  my  fate,  and  that  I  too 
shall  come  to  that  dreadful  end,  and  then  no  one  will  believe  a  word  I  utter,  but 
consider  everything  to  be  mere  raving," 

After  a  time,  as  the  darkness  increased,  he  lit  the  lamp  which  hung  in  the  shop, 
and  which,  until  it  was  closed  for  the  night,  usually  shed  a  dim  ray  from  the 
window.   Then  he  sat  down  to  think  again,  and  he  said  to  himself— 

"If  I  could  now  but  summon  courage  to  ask  my  mother  about  this  robbery 
which  Sweeney  Todd  imputes  to  her,  she  might  assure  me  it  was  false,  and  that 
she  never  did  such  a  deed ;  but  then  it  is  dreadful  for  me  to  ask  her  such  a 
question,  because  it  may  be  true  ;  and  then,  how  shocking  it  would  be  for  her 
to  be  forced  to  confess  to  me,  her  own  son,  such  a  circumstance." 

These  were  the  honourable  feelings  which  prevented  Tobias  from  questioning 
his  mother  as  regarded  Todd's  accusation  of  her — an  accusation  too  dreadful  to 
believe  implicitly,  and  yet  sufficiently  probable  for  him  to  have  a  strong  suspicion 
that  it  might  be  true  after  all.  It  is  to  be  deeply  regretted  that  Tobias's  philoso- 
phy did  not  carry  him  a  little  further,  and  m^ke  him  see,  the  moment  the  charge 
was  made,  that  he  ought  unquestionably  to  investigate  it  to  the  very  utmost.  But 
still  we  could  hardly  expect,  from  a  mere  boy,  that  acute  reasoning  and  power  of 
action,  which  depend  so  much  upon  the  kno  wledge  of  the  world  and  an  extensive 
practice  in  the  usages  of  society.  It  was  sufficient  if  he  felt  correctly— we  could 
scarcely  expect  him  to  reason  so*  But  upon  this  occasion,  above  all^  others,  he 
seemed  completely  overcome  by  the  circumstances  which  surrounded*  him  ;  and 
from  his  excited  manner,  one  might  have  almost  imagined  that  the  insanity  he  himself 
predicted  at  the  close  of  his  career  was  really  not  far  off.  He  wrung  his 
hands,  and  he  wept,  every  now  and  then,  in  sad  speech,  bitterly  bemoaning  his 
situation,  until  at  length,  with  a  sudden  resolution!  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  ex- 
claiming-— 

"  This  night  shall  end  it.  I  can  endure  it  no  more.  I  will  fly  from  this  place, 
and  seek  my  fortune  elsewhere.  Any  amount  of  distress,  danger,  or  death  itself 
even,  is  preferable  to  the  dreadful  life  I  lead," 

He  walked  some  paces  towards  the  door,  and  then  he  paused,  as  he  said  to  him* 
self  in  a  low  tone—* 

"  Todd  will  surely  not  be  home  yet  awhile,  and  why  should  I  then  neglecl 


*  imwiiini 

.... 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  91 

the  only  opportunity  I  may  ever  have  of  searching  this  house  to  satisfy  my  mind  as 
regards  any  of  the  mysteries  that  it  contains  ?" 

He  paused  over  this  thought,  and  considered  well  its  danger,  for  dangerous 
indeed  it  was  to  no  small  extent,  but  he  was  desperate ;  and  with  a  resolution  that 
scarcely  could  have  been  expected  from  him,  he  "determined  upon  taking  that  step, 
above  all  others,  which  Todd  was  almost  sure  to  punish  with  death.  He  closed 
the  shop  door,  and  bolted  it  upon  the  inside,  so  that  he  could  not  be  suddenly 
interrupted,  and  then  he  looked  round  him  carefully  for  some  weapon,  by  the  aid  of 
which  he  should  be  able  to  break  his  way  into  the  parlour,  which  the  barber  always 
kept  closed  and  locked  in  his  absence.  A  weapon  that  would  answer  the  purpose 
of  breaking  an^  lock,  if  he,  Tobias,  chose  to  proceed  so  roughly  to  work,  was  close 
at  hand  in  the  iron  bar,  which,  when  the  place  was  closed  at  night,  secured  a 
shutter  to  the  dopr.  Wrought  up  as  he  was  to  almost  frenzy,  Tobias  seized  this 
bar,  and,  advancing  towards  the  parlour  door,  he  with  one  blow  smashed  the  lock 
to  atoms,  and  the  door  yielded.  The  moment  it  did  so,  there  was  a  crash  of  glass, 
and  when  Tobias  entered  the  room  he  saw  that  upon  its  threshold  lay  a  wine-glass 
shattered  to  atoms,  and  he  felt  certain  that  it  had  been  placed  in  some  artful 
position  by  Sweeney  Todd  as  a  detector,  when  he  should  return,  of  any  attempt 
that  had  been  made  upon  the  door  of  the  parlour.  And  now  Tobias  felt  that  he 
was  so  far  committed  that  he  might  as  well  go  on  with  his  work,  and  accordingly 
he  lit  a  candle,  which  he  found  upon  the  parlour  table,  and  then  proceeded  to  make 
what  discoveries  he  could.  Several  of  the  cupboards  in  the  room  yielded  at  once 
to  his  hands,  and  in  them  he  found  nothing  remarkable ;  but  there  was  one 
that  he  could  not  open ;  so,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  he  had  recourse 
to  the  bar  of  iron  again,  and  broke  its  lock,  when  the  door  swung  open,-and  to  his 
astonishment  there  tumbled  out  of  this  cupboard  such  a  volley  of  hats  of  all  sorts 
and  descriptions,  some  looped  with  silver,  some  three-cornered,  and  some  square, 
that  they  formed  quite  a  museum  of  that  article  of  attire,  and  excited  the 
greatest  surprise  in  the  mind  of  Tobias,  at  the  same  time  that  they  tended 
very  greatly  to  confirm  some  other  thoughts  and  feelings  which  he  had  concerning 
Sweeney  Todd.  This  was  the  only  cupboard  which  was  fast,  although  there 
was  another  door  which  looked  as  if  it  opened  into  one,  but  when  Tobias 
broke  that  down  with  the  bar  of  iron,  he  found  it  was  the  door  which  led  to  the 
staircase  conducting  to  the  uj)per  part  of  the  house-— that  upper  part  which 
Sweeney  Todd,  with  all  his  avarice,  would  never  let,  and  of  which  the  shutters 
were  kef)t  continually  closed,  so  that  the  opposite  neighbours  never  caught  a 
glimpse  into  any  of  the  apartments.  With  cautious  and  slow  steps,  which  he 
adopted  instantaneously,  although  he  knew  that  there  was  no  one  in  the  house  but 
himself,  Tobias  ascended  the  staircase. 

"  I  will  go  to  the  very  top  rooms  first/'  he  said  to  himself,  "  and  so  examine  them 
all  as  I  come  down,  and  then  if  Todd  should  return  suddenly,  I  shall  have  a  better 
chance  of  hearing  him,  than  as  if  I  began  below  and  went  upwards."  \ 

Acting  upon  this  prudent  scheme,  he  went  up  to  the  attics,  all  the  doors  of 
which  were  swinging  open,  ancl  there  was  nothing  in  any  of  them  whatever.  He 
descended  to  the  second  floor  with  the  like  result,  and  a  feeling  of  great  disappoint- 
ment began  to  creep  over  him  at  the  thought  that,  after  all,  the  barber's  house 
might  not  repay  the  trouble  of  examinination.  ,  But  when  he  reached  the  first  floor 
he  soon  found  abundant  reason  to  alter  his  opinion.  The  doors  were  fast,  and  he 
had  to  burst  them  open ;  and,  when  he  got  in,  he  found  that  those  rooms  were 
partially  furnished,  and  that  they  contained  a  great  quantity  of  miscellaneous 
property  of  all  lands  and  descriptions.  In  one  corner  was  an  enormous  quantity 
of  walking-sticks,  some  of  which  were  of  a  very  costly  and  expensive  character, 
with  gold  and  silver  chased  tops  to  them,  and  in  another  corner  was  a  great  number 
of  umbrellas— in  fact,  at  least  a  hundred  of  them.  Then  there  were  boots  and  shoes 
lying  upon  the  floor,  partially  covered  up,  as  if  to  keep  them  from  dirt ;  there  were 
thirty  or  forty  swords  of  different  styles  and  patterns,  many  of  them  appearing  to 
be  very  firm  blades,  and  in  one  or  two  cases  the  scabbards  were  richly  ornamented. 
At  one  end  of  the  front  and  larger  of  these  two  rooms,  was  an  old-fashioned- 


92  THE  STRING  0£  PEARLS. 


looking  bureau  of  great  size,  and  with  as  much  wood-work  in  it  as  seemed  required 
to  make  at  least  a  couple  of  such  articles  of  furniture.  This  was  very  securely 
locked,  and  presented  more  difficulties  in  the  way  of  opening  it  than  any  of  the  doors 
had  done,  for  the  lock  was  of  great  strength  and  apparent  durability.  Moreover  it 
Was  not  so  easily  got  at,  but  at  length  by  using  the  bar  as  a  sort  of  lever,  instead  of  as 
a  mere  machine  to  strike  with,  Tobias  succeeded  in  forcing  this  bureau  open,  and 
then  his  eyes  were  perfectly  dazzled  with  the  amount  of  jewellery  and  trinkets  of  all 
kinds  and  descriptions  that  were  exhibited  to  his  gaze.  There  was  a  great 
number  of  watches,  gold  chains,  silver  and  gold  snuff-boxes,  and  a  large  assort- 
ment of  rings,  shoe:buckles,  and  brooches.  These  articles  must  have  been  of 
great  value,  and  Tobias  could  not  help  exclaiming  aloud— 

"  How  could  Sweeney  Todd  come  by  these  articles,  except  by  the  murder  of 
their  owners  ?"     ,  .  •  ^^mm  ;-«*a| 

This,  indeed,  seemed  but  too  probable  a  supposition,  and  the  more  especially  so, 
as  in  a  further  part  of  this  bureau  a  great  quantity  of  apparel  was  found  by  Tobias. 
He  stood  with  a  candle  in  his  hand,  looking  upon  these  various  objects  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  then  as  a  sudden  and  a  natural  thought  came  across 
him  of  how  completely  a  few  of  them  even  would  satisfy  his  wants  and  his 
mother's  for  a  long  time  to  come,  he  stretched  forth  his  hand  towards  the  glitter- 
ing mass,  but  he  drew  it  back  again  with  a  shudder,  saying— 

«  No—no,  these  things  are  the  plunder  of  the  dead.  Let  Sweeney  Todd  keep 
them  to  himself,  and  look  upon  them,  if  he  can,  with  eyes  of  enjoyment.  T  will 
Lave  none  of  them ;  they  would  bring  misfortune  along  with  every  guinea  that  they 
might  be  turned  into.5' 

As  he  spoke,  he  heard  St.  Danstan's  clock  strike  nine,  and  he  started  at  the 
sound,  for  it  let  him  know  that  already  Sweeney  Todd  had  been  away  an  hour 
beyond  the  time  he  said  he  would  be  absent,  so  that  there  was  a  probability  of  his 
quick  return  now,  and  it  would  scarcely  be  safe  to  linger  longer  in  his  house. 

"I  must  be  gone — I  must  be  gone.  1  should  like  to  look  upon  my  mother's 
face  once  more  before  I  leave  London  for  ever  perhaps.  I  may  tell  her  of  the 
danger  she  is  in  from  Todd's  knowledge  of  her  secret ;  no— no,  I  cannot  speak  to 
her  of  that,  I  must  go,  and  leave  her  to  those  chances  which  I  hope  and  trust  will 
work  favourably  for  her.' '  ^ 

flinging;  down  the  iron  bar  which  had  done  him  such  good  service,  Tobias 
stopped  not  to  close  any  of  those  receptacles  which  contained  the  plunder  that 
Sweeney  Todd  had  taken  most  probably  from  murdered  persons,  but  he  rushed 
down  stairs  into  the  parlour  again,  where  the  boots  that  had  fallen  out  of  the  cup- 
board still  lay  upon  the  floor  in  wild  disorder.    It  was  a  strange  and  sudden  whim 
that  took  him,  rather  than  a  matter  of  reflection,  that  induced  him,  instead  of  his 
own  hat,  to  take  one  of  those  which  were  lying  so  indiscriminately  at  his  feet ; 
and  he  did  so.   By  mere  accident  it  turned  out  to  be  an  exceedingly  handsome 
hat,  of  rich  workmanship  and  material,  and  then  Tobias,  feeling  terrified  lest 
Sweeney  Todd  should  return  before  he  could  leave  the  place,  paid  no  attention  to- 
anything,  but  turned  from  the  shop,  merely  pulling  the  door  after  him,  and  then 
darting  over  the  road  towards  the  Temple  like  a  hunted  hare  ;  for  his  great  wish 
was  to  see  his  mother,  and  then  he  had  an  undefined  notion  that  his  best  plan  for 
escaping  the  clutches  of  Sweeney  Todd  would  be  to  go  to  sea.   In  common  with 
all  boys  of  his  age,  who  know  nothing  whatever  of  the  life  of  a  sailor,  it  presented 
itself  in  the  most  fascinating  colours.   A  sailor  ashore  and  a  sailor  afloat,  are  about 
as  two  different  things  as  the  world  can  present;  but,  to  the  imagination  of 
Tobias  Hagg,  a  sailor  was  somebody  who  was  always  dancing  hornpipes,  spending 
money,  and  telling  wonderful  stories.   No  wonder,  then,  that  the  profession  pre- 
sented itself  under  such  fascinating  colours  to  all  such  persons  as  Tobias ;  and  as 
it  seemed,  and  seems  still,  to  be  a  sort  of  general  understanding  that  the  real  con- 
dition of  a  sailor  should  be  mystified  in  every  possible  way  and  shape  by  both  ji 
novelist  and  dramatist,  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  requires  actual  experience  to  enable 
those  parties  who  are  in  the  habit  of  being  carried  away  by  just  what  they  hear, 
to  come  to  a  correct  conclusion* 


& 


mi  mm 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


93 


"  I  will  go  to  sea  !"  ejaculated  Tobias.    "  Yes,  I  will  go  to  sea  V? 

As  he  spoke  these  words  he  passed  out  of  the  gate  of  the  Temple  leading  into 
Wliitefriars,  in  which  ancient  vicinity  his  mother  dwelt,  endeavouring  to  eke  out  a 
living  as  best  she  might.  She  was  very  much  surprised  (for  she  happened  to  be  at 
home)  at  the  unexpected  visit  of  her  son,  Tobias,  and  uttered  a  faint  acreain  as 
she  let  fall  a  flat-iron  very  nearly  upon  his  toes. 

"  Mother/'  he  said.  "  I  cannot  stay  with  Sweeney  Todd  any  longer,  so  do  not 
ask  me." 

"  Not  stay  with  such  a  respectable  man  ?" 

"  A  respectable  man,  mother  !   Alas,  alas,  how  little  you  know  of  him !  #  But 
what  am  I  saying  ?   I  dare  not  speak !    Oh,  that  fatal,  fatal  candlestick  I" 
"But  how  are  you  to  live,  and  what  do  you  mean  by  a  fatal  candlestick  ?'\ 
cc  Forgive  me— I  did  not  mean  to  say  that !   Earewell,  mother !  I  am  going  to 


sea, 

*'  To  see  what,  my  dear  P  said  Mrs.  Kagg,  who  was  much  more  difficult  to  talk 
to,  than  even  Hamlet's  grave-digger.  €S  xou  don't  know  how  much  I  am  obliged 
to  Sweeney  Todd." 

"  Yes,  I  do,  and  that's  what  drives  me  mad  fo  think  of,  Earewell,  mother,  per- 
haps for  ever  !  If  I  can,  of  course  J  will  communicate  with  you,  but  now  I  dare 
not  stay." 

"  Oh !  what  have  you  done,  Tobias— what  have  you  done  V[ 
<c  Nothing — nothing !  but  Sweeney  Todd  is    ■  " 
"What— what  P" 

"  No  matter — no  matter  t  Nothing— nothing  !  And  yet  at  this  last  moment  I 
am  almost  tempted  to  ask  you  concerning  a  candlestick." 

€i  Don't  mention  that,"  said  Mrs.  Ragg ;  "  I  don't  want  to  hear  anything  said 
about  it*"  v 

"  It  is  true,  then  ?" 

"  Yes ;  but  did  Mr.  Todd  tell  you  ?" 

"He  did — he  did.  I  have  now  asked  the  question  I  never  thought  could  have 
passed  my  lips.   Farewell,  mother  ;  for  ever  farewell !" 

Tobias  rushed  out  of  the  place,  leaving  old  Mrs.  Ragg  astonished  at  his 
behaviour,  and  with  a  strong  suspicion  that  some  accession  of  insanity  had  come 
over  him. 

"The  Lord  have  mercy  upon  us !"  she  said,  what  shall  I  do  ?  I  am  astonished 
at  Mr.  Todd  telling  him  about  the  candlestick  ;  it's  true  enough,  though,  for  all 
that.  I  recollect  it  as  well  as  though  it  were  yesterday ;  it  was  a  very  hard 
winter,  and  I  was  minding  a  set  of  chambers,  when  Todd  came  to  shave  the 
gentleman,  and  I  saw  him  with  my  own  eyes  put  a  silver  candlestick  in  his 
pocket.  Then  I  went  over  to  his  shop  and  reasoned  with  liim  about  it,  and  he 
gave  it  me  back  again,  and  I  brought  it  to  the  chambers,  and  laid  it  down 
exactly  on  the, spot  where  he  took  it  from." 

"  To  be  sure,"  said  Mrs.  Ragg,  after  a  pause  of  a  few  moments,  "to  be  sure,  he 
has  been  a  very  good  friend  to  me  ever  since,  but  that  I  suppose  is  for  fear  f  should 
tell,  and  get  him  hung  or  transported.  But,  however,  we  must  take  the  good 
with  the  bad,  and  when  Tobias  comes  to  think  of  it,  he  will  go  back  again  to  his 
work,  I  dare  say  ;  for,  after  all,  it's  a  very  foolish  thing  for  him  to  trouble  his  head 
whether  Mr.  Todd  stole  a  silver  candlestick  or  not." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  STRANGE  ODOUR  IN  OLD  ST.  DUNSTAN5S  CHURCH* 

About  this  time,  and  "while  the  incidents  of  onr  most  strange  and  eventful 
narrative  weqb  taking  place,  the  pious  frequenters  of  old  St.  Dunstan's  church 
began  to  perceive  a  strange  and  most  abominable  odour  throughout  that  sacred 
edifice.  It  was  in  vain  that  old  women  who  came  to  hear  the  sermons,  although 


jm 


they  were  too  deaf  to  catch  a  third  part  of  them,  brought  smelling  bottles' 
and  other  means  of  stifling  their  noses ;  still  that  dreadful  charnel-house  sort 
of  smell  would  make  itself  most  painfully  and  most  disagreeably  apparent. 
And  the  Rev.  Joseph  StiUingport,  who  was  the  regular  preacher,  smelt  it  in  the 
pulpit;  and  had  been  seen  to  sneeze  in  the  midst  of  a  most  pious  discourse 
indeed,  and  to  hold  to  his  pious  mouth  a  handkerchief,  in  which  was  some  strong 
and  pungent  essence,  for  the  purpose  of  trying  to  overcome  the  horrible  effluvia. 
The  organ-blower  and  the  organ-player  were  both  nearly  stifleS,  for  the  horrible 
clour  seemed  to  ascend  to  the  upper  part  of  the  church;  although  those  who 
sat  in  what  may  be  called  the  pit,  by  no  means  escaped  it.  The  churchwardens 
looked  at  each  other  in  their  pews  with  contorted  countenances,  and  were 
almost  afraid  to  breathe ;  and  the  only  person  who  did  not  complain  bitterly  of 
the  dreadful  odour  in  St.  Dunstan's  church,  was  an  old  woman  who  had  been  a 
pew- opener  for  many  years ;  but  then  she  had  lost  the  faculties  of  her  nose,  which, 
perhaps,  accounted  satisfactorily  for  that  circumstance.  At  length,  however,  the 
nuisance  became  so  intolerable,  that  the  beadle,  whose  duty  it  was  in  the  morning 
to  open  the  church  doors,  used  to  come  up  to  them  with  the  massive  key  in 
one  hand,  and  a  cloth  soaked  in  vinegar  in  the  other,  just  as  the  people  used 
to  do  in  the  time  of  the  great  plague  of  London ;  and  when  he  had  opened  the 
doors,  he  used  to  run  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  way. 

*  Ah,  Mr.  Blunt!"  he  used  to  say  to  the  bookseller,  who  lived  opposite— "ah  ! 
Mr.  Blunt,  I  is  obligated  to  cut  over  here,  leastways  till  the  atymouspheric  air 
is  mixed  up  all  along  with  the  stinJcifications  which  come  from  the  church." 

By  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  beadle  was  rather  a  learned  man,  and  no  doubt 
went  to  some  mechanics5  institution  of  those  days,  where  he  learned  something  of 
everything  but  what  was  calculated  to  be  of  some  service  to  him*  As  might  be  sup- 
posed, from  the  fact  that  this  sort  of  thing  had  gone  on  for  a  few  months,  it  began 
to  excite  some  attention  with  a  view  to  a  remedy ;  for,  in  the  great  city  of  London,  a 
nuisance  of  any  sort  or  description  requires  to  become  venerable  by  age  before  any 
one  thinks  of  removing  it ;  and  after  that,  it  is  quite  clear  that  that  becomes  a  good 
argument  against  removing  it  at  all.  But  at  last,  the  churchwardens  began  to 
have  a  fear  that  some  pestilential  disease  would  be  the  result  if  they  for  any  longer 
1  period  of  time  put  up  with  the  horrible  stench,  and  that  they  might  be  among  its 
first  victims,  so  they  began  to  ask  each  other  what  could  be  done  to  obviate  it. 
Probably,  if  this  frightful  stench,  being  suggestive,  as  it  was,  of  all  sorts  of  horrors, 
had  been  graciously  pleased  to  confine  itself  to  some  poor  locality,  nothing  wauld 
have  been  heard  of  it ;  but  when  it  became  actually  offensive  to  a  gentleman  in  a 
metropolitan  pulpit,  and  when  it  began  to  make  itself  perceptible  to  the  sleepy 
faculties  of  the  churchwardens  of  St.  Dunstan's  church,  Meet -street,  so  as  to 
prevent  them  even  from  dozing  through  the  afternoon  sermon,  it  became  a  very 
serious  matter  indeed.  But  what  #  was  it,  what  could  it  be,  and  what  was  to  be 
done  to  get  rid  of  it  ?  These  were  the  anxious  questions  that  were  asked  right 
and  left,  as  regarded  the  serious  nuisance,  without  the  fates  graciously  acceding 
any  reply. "  But  yet  one  thing  seemed  to  be  generally  agreed,  and  that  was,  that 
it  did  come,  and  must  come,  somehow  or  other,  out  of  the  vaults  from  beneath 
the  church.  But  then,  as  the  pious  and  hypocritical  Mr.  Butter  wick,  who  lived 
opposite,  said—* 

"  How  could  that  be,  when  it  was  satisfactorily  proved  by  the  present  books 
that  nobody  had  been  buried  in  the  vaults  for  some  time,  and  therefore  it  was  a 
very  odd  thing  that  dead  people,  after  leaving  off  smelling  and  being  disagreeable, 
should  all  of  a  sudden  burst  out  again  in  that  line,  and  be-twice  as  bad  as  ever 
\\  they  were  at  first/' 

And  on  Wednesdays  sometimes,  too,  when  pious  people  were  not  satisfied  with 
the  Sunday's  devotion,  but  began  again  in  the  middle  of  the  week,  that  stench  was 
positively  terrific.  Indeed,  so  bad  was  it,  that  some  of  the  congregation  were 
forced  to  leave,  and  have  been  seen  to  slink  into  Bell-yard,  where  Lovett's  pie* 
shop  was  situated,  and  then  and  there  solace  themselves  with  a  pork  or  a  veal  pie, 
in  order  that  their  mouths  and  noses  should  be  full  of  a  delightful  and  agreeable 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  95 


flavour,  instead  of  one  most  peculiarly  and  decidedly  the  reverse.  At  last  there 
Was  a  confirmation  to  be  held  fit  St.  Dunstan's  church,  and  a  great  concourse  of 
persons  assembled,  for  a  sermon  was  to  be  preached  by  the  bishop  after  the  con* 
formation;  and  a  very  great  fuss  indeed  was  to  be  made  about  really  nobody  knew 
exactly  what.  Preparations,  as  newspapers  say,  upon  an  extensive  scale,  and 
regardless  of  expense,  were  made  for  the  purpose  of  adding  lustre  to  the  ceremony, 
and  surprising  the  bishop,  when  he  came,  with  a  good  idea  that  the  people  who 
attended  St.  Dunstan's  church  were  somebodies,  and  really  worth  confirming. 
The  confirmation  was  to  take  place  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  the  bells  ushered  in  the 
morning  with  their  most  pious  tones,  for  it  was  not  every  day  that  the  authorities 
of  St.  Dunstan  succeeded  in  catching  a  bishop,  and  when  they  did  so,  they 
were  determined  to  make  the  most  of  \  him.    And  the^  numerous  authorities, 
including  churchwardens,  and  even  the  very  beadle,  were  in  an  uncommon  fluster, 
and  running  about,  and  impeding  each  other,  as  authorities  always  do  upon  public 
occasions.   But,  to  those  who  only  look  to  the  surface  of  things,  and  who  came  to 
admire  what  was  grand  and  magnificent  in  the  preparations,  the  beadle  certainly 
carried  away  the  palm,  for  that  functionary  was  attired  in  a  completely  new  cocked 
hat  and  coat,  and  certainly  looked  very  splendid  and  showy  upon  the  occasion. 
Moreover,  that  beadle  had  been  well  and  judiciously  selected,  and  the  parish 
authorities  made  no  secret  of  it,  when  there  was  an  election  for  beadle,  that  they 
threw  all  their  influence  into  the  scale  of  that  candidate  who  happened  to  be  the 
biggest,  and,  consequently,  who  was  calculated  to  wear  the  official  costume  with 
an  air  that  no  smaller  man  could  have  possibly  aspired  to  on  any  account.  At 
half-past  eleven  o'clock  the  bishop  made  his  gracious  appearance,  and  was  duly 
ushered  into  the  vestry,  where  there  was  a  comfortable  fire,  and  on  the  table  in 
which,  likewise,  were  certain  cold  chickens  and  bottles  of  rare  wines ;  for  confirming 
a  number  of  people,  and  preaching  a  sermon  besides,  was  considered  no  joke,  and 
might,  for  all  they  knew,  be  provocative  of  a  great  appetite  in  the  bishop.  And 
with  what  a  bland  and  courtly  air  the  bishop  smiled  as  he  ascended  the  steps  of 
St,  Dunstan's  Church.   How  affable  he  was  to  the  churchwardens,  and  he  actually 
smiled  upon  a  poor  miserable  charity  boy,  who,  his  eyes  glaring  wide  open,  and  his 
muffin  cap  in  his  hand,  was  taking  his  first  stare  at  a  real  live  bishop.   To  be  sure, 
the  beadle  knocked  him  down  directly  the  bishop  had  passed,  for  having  the  pre- 
sumption to  look  at  such  a  great  personage,  but  then  that  was  to  be  expected  fully 
and  completely,  and  onty  proved  that  the  provetb,  which  permits  a  cat  to  look  at  a 
king,  is  not  equally  applicable  to  charity  boys  and  bishops.   When  the  bishop  got 
to  the  vestry,  some  very  complimentary  words  were  uttered  to  him  by  the  usual 
officiating  clergyman,  but,  somehow  or  other,  the  bland  smile  had  left  the  lips  of 
the  great  personage,  and,  interrupting  the  vicar  in  the  midst  of  a  fine  flowing  speech, 
he  said—* 

*f  That's  all  very  well,  but  what  a  terrible  stink  there  is  here !" 
The  churchwardens  gave  a  groan,  for  they  had  flattered  themselves  that  perhaps 
the  bishop  would  not  notice  the  dreadful  smell,  or  that,  if  he  did,  he  would  think  it 
was  accidental,  and  say  nothing  about  it ;  but  now,  when  he  really  did  mention  it, 
they  found  all  their  hopes  scattered  to  the  winds,  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  say 
something. 

"Is  this  horrid  charnel-house  sort  of  smell  alwaj's  here?5* 
<c  I  am  afraid  it  is,"  said  one  of  the  churchwardens.  , 
V.  Afraid  I"  said  the  bishop,  "  surely  you  know ;  you  seem  to  me  to  have  a ; 


nose* 


"  Yes/*  said  the  churchwarden,  in  great  confusion,  "I  have  that  honour,  and  I 
have  the  pleasure  of  informing  you,  my  Lord  Bishop-— I  mean  I  have  the  honour  of 
informing  you  that  this  smell  is  always  here."  ^  j 
The  bishop  sniffed  several  times,  and  then  he  said—  ; 
ft.  It  is  very  dreadful ;  and  I  hope  that  by  the  next  time  I  come  to  St.  Dunstan's, 
you  will  have  the  pleasure  and  the  honour,  both,  of  informing  me  that  it  has  gone 
away." 

Che  churchwarden  bowed,  and  got  into  an  extreme  corner,  saying  to  himself— 


9S  THE  STRIN^OF  PEARLS. 


^^1^1^        last  visit  here,  and  I  don't  wonder  at  it,  for,  as  if  out  of 
nun  spite,  the  smell  is  ten  times  worse  than  ever  to-day  .        ■  y 
?  And  so  it  was,  for  it  seemed  to  come  up  through  all  the  crevices  of  the  flooring 
01  the  church,  with  a  power  and  perseverance i  that  was  positively  dreadful. 
The  people  coughed,  and  held  their  handkerchiefs  to  their  noses,  remarking 

to^,t^TeadfdP— did  you  ever  know  the  smell  in  St.  l>anstan's  so  bad 
before,  and  everybody  agreed  that  they  never  had  known  it  anything  like  so  bad, 
for  that  it  was  positively  awful— and  so  indeed  it  was.  ^  £ 

The  anxiety  of  the  bishop  to  get  away  was  quite  manifest,  ajid,  it  he  could  have 
decently  taken  his  departure  without  confirming  anybody  at  all,  ther^  is  no  ^doubt 
but  that  he  would  hate  willingly  done  so,  and  left  all  the  congregation  to  die  and 
be—  something  or  another.  But  this  he  could  not  do,  but  he  could  cut  it  short, 
and  he  did  so.  ■  The  people  found  themselves  confirmed  before  they  almost  knew 
where  they  were,  and  the  bishop  would  not  go  into  the  vestry  again  on  any 
account,  but  hurried  down  the  steps  of  the  church,  and  into  his  carriage,  with  the 
greatest  precipitation  in  the  world,  thus  proving  that  holiness  is  no  proof  against 
a  most  abominable  stench.  As  may  be  well  supposes  after  this,  the  subject 
assumed  a  much  more  serious  aspect,  and  on  the  following  day  a  solemn  meeting 
was  held  of  all  the  church  authorities,  at  which  it  was  determined  that  men  should 
be  employed  to  make  a  thorough  and  searching  examination  of  the  vaults  of  bt. 
Dunstan's,  with  the  view  of  discovering,  if  possible,  from  whence  particularly  the 
abominable  stench  emanated.  And  then  it  was  decided  that  the  stench  was  to  be 
put  down,  and  that  the  bishop  was  to  be  apprized  it  was  put  down,  and  that  he 
might  visit  the  church  in  perfect  safety. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 1 

SWEENEY  TODD'S  PROCEEDINGS  CONSEQUENT  UPON  THE  DEPARTURE  OF  T03IAS. 

We  left  the  barber  in  his  own  '  shop,  much  wondering  that  Tobias  had  not 
responded  to  the  call  which  he  had  made  upon  him,  but  yet  scarcely  believing 
it  possible  that  he  could  have  ventured  upon  the  height  of  iniquity,  which  we 
know  Tobias  had  really  been  guilty  of.  He  paused  for  a  few  moments,  and  held 
up  the  light  which  he  had  procured,  and  gazed  around  him  with  inquiring  eyes,  for 
he  could,  indeed,  scarcely  believe  it  possible  that  Tobias  had  sufficiently  cast  ^  off 
his  dread  of  him,  Sweeney  Todd,  to  be  enabled  to  achieve  any  act  for  his  liberation. 
But  when  he  saw  that  the  lock  of  the  parlour-door  was  open,  positive  rage  obtained 
precedence  over  every  other  feeling. 

"  The  villain !"  he  cried,  "  has  he  dared  really  to  consummate  an  act  I  thought 
he  could  not  have  dreamt  of  for  a  moment.  Is  it  possible  that  he  can  have  pre- 
sumed so  far  as  to  have  searched  the  house  ?" 

That  Tobias,  however,  had  presumed  so  far,  the  barber  soon  discovered,  and 
when  he  went  into  his  parlour  and  saw  what  had  actually  occurred,  and  that  not 
only  was  every  cupboard  door  broken  open,  but  that  likewise  the  door  which  led 
to  the  staircase  and  the  upper  part  of  the  house  had  not  escaped,  he  got  perfectly 
furious,  and  it  was  some  time  before  he  could  sufficiently  calm  himself  to  reflect 
upon  the  probable  and  possible  amount  of  danger  he  might  run  in  consequence  of 
these  proceedings.  When  he  did,  his  active  mind  at  once  told  him  that  there  was 
not  much  to  be  dreaded  immediately,  for  that  most  probably  Tobias,  still  having 
the  fear  before  his  eyes  of  what  he  might  do  as  regarded  his  mother,  had  actually 
run  away  ;  and, "  in  all  likelihood,"  muttered  the  barber,  "  he  has  taken  with  him 
something  which  would  allow  me  to  fix  upon  him  the  stigma  of  robbery,  but  that  I 
must  see  to/* 


K 


pa  oat 

do/ again!; 

b  »% 

ui  meetinj 

altsoi  St 

ttluly  tit 

inns  to  li 


is  had  ii 
j  belief 

ts,  aadhei! 

SB? 

535 


i 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


97 


Having  fastened  '  the  shop. door  securely,  he  took  the  light  in  his  hands,  and 
ascended  to  the  upper  part  of  his  house— that  is  to  say,  the  first  floor,  where 
alone  anything-  was  to  be  found.  He  saw  at  once  the  open  bureau,  with  all 
its  glittering  display  of  jewels,  and  as  he  gazed  upon  the  heap,  he  muttered— 

"I  have  not  so  accurate  a  knowledge  of  what  is  here  as  to  be  able  to  say  if 


TOBIAS  IN  THE  HANDS  01?  THE   MAD -HOUSE  KEEPEKS. 

anything  be  extracted  or  not,  but  I  know  the  amount  of  money,  if  I  do  not  know 
the  precise  number  of  jewels  which  this  bureau  contains/' 

He  opened  a  small  drawer  which  had  entirely  escaped  the  scrutiny  of  Tobias, 
and  proceeded  to  count  a  large  number  of  guineas  which  were  there. 

" These  are  correct,5'  he  said,  when  he  had  finished  his  examination — "these 
are  correct,  and  he  has  torched  none  of  them  " 


98  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


He  then  opened  another  drawer,  in  which  were  a  great  many  packets  of  silver 
done  up  in  paper,  and  these  likewise  he  carefully  counted,  and  was  satisfied  they 

were  right.  ,       .,  . 

"It  is  strange,"  he  said,  "that  he  has  taken  nothing,  but  yet  perhaps  it  is 
better  that  it  should  be  so,  inasmuch  as  it  shows  a  wholesome  lear  of  me.  Ine 
slightest  examination  would  have  shown  him  these  hoards  of  money y  and  since 
he  has  not  made  that  slight  examination,  nor  discovered  any  of  them,  it  seems  to 
my  mind  decisive  upon  the  subject,  that  he  has  taken  nothing,  and  perchance  1 
shall  discover  him  easier  than  I  imagine." 

He  repaired  to  the  parlour  again,  and  cnrefully  divested  himself  of  everything 
which  had  enabled  him  so  successfully  to  impose  upon  John  Mundel,  and  replaced 
them  by  his  ordinary  costume,  after  which  he  fastened  up  his  house  and  sallied 
forth,  taking  his  way  direct  to  Mrs.  Ragg's  humble  home,  m  the  expectation  that 
there  he  would  hear  something  of  Tobias,  which  would  give  him  a  clue  where  to 
search  for  him,  for  search  for  him  he  fully  intended ;  but  what  were  his  precise 
intentions  perhaps  he  could  hardly  have  told  himself,  until  he  actually  found  him. 
When  he  reached  Mrs.  Ragg's  house,  and  made  his  appearance  abruptly  betore 
that  lady,  who  seemed  somehow  or  another  to  be  always  ironing  and  always  to  drop 
the  iron  when  any  one  came  in,  very  near  their  toes,  he  said — 
"  Where  did  your  son  Tobias  go  after  he  left  you  to-night  ?' 
«  Lor !  Mr.  Todd,  is  it  you  ?  You  are  as  good  as  a  conjuror,  sir,  for  be  was 
here  ;  but  bless  you,  sir,  I  know  no  more  where  he  is  gone  to,  than  the  man  in  the 
moon.  He  said  he  was  going  to  sea,  but  I  am  sure  I  should  not  have  thought  it, 
that  I  should  not." 

"  To  sea !— then  the  probability  is  that  he  would  go  down  to  the  docks,  but  surely 
not  to-night.   Do  you  not  expect  him  back  here  to  sleep  V* 

"  Well,  sir,  that's  a  very  good  thought  of  yours,  and  he  may  come  back  here  to 
sleep,  for  all  I  know  to  the  contrary." 
"  But  you  do  not  know  it  for  a  fact  V 

"He  didn't  say  so  ;  but  he  may  Come,  you  know,  sir,  for  all  that." 
"  Did  he  tell  you  his  reason  for  leaving  me  ?" 

"  Indeed  no,  sir ;  he  really  did  not,  and  he  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  little  bit  out 

"Ah!  Mrs.  Ragg,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  "there  you  have  it.  From  the  first 
moment  that  he  came  into  my  service,  I  knew  and  felt  confident  that  he  was  out  of 
his  senses.  There  was  a  strangeness  of  behaviour  about  him,  which  soon  convinced 
mc  of  that  fact,  and  1  am  only  anxious  about  him,  in  order  that  some  effort  may 
be  made  to  cure  him  of  such  a  malady,  for  it  is  a  serious,  and  a  dreadful  one,  and 
one  which,  unless  taken  in  time,  will  be  yet  the  death  of  Tobias.1 ' 

These  words  were  spoken  with  sudb  solemn  seriousness,  that  they  had  a  wonder- 
ful effect  upon  Mrs.  Ragg,  who,  like  most  ignorant  persons,  began  immediately  to 
confirm  that  which  she  most  dreaded.  '  { 

" Oh,  it's  too  true,"  she  said,  "it's  too  true.  He  did  say  some  extraordinary 
things  to-night,  Mr.  Todd,  and  he  said  he  had  something  to  tell,  which  was  too  j 
horrid  to  speak  of.   Now  the  idea,  you  know*  Mr.  Todd,  of  anybody  having  any-  j 
thing  at  all  to  tell,  and  not  telling  it  at  once,  is  quite  singular.51  ' 

"It  is ! — and  I  am  sure  that  his  conduct  is  such  you  never  would  be  guilty  of, 
Mrs.  Ragg; — but  hark !  what's  that?" 

"Ks  a  knock,  Mr.  Todd/1 

"  Hush,  stop  a  moment—what  if  it  be  Tobias  V9 

"  Gracious  goodness !  it  can't  be  him,  for  he  would  have  come  in  at  once.'1 
"  No ;  I  slipped  the  bolt  of  the  door,  because  I  wished  to  talk  to  you  without 
observation ;  so  it  may  be  Tobias,  you  perceive,  after  all.  But  let  me  hide  some- 
where, so  that  I  may  hear  what  he  says,  and  be  able  to  judge  how  his  mind  is 
affected.    1  will  not  hesitate  to  do  something  for  him,  let  it  cost  what  it  may." 

"  There's  the  cupboard,  Mr.  Todd.  To  be  sure  there  is  some  dirty  saucepans 
and  a  frying-pan  in  it,  and  of  course  it  aint  a  fit  place  to  ask  you  to  go  into." 


i 


mummi'**™  »  ■ .   i»   ihhwbi  i|i-ii.iL-ittiiiiLui  ■■«■  '^iiiwiaaaaaBMijjiLjii  [i.tummammmummmemm.  Mimiwiiirmw^i 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  99 


"Never  mind  that— never  mind  that;  only  you  be  careful,  for  the  sake  of 
Tobias's  very  life,  to  keep  secret  that  I  am  here." 

The  knocking  at  the  door  increased  each  moment  in  vehemence,  and  scarcely 
had  Sweeney  Todd  succeeded  in  getting  into  the  cupboard  along  with  Mrs.  Ragg's 
pots  and  pans,  and  thoroughly  concealed  himself,  when  she  opened  the  door ;  and, 
sure  enough— Tobias,  heated,  tired,  and  looking  ghastly  pale— staggered  into  the 
room. 

"  Mother,"  he  said,  "  I  have  taken  a  new  thought,  and  have  come  back  to 
you." 

"  Well,  I  thought  you  would,  Tobias ;  and  a  very  good  thing  it  is  that  you 
have." 

"Listen  to  me :  I  thought  of  flying  from  England  for  ever,  and  of  never  again 
setting  foot  upon  its  shores.  I  have  altered  that  determination  completely,  and  I 
feel  now  that  it  is  my  duty  to  do  something  else." 

"  To  do  what,  Tobias  P" 

"  To  tell  all  I  know— to  make  a  clean  breast,  mother,  and,  let  the  consequences 
be  what  they  may,  to  let  justice  take  its  course.  * 
"  What  do  you  mean,  Tobias  ?" 

"Mother,  I  have  come  to  a  conclusion,  that  what  I  have  to  tell  is  of  such  vast 
importance,  compared  [  with  any  consequences  that  may  arise  from  the  petty 
robbery  of  the  candlestick,  which  you  know  of,  that  I  ought  not  to  hesitate  a 
moment  in  revealing  everything." 

"  But,  my  dear  Tobias,  remember  that  that  is  a  dreadful  secret,  and  one  that 
must  be  kept,'* 

;  ?  It  cannot  matter— it  cannot  matter ;  and,  besides,  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  by  revealing  what  I  actually  know,  and  which  is  of  such  great  magnitude,  I 
may,  mother,  in  a  manner  of  speaking,  perchance  completely  exonerate  you  from 
the  consequences  of  that  transaction.  Besides,  it  was  long  ago,  and  the  prose- 
cutor may  have  mercy ;  but,  be  all  that  how  it  may,  and  be  the  consequences  what 
they  may,  I  must  and  will  tell  what  I  now  know." 
"But  what  is  it  Tobias,  that  you  know?'* 

**  Something  too  dreadful  for  me  to  utter  to  you  alone.  Go  into  the  Temple, 
mother,  to  some  of  the  chambers  you  attend  to,  and  ask  them  to  come  to  me, 
and  listen  to  what  I  have  got  to  say.  They  will  be  amply  repaid  for  their  trouble, 
for  they  will  hear  that  which  may,  perhaps,  save  their  own  lives." 

"He  is  quite  gone,"  thought  Mrs.  Ragg,  "  and  Mr.  Todd  is  correct;  poor 
Tobias  is  as  mad  as  he  can  be !  Alas,  alas,  Tobias,  why  don't  you  try  to  reason 
yourself  into  a  better  state  of  mind  !  You  don't  know  a  bit  what  you  are  saying, 
any  more  than  the  man  in  the  moon/, 

"  I  know  I  am  half  mad,  mother,  but  yet  I  know  what  I  am  saying  well ;  so  do 
not  fancy  that  it  is  not  to  be  relied  upon,  but  go  and  fetch  some  one  at  once  to 
listen  to  what  I  have  to  relate." 

"  Perhaps,"  thought  Mrs.  Ragg,  "  if  I  were  to  pretend  to  humour  him,  it  would 
be  as  well,  and,  while  I  am  gone,  Mr.  Todd  can  speak  to  him." 

This  was  a  bright  idea  of  Mrs.  Ragg*s,  and  she  forthwith  proceeded  to  carry  it 
into  execution,  saying— 

"  Well,  my  dear,  if  it  must  be,  it  must  be— and  I  will  go ;  but  I  hope  while  I 
have  gone,  somebody  will  speak  to  you,  and  convince  you  that  you  ought  to  try  to 
quiet  yourself.' * 

These  words  Mrs.  Ragg  uttered  aloud,  for  the  special  benefit  of  Sweeney  Todd, 
who,  she  considered,  would  have  been  there  to  take  the  hint  accordingly.  It  is 
needless  to  say  he  did  hear  them,  and  how  far  he  profited  by  them,  we  shall 
quickly  perceive.  As  for  poor  Tobias,  he  had  not  the  remotest  idea  of  the  close 
proximity  of  his  arch  enemy;  if  he  had,  he  would  quickly  have  left  that  spot, 
where  he  might  well  4g)  conjecture  so  much  danger  awaited  him  ;  for  although 
Sweeney  Todd,  under  the  circumstances,  probably  felt  that  hq  dared  not  take 
Tobias's  life,  still  he  mi  ;ht  exchange  something  that  could  place  it  in ^his 
power  to  do  so  shortly,  with  the  least  personal  danger  to  himself.   The  door 


Xoo  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.^ 


closed  after  the  retreating  form  of  Mrs.  fiagg,  and  as  considering  the  mission  she 
was  -one  upon,  it  was  very  clear  some  minntes  must  elapse  before  she  could  return, 
Sweeney  Tood  did  not  feel  that  there  was  any  very  particular  hurry  m  the  trans- 


3,  tlOIl 

aC«What  shall  I  do  ?"  he  said  to  himself.  Cf  Shall  I  await  his  mother's  coming 
again,  and  get  her  to  aid  me,  or  shall  I  of  myself  adopt  some  means  which  will  put 
an  end  to  trouble  on  this  boy's  account  ?"  . 

Sweeney  Todd  was  a  man  tolerably,  rapid  M  thought,  and  he  contrived  to  make 
up  his  mind  that  the  best  plan,  unquestionably,  would  be  to  lay  hold  of  Tobias  at 
once,  and  so  prevent  the  possibility  of  any  appeal  to  his  mother  becoming  effective. 
Tobias,  when  his  mother  left  the  place,  as  he  imagined,  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
curing some  one  to  listen  to  what  he  considered  to  be  Sweeney  Todd's  delinquencies, 
rested  his  face  upon  his  hands,  and  gave  himself  up  to  painful  and  deep  thought. 
He  felt  that  he  had  arrived  at  quite  a  crisis  in  his  history,  and  that  the  next  tew 
hours  could  not  surely  but  be  very  important  to  him  in  their  results ;  and  so  they 
were  indeed,  but  not  certainly  exactly  in  the  way  that  he  all  along  anticipated,  for 
he  thought  of  nothing  but  of  the  arrest  and  discomfiture  of  Todd,  little  expecting 
how  close  was  his  proximity  to  that  formidable  personage. 

" Surely,"  thought  Tobias,  "I  shall,  by  disclosing  all  that  I  know  about  Todd, 
gain  some  consideration  for  my  mother,  and  after  all,  she  may  not  be  prosecuted 
for  the  robbery  of  the  candlestick,  for  how  very  trifling  is  that  affair  compared  to 
the  much  more  dreadful  things  which  [  more  than  suspect  Sweeney  Todd  to  be 
guilty  of.  He  is  and  must  be,  from  all  that  I  have  seen  and  heard,  a  murderer, 
although  how  he  disposes  of  his  victims  is  involved  in  the  most  complete  mystery, 
and  is  to  me  a  matter  past  all  human  power  of  comprehension.  I  have  no  idea 
even  upon  that  subject  whatever.3* 

This,  indeed,  was  a  great  mystery ;  for,  even  admitting  that  Sweeney  Todd  was 
a  murderer,  and  it  must  be  allowed  that  as  yet  we  have  only  circumstantial  evidence 
of  that  fact,  we  can  form  no  conclusion  from  such  evidence  as  to  how  he  perpetrated 
the  deed,  or  how  afterwards  he  disposed  of  the  body  of  his  victim.  This  grand  and 
principal  difficulty  in  the  way  of  committing  murder  with  impunity,  namely,  the 
disposal  of  a  corpse,  certainly  did  not  seem  at  all  to  have  any  effect  upon  Sweeney 
Todd;  for  if  he  made  corpses,  he  had  some  means  of  getting  rid  of  them  with  the 
most  wonderful  expedition  as  well  as  secrecy. 

"  He  is  a  murderer,"  thought  Tobias.  "  I  know  he  is,  although  I  have  never 
seen  him  do  the  deed,  or  seen  any  appearances  in  the  shop  of  a  deed  of  blood 
having  been  committed.  Yet  why  is  it  that  occasionally,  when  a  better  dressed 
person  than  usual  comes  into  the  shop,  that  he  sends  me  out  on  some  errand  to 
a  distant  part  of  the  town  ?" 

Tobias  did  not  forget,  too,  that  on  more  than  one  occasion  he  had  come  back  | 
quicker  than  he  had  been  expected,  and  that  he  had  caught  Sweeney  Todd  in 
some  little  confusion,  and  seen  the  hat,  the  stick,  or  perhaps  the  umbrella  of  the 
last  customer  quietly  waiting  there,  although  the  customer  had  gone ;  and  even  if 
the  glaring  improbability  of  a  man  leaving  his  hat  behind  him  in  a  barber's  shop 
was  got  over,  why  did  he  not  come  back  for  it  ?  This  was  a  circumstance  which 
was  entitled  to  all  the  weight  which  Tobias,  during  his  mental  cogitations,  could 
give  to  it,  and  there  could  be  but  one  possible  explanation  of  a  man  not  coming 
back  for  his  hat,  and  that  was  that  he  had  not  the  power  to  do  so. 

iC  This  house  will  be  searched,"  thought  Tobias,  "  and  all  those  things,  which  of 
course  must  have  belonged  to  so  many  different  people,  will  be  found,  and  then 
they  will  be  identified,  and  he  will  be  required  to  say  how  he  came  by  them,  which, 
I  think,  will  be  a  difficult  task  indeed  for  Sweeney  Todd  to  accomplish.  What  a 
relief  it  will  be  to  me,  to  be  sure,  when  he  is  hanged,  as  I  think  he  is  tolerably 
sure  to  be  !" 

"  What  a  relief,"  muttered  Sweeney  Todd,  as  he  slowly  opened  the  door,  unseen 
by  Tobias — "what  a  relief  it  will  be  to  me  when  this  boy  is  in  his  grave,  as  he 
will  be  soon,  or  else  I  have  forgotten  all  my  moral  learning,  and  turned  chicken- 
hearted — neither  of  them  very  likely  circumstances." 


W0f 


CHAPTER  XVIEI. 

THE  MISADVENTURE  Of  TOBIAS,— THE  MAD-HOUSE  ON  PECKHAM-RYE. 

t  Sweeney  Todd  paused  for  a  moment  at  the  cupboard  door,  before  he  made  up 
his  mind  as  to  whether  he  should  pounce  upon  poor  Tobias  at  once,  or  adopt  a  more 
creeping,  cautious  mode  of  operation.  The  latter  course  was  by  far  the  most  con- 
genial to  his  mind,  and  so  he  adopted  it  in  a  moment  or  so,  and  stole  quietly  from 
his  place  of  concealment,  and  with  so  little  noise,  that  Tobias  could  not  have  the 
least  suspicion  that  any  one  was  in  the  room  but  4iimself.  Treading,  as  if  each 
step  might  involve  some  serious  consequences,  he  thus  at  length  got  completely 
behind  the  chair  on  which  Tobias  was  sitting,  and  stood  with  folded  arms,  aud 
such  a  hideous  smile  upon  his  face,  that  they  together  formed  no  inapt  representa- 
tion of  the  Mephistophiles  of  the  German  drama. 

T  "I  shall  at  length/'  murmured  Tobias,  " be  free  from  my  present  dreadful  state 
of  mind,  by  thus  accusing  Todd.  He  is  a  murderer — of  that  I  have  no  doubt :  it 
is  but  a  duty  of  mine  to  stand  forward  as  his  accuser.53 

Sweeney  Todd  stretched  out  his  two  brawny  hands,  and  clutched  Tobias  by  the 
head,  which  he  turned  round  till  the  boy  could  see  him,  and  then  he  said — 

u  Indeed,  Tobias ;  and  did  it  never  strike  you  that  Todd  was  not  so  easily  to  be 
overcome  as  you  would  wish  him,  eh,  Tobias  ?" 

The  shock  of  this  astonishing  and  sudden  appearance  of  Sweeney  Todd  was  so 
great,  that  for  a  few  moments  Tobias  was  deprived  of  all  power  of  speech  or 
action,  and  with  his  head  so  strangely  twisted  as  to  seem  to  threaten  the  de- 
struction of  his  neck.  He  glared  in  the  triumphant  and  malignant  countenance  of 
his  persecutor,  as  he  would  into  that  of  the  arch  enemy  of  all  mankind,  which 
probably  he  now  began  to  think  the  barber  really  was*  If  one  thing  more  than 
another  was  calculated  to  delight  such  a  man  as  Todd,  it  certainly  was  to  perceive 
what  a  dreadful  effect  his  presence  had  upon  Tobias,  who  remained  for  about  a 
minute  and  a  half  in  this  state  before  he  ventured  upon  uttering  a  shriek,  which, 
however,  when  it  did  come,  almost  frightened  Todd  himself.  It  was  one  of  those 
cries  which  can  only  come  from  a  heart  in  its  utmost  agony — a  cry  which  might 
have  heralded  the  spirit  to  another  world,  and  proclaimed, '  as  it  very  nearly  did 
the  destruction  of  the  intellect  for  ever.  The  barber  staggered  back  a  pace  or 
two  as  he  heard  it,  for  it  was  too  terrific  even  for  him,  but  it  was  for  a  very  brief 
period  that  it  had  that  stunning  effect  upon  him,  and  then,  with  a  full  conscious- 
ness of  the  danger  to  which  it  subjected  him,  he  sprang  upon  poor  Tobias  as  a  tiger 
might  be  supposed  to  do  upon  a  lamb,  and  clutched  him  by  the  throat,  exclaiming — 

"  Such  another  cry,  and  it  is  the  last  you  ever  live  to  utter,  although  it  cover 
me  with  difficulties  to  escape  the  charge  of  killing  you.    Peace  !  I  say,  peace!" 

This  exhortation  was  quite  needless,  for  Tobias  could  not  have  uttered  a  word, 
had  he  been  ever  so  much  inclined  to  do  so ;  the  barber  held  his  throat  with  such 
an  iron  clutch,  as  if  it  had  been  in  a  vice. 

"  Villain/  growled  Todd,  "  villain ;  so  this  is  the  way  in  which  you  have  dared 
to  disregard  my  injunctions.  Bat  no  matter,  no  matter  !— • you  shall  have  plenty  of 
leisure  to  reflect  upon  what  you  have  done  for  yourself.  Eool !  to  think  that  you 
could  cope  with  me — Sweeney  Todd !    Ha  !  ha !" 

He  burst  into  a  laugh,  so  much  more  hideous,  than  his  ordinary  efforts  in 
that  way,  that,  had  Tobias  heard  it— which  he  did  not,  for  his  head  had  dropped 
upon  his  breast,  and  he  had  become  insensible — it  would  have  terrified  him  almost 
as  much  as  Sweeney  Todd's  sudden  appearance  had  done. 

"  So,"  muttered  the  barber,  "  he  has  fainted,  has  he  ?  Dull  child,  that  is  all  the 
better.  Eor  once  in  a  way,  Tobias,  I  will  carry  you — not  to  oblige  you,  but  to 
oblige  mvself.  By  ail  that's  damnable,  it  was  a  lively  thought  that  brought  me 
here  to-night,  or  else  I  might,  by  the  dawn  of  the  morning,  have  had  some  very 
troublesome  inquiries  made  of  me." 


103  THE  STflING  OF  PEABLS. 


"1  r„"  fnnl7TV^nn"as  casUv  as  if  he  had  been  an  "infant,  and  strode  from  the 
a    \^^h^  fJ^^^^^  whatever  inference  she  chose  from 

bSd^5£^t  8to  was  t~  mueh  under  his  controul,  to 
f  L  ot?Spm  nf  a  nature  to  rive  him  the  smallest  amount  of  uneasiness. 

L^S^to  himadt  "is  a  double -distilled  ass  and  can  be 
made  to  beS^ve  WMng,  so  that  I  have  no  fear  whatever  of  her.  I  Xterbd 
Tobias,  because  it  is  necessary,  in  case  of  the  matter  *^*JWJ^J^ 
mentioned,  that  his  mother  shaU  be  in  a  position  to  swear  that  she  saw  him  alter 

thThne  tebtrltrolThrough  the  Temple,  carrying  the  boy,  who  seemed  not  at  all 
in  a  hurry  to  recover  from  the  nervous  and  partial  state  of  suffocation  into  which 
he  had  fallen.  As  they  passed  through-  the  gate  opening  into  JJ  leet-street,  the 
porter,  who  knew  the  barber  well  by  sight,  said—  # 

«  Hilloa,  Mr.  Todd,  is  that  you  ?   Why,  who  are  you  carrying  ? 

"  Yes,  it's  I,"  said  Todd,  "  and  I  am  carrying  my  apprentice  boy,  lobias  Jiagg, 

poor  fellow."  ; '   ■ . 

"Poor  fellow!— why,  what's  the  matter  with  him  r" 

"  I  can  hardly  tell  you,  but  he  seems  to  me  and  to  his  mother  to  have  gone  out 
of  his  senses.   "Good  night  to  you,  good  night.    I'm  looking  for  a  coach." 

"  Good  night,  Mr.  Todd ;  I  don't  think  you'll  get  one  nearer  than  the  market— 
what  a  kind  thing  now  of  him  to  carry  the  boy !  It  ain't  every  master  would  do 
that  •  but  we  must  not  judge  of  people  by  their  looks,  and  even  Sweeney  lodd, 
though  he  has  a  face  that  one  would  not  like  to  meet  in  a  lonely  place  on  a  dark 
night,  mav  be  a  kind-hearted  man."  _ > 

Sweeney  Todd  walked  rapidly  down  Fleet-street,  towards  old  Fleet  Market, 
which  was  then  in  all  its  glory,  if  that  could  be  called  glory  which  con- 
sisted in  all  sorts  of  filth,  enough  to  produce  a  pestilence  within  the  city  of 
London,  When  there,  he  addressed  a  large  bundle  of  great  coats,  in  the  middle 
of  which  was  supposed  to  be  a  hackney  coachman  of  the  regular  old  school, 
and  who  was  lounging  over  his  vehicle,  which  was  as  long  and  lumbering  as  a  city 
barge. 

"  Jarvey,"  he  said,  "  what  will  you  take  me  to  Peckham  Rye  for  ?" 
"  Peckham  Eye— you  and  the  boy— there  ain't  any  more  of  you  waiting  round 
the  corner,  are  there — 'cos,  you  know,  that  won't  be  fair  ?" 
"  No,  no,  no." 

"Well,  don't  be  in  a  passion,  master.  I  only  aaked,  you  know,  so  you  need  not 
be  put  out  about  it ;  I  will  take  you  for  twelve  shillings,  and  that's  what  I  call 
remarkably  cheap,  all  things  considered. " 

"  I'll  give  halt"  the  amount,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  "  and  you  may  consider  your- 
self well  paid." 

<c  Half,  master  ? — that  is  cutting  it  low ;  but,  howsomdever,  I  suppose  1  must  put 
up  with  it,  and  take  you.  Get  in,  I  must  try  and  make  it  up  by  some  better  fare 
out  of  somebody  else." 

The  barber  paid  no  heed  to  these  renewed  remonstrances  of  the  coachman, 
but  got  into  the  vehicle,  carrying  Tobias  with  him,  apparently  with  great  care 
and  consideration ;  but  when  the  coach  door  closed,  and  no  one  was  observing  him, 
he  flung  him  down  among  the  straw  that  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  vehicle,  and 
resting  his  immense  feet  upon  him,  he  gave  one  of  his  disagreeable  laughs,  as  he 
said — 

0 

"  Well,  I  think  I  have  you  now,  Master  Tobias ;  your  troubles  will  soon  be 
over.  I  am  really  very  much  afraid  that  you  will  die  suddenly,  and  then  there  will 
be  an  end  of  you  altogether,  which  will  be  a  very  sad  thing,  though  I  don't  think  I 
shall  go  into  mourning,  because  I  have  an  opinion  that  that  only  keeps  alive  the 
bitterness  of  regret,  and  that  it's  a  great  deal  better  done  without,  Master 
Tobias." 

The  hackney  coach  swung  about  from  side  to  side,  in  the  proper  approved  manner 
of  hackney  coaches  in  the  olden  time,  when  they  used  to  be  called  C£  bone  setters," 
and  to  be  thought  wonderful  if  they  made  a  progress  of  three  miles  and  a  half  an 


hour.  This  was  the  sort  of  vehicle,  then,  in  which  poor  Tobias,  still  perfectly  insen- 
sible, was  rumbled  over  Blatfkfriars- bridge,  and  so  or,  towards  Peckham,  which 
Sweeney  Todd  had  announced  to  be  his"  place  of  destination.    Going  at  the  rate 
they  did,  it  was  nearly  two  hours  before  they  arrived  upon  Peckham  Rye  ;  and  any 
one  acquainted  with  that  locality  is  well  aware  that  there  are  two  roads,  the  one 
to  the  left,  and  the  other  to  the  right,  both  of  which  are  pleasantly  enough  studded 
wjth  villa  residences.    Sweeney  Todd  directed  the  coachman  to  take  the  road  to 
the  left,  which  he  accordingly  did,  and  they  pursued  it  for  a  distance  of  about 
a  mile  and  a  half.    It  must  not  be  supposed  that  this  pleasant  district 
of  country  was  then  in  the  state  it  is  now,  as  regards  inhabitants  or  cultivation. 
On  the  contrary,  it  was  rather  a  wild  spot,  on  which  now  and  then  a  serious 
robberyhad  been  eommitted ;  and  which  had  witnessed  some  of  the  exploits  of 
those  highwaymen,  whose  adventures,  in  the  present  day,  if  one  may  judge  from 
the  public  patronage  they  may  receive,  are  viewed  with  such  a  great  amount  of 
interest.    There  was  a  lonely,  large,  rambling,  old-looking  house  by  the  way  side, 
on  the  left.    A  high  wall  surrounded  it,  which  only  allowed  the  topmost  portion  of 
it  to  be  visible,  and  that  presented  great  symptoms  of  decay,  in  the  dilapidated 
character  of  the  chimney-pot,  and  the  general  appearance  of  discomfort  which 
pervaded  it.    There  Sweeney  Todd  directed  the  coachman  to  stop,  and  when  the 
vehicle,  after  swinging  to  and  fro  for  several  minutes,  did  indeed  at  last  resolve 
itself  into  a  state  of  repose,  Sweeney  Todd  got  out  himself,  and  rang  a  bell,  the 
handle  of  which  hung  invitingly  at  the  gate.    He  had  to  wait  several  minutes 
before  an  answer  was  given  to  this  summons,  but  at  length  a  noise  proceeded 
from  within,  as  if  several  bars  and  bolts  were  being  withdrawn  ;  and  presently  the 
door  was  opened,  and  aj  huge,  rough-looking  man  made  his  appearance  on  the 
threshold.  j  ' 

"  Well !  what  is  it  now  ?"  he  cried. 

"  I  have  a  patient  for  Mr.  Fogg,"  said  Sweeney  Todd.  "  I  want  to  see  him 
immediately." 

"Oh  !  well,  the  more  the  merrier  :  it  don't  matter  tome  a  bit.  Have  you  got 
him  with  you — and  is  he  tolerably  quiet  ?" 

"  It's  a  mere  boy,  and  he  is  not  violently  mad,  but  very  decidedly  so  as  regards 
what  he  says." 

"Oh!  that's  it,  is  it?  He  can  say  what  he  likes  here,  it  can  make  no 
difference  in  the  world  to  us.    Bring  him  in — Mr.  Fogg  is  in  his  own  room." 

"I  know  the  way  :  you  take  charge  of  the  lad,  and  I  will  go  and  speak  to  Mr. 
Fogg  about  him.  But  stay,  give  the  coachman  these  six  shillings,  and  discharge 
him." 

The  doorkeeper  of  the  lunatic  asylum,  for  such  it  was,  went  out  to  obey  the 
injunctions  of  Sweeney  Todd,  while  that  rascally  individual  himself  walked  along  a 
wide  passage  to  a  door  which  was  at  the  further  extremity  of  it. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


THE  MADHOUSE  CELL. 


When  the  porter  of  the  madhouse  went  out  to  the  coach,  his  first  impression 
was,  that  the  boy,  who  was  said  to  be  insane,  was  dead— for  not  even  the  jolting 
ride  to  Peckham  had  been  sufficient  to  arouse  him  to  a  consciousness  of  how  he  was 
situated  ;  and  there  he  lay  still  at  the  bottom  of  the  coach  alike  insensible  to  joy 
or  sorrow. 

"  Is  he  dead  ?"  said  the  man  to  the  coachman. 

"  How  should  I  know  ?"  was  the  reply  ;  u  he  may  be  or  he  may  not,  but  I  want 
to  know  how  long  I  am  to  wait  here  for  my  fare  ?" 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


for 

think,  j 

As  he  Brooke,"  he"conveyed  Tobias  within  the  building,  and  the  coachman,  since 
he  had  got  his  six  shillings,  feeling  that  he  had  no  further  interest  in  the  matter, 
drove  away  at  once,  and  paid  no  more  attention  to  it  whatever.  VY  hen  bweeney 
Todd  reached  the  door  at  the  end  of  the  passage,  he  tapped  at  it  with  his  knucdes, 

and  a  voice  cried—  \      \  <  -  '  . 

"  Who  knocks— who  knocks  ?  Curses  on  you  all !  Who  knocks  i 
Sweeney  Todd  did  not  make  any  verbal  reply  to  this  polite  request,  but  opening 
the  door  he  walked  into  the  apartment,  which  is  one  that  really  deserves  some  de- 
scription. It  was  a  large  room  with  a  vaulted  roof,  and  in  the  centre  was  a  superior 
oaken  table,  at  which  sat>  man  considerably  advanced  in  years,  as  was  proclaimed  by 
his  grizzled  locks  that  graced  the  sides  of  his  head,  but  whose  herculean  frame  and 
robust  constitution  had  otherwise  successfully  resisted  the  assaults  of  time.  A  lamp 
swung  from  the  ceiling,  which  had  a  shade  over  the  top  of  it,  so  that  it  cast  a  tolera- 
bly bright  glow  upon  the  table  below,  which  was  covered  with  books  and  papers,  as 
well  as  glasses  and  bottles  of  different  kinds,  which  showed  that  the  madhouse- 
keeper  was,  at  all  events,  as  far  as  himself  was  concerned,  not  at  all  indifferent 
to  personal  comfort.  The  walls,  however,  presented  the  most  curious  aspect,  for 
they  were  hung  with  a  variety  of  tools  and  implements,  which  would  have  puzzled 
any  one  not  initiated  into  the  matter  even  to  guess  at  their  uses.  These  were, 
however,  in  point  of  fact,  specimens  of  the  different  kinds  of  machinery  which 
were  used  for  the  purpose  of  coercing  the  unhappy  persons  whose  evil  destiny 
made  them  members  of  that  establishment.  Those  were  what  is  "  called  the  good 
old  times,"  when  all  sorts  of  abuses  flourished  in  perfection,  and  when  the  unhappy 
insane  were  actually  punished  as  if  they  were  guilty  of  some  great  offence.  Yes, 
and  worse  than  that  were  they  punished,  for  a  criminal  who  might  have  injustice 
done  to  him  by  any  who  were  in|  authority  over  him,  could  complain,  and  if  he 
got  hold  of  a  person  of  higher  power,  his  complaints  might  be  listened  to,  but  no 
one  heeded  what  was  said  by  the  poor  maniac,  whose  bitterest  accusations  of  his 
keepers,  let  their  conduct  be  what  it  might,  was  only  listened  to  and  set  down  as 
a  further  proof  of  his  mental  disorder.  This  was  indeed  a  most  awful  and  sad  state 
of  things,  and,  to  the  disgrace  of  this  country,  it  is  a  social  evil  allowed  until  very 
late  years  to  continue  in  full  force.  Mr.  Fogg,  the  madhouse-keeper  fixed  his  keen  I 
eyes  from  beneath  his  shaggy  brows,  upon  Sweeney  Todd,  as  the  latter  entered  j 
his  apartment,  and  then  he  said— 
"Mr.  Todd,  I  think,  unless  my  memory  deceives  me." 

"  The  same/'  said  the  barber,  making  a  hideous  face,  "  I  believe  I  am  not 
easily  forgotten." 

"  True,  said  Mr.  Fogg,  as  he  reached  a  book,  the  edge  of  which  was  cut  into 
a  lot  of  little  slips,  on  each  of  which  was  a  capital  letter,  in  the  order  of  the 
alphabet-—"  true,  you  are  not  easily  forgotten,  Mr.  Todd." 

He  then  opened  the  book  at  the  letter  T,  and  read  from  it 

w  Mr.  Sweeney  Todd,  Fleet-street,  London,  paid  one  year's  keep  and  burial  of 
Thomas  Simkins,  aged  15,  found  dead  in  his  bed,  after  a  residence  in  the  asylum 
of  10  months  and  4  days.  I  think,  Mr.  Todd,  that  was  our  last  little  transaction : 
what  can  I  do  now  for  you,  sir?" 

"  1  am  rather  unfortunate,"  said  Todd,  "  with  my  boys.  I  have  got  another 
here,  who  has  shown  such  decided  symptoms  of  insanity,  that  it  becomes  absolutely 
necessary  to  place  him  under  your  care." 

"  Indeed ! — does  he  rave  ?" 

"  Why,  yes  he  does,  and  it's  the  most  absurd  nonsense  in  the  world  that  he  raves 
about;  for,  to  hear  him,  one^  would  really  think  that,  instead  of  being  one  of  the 
most  humane  of  men,  I  was,  in  point  of  fact,  an  absolute  murderer." 

"A  murderer,  Mr.  Todd !" 

fk  Yes,  a  murderer — a  murderer  to  all  intents  and  purposes ;  could  anything  be 
more  absurd  than  such  an  accusation     I,  that  have  the  milk  of  human  kindness 


i-r-ita 


for 
pajzlti 

mm 


the  UDuf 

icuct  Is, 

 *  •  i' 


ad  to,  but  no 
lions  of  Is 

!  until  very 
id  his  keen 
;er  entered 


lam  not 


Ci5  CU» 

fder  of  the 


,i  barial  ol 
the  isjj11 


£  00 


f  5p 


CTB  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


105 


flowing  in  every  vein,  and  whose  very  appearance  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  convince 
anybody  at  once  of  my  kindness  of  disposition." 

Sweeney  Todd  finished  his  speech  by  making  such  a  hideous  face,  that  the  mad- 
house-keeper could  not  for  the  life  of  him  tell  what  to  say  to  it ;  and  then  there 
came  one  of  those  short,  disagreeable  laughs  which  Todd  'would  at  times  utter, 


which,  somehow  or  other,  never  appeared  exactly  to  come  from  his  mouth,  but 
always  made  people  look  up  at  the  walls  and  ceiling-  of  the  apartment  in  which 
they  were,  in  great  doubt  as  to  whence  the  remarkable  sound  came. 
i  "  For  how  long,"  said  the  madhouse-keeper,  "  do  you  think  this  malady  will 
continue  ? 

"  I  will  pay,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  as  he  leaned  over  the  table,  and  looked  in 


No,  14 


106  THE  STEING  OE  PEARLS. 


the  face  of  his  questioner,  « I  will  pay  for  twelve  months ;  but  I  don't  think 
betwee"?  von  and  1,  that  the  case  will  last  anything  like  so  loiig-I  think  he  wil 

d"  I  shouldn't' wonder  if  he  did.  Some  of  our  patients  do  die  very  suddenly,  and, 
somehow  or  other,  we  never  know  exactly  how  it  happens ;  but  it  must  be 
some  sort  of  fit,  for  they  are  found  dead  m  the  morumg  in  their  beds,  and  then  we 
bZ  them  privately  and  quietly,  without  troubling  anybody  about  it  at  all 
which  is  decidedly  the  best  way,  because  it  saves  a  great  annoyance  to  friends  and 
relations,  as  well  as  prevents  any  extra  expense  which  otherwise  might  be  foolishly 

S°"You  are  wonderfully  correct  and  considerate,"  said  Todd,  "  and  it's  no  more 
than  what  I  expected  from  you,  or  what  any  one  might  expect  from  a  person  of 
your  great  experience,  knowledge,  and  acquirements.  I  must  contess  .1  am  quite 
delighted  to  hear  yon  talk  in  so  elevated  a  strain." 

"  Why  "  said  Mr.  Eogg,  with  a  strange  leer  upon  his  face,  we  are  forced  to 
make  ourselves  useful,  like  the  rest  of  the  community ;  and  we  could  not  expect 
people  to  send  their  mad  friends  and  relatives  here,  unless  we  took  good  care  tlmt 
their  ends  and  views  were  answered  by  so  doing.  We  make  no  remarks,  and  we 
ask  no  questions.  Those  are  the  principles  upon  which  we  have  conducted 
business  so  successfully  and  so  long;  those  are  the  principles  upon  which  we 
shall  continue  to  conduct  it,  and  to  merit,  we  hope,  the  patronage  of  the  .British 


55 

55 


public.  . 
"  Unquestionably— most  unquestionably. 
"You  may  as  well  introduce  me  to  your  patient  at  once,  Mr.  Todd,  for  I  suppose, 
by  this  time,  he  has  been  brought  into  this  house  " 

"  Certainly,  certainly— I  shall  have  great  pleasure  in  showing  him  to  you. 

The  madhouse-keeper  rose,  and  so#  did  Mr.  Todd,  and  the  former,  pointing  to 

the  bottles  and  glasses  on  the  table,  said—  .   ■,,    <     ±     ^  « 

"  When  this  business  is  settled,  we  can  have  a  friendly  glass  together. 

To  this  proposition  Sweeney  Todd  assented  with  a  nod,  and  then  they  both 
proceeded  to  what  was  called  a  reception-room  in  the  asylum,  and  where  poor 
Tobias  had  been  conveyed  and  laid  upon  a  table,  when  he  showed  slight  symptoms 
of  recovering  from  the  state  of  insensibility  into  which  he  had  fallen,  and  a  man 
was  sluicing  water  on  his  face  by  the  assistance  of  a  hearth  broom  occasionally 
dipped  into  a  pailful  of  that  fluid. 

' '  Quite  young,"  said  the  madhouse-keeper,  as  he  looked  upon  the  pale  and 
interesting  face  oi  Tobias. 

"  Yes,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  lie  is  young— more's  the  pity— and,  of  course,  we 

deeply  regret  his  present  situation.5* 
"  (jh,  of  course,  of  course ;  but  see,  he  opens  his  e^res,  and  will  speak  directly." 
f c  Have,  you  mean,  rave !"  said.  Todd ;  "  don't  call  it  speaking,  it  is  not  entitled 
to  the  name.   Hush !  listen  to  him." 

"  Where  am  I F  said  Tobias, 11  where  am  I  ?  Todd  is  a  murderer«--I  denounce 
bim." 

"  You  hear-^you  hear  ?"  said  Todd. 
"  Mad  indeed,"  said  the  keeper. 

"Oh,  save  me  from  him— save  me  from  him !"  said  Tobias,  fixing  his  eyes  upon 
Mr.  Fogg.  "  Save  me  from  him ;  it  is  my  life  he  seeks  because  I  know  his  secrets. 
He  is  a  murderer— and  many  a  person  comes  into  his  shop,  who  never  leaves  it 
again  in  life,  if  at  all."  , 
P  You  hear  him ?"  said  Todd.  Was  there  ever  anybody  so  mad? 
"Desperately  mad,"  said  the  keeper.  "  Come,  come,  young  fellow,  #  we  shall  be 
under  the  necessity  of  putting  you  in  a  strait  waistcoat  if  you  go  on  in  that  way. 
We  must  do  it,  for  there  is  no  nelp  in  such  cases  if  we  don't." 

Todd  slunk  back  into  the  dark  of  the  apartment,  so  that  he  was  not  seen,  and 
Tobias  continued,  in  an  imploring  tone— 

"I  do  not  know  who  you  are,  sir,  or  where  I  am ;  but  let  me  beg  of  you  to 
cause  the  house  of  Sweeney  Todd,  the  barber,  in  Fleet-street,  near  St.  Dunstan's 


church,  to  be  searched,  and  you  will  find  that  he  is  a  murderer.  There  are  at  least 
a  hundred  hats,  quantities  of  walking  sticks,  umbrellas,  watches,  and  rings,  all 
belonging  to  unfortunate  persons  who,  from  time  to  time,  have  met  with  their 
deaths  through  him  " 
11  How  uncommonly  mad  \*  said  Mr.  Fogg. 

u  No,  no,"  said  Tobias,  "  I  am  not  mad.  Why  call  me  mad,  when  the  truth  or 
falseehood  of  what  I  say  can  be  ascertained  so  easily  ?  Search  his  house,  and  if 
those  things  be  not  found  there,  say  that  I  am  mad,  and  have  but  dreamed  of  them, 
I  do  not  know  how  he  kills  the  people.  That  is  a  great  mystery  to  me  yet  j  but 
that  he  does  kill  them,  I  have  no  doubt—I  cannot  have  a  doubt/* 
"  Watson !"  cried  the  mad-house  keeper.  **  Hilloa !  here,  Watson" 
"  I  am  here,  sir,"  said  the  man,  who  had  been  dashing  water  upon  poor  Tobias's 
face.  *  c^p  / 

m  You  will  take  this  lad,  Watson,  as  he  seems  extremely  feverish  and  unsettled. 
You  will  take  him  and  shave  his  head,  Watson,  [and  put  a  strait  waistcoat  upon 
him,  and  let  him  be  put  in  one  of  the  dark,  damp  cells.  We  must  be  careful  of 
him,  and  too  much  light  encourages  delirium  and  fever." 

"Oh !  no,  no  P  cried  Tobias ;  "  What  have  I  done  that  I  should  be  subjected  to 
such  cruel  treatment  ?  what  have  I  done  that  I  should  be  placed  in  a  cell  ?  If 
this  be  a  madhouse,  I  am  not  mad.  Oh!  have  mercy  upon  meN^have  mercy 
upon  me !"  *  * 

"  You  will  give  him  nothing  but  bread  and  water,  Watson ;  and  the  first  symptom 
of  his  recovery,  which  will  produce  better  treatment,  will  be  his  exonerating  his 
master  from  what  he  has  said  about  him  ;  for  he  must  be  mad  so  long  as  he  con- 
tinues to  accuse  such  a  gentleman  as  Mr.  Todd  of  such  things  j  nobody  but  a  mad 
man  or  a  mad  boy  would  think  of  it*" 

"Then,"  said  Tobias,  "I  shall  continue  mad;  for  if  it  be  madness  to  know  and 
aver  that  Sweeney  Todd,  the  barber,  of  Meet-street,  is  a  murderer,  mad  am  I,  for 
I  know  it,  and  aver  it-   It  is  true— it  is  true." 

"  Take  him  away,  Watson,  and  do  as  I  desired  you.  I  begin  to  find  that  the  boy 
is  a  very  dangerous  character,  and  more  viciously  mad  than  anybody  we  have  had 
here  for  a  considerable  time." 

The  man  named  Watson  seized  upon  Tobias,  who  again  uttered  a  shriek  some- 
thing similar  to  th  a  one  which  had  come  from  his  lips  when  Sweeney  Todd  clutched 
hold  of  him  in  his  mother's  room.  But  they  were  used  to  such  things  in  that  mad- 
house, and  cared  ]  ittle  for  them,  so  no  one  heeded  the  cry  in  the  least ;  but  poor 
Tobias  was  carric  d  to  the  door  half  maddened  in  reality  oy  the  horrors  that  sur- 
rounded him.  Ji  ist  as  he  was  being  conveyed  out,  Sweeney  Todd  stepped  up  to 
him,  and  putting  his  mouth  close  to  his  ear,  he  whispered— 

"Ha!  ha!  Tjbias!  ho  w  do  you  feel  now  ?  Do  you  think  Sweeney  Todd  will 
be  hung,  or  wiU  you  die  in  the  cell  of  a  madhouse  V\ 


CHAPTER  XX. 

tEHE  NEW  COOK  tO  MBS,  LOVETT  GETS  TIRED  OF  HIS  SITUATION. 

Feom  what  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  record  about  Mrs.  Lovett's  new 
cook,  who  ate  so  voraciously  in  the  cellar,  our  readers  will  no  doubt  be  induced  to 
believe  that  he  was  a  gentleman  likely  enough  soon  to  be  tired  of  his  situation. 
To  a  starving  man,  and  one  who  seemed  completely  abandoned  even  by  hope, 
Lovett's  bake-house,  with  an  unlimited  leave  to  eat  as  much  as  possible,  must  of 
course  present  itself  in  the  most  desirable  and  lively  colours :  and  no  ^  wonder 
therefore,  that,  banishingall  scruple,  a  man  so  placed,  would  take  the  situation, 
with  very  little  inquiry.  I3ut  people  will  tire  of  good  things  j  and  it  is  a  remarkable 


V 


108  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


^3hmticated  fact  that  human  nature  is  prone  to  be  discontented.  And  those 
U  Arsons  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the  human  mind,  and  who  know  well  how 
fettle  value  people  set  upon  things  which  they  possess,  while  those  which  they  are 
1 '  ^rsuina  aiid  ihich  seem  to  be  beyond  their  reach,  assume  the  liveliest  colours 
imaginable,  adopt  various  means  of  turning  this  to  account-  Napoleon  took  good 
care3  that  the  meanest  of  his  soldiers  should  see  in  perspective  the  possibility  ot 
grasping  a  marshal's  baton.  Confectioners  at  the  present  day,  when  they  take  a 
new  apprentice,  tell  him  to  eat  as  much  as  he  likes  of  those  tempting  tarts  and 
sweetmeats,  one  or  two  of  which  before  had  been  a  most  delicious  treat,  lhe 
soldieries  on  fighting  away,  and  never  gets  the  marshals  baton,  lhe  con- 
fectioner's boy  crams  himself  with  Banbury  cakes,  gets  dreadfully  sick,  and  never 
touches  one  afterwards.  And  now,  to  revert  to  our  friend  m  Mrs.  Lovett  s  bake- 
house. At  first  everything  was  delightful,  qpd,  by  the  aid  of  the  machinery,  fee 
found  that  it  was  no  difficult  matter  to  keep  up  the  supply  of  pies  by  really  a  very 
small  amount  of  manual  labour.  And  that  labour  also  was  such  a  labour  of  love, 
for  the  pies  were  delicious ;  there  could  be  no  mistake  about  that.  He  tasted 
them  half  cooked,  he  tasted  them  wholly,  and  he  tasted  them  over-done ;  hot  and 
cold  ;  pork  and  veal  with  seasoning,  and  without  seasoning,  until  at  last  he  had 
had  them  in  every  possible  way  and  shape  ;  and  when  the  fourth  day  came  after 
his  arrival  in  the  cellar,  he  might  have  been  sitting  in  rather  a  contemplative 
attitude  with  a  pie  before  him.  It  was  twelve  o'clock:  he  had  heard  that 
sound  come  from  the  shop.  Yes,  it  was  twelve  o'clock,  and  he  had  eaten  nothing 
yet;  but  he  kept  his  eye  fixed  upon  the  pie  that  lay  untouched  before  him. 

"  The  pies  are  all  very  well,"  he  said ;  "  in  fact,  of  course  they  are  capital  pies ; 
and  now  that  I  see  how  they  are  made,  and  know  that  there  is  nothing  wrong  in 
them,  I,  of  course,  relish  them  more  than  ever ;  but  one  can't  always  live  upon 
pies ;  it's  quite  impossible  one  can  subsist  upon  pies  from  one  end  of  the  year  to 
the  other,  if  they  were  the  finest  pies  the  world  ever  saw,  or  ever  will  see.  I  don't 
say  anything  against  the  pies— I  know  they  are  made  of  the  finest  flour,  the  best 
possible  butter,  and  that  the  meat,  which  comes  from  God  knows  where,  is  the 
most  delicate  looking  and  tender  I  ever  ate  in  all  my  life."  * 

He  stretched  out  his  hand  and  broke  a  small  portion  of  the  crust  from  the  pie 
that  was  before  him,  and  he  tried  to  eat  it.  He  certainly  did  succeed ;  but  it  was 
a  great  effort ;  and  when  he  had  done,  he  shook  his  head,  saying*-*- 

"No,  no! — d—nit!  I  cannot  eat  it,  and  that's  the  fact — one  cannot  be  con- 
tinually eating  pies  :  it  is  out  of  the  question,  quite  out  the  question ;  and  all  I 
have  to  remark  is — d — n  the  pies  !  I  really  don't  think  I  shall  be  able  to  let 
another  one  pass  my  lips." 

He  rose  and  paced  with  rapid  strides  the  place  in  which  he  was,  and  then 
suddenly  he  heard  a  noise ;  and,  looking  up,  he  saw  a  trap  door  in  the  roof  open, 
and  a  sack  of  flour  begin  gradually  to  come  down.  * 
"  Hilloa,  hilloa !"  he  cried,  "  Mrs.  Lovett— Mrs.  Lovett !" 
Down  came  the  flour,  and  the  trap  door  was  closed. 

"Oh,  I  can't  stand  this  sort  of  thing,"  he  exclaimed;  "I  cannot  be  made  into  a 
mere  machine  for  the  manufacture  of  pies.  I  cannot  and  will  not  endure  it— it  is 
past  all  bearing." 

For  the  first  time  almost  since  his  incarceration,  for  such  it  really  was,  he  began 
to  think  that  he  would  take  an  accurate  survey  of  the  place  where  this  tempting 
manufacture  was  carried  on.  The  fact  was,  his  mind  had  been  so  intensely  occupiea 
during  the  time  he  had  been  there  in  providing  merely  for  his  physical  wants,  that 
he  had  scarcely  had  time  to  think  or  reason  upon  the  probabilities  of  an  uncom- 
fortable termination  of  his  career;  but  now,  when  he  had  really  become  quite 
surfeited  with  the  pies,  and  tired  of  the  darkness  and  gloom  of  the  place,  many 
unknown  fears  began  to  creep  across  him,  and  he  really  trembled,  as  he  asked 
himself  what  was  to  be  the  end  of  all.  It  was  with  such  a  feeling  as  this  that  he 
now  set  aboi*t  a  careful  and  accurate  survey  of  the  place  ;  and  taking  a  little  lamp 
in  his  hand,  he  resolved  upon  peering  into  every  corner  of  it,  with  a  hope  that 
surely  he  should  find  some  means  by  which  he  should  effect  an  escape  from  what 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  109 


otherwise  threatened  to  be  an  intolerable  imprisonment.   The  vault  in  w  hich  the" 
ovens  were  situated  was  the  largest ;  and  although  a  number  of  smaller  ones 
communicated  with  in,  containing  the  different  mechanical  contrivances  for  pie- 
making,  he  could  not  from  any  one  of  them  discover  an  outlet.   Rut  it  was  to  the 
vauit  where  the  meat  was  deposited  upon  stone  shelves  that  he  paid  the  greatest 
share  of  attention,  for  to  that  vault  he  felt  convinced  there  must  he  some  hidden 
and  secret  means  of  ingress,  and  therefore  of  egress  likewise,  or  else  how  came  the 
shelves  always  so  well  stocked  with  meat  as  thev  were  ?   This  vault;  was  larger 
than  any  of  the  other  subsidiary  ones,  and  the  roof  was  very  high,  and,  come  into 
it  when  he  would,  it  always  happened  that  he  found  meat  enough  upon  the  shelves, 
cut  into  large  lumps,  and  sometimes  into  slices,  to  make  a^  batch  of  pies  with. 
When  it  got  there,  was  not  so  much  a  mystery  to  him  as  how  it  got  there ;  for,  of 
course,  as  he  must  sleep  sometimes,  he  concluded,  naturally  enough,  that  it  was 
brought  in  by  some  means  during  the  period  that  he  devoted  to  repose.  He  stood 
in  the  centre  of  this  vauit  with  the  lamp  in  his  hand,  and  he  turned  slowly  round, 
surveying  the  walls  and  the  ceilings  with  the  most  critical  and  marked  attention,' 
but  not  the  smallest  appearance  of  an  outlet  was  observable.    In  fact,  the  walls 
were  so  entirely  filled  up  with  the  stone  shelves,  that  there  was  no  .space  left  for  a 
door;  and  as  for  the  ceiling,  it  seemed  perfectly  entire.   Then  the  floor  was  of 
earth ;  so  that  the  idea  of  a  trap  door  opening  in  it  was  out  of  the  question, 
because  there  was  no  one  on  his  side  of  it  to  place  the  earth  again  over  it,  and 
give  it  its  compact  and  usual  appearance. 

"This  is  most  mysterious"  he  said;  "and  if  ever  I  could  have  been  brought 
to  believe  that  any  one  had  the  assistance  of  the  devil  himself  in  conducting  human 
affairs,  I  should  say  that  by  some  means  Mrs,  Lovett  had  made  it  worth  the  while 
of  that  elderly  individual  to  assist  her ;  for,  unless  the  meat  gets  here  by  some 
supernatural  agency,  I  really  cannot  see  how  it  can  get  here  at  all.  And  yet  here 
it  is — so  fresh,  and  pure,  and  white-looking,  although  I  never  could  tell  the  pork 
from  the  veal  myself,  for  they  seemed  to  me  both  alike." 

He  now  made  a  still  narrower  examination  of  this  vault,  but  he  gained  nothing 
by  that.  He  found  that  the  walls  at  the  back  of  the  shelves  were  composed  of 
flat  pieces  of  stone,  wThich,  no  doubt,  were  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  shelves 
themselves;  but  beyond  that  he  made  no  further  discovery,  and  he  was  about 
leaving  the  place,  when  he  fancied  he  saw  some  writing  on  the  inner  side  of  the 
doer.  A  closer  inspection  convinced  him  that  there  wrere  a  number  of  lines 
written  with  lead  pencil,  and  after  some  difficulty  he  deciphered  them  as 
follows 

"  Whatever  unhappy  wretch  reads  these  lines  may  bid  adieu  to  the  world  and 
all  hope,  for  he  is  a  doomed  man  !  He  will  never  emerge  from  these  vaults  with 
life,  for  there  is  a  secret  connected  with  them  so  awful  and  so  hideous,  that  to 
write  it  makes  one's  blood  curdle,  and  the  flesh  to  creep  upon  my  bones.  That 
secret  is  this — and  you  may  be  assured,  whoever  is  reading  these  lines,  that  I  write 
the  truth,  and  that  it  is  as  impossible  to  make  that  awful  truth  worse  by  any 
exaggeration,  as  it  would  be  by  a  candle  at  mid-day  to  attempt  to  add  any  new 
lustre  to  the  sunbeams." 

Here,  most  unfortunately,  the  writing  broke  off,  and  our  friend,  who,  up  to  this 
point,  had  perused  the  lines  with  the  most  intense  interest,  felt  great  bitterness  of 
disappointment,  from  the  fact  that  enough  should  have  been  written  to  stimulate 
his  curiosity  to  the  highest  possible  point,  but  not  enough  to  gratify  it. 

"This  is,  indeed,  most  provokiug,"  he  exclaimed.  "What  can  this  most 
dreadful  secret  be,  which  it  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  ?  I  cannot,  for  a  moment, 
divine  to  what  it  can  allude." 

In  vain  he  searched  over  the  door  for  some  more  writing—there  was  none  to  be 
found,  and  from  the  long  straggling  pencil-mark,  which  followed  the  last  word,  it 
seemed  as  if  he  who  had  been  then  writing  had  been  interrupted,  and  possibly  met 
the  fate  that  he  had  predicted,  and  was  about  to  explain  the  reason  of. 

"  This  is  worse  than  no  information,  I  had  better  have  remained  in  ignorance 
than  have  received  so  indistinct  a  warning ;  but  they  shall  not  find  me  an  easy 


110  *        THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS, 


vipti^  can  force  me  t0  make  pies  unless  1 

VtaSSi*5£iE  piae e  mwhicU  the  meat  -".{^.^^jj 
whore  the  ovens  were,  he  trod  upon  a  piece  of  paper  that  was  lying  upon  the 
ground,  and  which  he  was  quite  certain  he  had  not  observed  before.  It  was 
fresh  and  white,  and  clean  too,  so  that  it  could  not  have  been  long  there,  and  he 
picked  it  up  with  some  curiosity.  That  curiosity  was,  however,  soon  turned  to 
dismay  when  he  saw  what  was  written  upon  it,  which  was  to  the (  following  eftect, 
and  well  calculated  to  produce  a  considerable  amount  of  alarm  m  the  breast  ot 
any  one  situated  as  he  was,  so  entirely  friendless  and  so  entirely  hopeless  of  any 
extraneous  aid  in  those  dismal  vaults,  which  he  began,  with  a  shudder,  to  suspect 

would  be  his  tomb : —  '  .        ,  .  , 

i(  You  are  getting  dissatisfied,  and  therefore  it  becomes  necessary  to  explain  to 
you  your  real  position,  which  is  simply  this:— You  are  a  prisoner,  and  were  such 
from  the  first  moment  that  you  set  foot  where  you  now  are ;  and  you  will ^lind, 
unless  you  are  resolved  upon  sacrificing  your  life,  that  your  best  plan  will  be  to 
quietly  give  into  the  circumstances  in  which  you  find  yourself  placed.  VV  ithout 
going  into  any  argument  or  details  upon  the  subject,  it  is  sufficient  to  inform  you 
that 'so  long  as  you  continue  to  make  the  pie:,  you  will  be  safe  ;  but  if  you  refuse, 
then  the  first  time  you  are  caught  asleep  your  throat  will  be  cut."  # 

This  document  was  so  much  to  the  purpose,  and  really  had  so  little  of  verbosity 
about  it,  that  it  was  extremely  difficult  to  doubt  its  sincerity.   It  dropped  from 
the  half-paralysed  hands  of  that  man,  who,  in  the  depth  of  his  distress,  and  urged 
on  by  great  necessity,  had  accepted  a  situation  that  he  would  have  given  worlds  to  j 
escape  from,  had  he  been  possessed  of  them. 

"  Gracious  Heaven  !"  he  exclaimed,  **  and  am  I  then  indeed  condemned  to 
such  a  slavery  ?  Is  it  possible,  that  even  in  the  heart  of  London,  I  am  a  prisoner, 
and  without  the  means  of  resisting  the  most  frightful  threats  that  are  uttered 
against  me  ?J  Surely,  surely  this  must  be  all  a  dream  !  It  is  too  terrific  to  be 
true  !" 

He  sat  down  upon  that  low  stool  where  his  predecessor  had  sat  before,  receiving 
his  death-wound  from  the  assassin  who  had  glided  in  behind  him,  and  dealt  him 
that  crashing  blow,  whose  only  mercy  was  that  it  had  at  once  deprived  the  victim  of 
existence.  He  could  have  wept  bitterly,  wept  as  he  there  sat,  for  he  thought  over 
days  long  passed  away,  of  opportunities  let  goby  with  the  heedless  laugh  of 
youth  ; "  he  thought  over  all  the  chances  and  fortunes  of  his  life,  and  now  to  find 
himself  the  miserable  inhabitant  of  a  cellar,  condemned  to  a  mean  and  troublesome 
employment,  without  even  the  liberty  of  leaving  that,  to  starve  if  he  chose,  upon 
pain  of  death — a  frightful  death,  which  had  been  threatened  him,  was  indeed  tor- 
ment !  No  wonder  that  at  times  he  felt  himself  unnerved,  and  that  a  child  might 
have  conquered  him,  while  at  other  moments  such  a  feeling  of  despair  would 
come  across  him,  that  he  called  aloud  upon  his  enemies  to  make  their  appearance, 
and  give  him  at  least  the  chance  of  a  struggle  for  his  life. 

"If  I  am  to  die,"  he  cried,  "Jet  me  die  with  some  weapon  in  my  hand,  as 
a  brave  man  ought,  and  I  will  not  complain,  for  there  is  little  indeed  in  life 
now  which  should  induce  me  to  cling  to  it ;  but  I  will  not  be  murdered  in  the 
dark/3 

He  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  rushing  up  to  the  door,  which  opened  from  the  house 
into  the  vaults,  he  made  a  violent  and  desperate  effort  to  shake  it.  But  such  a 
contingency  as  this  had  surely  been  looked  forward  to  and  provided  against,  for 
the  door  was  of  amazing  strength,  and  most  effectually  resisted  all  his  efforts,  so 
that  the  result  of  his  endeavours  was  but  to  exhaust  himself,  and  he  staggered 
back,  panting  and  despairing,  to  the  seat  he  had  so  recently  left.  Then 
he  heard  a  voice,  and  upon  looking  up  he  saw  that  the  small  square  opening 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  door,  through  which  he  had  been  before  addressed, 
was  open,  and  a  face  there  appeared,  but  it  was  not  the  face  of  Mrs.  Lovett. 
On  the  contrary,  it  was  a  large  and  hideous  male  physiognomy,  and  the  voice 
,hat  came  from  it  was  croaking  and  harsh,  sounding  most  unmusically  upon  the 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.       *  111 

*    "  ■   ........  .,         ,  ^  ,       ,,„      .  .   ■  ■  ...     ■■■  ■  .,  - 

ears  of  the  unfortunate  man  who  was  thus  made  a  victim  to  Mrs.  Lovett's  pie 
popularity. 

"  Continue  at  your  work,"  said  the  voice,  "or  death  will  be  your  portion  as  soon 
as  sleep  overcomes  you,  and  you  sink  exhausted  to  that  repose  which  you  will 
never  awakeri  from,  except  to  feel  the  pangs  of  death,  and  to  oe  conscious  that  you 
are  weltering  in  your  blood.  Continue^  your  work,  and  you  will  escape  all  this— 
neglect  it,  and  your  doom  is  sealed." 

"  What  have  1  done  that  I  should  be  made  such  a  victim  of  ?  Let  me  go,  and  I 
will  swear  never  to  divulge  the  fact  that  I  have  been  in  these  vaults,  so  I  cannot 
disclose  any^  of  their  secrets,  even  if  knew  them." 

"  Make  pies,"  said  the  voice,  "eat  them,  and  be  happy.  How  many  a  man  would 
envy  your  position—withdrawn  from  all  the  struggles  of  existence,  amply  provided 
with  board  and  lodging,  and  engaged  in  a  pleasant  and  delightful  occupation ;  it  is 
astonishing  how  you  can  be  dissatisfied !" 

Bang !  went  the  little  square  orifice  at  the  top  of  the  door,  and  the  voice  was 
heard  no  more.  The  jeering  mockery  of  those  tones,  however,  still  lingered  upon 
the  ear  of  the  unhappy  prisoner,  and  he  clasped  his  head  in  his  hands  with  a  fearf u  1 
impression  upon  his  brain  that  he  surely  must  be  going  mad. 

"  He  will  drive  me  to  insanity,"  he  cried ;  "  already  I  feel  a  sort  of  slumber 
stealing  over  me  for  want  ot  exercise,  and  the  confined  air  of  these  vaults  hinder 
me  from  taking  regular  repose ;  but  now,  it  I  close  an  eye,  I  shall  expect  to  find 
the  assassin's  knife  at  my  throat." 

He  sat  for  some  time  longer,  and  not  even  the  dread  he  had  of  sleep  could  pre- 
vent a  drowsiness  creeping  across  his  faculties,  and  this  weariness  would  not  be 
shaken  off  by  any  ordinary  means,  until  at  length  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  shaking 
himself  roughly,  like  one  determined  to  be  wide  awake,  he  said  to  himself, 
mournfully— 

"I  must  do  their  bidding  or  die;  hope  may  be  a  delusion  here,  but  I  cannot 
altogether  abandon  it,  and  not  until  its  faintest  image  has  departed  from  my  breast 
can  I  lie  down  to  sleep  and  say— Let  death  come  in  any  shape  it  may,-  it  is 
welcome." 

With  a  desperate  and  despairing  energy  he  set  about  replenishing  the  furnaces 
of  the  oven,  and,  when  he  had  got  them  all  in  a  good  state,  he  commenced  manu- 
facturing a  batch  of  one  hundred  pies,  which,  when  he  had  finished  and  placed  upon 
the  tray,  and  set  the  machine  in  motion  which  conducted  them  up  to  the  shop,  he 
considered  to  be  a  sort  of  price  paid  for  his  continued  existence,  and  fiingi  rig  him 
self  upon  the  ground,  he  fell  into  a  deep  slumber. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

THE  NIGHT  AT  THE  MADHOUSE, 

When  Sweeney  Todd  had,  with  such  diabolical  want  of  feeling,  whispered  ihe 
few  words  of  mockery  which  we  have  recorded  in  Tobias's  ear,  when  he  was  carried 
out  of  Mr.  Fogg's  reception-room  to  be  taken  to  a  cell,  the  villanous  barber  drew 
back  and  indulged  in  rather  a  longer  laugh  than  usual. 

"Mr.  Todd/'  said  Fogg,  "  I  find  that  you  still  retain  your  habit  of  merriment ; 
but  yours  ain't  the  most  comfortable  lau^h  in  the  world,  and  we  seldom  hear  any- 
thing equal  to  it,  even  from  one  of  our  cells/ * 

"  No  t"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  "  I  don't  suppose  you  do,  and  for  my  part  I  never 
heard  of  a  ceil  laughing  yet/' 

"  Oh !  you  know  what  I  mean,  Mr,  Todd,  well  enough/1 

"  That  may  be,"  said  Todd,  "  but  it  would  be  just  as  well  to  say  it  for  all  that, 
I  think,  however,  as  I  came  in  you  said  something  about  refreshment  P1 


112  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


"  I  certainlv  did ;  and,  if  you  will  honour  me  by  stepping  back  to  my  room,  I 
think  I  can  offer  you,  Mr.  Todd,  a  ulass  of  as  nice  wine  as  the  king  himself  could 
put  on  his  table,  if  he  were  any  judge  of  that  commodity,  which  I  am  inclined  to 
think  lie  is  not*'*  !t^v 

-  "  What  do  you  expect/'  said  Sweeney  To***,  "  that  suck  an  idiot  should  be  a 
judge  of  ?— but  I  shall  have  great  pleasure  in  tasting  your  wine,  for  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  my  work  to-night  has  made  me  thirsty/5 

At  this  moment  a  shriek  was  heard,  and  Sweeney  Todd  shrank  away^from  the 
door. 

"Oh!  it's  nothing,  it's  nothing,0  said  Mr.  Fogg :  "if  you  had  resided  here 
as  long  as  I  have,  you  would  get  accustomed  to  now  and  then  hearing  a  slight 
noise.  The  worst  of  it  is,  when  half  a  dozen  of  the  mad  fellows  get  shrieking 
against  each  other  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  Then,  I  grant,  it  is  a  little 
annoying." 
"  What  do  you  do  with  them  ?" 

"  We  send  in  one  of  the  keepers  with  the  lash,  and  soon  put  a  stop  to  that.  We 
are  forced  to  keep  the  upper  hand  of  them,  or  else  we  should  have  no  rest.  Hark ! 
do  you  not  hear  that  fellow  now  ?— he  is  generally  pretty  quiet,  but  he  has  taken  it 
into  his  head  to  be  outrageous  to-day ;  but  one  of  my  men  will  soon  put  a  stop  to 
that.  This  way,  Mr.  Todd,  if  you  please,  and  as  we  don't  often  meet,  I  think  when 
we  do  we  ought  to  have  a  social  glass/3 

Sweeney  Todd  made  several  horrible  faces  as  he  followed  the  madhouse-keeper, 
and  he  looked  as  if  it  would  have  given  him  quite  as  much  pleasure,  and  no  doubt 
it  would,  to  brain  that  individual,  as  to  drink  his  wine,  although  probably  he  would 
have  preferred  doing  the  latter  process  first,  and  executing  the  former  afterwards, 
and  at  his  leisure.  They  soon  reached  the  room  which  was  devoted  to  the  use  of 
Mr.  Fogg  and  his  friends,  and  which  contained  the  many  little  curiosities  in  the 
way  of  madhouse  discipline  that  were  in  that  age  considered  indispensable  in  such 
establishments.  Mr.  Fogg  moved  away  with  his  hands  a  great  number  of  the 
books  and  papers  which  were  on  the  table,  so  as  to  leave  a  vacant  space,  and  then 
drawing  the  cork  of  a  bottle,  he  filled  himself  a  large  glass  of  its  contents,  and 
invited  Sweeney  Todd  to  do  the  same,  who  was  by  no  means  slow  in  following  his 
example.  While  these  two  villains  are  carousing,  and  caring  nothing  for  the  scenes 
of  misery  with  which  they  are  surrounded,  poor  Tobias,  in  conformity  with  the 
orders  that  had  been  issued  with  regard  to  him,  was  conveyed  along  a  number  o£ 
winding  passages,  and  down  several  staircases,  towards  the  cells  of  the  establish- 
ment. In  vain  he  struggled  to  get  free  from  his  captor — as  well  might  a  hare  have 
struggled  in  the  fangs  of  a  wolf — nor  were  his  cries  at  all  heeded ;  although,  now 

and  then,  the  shrieks  he  uttered  were  terrible  to  hear,  and  enough  to  fill  any  one 
with  dismav. 

"I  am  not  mad,"  said  he,  "indeed  I  am  not  mad~«4et  me  go.  and  I  will  say  no- 
thing— not  one  word  shall  ever  pass  my  lips  regarding  Mr.  Todd— let  me  go,  oh, 
let  me  go,  and  I  will  pray  for  you  as  long  as  I  live/3 
Mr.  Watson  whistled  a  lively  tune. 

"  If  I  promise — if  I  swear  to  tell  nothing,  Mr.  Todd  will  not  wish  me  kept  here 
•—all  he  wants  is  my  silence,  and  I  will  take  any  oath  he  likes.  Speak  to  him  for 
me,  I  implore  you,  and  let  me  go.33 

Mr.  Watson  commenced  the  second  part  of  his  lively  tune,  and  by  that  time  he 
reached  a  door^  which  he  unlocked,  and  then,  setting  down  Tobias  upon  the  thres- 
hold, he  gave  him  a  violent  kick,  which  flung  him  down  two  steps  on  to  the  stone 
floor  of  a  miserable  cell,  from  the  roof  of  which  continual  moisture  was  dripping, 
the  only  accommodation  it  possessed  being  a  truss  of  damp  straw  flung  into  one 
corner. 

"  There,'3  said  Mr.  Watson,  "  my  lad,  you  can  stay  there  and  make  yourself 
comfortable  till  somebody  comes  to  shave  your  head,  and  after  that  you  will  find 
yourself  quite  a  gentleman.'3 
*  "  Mercy !  mercy — have  mercy  upon  me  !" 
J     96  Mercy !— what  the  devil  do  you  mean  by  mercy  ?   Well,  that's  a  good  joke ;  *j 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


113 


an  tell  you,  you  have  come  to  the  wrong  shop  for  that ;  we  don't  keep  it 
ic  here,  and  if  we  wanted  ever  so  little  of  it,  we  should  have  to  go  some- 

T  l»  •  1      t  1 

so  much  at  his  own  joke,  that  he  felt  quite  amiable,  and 
re  perfectly  quiet,  aud  said  "thank you"  for  everything, 


but  I  can 

in  stocl 

where  else  for  it." 

Mr.  Watson  laughed  so 
told  Tobias  that  if  he  were 


he  wouldn't  put  him  on  the  strait  waistcoat,  although  Mr.  Eogg  had  ordered  if ; 
for,"  added  Mr.  Watson,  "  so  far  as  that  goes,  I  don't  care  a  straw  what  Mr. 


tor,  aaaea  Mr.  w  arson,  so  iar  as  wan  x  v*w* «,  m,  -  Ti  ~  ™ 
Fogg  says,  or  what  he  does ;  he  can't  do  without  me,  damn  him !  because  I  Know 

too  many  of  his  secrets."  ]  . .  .    ,  fl_AV 

Tobias  made  no  answer  to  this  promise,  but  he  lay  upon  his  back  on  the  floor 
of  the  cell  wringing  his  hands  despairingly,  and  feeling  thatalmost  already  the 


No*  15- 


very  atmosphere  of  that  place  seemed  pregnant  with  insanity,  and  giving  himself 

up  for  lost  entirely.  ,  ,  ,       i  ^ 

"  I  shall  never— never,"  he  said,  "  look  upon  the  bright  sky  and  the  green 
fields  again.  I  shall  be  murdered  here,  because  1  know  too  much ;  what  can  save 
me  now  ?  Oh,  what  an  evil  chance  it  was  that  brought  me  back  again  to  my 
mother,  "when  I  ought  to  have  been  far,  far  away  by  this  time,  instead  of  being, 
as  I  know  I  am,  condemned  to  death  in  this  frightful  place.  Despair  seizes  upon 
me !  What  noise  is  that— a  shriek  ?  Yes,  yes,  there  is  some  other  blighted  heart 
beside  mine  in  this  dreadful  house.  Oh,  Heaven  !  what  will  become  of  me?  I 
feel  already  stifled  and  sick,  and  faint  with  the  air  of  this  dreadful  cell.  Help, 
help,  help !  have  mercy  upon  me,  and  I  will  do  anything,  promise  anything,  swear 
anything." 

If  poor  Tobias  had  uttered  his  complaints  on  the  most  desolate  shore  that  ever 
a  shipwrecked  mariner  was  cast  upon,  they  could  not  have  been  more  unheeded 
than  they  were  in  that  house  of  terror.  He  screamed  and  shrieked  for  aid.  He 
called  upon  all  the  friends  he  had  ever  known  in  early  life,  and  at  that  moment  he 
seemed  to  remember  the  name  of  every  one  who  had  ever  uttered  a  kind  word  to 
him ;  and  to  those  persons  who,  alas !  could  not  hear  him,  but  were  far  enough 
removed  away  from  his  cries,  he  called  for  aid  in  that  hour  of  his  deep  distress. 
At  length,  famt,  wearied  and  exhausted,  he  lay  a  mere  living  wreck  in  that  damp, 
unwholesome  cell,  and  felt  almost  willing  that  death  should  come  and  relieve  him, 
at  least  from  the  pang  of  constantly  expecting  it  I  His  cries,  however,  had  had 
the  effect  of  summoning  up  all  the  wild  spirits  in  that  building;  and,  as  he  now 
lay  in  the  quiet  of  absolute  exhaustion,  he  heard  from  far  and  near  smothered  cries 
and  shrieks  and  groans,  such  as  one  might  expect  would  fill  the  air  of  the  infernal 
regions  with  dismal  echoes.  A  cold  and  clammy  perspiration  broke  out  upon  him, 
as  these  sounds  each  moment  more  plainly  fell  upon  his  ear,  and  as  he  gazed  upon 
the  profound  darkness  of  the  cell,  his  excited  fancy  began  to  people  it  with  strange 
unearthly  beings,  and  he  could  suppose  that  he  saw  hideous  faces  grinning  at  him, 
and  huge  mis-shapen  creatures  crawling  on  the  walls,  and  floating  in  the  damp, 
pestiferous  atmosphere  of  the  wretched  cell  In  vain  he  covered  his  eyes  with 
his  hands  ;  those  creatures  of  his  imagination  were  not  to  be  shut  out  from  the 
mind,  and  he  saw  them,  if  possible,  more  vividly  than  before^  and  presenting  them- 
selves in  more  frightfully  tangible  shapes.  Truly,  if  such  visions  should  continue 
to  haunt  him,  poor  Tobias  was  likely  enough  to  follow  the  fate  of  many  others  who 
had  been  placed  in  that  establishment  perfectly  seme,  but  in  a  short  time  exhibited 

in  it  as  raving  lunatics. 

*  *  #  *  * 

"  A  nice  clear  cool  glass  of  wine"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  as  he  held  up  his  glass 
between  him  and  the  light,  "  and  pleasant  drinking ;  so  soft  and  mild  in  the  mout  h, 
and  yet  gliding  down  the  throat  with  a  pleasant  strength  of  flavour !" 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Fogg,  "  it  might  be  worse.  You  see  some  patients,  who  are 
low  and  melancholy  mad,  require  stimulants,  and  their  friends  send  them  wine. 
This  is  some  that  was  so  sent/* 

"  Then  you  don't  trouble  the  patients  with  it  P" 

u  What !  give  a  madman  wine,  while  I  am  liie  in  my  senses  to  drink  it  ?  Oh, 
dear  no !  that  won't  do  on  any  account." 

"I  should  certainly,  Mr.  Fogg,  not  expecfc  such  an  act  of  indiscretion  from 
you,  knowing  you  as  I  do  to  be  quite  a  man  of  the  world.'1 

"  Thank  you  for  the  compliment.  This  wine,  now,  was  sent  for  an  old  gentle- 
man who  had  turned  so  melancholy,  that  he  not  only  would  not  take  food  enough 
to  keep  life  and  soul  together,  but  he  really  terrified  his  friends  so  by  threatening 
suicide  that  they  sent  him  here  for  a  few  months ;  and,  as  stimulants  were  recom- 
mended for  him,  tiiey  sent  this  ^  wine,  you  see;  but  I  stimulated  him  without  it 
quite  as  well,  for  I  drink  the  wine  myself  and  give  him  an  infernal  good  kick  or 
two  every  day,  and  that  stimulates  him,  for  it  puts  him  in  such  a  devil  of  a  passion 
that  I  am  quite  sure  he  doesn't  want  any  wine." 

"A  good  plan,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  "but  I  wonder  you  don't  contrive  that 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  115 


your  own  private  room  should  be  free  from  the  annoyance  of  hearing  such  sounds 
as  those  that  have  been  coming  upon  my  ears  for  the  last  five  or  ten  minutes.5* 

"  It's  impossible ;  you  cannot  get  out  of  the  way  if  you  live  in  the  house  at  all ; 
and  you  see,  as  regards  these  mad  fellows,  they  are  quite  like  a  pack  of  wolves, 
and  when  once  one  of  them  begins  howling  and  shouting,  the  others  are  sure  to 
chime  in,  in  full  chorus,  and  make  no  end  of  disturbance  till  we  stop  them,  as  I 
have  already  told  you  we  do,  with  a  strong  hand/5 

u  While  I  think  of  it/5*  said  Sweeney  Todd,  as  he  drew  from  his  pocket  a 
leathern  bag,  "  while  1  think  of  it,  I  may  as  well  pay  you  the  year's  money  for 
the  lad  I  have  now  brought  you  ;  you  see  I  have  not  forgot  the  excellent  rule  you 
have  of  being  paid  in  advance.   There  is  the  amount.55 

<c  Ah,  Mr.  Todd,55  said  the  madhouse-keeper  as  he  counted  the  money,  and  then 
placed  it  in  his  pocket,  "  it's  a  pleasure  to  do  business  with  a  thorough  business 
man  like  yourself.  The  bottle  stands  with  you,  Mr.  Todd,  and  I  beg  you  will  not 
spare  it.  Do  yoxi  know,  Mr.  Todd,  this  is  a  line  of  life  which  I  have  often  thought 
would  have  suited  you  ;  I  am  certain  you  have  a  genius  for  such  things.55 

"Not  equal  to  you,"  said  Todd;  "but  as  I  am  fond,  certainly,  of  what  is 
strange  and  out  of  the  way,  some  of  the  scenes  and  characters  you  come  across 
would,  I  have  no  doubt,  be  highly  entertaining  to  me." 

"  Scenes  and  characters — I  believe  you !  During  the  course  of  a  business  like 
ours,  we  come  across  all  sorts  of  strange  things  ;  and  if  I  choose  to  do  it,  which 
of  course  I  don't,  I  could  tell  a  few  tales  which  would  make  some  people  shake  in 
their  shoes ;  but  I  have  no  right  to  tell  them,  for  I  have  been  paid,  and  what  the 
deuce  is  it  to  me  ?" 

"  Oh,  nothing,  of  course  nothing.  But  just  while  we  are  sipping  our  wine, 
now,  couldn't  you  tell  me  something  that  would  not  be  betraying  anybody's  con- 
fidence r 

"  I  could,  I  could  j  I  don't  mean  to  say  that  I  could  not,  and  I  don't  care  much 
if  I  do -to  you.* 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

SIB,  FOGG'S  STORY  AT  THE  MADHOUSE  TO  SWEENEY  TOBfi. 

Aeter  a  short  pause,  during  which  Mr.  Fogg  appeared  to  be  referring  to  the 
cells  of  memory,  with  the  view  of  being  refreshed  in  a  matter  that  had  long  since 
been  a  by-gone,  but  which  he  desired  to  place  as  clearly  before  his  listener  as  he 
could,  in  fact,  to  make,  if  possible,  the  relation-real  to  him,  and  to  omit  nothing 
during  its  progress  that  should  be  told  ;  or  possibly,  that  amiable  individual  was 
engaged  in  considering  if  there  were  any  salient  points  that  might  criminate  him- 
self, or  give  even  a  friend  a  handle  to  make  use  of  against  him  ;  but  apparently 
there  was  nothing  of  the  kind,  for,  after  a  loud  "  hem !"  he  filled  the  glasses, 
saying — 

"Well,  now,  as  you  are  a  friend,  I  don't  mind  telling  you  how  we  do  business 
here — things  that  have  been  done,  you  know,  by  others  ;  but  I  have  had  my  share 
as  well  as  others — I  have  known  a  thing  or  two,  Mr.  Todd,  and  I  may  say  I  have 
done  a  thing  or  two,  too.55 

"  Well,  we  must  live  and  let  live,95  said  Sweeney  Todd,  4t  there's  no  going 
against  that,  you  know;  if  all  I  have  done  could  speak,  why«*-but  no  matter,  I  am 
listening  to  you-— however,  if  deeds  could  speak,  one  or  #5vo  clever  things  would 
come  out  rather,  I  think.55 

"  Ay, 'tis  well  they  don5 1,5 5  said  Mr.  Eogg,  with  much  solemnity,  <cif  they  did 
they  would  be  constantly  speaking  at  times  when  it  would  be  very  inconvenient  to 
hear  them,  and  dangerous  besides.5 1 

0  So  it  would,55  said  Sweeney,  "  a  still  tongue  makes  a  wise  head— but  then 


 ■   ^.^Uhk..  -.^.-H  "W"  «        <   -llMWWfi  III  III  .IIIMIIJIIt  .Mill 


110   THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.   _ 

therSlent  system  would  bring  no  grist  to  the  mill,  and  we  must  speak  when  we 
know  we  are  right  and  among  friends." 

"Of  course/'  said  Fogg/ "of  course,  that's  the  right  use  of  speech,  and  one 
may  as  well  be  without  it,  as  to  have  it  and  not  use  it ;  but  come — drink,  and 
fill  again  before  I  begin,  and  then  to  my  tale*  But  we  may  as  well  have  a  senti- 
ment. Sentiment,  you  know/5  continued  Fogg,  "  is  the  very  soul  of  friendship. 
What  do  you  say  to  '  The  heart  that  can  feel  for  another  ?'  " 

<v  With  aft  my  sou!/'  said  Sweeney  Todd  ;  "it's  very  touching — very  touching, 
indeed.  c  The  heart  that  can  feel  for  another !' "  and  as  he  spoke,  he  emptied 
the  glass,  which  he  pushed  towards  Fogg  to  refill. 

"Well,"  said  Fogg,  as  he  complied,  "we  have  had  the  sentiment,  we  may  as 
well  kave  the  exemplification.'5  <  ,  i 

<c  Ha  !  ha  !  ha  I"  said  Todd,  "  very  good,  very  good  indeed ;  pray  "go  on,  that 
will  do  capitally." 

"I  may  as  well  tell  you  the  whole  matter,  as  it  occurred;  I  will  then  let  you 
know  all  I  know,  and  in  the  same  manner.  None  of  the  parties  are  now  living, 
or,  at  least,  they  are  not  in  this  country,  which  is  just  the  same  thing,  so  far  as  I 
am  concerned." 

"Then  that  is  an  affair  settled  and  done  with,"  remarked  Sweeney  Todd, 
parenthetically. 

*"  Yes,  quite.*— Well,  it  was  one  night  —  such  a  one  as  this,  and  pretty  well 
about  the  same  hour,  perhaps  somewhat  earlier  than  this.  However,  it  doesn't 
signify  a  straw  about  the  hour,  but  it  was  quite  night,  a  dark  and  wet  nighfc  too, 
when  a  knock  came  at  the  street-door — a  sharp  double  knock — it  was.  I  was 
sitting  alone,  as  I  might  have  been  now,  drinking  a  glass  or  two  of  wine  ;  I  was 
startled,  for  I  was  thinking  about  an  affair  I  had  on  hand  at  that  very  moment,  of 
which  there  was  a  little  stir.  However,  I  went  to  the  door,  and  peeped  through 
a  grating  that  I  had  there,  and  saw  only  a  man ;  lie  had  drawn  his  horse  inside 
the  gate,  and  secured  him.  He  wore  a  large  Whitney  riding. coat,  with  a  nap  that  I 
would  have  thrown  off  a  deluge.  I  fancied,  or  thought  1  could  tell,  that  he  meant 
no  mischief;  so  I  opened  the  door  at  once  and  saw  a  tall,  gentlemanly  man,  but 
wrapped  up  so,  that  you  could  not  tell  who  or  what  he  was ;  but  my  eyes  are 
sharp,  you  know,  Mr.  Todd.  We  haven't  seen  so  much  of  the  world  without 
learning  to  distinguish  what  kind  of  person  one  has  to  deal  with  ?" 

"  I  should  think  not/'  said  Todd. 

" c  Well/  said  I,  c  what  is  your  pleasure,  sir  P* 

"  The  stranger  paused  a  moment  or  two  before  he  made  any  reply  to  me. 
" c  Is  your  name  Fogg  ?'  he  said. 

.  " c  Yes>  ifc  &/  said  I ;  *  my  name  is  Fogg— what  is  your  pleasure  with  me, 
sir  ?3 

" c  Why/  said  he,  after  another  pause,  during  which  he  fixed  his  keen  eye  very 
hard  upon  me— '  why,  I  wish  to  have  a  little  private  conversation  with  you,  if  you 
can  spare  so  much  time,  upon  a  very  important  matter  which  I  have  in  hand/  ' 

"fi  Walk  in,  sir/  said  I,  as  soon  as  1  heard  what  it  was  he  wanted,  and  he 
followed  me  in.  *  It  is  a  very  unpleasant  night,  and  it's  coming  on  to  rain  harder 
I  think  it  is  fortunate  you  have  got  housed.* '  J 

"'Yes/  he  replied;  1  but  I  am  tolerably  well  protected  against  the  rain,  at  al  I 
events/ 

"  He  came  into  this  very  parlour,  and  took  a  seat  before  the  fire,  with  his  back 
to  the  light,  so  that  I  couldn't  see  his  face  very  well.  However,  I  was  determined 
that  I  would  be  satisfied  in  these  particulars,  and  so,  when  he  had  taken  off  his 
hat,  I  stirred  up  the  fire,  and  had  a  blaze  that  illuminated  the  whole  room,  and 
which  showed  me  the  sharp,  thin  visage  of  my  visitor,  who  was  a  dark  man,  with 
keen  grey  eyes  that  were  very  restless — 9 

" '  Will  you  have  a  glass  of  wine  ?'  said  I;  c the  night  is  cold  as  well  as  wet/ 
" 1  Yes,  I  will/  he  replied ;  '  I  am  cold  with  riding.   You  have  a  lonely  place 
about  here ;  your  house,  I  see,  stands  alone  too.   You  have  not  many  neigh- 
bours/ 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  117 


"  i  No,  sir/  said  I,  '  we  hadn't  need,  for  when  any  of  the  poor  things  set  to 
screaming,  it  would  make  them  feel  very  uncomfortable  indeed.' 

"fSo  it  would,  there  is  an  advantage  in  that  to  yourself  as  well  as  to  them. 
It  would  be  disagreeable  to  you  to  know  that  you  were  disturbing  your  neighbours, 
and  they  would  feel  equally  uncomfortable  in  being  disturbed,  and  yet  you  must 
do  your  duty/ 

" 6  Ay !  to  be  sure,5  said  I ;  c  I  must  do  my  duty,  and  people  won't  pay  me  for 
letting  madmen  go,  though  they  may  for  keeping  them  ;  and  besides  that,  I  think 
some  on  'em  would  get  their  throats  cut,  if  I  did.' 

" *  You  are  right — quite  right/  said  lie ;  c  I  am  glad  to  find  you  of  that  mind, 
for  I  came  to  you  concerning  an  affair  that  requires  some  delicacy  about  it,  since 
it  is  a  female  patient.3 

" '  Ah  !'  said  I,  ( I  always  pay  great  attention,  very  great  attention  ;  and  I 
don't  recollect  a  case,  however  violent  it  may  be,  but  what  I  can  overcome.  I 
always  make  'em  acknowledge  me,  and  there's  much  art  in  that." 

"  '  To  be  sure,  there  must  be/ 

u  And,  moreover,  they  wouldn't  so  soon  crouch  and  shrink  away  from  me,  and  do 
what  I  tell  'em,  if  I  did  not  treat  them  with  kindness,  that  is,  as  far  as  is  consis- 
tent with  one's  duty,  for  I  mustn't  forget  that/ 

" c  Exactly/  he  replied  ;  €  those  arc  my  sentiments  exactly/ 

" 1  And  now,  sir,  will  you  inform  me  in  what  way  I  can  serve  you  ?' 

" 1  Why  I  have  a  relative,  a  female  relative,  who  is  unhappily  affected  with  a  brain 
disease;  we  have  tried  all  we  can  do,  without  any  effect,  Do  what  we  will,  it 
comes  to  the  same  thing  in  the  end/  ! 

11 '  Ah  !'  said  I ;  1  poor  thhi£-~what  a  dreadful  thing  it  must  be  to  you  or  any 
of  her  friends,  who  have  the  charge  of  her,  to  see  her  day  by  day  an  incurable 
maniac.  Why,  it  is  just  as  bad  as  whan  a  friend  or  relative  is  dead,  and  you 
are  obliged  to  have  the  dead  body  constantly  mi  your  house,  and  before  your  eyes/ 

"'Exactly,  my  friend/ said  the  stranger;  ' exactly,  you  are  a  man  of  discern- 
ment, Mr.  Fogg.  I  see,  that  is  truly  the  state  of  the  case.  You  may  then  guess 
at  the  state  of  our  feelings,  when  we  have  to  part  with  one  beloved  by  us/ 

As  he  spoke,  he  turned  right  round,  and  faced  me,  looking  very  hard  into  my 
face. 

u  c  Well/  said  I,  cyour's  is  a  hard  case;  but  to  have  one  afflicted  about  you  in  U 
the  manner  the  young  lady  is,  is  truly  distressing ;  it's  like  having  a  perpetual  R 
lumbago  in  your  back/ 

"  <  Exactly/  said  the  atranger.   *  I  tell  you  what,  you  are  the  very  man  to  do 
this  thing  for  me/ 

"  «  I  am  sure  of  it/  said  I. 

c<  c  Then  we  understand  each  other,  eh  ?'  said  the  stranger.  1  I  must  say  I  like 
your  appearance,  it  is  not  often  such  people  as  you  and  I  meet/ 

" '  1  hope  it  will  be  to  our  mutual  advantage/  said  I,  c  because  such  people  don't 
meet  every  day,  and  we  oughtn't  to  meet  to  no  purpose  ;  so,  in  anything  delicate 
and  confidential  you  may  command  me/ 

"  '  I  see,  you  are  a  clever  man/  said  he  ;  c  well,  well,  I  must  pay  you  in  pro- 
portion to  your  talents.    How  do  you  do  business— by  the  job,  or  by  the  year  P 

" 1  Well/  said  I, '  where  it's  a  matter  of  some  nicety,  it  may  be  both— but  it 
entirely  depends  upon  circumstances.   I  had  better  know  exactly  what  it  is  I  have 

to  do/  |  i    ,  • 

"  c  Why,  you  see,  it  is  a  young  female  about  eighteen,  and  she  is  somewhat 
troublesome— takes  to  screaming,  and  all  that  kind  of  thing.   I  want  her  taken 
care  of,  though  you  must  be  very  careful  she  neither  runs  away  nor  suddenly 
commits  any  mischief,  as  her  madness  does  not  appear  to  me  to  have  any  particular 
form,  and  would  at  times  completely  deceive  the  best  of  us,  and  then  suddenly 
she  will  b  reak  out  violently,  and  snap  or  fly  at  anybody  with  her  teeth/ 
c<  *  Is  she  so  bad  as  that  ?'  * 
11  f  Yes,  quite.    So  it  is  quite  impossible  to  keep  her  at  home  ;  and  I  expect  it 
will  be  a  devil  of  aiob  to  get  her  here.   I  tell  you  what  you  shall  have  j  Til  pay 


I 

.1 


1* 


%m 


118  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


you  your  yearly  charge  for  board  and  care,  and  I'll  give  you  a  ten-pound  note  for 
your  trouble,  if  you'lfcome  and  assist  me  in  securing  her,  and  bringing  her  down. 
It  will  take  some  trouble. ' 

" '  Very  well/  said  I,  '  that  will  do,  but  you  must  double  the  note  and  make 
it  twenty,  if  you  please ;  it  will  cost  something  to  come  and  do  the  thing 
well/ 

" ?  I  see-— very  well— we  won't  disagree  about  a  ten-pound  note  ;  but  you'll 
know  how  to  dispose  of  her  if  she  comes  here/ 
"  *  Oh,  yes — very  healthy  place/ 

*  c  But  I  don't  know  that  health  is  a  very  great  blessing  to  any  one  wder 
such  circumstances ;  indeed,  who  could  regret  an  early  grave  to  one  so  severely 
afflicted  ?' 

"  Nobody  ought/  said  I ;  c  if  they  knew  what  mad  people  went  through,  they 
would  not,  I'm  sure/ 

u  'That  is  very  true  again,  but  the  fact  is,  they  don't,  and  they  only  look  at 
one  side  of  the  picture  ;  for  my  own  part,  I  think  that  it  ought  to  be  so  ordained, 
that  when  people  are  so  afflicted,  nature  ought  to  sink  under  the  affliction, 
and  so  insensibly  to  revert  to  the  former  state  of  nonentity, 1 

" '  Well/  said  I,  '  that  may  be  as  you  please,  I  don't  understand  all  that ; 
but  I  tell  you  what,  I  hope  if  she  were  to  die  much  sooner  than  you  expect,  you 
would  not  think  it  too  much  trouble  to  afford  me  some  compensation  for  my 
loss/   %        &$$r  ■£  *  J;/**;*  "' i  j  .  r  >-rV-       ^/^'il^-'^^^^^^  • 

"/  Oh  dear  no !  and  to  show  you  that  I  shall  entertain  no  such  illiberal  feeling, 
I  will  give  you  two  hundred  pounds,  when  the  certificate  of  her  burial  can  be  pro- 
duced.   You  understand  me  P* 
;<<  Certainly/ 

'"Her  death  will  be  of  little  value  to  me,  without  the  legal  proof/  said  the 
stranger;  'so  she  must  die  at  her  own  pleasure,  or  live  while  she  can/ 
€6 '  Certainly/  said  I. 

'"But  what  terrifies  me/  continued  the  stranger,  'most  is,  her  terror- 
stricken  countenance,  always  staring  us  in  our  faces ;  and  it  arose  from  her  being 
terrified  ;  indeed  I  think  if  she  were  thoroughly  frightened,  she  would  fall  dead. 

I  am  sure,  if  any  wickedly-disposed  person  were  to  do  so,  death  would  no  doubt 
result/ 

H  '  Ah !'  said  I,  cit  would  be  a  bad  job ;  now  tell  me  where  I  am  to  see  you,  and 

how  about  the  particulars/ 

Park  lane  >  W*11  ^      *  n°W>  Can  y°U  ^  at  the  coraer  of  Grosvenor-street,  near 
"  *  Yes/"  I  replied,  '  I  will/ 

"cWith  a  coach  too.  I  wish  you  to  have  a  coach,  and  one  that  you  can 
depend  upon,  because  there  may  be  a  little  noise.    I  will  try  to  avoid  it,  if 

horses '         ^  Cam0t  alWajS  d°  whafc  We  desire ;  but  y0U  must  h*Ve  S°°d 

"  J  Now,  J  tell  you  what  is  my  plan;  that  is,  if  you  don't  mind  the  damages,  if 
any  happen/  ?     J  6  * 

2 '  What  are  they  ?' 

racket^  :~~suppose  a  horse  falls>  aBd  is  hrat>  or  an  upset— would  you  stand  the 
.  would>  of  course/ 

" '|Then  listen  to  me ;  I  have  had  mom  of  these  affairs  than  you  have,  no  doubt. 
hJ.      a  i  d  exPerience>  ^Woh.  you  have  not.   Now,  I'll  get  a  trotting- 

norse,  and  a  covered  cart  or  chaise— one  that  will  go  along  well  at  ten  miles  an 
hour,  and  no  mistake  about  it/ 

" '  But  will  it  hold  enough  ?* 

in  "f  f?!lr  °r  fiv<l  or  six'  md>  uP°n  a  S"*<  1  have  known  eight  to  cram 
Sll \  h        i  ny0U  kll0W  We  7ere  mt  Particular  how  we  were  placed;  but 

thll  t/ht     {  *f  aia.  hackney  cwch>  °%  not  so  conveniently;  but 

then  we  have  nobody  m  the  affair  to  drive  us,  and  there  can't  be  too  few/ 


»  JTHE  STRING  Off  PEARLS,  119 

"  €  Well,  that  is  perhaps  best ;  but  have  you  a  man  on  whom  you  can  depend  ]£m 
because  if  you  have,  why,  I  would  not  be  in  the  affair  at  all.* 

u *  You  must/  said  I ;  « in  the  first  place,  I  can  depend  upon  one  man  best ;  him 
I  must  leave  here  to  mind  the  place ;  so  if  you  can  manage  the  girl,  I  will  drive, 
and  I  know  the  road  as  well  as  the  way  to  my  own  mouth— I  would  rather  have  as 
I  few  in  it  as  possible.* 

" f  Your  precaution  is  very  good,  and  I  think  I  will  try  an$  so  manage  it,  that 
there  shall  be  only  you  and  I  acquainted  with  the  transaction  j  at  all  events,  should 
it  become  necessary,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  let  some  other  person  into  the  secret 
at  the  moment  their  services  are  required.  That,  I  thiflk,  will  be  the  best  arrange- 
ment that  I  can  come  to— what  do  you  say  r 

"  'That  will  do  very  well — when  we  get  her  here,  and  when  I  have  seen  her  a 
few  days,  I  can  tell  what  to  do  with  her/ 

" '  Exactly ;  *  and  now,  good  night — there  is  the  money  I  promised,  and  now 
again,  good  night  S   I  shall  see  you  at  the  appointed  time.1 

c"  You  will/  said  I— 'one  glass  more,  it  will  do  you  good,  and  keep  the  rain 
out.' 

"  He  took  off  a  glass  of  wine,  and  then  pulled  his  hat  over  his  face,  and  left 
the  house. ;  It  was  a  dark,  wet  night,  and  the  wind  blew,  and  we  heard  the 
sound  of  his  horse's  hoofs  for  some  time;  however,  I  shut  the  door  and  went 
in,  thinking  over  in  my  own  mind  what  would  be  the  gain  of  my  own  exertions* 

*  *  *  *  * 

"Well,  at  the  appointed  hour,  I  borrowed  a  chaise  cart,  a  covered  one,  with 
what  you  call  a  head  to  it,  and  I  trotted  to  town  in  it.  At  the  appointed  time  I 
was  at  the  corner  of  Grosvenor-street ;  it  was  late,  and  yet  I  waited  there  an 
hour  or  more  before  I  saw  any  one.  I  walked  into  a  little  house  to  get  a  glass 
of  spirits  to  keep  up  the  warmth  of  the  body,  and  when  I  came  out  again,  I  saw 
some  one  standing  at  my  horse's  head,  I  immediately  went  up. 
" '  Oh,  you  are  here/  he  said.  ^ 
u  *  Yes  1  am/  said  I,  ?  X  have  been  here  the  Lord  knows  how  long*  Are  you 
ready  ?' 

"  f  Yes,  I  am ;  come/  said  he,  as  he  got  into  the  cart— *'  come  to  the  place  I  shall 
tell  you — I  shall  only  get  her  into  the  cart,  and  you  must  do  the  rest/ 
" '  You'll  come  back  with  me ;  I  shall  want  help  on  the  road,  and  I  have  no  one 

with  me/  *     -  . 

" '  Yes,  I  will  come  with  you,  and  manage  the  girl,  but  you  must  drive,  and  take 
all  the  casualties  of  the  road,  for  I  shall  have  enough  to  do  to  hold  her  and  keep 
her  from  screaming  when  she  does  awake/ 

" 4  What !  is  she  asleep  ?*  if  §  ' 

" €  I  have  given  her  a  small  dose  of  laudanum,  which  will  cause  her  to  sleep 
comfortably  for  an  hour  or  two,  but  the  cold  air  and  disturbance  will  most  pro- 
bably awaken  her  at  first/ 

45  c  Throw  something  over  her,  and  keep  her  warm,  and  have  something  ready  to 
thrust  into  her  mouth,  in  case  she  takes  to  screaming,  and  then  you  are  all 
right/ 

"  f  Good/  he  replied :  c  now  wait  here.  I  am  going  to  yon  house.  When  I 
have  entered,  and  disappeared  several  minutes,  you  may  quietly  drive  up,  and  take 
your  station  on  the  ottier  side  of  the  lamp-post/ 

w  As  he  spoke  he  got  out,  and  walked  to  a  large  house,  which  he  entered  softly, 
and  left  the  door  ajar ;  and  after  he  had  gone  in,  I  walked  the  horse  quietly  up  to 
the  lamp-post,  and  as  I  placed  it,  the  horse  and  front  of  the  cart  were  completely 
in  the  dark.  I  had  scarcely  got  up  to  the  spot,  when  the  door  opened,  and  he 
looked  out  to  see  if  anybody  was  passing.  I  gave  him  the  word,  and  out  he  came, 
leaving  the  door,  and  came  with  what  looked  like  a  bundle  of  clothes,  but  which 
was  the  young  girl  and  some  clothes  he  had  brought  with  him. 

" 1  Give  her  to  me/  said  I, '  and  jump  up  and  take  the  reins  j  go  on  as  quickly  as 
you  can/ 

"  I  took  the  girl  into  my  arms,  and  haaded  her  into  the  back  part  of  the  chaise, 


120  THE  STBING  OP  PEARLS. 


while  he  lumped  up,  and  drove  away.  I  placed  the  young  girl  in  an  easy  position 
upon  some  hay,  and  stuffed  the  clothes  under  her,  so  as  to  prevent  the  jolting  from 
liui*fcin^*  her 

"  *  Well/'  said  I,  'you  may  as  well  come  back  here,  and  sit  beside  her  :  she  is 
all  right.    You  seem  rather  in  a  stew/ 
"  *  Well,  I  have  run  with  her  in  my  arms,  and  altogether  it  has  flurried  me, 
"  c  You  had  better  have  some  brandy/  said  I. 

"'No,  no!  don't  stop.'  ;  >* 

"  'Pfcoh,  pooh  !'  I  replied,  pulling  up,  • here  is  the  last  house  we  shall  come  to, 
to  have  a  good  stiff  tumbler  of  hot  brandy  and  water.  Come,  have  you  any  change 
—about  a 'sovereign  will  do,  because  I  shall  want  change  on  the  road  ?  Come, 

be  quick/ 

*  He  handed  me  a  sovereign,  saying— 

"  «  Don't  you  think  it's  dangerous  to  stop— we  may  be  watched,  or  she  may 

wake."  ;    .  •         sn  L  .  . 

"  <  Not  a  bit  of  it.  She  snores  too  loudly  to  wake  just  now,  and  you  11  famt 
without  the  cordial ;  so  keep  a  good  look-out  upon  the  wench,  and  you  will  re- 
cover your  nerves  again/ 

"  As  I  spoke  I  jumped  out,  and  got  two  glasses  of  brandy  and  water,  hot,  strong, 
and  sweet,  I  had  in  about  two  minutes  made,  out  of  the  house. 

"  <  Here/  said  I,  '  drink—drink  it  all  up— it  will  make  your  eyes  start  out  of 
your  head.' 

"  1  spoke  the  truth,  for  what  with  my  recommendations,  and  his  nervousness 
and  haste,  he  drank  nearly  half  of  it  at  a  gulp. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  his  countenance.  Ha !  ha !  ha !  I  can't  keep  my  mirth 
to  myself.  Just  imagine  the  girl  inside  a  covered  cart,  all  dark,  so  dark  that 
you  could  hardly  see  the  outline  of  the  shadow  of  a  man,  and  then  imagine,  if  you 
can,  a  pair  of  keen  eyes,  that  shone  in  the  dark  like  cat's  eyes,  suddenly  give  out  a 
flash  of  light,  and  then  turn  round  in  their  sockets,  showing  the  whites  awfully, 
and  then  listen  to  the  fall  of  the  glass,  and  see  him  grasp  his  throat  with  one  hand, 
and  thrust  the  other  hand  into  his  stomach.  There  was  a  queer  kind  of  voice 
came  from  his  throat,  and  then  something  like  a  curse  and  a  groan  escaped  him. 

"  4  Damn  it/  said  I,  *  what  is  the  matter  now  ? — you've  upset  all  the  liquor— 
you  are  very  nervous— you  had  better  have  another  dose.3 

"  '  No  more — no  more/  he  said  faintly  and  huskily,  '  no  more— for  God's  sake 
no  more.   I  am  almost  choked— my  throat  is  scalded,  and  my  entrails  on  fire  !* 

" '  I  told  you  it  was  hot/  said  I. 

u  Yes,  hot,  boiling  hot — go  on.   I'm  mad  with  pain— p^sh  on.' 

" c  Will  you  have  any  water,  or  anything  to  cool  your  throat  ?'  said  I. 

"  ?  No,  no— go  on/3 

"'Yes/  said  I,  4 but  the  brandy  and  water  is  hot;  however,  it's  going  down 
very  fast  now  — very  fast  indeed,  here  is  the  last  mouthful/  and  as  I  said 
so,  I  gulped  it  down,  returned  with  the  one  glass,  and  then  paid  for  the  damage. 

*  This  did  not  occupy  five  minutes,  and  away  we  came  along  the  road  at  a  devl 
of  a  pace,  and  we  were  all  right  enough ;  my  friend  behind  me  got  over  his 
scald,  though  he  had  a  very  sore  gullet,  and  his  intestines  were  in  a  very 
uncomfortable  state ;  but  he  was  better.  Away  we  rattled,  the  ground  rattling 
to  the  horse's  hoofs  and  the  wheels  of  the  vehicle,  the  young  girl  still  remaining 
in  the  same  state  of  insensibility  in  which  she  had  first  t)een  brought  out. 
No  doubt  she  had  taken  a  stronger  dose  of  the  opium  than  she  was  willing  to 
admit.  That  was  nothing  to  me,  but  made  it  all  the  better,  because  she  gave  the 
less  trouble,  and  made  it  safer.  We  got  here  easy  enough,  drove  slap  up  to  the 
door,  which  was  opened  in  an  instant,  jumped  out,  took  the  girl,  and  carried  her 
in.  When  once  these  doors  are  shut  upon  any  one,  they  may  rest  assured 
that  it  is  quite  a  settled  thing,  and  they  don't  get  out  very  easy,  save  in  a 
wooden  surtout ;  indeed,  I  never  lost  a  boarder  by  any  other  means  3  we  always 
keep  one  connection,  and  they  are  usually  so  well  satisfied,  that  they  never  take 
any  one  away  from  us,    Well,  well!  1  carried  her  indoors,  and  left  her  in  a 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS- 


121 


room  by  herself  on  a  bed.  She  was  a  nice  girl — a  handsome  girl,  I  suppose 
people  would  call  her,  and  had  a  low,  sweet,  and  plaintive  voice.  But  enough 
of  this. 

u  '  She's  all  right/  said  I,  when  I  returned  to  this  room,  '  It's  all  right — 1 
have  left  her/ 


TOBIAS  DISCOVERS  TUB  BARBER^  HIDDEN  PLUNDER. 

"  '  She  isn't  dead/  he  inquired,  with  much  terror. 

"  '  Oh  !  no,  no  !'  she  is  only  asleep,  and  has  not  woke  up  yet  froni  the  eftects 
of  the  laudanum.    Will  you  now  give  me  one  year's  pay  in  advance  ?' 

«"  Yes/  he  replied,  as  he  handed  the  money,  and  the  remainder  of  the  bonds. 
f  Now,  how  am  I  to  do  about  getting  back  to  London  to-night  V 

"  '  You  had  better  remain  here.' 


No,  16. 


# 


122  THEJiTH^^  

« <  Oh,  no !  iTshould  go  mad  too,  if  I  were  to  remain  here  ;  I  must  leave  here 
soon/ 

"  *  Well,  will  you  go  to  the  village  inn  V 
"  *  How  far  is  that  off  V 

"  'About  a  mile—  you'll  reach  it  easy  enough;  I'll  drive  you  over  for  the 
matter  of  that,  and  leave  you  there.    I  shall  take  the  cart  there/ 

"'Very  well,  let  it  be  so  ;  I  will  go.  Well,  well,  I  am  glad  it  is  all  over,  and 
the  sooner  it  is  over  for  ever,  the  better.  I  am  truly  sorry  for  her,  but  it  cannot 
be  helped.  It  will  kill  her,  I  have  no  doubt ;  but  that  is  all  the  better  :  she  will 
escape  the  misery  consequent  upon  her  departure,  and  release  us  from  a  weight 
of  care/ 

!      "  '  So  it  will,'  said  I *  but  come,  we  must  go  at  once,  if  going  you  are/ 

"  '  Yes,  yes/  he  said  hurriedly, 
i     " 6  Well  then,  come  along  ;  the  horse  is  not  yet  unharnessed,  and  if  we  do  not 
make  haste,  we  shall  be  too  late  to  obtain  a  lodging  for  the  night/ 

"  'That  is  very  good/fhe  said,  somewhat  wildly  :  '  I  am  quite  ready— quite/ 

"  We  left  the  house,  and  trotted  off  to  the  inn  at  a  good  rate,  where  we  arrived 
•  in  about  ten  minutes  or  less,  and  then  I  put  up  the  horse,  and  saw  him  to  the 
inn,  and  came  back  as  quick  as  I  could  on  foot.    '  Well,  well/  1  thought, 
'this  will  do,  I  have  had  a  good  day  of  it — paid  well  for  business,  and  haven't 
wanted  for  sport  on  the  road/ 

"Well,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  if  the  whole  affair  was  to  speedily  end, 
it  would  be  more  in  my  pocket  than  if  she  were  living,  and  she  would  be  far 
happier  in  heaven  than  here,  Mr.  Todd/' 

"  Undoubtedly/'  said  Mr.  Sweeney  Todd,  "  undoubtedly,  that  is  a  very  just 
observation  of  yours/5 

"  Well,  then,  I  set  to  work  to  find  out  how  the  matter  could  be  managed,  and 
I  watched  her  until  she  awoke.  She  looked  around  her,  and  seemed  much 
surprised  and  confused,  and  did  not  seem  to  understand  her  position,  while  I 
remained  at  hand/' 

"  She  sighed  deeply,  and  put  her  hand  to  her  head,  and  appeared  for  a  time  to 
be  quite  unable  to  comprehend  what  had  happened  to  her,  or  where  she  was.  I 
sent  some  tea  to  her,  as  I  was  not  prepared  to  execute  my  purpose,  and  she 
seemed  to  recover,  and  asked  some  questions,  but  my  man  was  dumb  for  the 
occasion,  and  would  not  speak,  and  the  result  was,  she  was  very  much  frightened. 
I  left  her  so  for  a  week  or  two,  and  then,  one  day,  I  went  into  her  cell.  She 
had  greatly  altered  in  her  appearance,  and  looked  very  pale. 

"  I  Well/  said  I,  '  how  do  you  find  yourself,  now  ?' 

"  She  looked  up  into  my  face,  and  shuddered  ;  but  she  said  in  a  calm  voice, 
looking  round  her — 
"<  Where  ami?' 

"  '  You  are  here  V  said  I,  *  and  you'll  be  very  comfortable  if  you  only  take  on 
kindly,  but  you  will  have  a  strait  waistcoat  put  on  you  if  you  do  not/ 

"  '  Good  GodP  she  exclaimed,  clasping  her  hands,  'have  they  put  me  here—- 
in— in  ' 

"  She  could  not  finish  the  sentence,  and  I  supplied  the  word  which  she  did 
not  utter,  and  then  she  screamed  loudlv — 

"  €  Come/  said  I,  '  this  will  never  do  \  you  must  learn  to  be  quiet,  or  you'll 
have  fearful  consequences/ 

"  '  Oh  mercy,  mercy  !  I  will  do  no  wrong  !  What  have  I  done  that  I  should 
be  brought  here  ?— what  have  I  done  ?  They  may  take  all  I  have  if  they  will 
let  me  live  in  freedom.  I  care  not  where  or  how  poor  I  may  be.  Oh,  Henry ! 
Henry ! — if  you  knew  where  I  was,  would  you  not  fly  to  my  rescue  ?  Yes,  you 
would,  you  would !' 

"  '  Ah/  said  I,  4  there  is  no  Henry  here,  and  you  must  be  content  to  do  without 
one/ 

" '  I  could  not  have  believed  that  my  brother  would  have  acted  such  a  base 
J  part.    I  did  not  think  him  wicked,  although  I  knew  him  to  be  selfish,  mean,  and 

'  III  ■  ...  -    ■  .  i  ..  -  .  I      I  I  I     I        I    I  |  H     III     ■  'l  llll  |  ■  I  '        -     '  |  1  ii.  Li  i  I  I  ■  ' 

— — *— '  ■■    ■  !■-  ip  r          i  i  ivr  '■  ■  i 1  •  m-™— f  'ii'i  n  in   i 'Tnri  nr^nniy  iiwirrii^iirc^   


/ 


THE  STRING  OF.  PEARLS.  123 


stern,  yet  I  did  not  think  he  intended  such  wickedness ;  but  he  thinks  to  rob 
me  of  all  my  property  ;  yes,  that  is  the  object  he  has  in  sending  me  here/ 
u  'No  doubt/  said  I. 

]i  "  '  Shall  I  ever  get  out  V  she  inquired,  in  a  pitiful  tone;  '  do  not  say  my  life 
1 1  is  to  be  spent  here!* 

|j     "  '  Indeed  it  is/  said  I ;  €  while  he  lives,  you  will  never  leave  these  walls/ 

"  f  He  shall  not  attain  his  end,  for  I  have  deeds  about  me  that  he  will 
never  be  able  to  obtain ;  indeed,  he  may  kill  me,  but  he  cannot  benefit  by  my 
death/  * 

"  f  W ell/  said  J,  t  it  serves  him  right.  And  how  did  you  manage  that  matter? 
how  did  you  contrive  to  get  the  deeds  away  V 

4t  <  ]\Tever  mind  that ;  it  is  a  small  deed,  and  I  have  secured  it.    I  did  not 
think  he  would  have  done  this  thing ;  but  he  may  yet  relent.    Will  you  aid  me  ? 
I  shall  be  rich,  and  can  pay  you  well/ 
"  'But  your  brother/  said  I. 

" '  Oh,  he  is  rich  without  mine,  but  he  is  over-avaricious ;  but  say  you 
will  help  me — only  help  me  to  get  out,  and  you  shall  be  no  loser  by  the 
affair/ 

41  i  Very  well/  said  I.  1  Will  you  give  me  this  deed  as  a  security  that  you  will 
keep  your  word  f 

"  '  Yes/  she  replied,  drawing  forth  the  deed — a  small  parchment — from 
her  bosom.  4  Take  it ;  and  now  let  me  out.  You  shall  be  handsomely 
rewarded/ 

m  '  Ah  !'  said  I  ;  'but  vou  must  allow  me  first  to  settle  this  matter  with  my 
employers.  You  must  really  be  mad.  We  do  not  hear  of  young  ladies  carrying 
deeds  and  parchments  about  them  when  they  are  in  their  senses/ 

"  '  You  do  not  mean  to  betray  me  V  she  said,  springing  up  wildly  and 
rushing  towards  the  deed,  which  I  carefully  placed  in  my  breast  coat- 
pocket/  .•       ^'-^i^,' ■  %  ■■'■^  ::-  "  'ffi-W-'i 

"  '  Oh  dear  no!  but  I  shall  retain  the  deed,  and  speak  to  your  brother  about 
t  his  matter/  j 
My  God  !  my  God!'  she  exclaimed,  and  then  she  sank  back  on  her  bed, 
and  in  another  moment  she  was  covered  with  blood.  She  had  burst  a  blood- 
vessel. I  sent  for  a  surgeon  and  physician,  and  they  both  gave  it  as  their  opinion 
that  she  could  not  be  saved,  and  that  a  few  hours  would  see  the  last  of  her.  This 
was  the  fact.  She  was  dead  before  another  half  hour,  and  then  I  sent  to  the 
authorities  for  the  purpose  of  burial ;  and,  producing  the  certificate  of  the 
medical  men,  I  had  no  difficulty,  and  she  was  buried  all  comfortably  without  any 
trouble. 

"  i  Well/  thought  I  '  this  is  a  very  comfortable  affair ;  but  it  will  be  more 
profitable  than  I  had  any  idea  of,  and  I  must  get  ray  first  reward  first,  and 
if  there  should  be  any  difficulty,  lhave  the  deed  to  fall  back  upon.    He  came 
down  next  day,  and  appeared  with  rather  a  long  face. 
"<  <  Well/  said  he,  €  how  do  matters  go  on  here  V 
<<  <  Very  well/  said  I,  6  how  is  your  throat  |? 

"  I  thought  he  cast  a  malicious  look  at  me,  as  much  as  to  imply  he  laid  it  all 
to  my  charge. 

"  '  Pretty  well/  he  replied;  'but  I  was  ill  for  three  days.  How  is  the 
patient?' 

H  '  As  well  as  you  could  possibly  wish/  said  I. 

V  'She  takes  it  kindly,  eh?  Well,  I  hardly  expected  it— but  no  matter*  She'll 
be  a  long  while  on  hand,  1  perceive.  You  haven't  tried  the  frightening  system 
yet,  then?' 

"  '  Hadn't  any  need/  I  replied,  putting  the  certificate  of  her  burial  in  his  hand, 
and  he  jumped  as  if  he  had  been  stung  by  an  adder,  and  turned  pale;  but  he 
soon  recovered,  and  smiled  complaisantly  as  he  said 


"  """   r,    -n—  J  II  1    1   ■  •*' 


<<  c 


Ah  !  well  I  see  you  have  been  diligent,  but  I  should  have  liked  to  have  seen 
her,  to  have  asked  her  about  a  missing  deed  ;  but  no  matter/, 
"  '  Now  about  the  two  hundred  pounds/  said  I. 

u  r-^r^y  >  said  he,  '  I  think  one  will  do  when  you  come  to  consider  what  you 
have  received,  and  the  short  space  of  time  and  all :  you  had  a  year's  board  in 
advance / 

"'I  know  I  had;  but  because  I  have  done  more  than  you  expected,  and 
in  a  shorter  time,  instead  of  giving  me  more,  you  have  the  conscience  to  offer 

^No  no,  not  the — the — what  did  you  call  it?— we'll  have  nothing  said  about 
that  —but  here  is  a  hundred  pounds,  and  you  are  well  paid/ 

"''Well/  said  I,  taking  the  money,  '  I  must  have  five  hundred  pounds  at  any 
rate,  and  unless  you  give  it  me,  I  will  tell  other  parties  where  a  certain  deed  is 
to  be  found/ 

"'What  deed?5  ,     ,  , 

"  '  The  one  you  were  alluding  to.    Give  me  four  hundred  more,  and  you  shall 

have  the  deeds/  .  . 

"  After  much  conversation  and  trouble  he  gave  it  to  me,  and  1  gave  him  the 
deed,  with  which  he  was  well  pleased,  but  looked  hard  at  the  money,  and  seemed 

to  grieve  at  it  very  much.  .    v      ■  / 

"  Since  that  time  I  have  heard  that  he  was  challenged  by  his  sister  s  lover, 

and  they  went  out  to  fight  a  duel,  and  he  fell— and  died.    The  lover  went  to  the 

continent,  where  he  has  since  lived. 

"  f  Ah/  said  Sweeney  Todd,  '  you  have  had  decidedly  the  best  of  this  affair : 

nobody  gained  anything  but  you/ 

"  '  Nobody  at  all  that  I  know  of,  save  distant  relations,  and  I  did  very  well  ; 

but  then,  you  know,  I  can't  live  upon  nothing :  it  costs  me  something  to  keep  my 

house  and  cellar,  but  I  stick  to  business,  and  so  I  shall  as  long  as  business  sticks 

to  me/  " 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

COLONEL  JEFFERY  MAKES  ANOTHER    EFFORT  TO    COME  AT    SWEENEY  TODD's 

SECRET.  i  :'  S' 

If  we  were  to  say  that  Colonel  Jeffery  was  satisfied  with  the  state  of  affairs 
as  regarded  the  disappearance  of  his  friend  Thornhill,  or  that  he  /made  up  his 
mind  now  contentedly  to  wait  until  chance,  or  the  mere  progress  of  time,  blew 
something  of  a  more  defined  nature  in  his  way,  we  should  be  doing  that  gentle- 
man a  very  great  injustice  indeed.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  one  of  those  chival- 
rous persons  who  when  they  do  commence  anything,  take  the  most  ample  means 
to  bring  it  to  a  conclusion,  and  are  not  satisfied  that  they  have  made  one  great 
effort,  which,  having  failed,  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  them.  Far  from  this,  he  was 
a  man  who,  when  he  commenced  any  enterprise,  looked  forward  to  but  one  cir- 
cumstance that  could  possibly  end  it,  and  that  was  its  full  and  complete  accom- 
plishment in  every  respect ;  so  that  in  this  affair  of  Mr.  Thornhill,  he  certainly 
did  not  intend  by  any  means  to  abandon  it.  But  he  was  not-  precipitate.  His 
habits  of  military  discipline,  and  the  long  life  he  had  led  in  camps,  where  any- 
thing in  the  shape  of  hurry  and  confusion  is  much  reprobated,  made  him  pause 
before  he  decided  upon  any  particular  course  of  action  ;  and  this  pause  was  not 
one  contingent  upon  a  belief,  or  even  a  surmise  in  the  danger  of  the  course  that 
suggested  itself,  for  such  a  consideration  had  no  effect  whatever  upon  him;  and 
if  some  other  mode  had  suddenly  suggested  itself,  which,  while  it  placed  his  life 
in  the  most  imminent  peril,  would  have  seemed  more  likely  to  accomplish  his 
object,  it  would  have  been  at  once  most  gladly  welcomed.     And  now,  therefore, 


THE  STRING  OF  PEA11LS.  125 


he  set  about  thinking  deeply  over  what  could  possibly  be  done  further  in  a 
matter  that  as  yet  appeared  to  be  involved  in  the  most  profound  of  possible  mys- 
teries. That  the  barber's  boy,  who  had  been  addressed  by  him,  and  by  his 
friend,  the  captain,  knew  something  of  an  extraordinary  character,  which 
fear  prevented  him  from  disclosing,  he  had  no  doubt,  and,  as  the  colonel  re- 
marked — 

"  If  fear  keeps  that  lad  silent  upon  the  subject,  fear  may  make  him  speak ; 
and  I  do  not  see  why  we  should  not  endeavour  to  make  ourselves  a  match  for 
Sweeney  Todd  in  such  a  matter. 

"  What  do  you  propose  then  ?!'  said  the  captain. 

"  I  should  say  that  the  best  plan  would  be,  to  watch  the  barber's  shop,  and 
take  possession  of  the  boy,  as  wre  may  chance  to  find  an  opportunity  of  so 
doing/' 

u  Carry  him  off  ?" 

"  Yes,  certainly ;  and  as  in  all  likelihood  his  fear  of  the  barber  is  but  a 
vissionary  affair  after  all,  it  can  easily,  wrhen  we  have  him  to  ourselves,  be  dis» 
pelled  ;  and  then,  when  he  finds  that  we  can  and  will  protect  him,  we  shall 
hear  all  he  has  to  say."  * 

After  some  further  conversation,  the  plan  was  resolved  upon  ;  and  the  captain 
and  the  colonel,  after  making  a  careful  "  rcconnoissance,"  as  they  called  it,  of 
Fleet-street,  found  that  by  taking  up  a  station  at  the  window  of  a  tavern,  which 
was  nearly  opposite  to  the  barber's  shop,  they  should  be  able  to  take  such 
effectual  notice  of  whoever  went  in  and  came  out,  that  they  would  be  sure  to  see 
the  boy  some  time  during  the  course  of  the  day.  This  plan  of  operations  would 
no  doubt  have  been  greatly  successful,  and  Tobias  would  have  fallen  into  their 
hands,  had  he  not,  alas  !  for  him,  poor  fellow,  already  been  treated  by  Sweeney 
Todd  as  we  have  described  by  being  incarcerated  in  that  fearful  madhouse  on  Peck- 
ham  Rye,  which  was  kept  by  so  unscrupulous  a  personage  as  Fogg.  And  we  cannot 
but  consider  that  it  was  most  unfortunate  for  the  happiness  of  all  those  persons 
in  whose  fate  we  take  so  deep  an  interest— and  in  whom  we  hope,  as  regards  the 
reader,  we  have  likewise  awakened  a  feeling  of  great  sympathy — if  Tobias  had 
not  been  so  infatuated  as  to  make  the  search  he  did  of  the  barber's  house,  but 
had  waited  even  for  twenty-four  hours  before  doing  so  ;  in  that  case,  not  only 
would  he  have  escaped  the  dreadful  doom  which  had  awaited  him,  but  Johanna 
Oakley  would  have  been  saved  from  much  danger  which  afterwards  befel  her. 
But  we  must  not  anticipate  ;  and  the  fearful  adventures  which  it  was  her 
doom  to  pass  through,  before  she  met  with  the  reward  of  her  great  virtue,  and 
her  noble  perseverance  will  speak  for  themselves,  trumpet-tongued  indeed.  It 
was  at  a  very  early  hour  in  the  morning  that  the  two  friends  took  up  their 
station  at  the  public-house  so  nearly  opposite  to  Sweeney  Todd's,  in  Fleet  street ; 
and  then,  having  made  an  arrangement  with  the  landlord  of  the  house,  that 
they  were  to  have  undisturbed  possession  of  the  room  as  long  as  they  liked, 
they  both  sat  at  the  window,  and  kept  an  eye  upon  Todd's  house.  It  was 
during  the  period  of  time  there  spent,  that  Colonel  Jeffery  first  made  the 
captain  acquainted  with  the  fact  of  his  great  affection  for  Johanna,  and  that  in 
her  he  thought  he  had  at  length  fixed  his  wandering  fancy,  and  found,  really, 
the  only  being  with  whom  he  thought  he  could,  m  this  world  taste  the  sweets  of 
domestic  life,  and  know  no  regret. 

"  She  is  all,"  he  said,  46  in  beauty  that  the  warmest  imagination  can  possibly 
picture,  and  along  with  these  personal  charms,  which  certainly  are  most 
peerless,  I  have  seen  enough  of  her  to  feel  convinced  that  she  has  a  mind  of  the 
purest  order  that  ever  belonged  to  any  human  being  in  the  world." 

*4  With  such  sentiments  and  feelings  towards  her,  the  wonder  would  be/' 
said  the  captain,  "  if  you  did  not  love  her,  as  you  now  avow  you  do.'' 

"I  could  not  be  insensible  to  her  attractions.  But,  understand  me,  my  dear 
friend,  I  do  not,  on  account  of  my  own  suddenly-conceived  partiality  for  this 
young  and  beautiful  creature,  intend  to  commit  the  injustice  of  not  trying  might 
and  main,  and  with  heart  and  hand,  to  discover  if,  as  she  supposes,  it  be  true  that 


126  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS, 


Thornhill  and  Mark  Ingestrie  be  one  and  the  same  person ;  and  when  I  say  that 
1  love  her  with  a  depth  and  a  sincerity  of  affection  that  makes  her  happiness  of 
greater  importance  to  me  than  my  own — you  know,  I  think,  enough  of  me  to  feel 
convinced  that  I  am  speaking  only  what  I  really  feel." 

<r  I  can/'  said  the  captain,  "and  I  do  give  you  credit  for  the  greatest  possible 
amount  of  sincerity,  and  I  feel  sufficiently  interested  myself  in  the  future  fate 
of  this  fair  young  creature  to  wish  that  she  may  be  convinced  her  lover  is  no 
more,  and  may  so  much  better  herself,  as  I  am  quite  certain  she  would,  by 
becoming  your  wife ;  for  all  we  can  hear  of  this  Ingestrie  seems  to  prove  that 
he  is  not  the  most  stable-minded  of  individuals  the  world  ever  produced,  and 
perhaps  not  exactly  the  sort  of  man— however,  of  course,  she  may  think  to  the 
contrary,  and  he  may  in  all  sincerity  think  so  likewise  — to  make  such  a  girl  as 
Johanna  Oakley  happy." 

"  I  thank  you  for  the  kind  feeling  towards  me,  my  friend,  which  has  dictated 
that  speech,  but  " 

"  Hush!"  said  the  captain,  suddenly,  "  hush  !  look  at  the  barber  Vi 

ff  The  barber  ?  Sweeney  Todd  V?  il 

u  Yes,  yes,  there  he  is  ;  do  you  not  see  him  ?  There  he  is,  and  he  looks  as  if 
he  had  come  off  a  long  journey.  What  can  he  have  been  about,  I  wonder  ?  He 
is  draggled  in  mud  1" 

Yes,  there  was  Sweeney  Todd,  opening  his  shop  from  the  outside  with  a  key, 
that  after  a  vast  amount  of  fumbling,  he  took  from  his  pocket ;  and,  as  the  captain 
said,  he  did  indeed  look  as  if  he  had  come  off  a  long  journey,  for  he  was  draggled 
with  mud,  and  his  appearance  altogether  was  such  as  to  convince  any  one  that 
he  must  have  been  out  in  most  of  the  heavy  rain  which  had  fallen  during  the 
early  part  of  the  morning  upon  London  and  its  suburbs.  And  this  was  just  the 
fact,  for  after  staying  with  the  madhouse-keeper  in  the  hope  that  the  bad  weather 
which  had  set  in  would  be  alleviated,  he  had  been  compelled  to  give  up  all 
chance  of  such  a  thing,  and  as  no  conveyance  of  any  description  was  to  be  had,  he 
enjoyed  the  pleasure,  if  it  could  be  called  such,  of  walking  home  up  to  his  knees 
in  the  mud  of  that  dirty  neighbourhood.  It  was,  however,  some  satisfaction  to 
him  to  feel  that  he  had  got  rid  of  Tobias,  who,  from  what  he  had  done  as 
regarded  the  examination  of  the  house,  had  become  extremely  troublesome 
indeed,  and  perhaps  the  most  serious  enemy  that  Sweeney  Todd  had  ever 
had. 

V  Ha i"  he  said,  as  he  came  within  sight  of  his  shop  in  Fleet-street, — "  ha  !" 
Master  Tobias  is  safe  enough  ;  he  will  give  me  no  more  trouble,  that  is  quite 
clear.  What  a  wonderfully  convenient  thing  it  is  to  have  such  a  friend  as  Fogg, 
who  for  a  consideration  will  do  sb  much  towards  ridding  one  of  an  uncomfortable 
encumbrance.  It  is  possible  enough  that  that  boy  might  have  compassed  my 
destruction.  I  wish  I  dared  now  chance,  with  the  means  I  have  for  the  sale  of 
the  string  of  pearls,  joined  to  my  other  resources,  leaving  business,  and  so  not  be 
obliged  to  run  the  risk  and  have  the  trouble  of- another  boy/' 

Yes,  Sweeney  Todd  would  have  been  glad  now  to  shut  up  his  shop  in  Fleet- 
street  at  once  and  for  ever,  but  he  dreaded  that  when  John  Mundel  found  that 
h&  customer  did  not  come  back  to  him  to  redeem  the  pearls,  that  he  (John 
Mundel)  would  proceed  to  sell  them,  and  that  then  their  beauty  and  great 
worth  would  excite  much  attention,  and  some  one  might  come  forward  who 
knew  more  about  their  early  history  than  he  did. 

•M  must  keep  quiet,"  he  thought, — "I  must  keep  quiet;  for  although  I 
think  I  was  pretty  well  disguised,  and  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  any  one—no, 
not  even  the  acute  John  Mundel  himself — would  recognise  in  Sweeney  Todd) 
the  poor  barber  of  Fleet-street,  the  nobleman  who  came  from  the  queen  to  borrow 
£8,000  upon  a  string  of  pearls;  yet  there  is  a  remote  possibility  of  danger; 
and  should  there  be  a  disturbance  about  the  precious  stones,  it  is  better  that  I 
should  remain  in  obscurity  until  that  disturbance  is  completely  over." 

This  was  no  doubt  admirable  policy  on  the  part  of  Todd,  who,  although  he 
found  himself  a  rich  man,  had  not,  as  many  people  do  when  they  make  that^most 


V-,i  v  mil  n-  y  m  Mini  jiwi-i.,1.,,  i,  „ .  i.. ,  .   ,  ,    -  ,  ,-„-  .,  „,..,.„,,    ,  „  ,,,,„!„ ,,w.i»r,M<,nw,.aiiW^iia,>fi-.)imitMiiiii.)  .in^mi,,,      i*. .1  m>*»iii>  i  i  ■■  .»■-■       ■  ,., .-, h^v^ts* Him*-*** ..WtW. mm* 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  '  127 


gratifying  and  interesting  discovery,  forgotten  all  the  prudence  and  tact  that 
made  him  'one  of  that  most  envied  class  of  personages.  He  was  some  few 
minutes  before  he  could  get  the  key  to  turn  in  the  lock  of  his  street  door,  but  at 
length  he  effected  that  object  and  disappeared  from  before  the  eyes  of  the  colonel 
and  his  friend  into  his  own  house,  arid  the  door  was  instantly  again  closed  upon 
him. 

"Well,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  "what  do  you  think  of  that?" 
"  I  don't  know  what  to  think,  further  than  that  your  friend  Todd  has  been 
out  of  town,  as  the  state  of  his  boots  abundantly  testifies." 

^  "They  do,  indeed,  and  he  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  a  considerable 
distance,  for  the  mud  that  is  upon  his  boots  is  not  London  mud." 

"Certainly  not ;  it  is  quite  of  a  different  character  altogether.  But  see,  he  is 
coming  out  again." 

Sweeney  Todd  strode  out  of  his  house,  bareheaded  now,  and  proceeded  to 
take  down  the  shutters  of  his  shop,  which,  there  being  but  three,  he  accom- 
plished in  a  few  seconds  of  time,  a^ad  walked  in  again  with  them  in  his  hand, 
along  with  the  iron  bar  which  had  secured  them,  and  which  he  had  released  from 
the  inside*  This  was  all  the  ceremony  that  took  place  at  the  opening  of  Sweeney 
Todd's  shop,  and  the  only  surprise  our  friends,  who  were  at  the  public-house 
window,  had  upon  the  subject  was,  that  having  a  boy,  he,  Todd,  should  con- 
descend to  make  himself  so  useful  as  to  open  his  own  shcp.  And  nothing  could 
be  seen  of  the  lad,  although  the  hour,  surely,  for  his  attendance  must  have 
arrived  ;  and  Todd,  equally  surely,  was  not  the  sort  of  man  to  be  so  indulgent  to 
a  boy,  whom  he  employed  to  make  himself  generally  useful,  as  to  allow  him  to 
come  when  all  the  dirty  work  of  the  early  morning  was  over.  But  yet  such  to 
all  appearance  would  seem  to  be  the  case,  for  presently  Todd  appeared  with  a 
broom  in  his  hand,  sweeping  out  his  shop  with  a  rapidity  and  a  vengeance  which 
seemed  to  say,  that  he  did  not  perform  that  operation  with  the  very  best  grace 
in  the  world. 

€€  Where  can  the  boy  be  ?"  said  the  captain.  €t  Do  you  know,  little  reason  as 
I  may  really  appear  to  have  for  such  a  supposition,  I  cannot  help  in  my  own 
mind  connecting  Todd's  having  been  out  of  town  somehow  with  the  fact  of  that 
boy's  non-appearance  this  morning." 

"  Indeed  ! — the  coincidence  is  curious,  for  such  was  my  own  thought  likewise 
upon  the  occasion  ;  and  the  more  I  do  think  of  it,  the  more  I  feel  convinced 
that  such  must  be  the  case,  and  that  our  wratch  will  be  a  fruitless  one  com- 
pletely* Is  it  likely — for  possible  enough  it  is — that  the  villain  has  found  out 
that  we  have  been  asking  some  questions  of  the  boy,  and  has  thought  proper  to 
take  his  life  ?' 

"  Do  not  let  us  go  too  far,"  said  the  captain,  "in  mere  conjecture;  recollect 
that  as  yet,  let  us  suspect  what  we  may,  we  know  nothing,  and  that  the  mere 
facts  of  our  not  being  able  to  trace  Thornhill  beyond  the  shop  of  this  man,  will 
not  oe  sufficient  to  found  an  action  upon." 

*<  I  know  all  that,  and  I  feel  how  very  cautious  we  must  be ;  and  yet  to  my 
mind  the  whole  of  the  circumstances  have  been  day  by  day  assuming 
a  most  hideous  air  of  probability,  and  I  look  upon  Todd  as  a  murderer 
already." 

u  Shall  we  continue  our  watch  r" 

u  I  scarcely  see  its  utilitf .  Perchance  we  may  see  some  proceedings  which 
may  interest  us  ;  but  1  have  a  powerful  impression  that  we  certainly  shall  not 
see  the  boy  we  want.  But,  at  all  events,  the  barber,  you  perceive,  has  a  customer 
already." 

As  they  looked  across  the  way,  they  saw  a  well  dressed  looking  man,  who, 
from  a  certain  air  and  manner  wdiich  he  had,  could  be  detected  not  to  be  a  Lon- 
doner. He  rather  resembled  some  substantial  yeoman,  who  had  come  to  town 
to  pay  or  to  receive  money,  and,  as  he  came  near  to  Sweeney  Todd's  shop  he 
might  have  been  observed  to  stroke  his  chin,  as  debating  in  his  mind  the  necessity 
or  otherwise  of  a  shave.    The  debate,  if  it  were  taking  place  in  his  m  ind,  ended 


128 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


W iMIPit' 


by  the  ayes  having  it,  for  he  walked  into  Todd's  shop,  being  most  unquestion- 
ably the  first  customer  which  he  had  had  that  morning.  Situated  as  the  colonel 
and  his  friend  were,  they  could  not  see  into  Todd's  shop,  even  if  the  door  had 
been  opened,  but  they  saw  that  after  the  customer  had  been  in  for  a  few  moments, 
it  was  closed,  so  that,  had  they  been  close  to  it,  all  the  interior  of  the  shaving 
establishment  would  have  been  concealed.  They  felt  no  great  degree  of  interest 
in  this  man,  who  wras  a  commonplace  personage  enough,  who  had  entered 
Sweeney  Todd's  shop  ;  but  when  an  unreasonable  time  had  elapsed,  and  he  did 
not  come  out,  they  did  begin  to  feel  a  little  uneasy.  And  when  another  man, 
went  in  and  was  only  about  five  minutes  before  he  emerged,  shaved,  and  yet 
the  first  man  did  not  come,  they  knew  not  what  to  make  of  it,  and  looked  at  each 
other  for  some  few  moments  in  silence.  At  length  the  colonel  spoke—- and  he 
did  so  in  a  tone  of  excitement,  saying — 

"My  friend,  have  we  waited  here  for  nothing  now  ?  What  can  have  become 
of  that  man  whom  we  saw  go  into  the  barber's  shop ;  but  who,  I  suppose,  we  feel 
ourselves  to  be  in  a  condition  to  take  our  oaths  never  came  out  ?" 

"  I  could  take  my  oath ;  and  what  conclusion  can  we  come  to  ?" 

"None,  but  that  he  met  his  death  there  ;  and  that,  let  his  fate  be  what  it  may, 
it  is  the  same  which  poor  Thornhiilhas  suffered.  I  can  endure  this  no  longer. 
Do  you  stay  here,  and  let  me  go  alone." 

"Not  for  worlds — you  would  rush  into  an  unknown  danger;  you  cannot 
know  what  may  be  the  powers  of  mischief  that  man  possesses.  You  shall 
not  go  alone,  colonel,  you  shall  not  indeed  ;  but  something  must  be  done." 

"  Agreed  ;  and  yet  that  something  surely  need  not  be  of  the  desperate  cha- 
racter you  meditate." 

"  Desperate  emergencies  require  desperate  remedies  ;  and  yet  I  think  that  in 
this  case  everything  is  to  be  lost  by  precipitation,  and  nothing  is  to  be  gained. 
We  have  to  do  with  one  who,  to  all  appearance,  is  keen  and  subtle,  and  if  any- 
thing is  to  Se  accomplished  contrary  to  his  wishes,  it  is  not  to  be  done  by  that 
open  career,  which  for  its  own  sake,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  both  you  and 
I  would  gladly  embrace." 

"  Well,  well,"  said  the  colonel,  "  I  do  not  and  will  not  say  but  you  are  right." 

"  I  know  I  am — I  am  certain  i  am  ;  and  now  hear  me  :  I  think  we  have  gone 
quite  far  enough  unaided  in  this  transaction,  and  that  it  is  time  we  drew  some 
others  into  the  plot," 

"  I  do  not  understand  what  you  mean." 

"I  will  soon  explain.  I  mean,  that  if  in  the  pursuit  of  this  enterprise, 
which  grows  each  moment  to  my  mind  more  serious,  anything  should  happen  to 
you  and  me,  it  is  absolutely  frightful  to  think  that  there  would  then  be  an  end 
of  it." 

"  True,  true ;  and  as  for  poor  Johanna  and  her  friend  Arabella,  what  could 
thev  do  r" 

"Nothing,  but  expose  themselves  to  great  danger.  Come,  now,  colonel,  I  am 
glad  to  see  that  we  understand  each  other  better  about  this  Dusiness  ;  you  have 
heard,  of  course,  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  ?" 

u  Sir  Richard  Blunt — Blunt — oh,  you  mean  the  magistrate  ?" 

"  1  do  ;  and  what  I  propose  is  that  we  have  a  private  and  confidential  in- 
terview with  him  about  the  matter — that  we  make  him  possessed  of  all 
the  circumstances,  and  take  his  advice  what  to  do.  The  result  of  placing 
the  affair  in  such  hands  will,  at  all  events,  be  that  if,  in  anything  we  may 
attempt,  we  may  by  force  or  fraud  be  overpowered,  we  shall  not  fall  wholly 
unavenged." 

"  Reason  backs  your  proposition." 

"  I  knew  it  would,  when  you  came  to  reflect.  Oh,  Colonel  Jeffery,  you  are 
.too  much  a  creature  of  impulse." 

"  Well,"  said  the  colonel,  half  jestingly,  "  I  must  say  that  I  do  not  think  the 
accusation  comes  well  from  you,  for  I  have  certainly  seen  you  do  some  rather 
impulsive  t  lings,  I  think/ 


if*.* 


longer. 

103  sit 

ate  da- 

*  nined 
.  /  toy. 


■ 


i*  nmJL 


,tiiliii' 


pi 


m 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


129 


"  We  won't  dispute  about  that  ;  but  since  you  think  with  me  upon  the 
matter,  you  will  have  no  objection  to  accompany  me  at  once  to  Sir  Richard 
Blunt's  ?" 

"  None  in  the  least ;  on  the  contrary,  if  anything  is  to  be  done  at  all,  for 
Heaven's  sake  let  it  be  done  quickly.    I  am  quite  convinced  that  some  fearful 


\  THE  BAKBSR^CARRIB^  OFF  TOBIAS  TO  A  PRIVATE  MAD- HOUSE* 

-  *  *  i  if  r  ' 

tragedy  is  in  progress,  and  that,  if  we  are  not  most  prompt  in  our  measures,  we 
shall  be  too  late  to  counteract  its  dire  influence  upon  the  fortunes  of  those  in  whom 
we  have  become  deeply  interested/' 

"  Agreed,  agreed !    Come  this  waV,  and  let  us  now  for  a  brief  space,  at  all 
events,  leave  Mr.  Todd  and  his  shop  to  take  care  of  each  other,  while  we  take 
effectual  means  of  circumventing  him.    Why  do  you  linger  ?" 


an 


No,  17, 


.u-u  .  J'MWH»MWWWWWMW  11 »'  iin'l""~tiTrT^^-^v-"m  '-ir — 


B  I  do  linger.    Some  mysterious  influence  seems  to  chain  me  to  the  spot." 
"  Some  mysterious  fiddlestick  !    Why,  you  are  getting  superstitious,  colonel." 
*'  No,  no !    Well,  I  suppose  I  must  come  with  you.    Lead  the  way,  lead 
the  way  ;  and  believe  me  that  it  requires  all  my  reason  to  induce  me  'to  give 
up  a  hope  of  making  some  important  discovery  by  going  to  Sweeney  Todd's 
shop." 

" Yes,  you  might  make  an  important  discovery;  and  only  suppose  now  that 
the  discovery  you  did  make  was  that  he  murdered  some  of  his  customers.  If 
he  does  so,  you  may  depend  that  such  a  man  takes  good  care  to  do  the  deed 
effectually,  and  you  might  make  the  discovery  just  a  little  too  late.  You  under- 
stand that  ?" 

€€  I  do,  I  do.  Come  along,  for  I  positively  declare,  that  if  we  see  anybody 
else  go  into  the  barber's,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  resist  rushing  forward  at  once, 
and  giving  an  alarm." 

It  was  certainly  a  good  thing  that  the  colonel's  friend  was  not  quite  so 
enthusiastic  as  he  was,  or  from  what  we  happen  actually  to  know  of  Sweeney 
Todd,  and  from  what  we  suspect,  the  greatest  amount  of  danger  might  have 
befallen  Jeffery,  and  instead  of  being  in  a  position  to  help  others  in  unravelling 
the  mysteries  connected  with  Sweeney  Todd's  establishment,  he  might  himself 
have  been  past  all  help,  and  most  absolutely  one  of  the  mysteries.  But  such 
was  not  to  be. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

TOBIAS  MAKES  AN  ATTEMPT  TO  ESCAPE  PROM  THE 


We  cannot  find  it  in  our  hearts  to  force  upon  the  mind  of  tlie  reader  the 


terrible  condition  of  poor  Tobias.  No  one,  certainly,  of  all  the  _ 
son®  of  our  tale,  is  suffering  so  much  as  he ;  and,  consequently,  we  feel  it  to  be 
a  sort  of  duty  to  come  to  a  consideration  of  his  thoughts  and  feelings  as  he  lay 
in  that  dismal  cell,  in  the  madhouse  at  Peckham  Rye.  Certainly  Tobias  Ragg 
was  as  sane  as  any  ordinary  Christian  need  wish  to  be,  when  the  scoundrel, 
Sweeney  Todd,  put  him  into  the  coach  to  take  him  to  Mr.  Fogg's  establish- 
ment ;  but  if  by  any  ingenious  process  the  human  interlect  can  be  toppled  from 
its  throne,  certainly  that  process  must  consist  in  putting  a  sane  person  into  a 
lunatic  asylum.  To  the  imagination  of  a  boy,  too,  and  that  boy  one  of  vivid 
imagination,  as  was  poor  Tobias,  a  madhouse  must  be  invested  with  a  world  of 
terrors.  That  enlarged  experience  which  enables  persons  of  more  advanced  age 
to  shake  off  much  of  the  unreal,  which  seemed  so  strangely  to  take  up  its  abode 
in  the  mind  of  the  young  Tobias,  had  not  reached  him  ;  and  no  wonder, 
therefore,  that  to  him  his  present  situation  was  one  of  acute  and  horrible 
misery  and  suffering. 

He  lay  for  a  long  time  in  the  gloomy  dungeon-like  cell  into  which  he  had 
been  thrust,  in  a  kind  of  stupor,  which  might  or  might  not  be  the  actual  pre- 
cursor of  insanity,  although,  certainly,  the  chances  were  all  in  favour  of  being 
so.  For  many  hours  he  neither  moved  hand  nor  foot,  and  as  it  was  a  part  of 
the  policy  of  Mr.  Fogg  to  leave  well  alone,  as  he  said,  he  never  interfered,  by 
any  intrusive  offers  of  refreshment,  with  the  quiet  or  the  repose  of  his  patients. 
Tobias,  therefore,  if  he  had  chosen  to  remain  as  still  as  an  Indian  fakir,  might 
have  died  in  one  position,  without  any  remonstrances  from  any  one.  It  would 
be  quite  an  impossibility  to  describle  the  strange  visionary  thoughts  and  scenes 
that  passed  through  the  mind  of  Tobias  during  this  period.  It  seemed  as  if  his 
intellect  was  engulphed  in  the  charmed  waters  of  some  whirlpool,  and  that  all 
the  different  scenes  and  actions  which,  tinder  ordinary  circumstances,  would 
have  been  clear  and  distinct,  were  mingled  together  in  inextricable  confusion. 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  131 


la  the  midst  of  all  this,  at  length,  he  began  to  be  conscious  of  one  particular 
impression  or  feeling,  and  that  was,  that  some  one  was  singing  in  a  low,  soft 
voice,  very  near  to  him.  This  feeling,  strange  as  it  was  in  such  a  place, 
momentarily  increased  in  volume,  until  at  length  it  began  in  its  intensity  to 
absorb  almost  every  other  ;  and  he  gradually  awakened  from  the  sort  of  stupor 
that  had  come  over  him.  Yes  some  one  was  singing.  It  was  a  female  voice,  he 
was  sure  of  that,  and  as  his  mind  became  more  occupied  with  that  one  subject 
of  thought,  and  his  perceptive  faculties  became  properly  exercised,  his  intellect 
altogether  assumed  a  healthier  tone.  He  could  not  distinguish  the  words  that 
were  sung,  but  the  voice  itself  was  very  sweet  and  musical ;  and  as  Tobias 
listened,  he  felt  as  if  the  fever  of  his  blood  was  abating,  and  that  healthier 
thoughts  were  taking  the  place  of  those  disordered  fancies  that  had  held  sway 
within  the  chambers  of  his  brain. 

"  What  sweet  sounds  l"  he  said.  "Oh!  I  do  hope  that  singing  will  go  on. 
I  fee!  happier  to  hear  it ;  I  do  so  hope  it  will  continue.  What  sweet  music ! 
Oh,  mother,  mother,  if  you  could  but  see  me  now!" 

He  pressed  his  hands  over  his  eyes,  but  he  could  not  stop  the  gush  of  tears 
tKat  came  from  them,  and  which  would  trickle  through  his  fingers.  Tobias  did 
not  wish  to  weep  ;  but  those  tears,  after  all  the  horrors  of  the  night,  did  him  a 
world  of  good,  and  he  felt  wonderfully  better  after  they  had  been  shed.  Moreover, 
the  voice  kept  singing  without  intermission. 

"  Who  can  it  be/'  thought  Tobias,  "  that  don't  tire  with  so  much  of  it." 

Still  the  singer  continued  ;  but  now  and  then  Tobias  felt  certain  that  a  very 
wild  note  or  two  was  mingled  with  the  ordinary  melody;  and  that  bred  a  sus- 
picion in  his  mind,  which  gave  him  a  shudder  to  think  of,  namely,  that  the  singer 
was  mad. 

<c  It  must  be  so/'  said  he.  "  No  one  in  their  senses  could  or  would  continue 
for  so  long  a  period  of  time  such  strange  snatches  of  song.  Alas  !  alas!  it  is 
some  one  who  is  really  mad,  and  confined  for  life  in  this  dreadful  place  ;  for  life 
do  I  say,  am  not  I  too  confined  for  life  here  ?    Oh  !  help  !  help !  help  V9 

Tobias  called  out  in  so  loud  a  tone,  that  the  singer  of  the  sweet  strains  that 
had  for  a  time  lulled  him  to  composure,  heard  him,  and  the  strains  which  had 
before  been  redolent  of  the  softest  and  sweetest  melody,  suddenly  changed  to 
the  most  terrific  shrieks  that  can  be  imagined.  In  vain  did  Tobias  place  his 
hands  over  his  ears^  to  shut  out  the  horrible  sounds.  They  would  not  be  shut 
out,  but  ran,  as  it  were,  into  every  crevice  of  his  brain,  nearly  driving  him  dis- 
tracted by  their  vehemence.  But  hoarser  tones  soon  came  upon  his  ears,  and  he 
heard  the  loud,  rough  voice  of  a  man  say — 

"  What,  do  you  want  the  whip  so  early  this  morning?  The  whip — do  you 
understand  that  r* 

These  words  were  followed  by  the  iashing  of  what  must  have  been  a  heavy 
carter's  whip,  and  then  the  shrieks  died  away  in  deep  groans,  every  one  of  which 
went  to  the  heart  of  poor  Tobias. 

"I  can  never  live  amid  all  these  horrors,"  he  said.  "Oh,  why  don't  you  kill 
me  at  once  ?  it  would  be  much  bettei,  and  much  more  merciful.  I  can  never 
live  long  here.    Help!  help!  help!" 

When  he  shouted  this  word  "  help,"  it  was  certainly  not  with  the  most  distant 
idea  of  getting  any  help,  but  it  was  a  word  that  came  at  once  uppermost  to 
his  tongue ;  and  so  he  called  it  out  with  all  his  might,  that  he  should  attract 
the  attention  of  some  one;  for  the  solitude,  and  the  almost  total  darkness  of  the 
place  he  was  in,  was  beginning  to  fill  him  with  new  dismay.  There  was  a  faint 
light  in  the  cell,  which  made  him  know  the  difference  between  day  and  night; 
but  where  that  faint  light  came  from  he  could  not  tell,  for  he  could  see  no  grating 
or  opening  whatever  ;  but  yet  that  was  in  consequence  of  his  eyes  not  being  fully 
accustomed  to  the  obscurity  of  the  place ;  otherwise  he  would  have  seen  that 
close  up  to  the  roof  there  was  a  narrow  aperture,  certainly  not  larger  than  any 
one  could  have  passed  a  hand  through,  although  of  some  four  or  five  feet  in 
length  ;  and  from  a  passage  beyond  that,  there  came  the  dim  borrowed  light 


132  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  : 

which  made  darkness  visible  in  Tobias's  cell.  With  a  kind  of  desperation,  heed- 
less of  what  might  be  the  result,  Tobias  continued  to  call  aloud  for  help ;  and 
after  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  he  heard  the  sound  of  a  heavy  footstep.  Some 
one  was  coming ;  yes,  surely  some  one  was  coming,  and  he  was  not  to  be  left  to 
starve  to  death.  Oh,  how  intently  he  now  listened  to  every  sound,  indicative 
of  the  near  approach  of  whoever  it  was  who  was  coming  to  his  prison- 
house.  Now  he  heard  the  lock  move,  and  a  heavy  bar  of  iron  was  let  down 
with  a  clanging  sound. 

"Help!  help!55  he  cried  again,  "help!  help!"  for  he  feared  that  whoever  it  was 
they  might  even  yet  go  away  again  after  making  so  much  progress  to  get  at 
him.  The  cell  door  was  flung  open,  and  the  first  intimation  that  poor  Tobias 
got  of  the  fact  of  his  cries  having  been  heard,  consisted  in  a  lash  with  a  whip, 
which,  if  it  had  struck  him  as  fully  as  it  was  intended  to  do,  would  have  done 
him  serious  injury. 

u  So,  do  you  want  it  already  ?"  said  the  same  voice  he  had  before  heard, 

"  Oh  no — mercy !  mercy  !"  said  Tobias. 

"Oh,  that's  it  now,  is  it?  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  if  we  have  any  disturbance 
here,  this  is  the  persuader  to  silence  that  we  always  use  :  what  do  you  think  of 
that  for  an  argument,  eh  ?" 

As  he  spoke,  the  man  gave  the  whip  a  loud  smack  in  the  air,  and  confirmed 
the  truth  of  the  argument,  by  inducing  poor  Tobias  to  absolute  silence;  indeed 
the  boy  trembled  so  that  he  could  not  speak.  .  ! 

"  Well,  now,  my  man,"  added  the  fellow,  u  I  think  we  understand  each  other. 
What  do  you  want  ?" 

"  Oh,  let  me  go,"  said  Tobias,  "let  me  go.  I  will  tell  nothing.  Say  to  Mr. 
Todd  that  I  will  do  what  he  pleases,  and  tell  nothing,  only  let  me  go  out  of 
this  dreadful  place.  Have  mercy  upon  me — I  am  not  at  all  mad— indeed  I 
am  not." 

The  man  closed  the  door,  as  he  whistled  a  lively  tune.  ^  rv 

'  sw*  »i*   < 

CHAPTER  XXVI.  ] 

|?     THE  MADHOUSE  YARD,  AND  TOBIAS'S  NEW  FRIEND. 

This  sudden  retreat  of  the  man  was  unexpected  by  Tobias,  who  at  least 
thought  it  was  the  practice  to  feed  people,  even  if  they  were  confined  to  such  a 
place ;  but  the  unceremonious  departure  of  the  keeper,  without  so  much  as 
mentioning  anything  about  breakfast,  began  to  make  Tobias  think  that  the  plan 
by  which  he  was  to  be  got  rid  of  was  starvation  ;  and  yet  that  was  impossible, 
for  hoav  easy  it  was  to  kill  him  if  they  felt  so  disposed. 

"  Oh,  no,  no,"  he  repeated  to  himself,  u  surely  they  will  not  starve  me 
to  death." 

As  he  uttered  these  words,  he  heard  the  plaintive  singing  commence  again ; 
and  he  could  not  help  thinking  that  it  sounded  like  some  requiem  for  the  dead, 
and  that  it  was  a  sort  of  signal  that  his  hours  were  numbered.  Despair  again 
began  to  take  possession  of  him,  and  despite  the  savage  threats  of  the  keeper, 
he  would  again  have  loudly  called  for  help,  had  he  not  become  conscious  that 
there  were  footsteps  close  at  hand.  By  dint  of  listening  most  intently  he  heard 
a  number  of  doors  opened  and  shut,  and  sometimes  when  one  was  opened  there 
was  a  shriek,  and  the  lashing  of  the  whips,  which  very  soon  succeeded  in  drown- 
ing all  other  noises.  It  occurred  to  Tobias,  and  correctly  too,  for  such  was  the 
fact,  that  the  inmates  of  that  most  horrible  abode  were  living,[like  so  many  wild 
beasts,  in  cages  fed.  Then  he  thought  how  strange  it  wasjthat  even  for  any 
amount  of  money  human  beings  could  be  got  to  do  the  work  of  such  an  es- 
tablishment. And  by  the  time  Tobias  had  made  this  reflection  to  himself,  his  1 
own  door  was  once  more  opened  upon  its  rusty  hinges.    There  was  the  flash  of  | 


\ 


^  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  133 

a  light,  and  then  a  man  came  in  with  a  water-can  in  his  hand,  tcTwhlch  there 
was  a  long  spout,  and  this  he  placed  to  the  mouth  of  Tobias,  who  fearing  that 
if  he  did  not  drink  then  he  might  be  a  long  time  without,  swallowed  some  not  over- 
savoury  ditch  water,  as  it  seemed  to  him,  which  was  thus  brought  to  him.  A 
coarse,  brown-looking,  hard  loaf  was  then  thrown  at  his  feet,  and  the  party  was 
about  to  leave  his  cell,  but  he  could  not  forbear  speaking,  and  in  a  voice  of  the 
most  supplicating  earnestness  he  said — 

"Oh,  do  not  keep  me  here.*  Let  me  go,  and  I  will  say  nothing  of  Todd.  I 
will  go  to  sea  at  once  if  you  will  let  me  out  of  this  place,  indeed  I  will ;  but  I 
shall  really  go  mad  here  V* 

"  Good  that,  Watson,  ain't  it  ?"  said  Mr.  Fogg,  who  happened  to  be  one  of  the 
party. 

u  Very  good,  sir.  Lord  bless  you,  the  cunning  of  'em  is  beyond  anything  in 
the  world,  sir ;  you'd  be  surprised  at  what  they  say  to  me  sometimes/* 

"But  I'm  not  mad — indeed  I'm  not  mad  !"  cried  Tobias. 

"  Oh,"  said  Fogg,  "  it's  a  bad  case  I'm  afraid  ;  the  strongest  proof  of  insanity 
in  my  opinion,  Watson,  is  the  constant  reiteration  of  the  statement  that  he  is 
not  mad  on  the  part  of  a  lunatic.    Don't  you  think  it  is  so,  Mr.  Watson  ?" 

"  Oh,  of  course,  sir,  of  course." 

"  Ah !  I  thought  you  would  be  of  that  opinion  ;  but  I  suppose  as  this  is  a 
mere  lad,  we  may  do  without  chaining  him  up  ;  and,  besides,  you  know  that  to- 
day is  inspection  day,  when  we  get  an  old  fool  of  a  superannuated  physician  to 
make  us  a  visit." 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Watson,  with  a  grin,  "and  a  report  that  all  is  well 
conducted."  • 

"  Exactly.  Who  shall  we  have  this  time,  do  you  think  ?  I  always  give  a  ten 
guinea  fee." 

"  Why,  sir,  there's  old  Dr.  Popplejoy,  he's  84  years  old,  they  say,  and  sand 
blind  ;  he'll  take  it  as  a  great  compliment,  he  will,  and  no  doubt  we  can  humbug 
him  easily/' 

"  I  dare  say  we  may ;  I'll  see  to  it ;  and  we  will  have  him  at  twelve  o'clock, 
Watson.  You  will  take  care  to  have  everything  ready,  of  course,  you  know  ; 
make  all  the  usual  preparations." 

Tobias  was  astonished  that  before  him  they  chose  thus  to  speak  so  freely, 
but  despairing  as  he  was,  he  little  knew  how  completely  he  was  in  the  power  of 
Mr.  Fogg,  and  how  utterly  he  was  shut  out  from  all  human  sympathy.  Tobias 
said  nothing  ;  but  he  could  not  help  thinking  that,  however  old  and  stupid  the£ 
physician  whom  they  mentioned  might  be,  surely  there  was  a  hope  that  he 
would  be  able  to  discover  Tobias's  perfect  sanity.  But  the  wily  Mr.  Fogg 
knew  perfectly  well  what  he  was  about,  and  when  he  retired  to  his  own  room, 
he  wrote  the  following  note  to  Dr.  Popplejoy,  who  was  a  retired  physician,  who 
had  purchased  a  country  house  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  note  will  speak  for 
itself,  being  as  fine  a  specimen  of  hypocrisy  as  we  can  ever  expect  to  lay  before 
our  readers — 

"The  Asylum,  Peckham. 

«  Sir, — Probably  you  may  recognise  my  name  as  that  of  the  keeper  of  a 
lunatic  asylum  in  this  neighbourhood.  Consistent  with  a  due  regard  for  the 
safety  of  that  most  unhappy  class  of  the  community  submitted  to  my  care, 
I  am  most  anxious,  with  the  blessing  of  Divine  Providence,  to  ameliorate  as  far 
as  possible,  by  kindness,  that  most  shocking  of  all  calamities— insanity.  Once 
a  year  it  is  my  custom  to  call .  in  some  experienced,  able,  and  enlightened 
physician  to  see  my  patients  (I  enclose  a  fee)— a  physician  who  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  establishment,  and  therefore  cannot  be  biassed.  If  you,  sir, 
would  do  me  the  favour  at  about  twelve  o'clock  to-day,  to  make  a  short  visit  of 
inspection,  I  shall  esteem  it  a  great  honour,  as  well  as  a  great  favour. 

«  Believe  me  to  be,  sir,  with  the  most  profound  respect,  your  most  obedient 
and  humble  servant,  "  O.-  D.  Fogg." 

"  To  Dr.  Popplejoy,  &c." 


-.if-**- 


.  134  THE  STitlNG  OP  PEARLS.  

This  note,  as  might  be  expectedTbrought  the  old  purblind,  superannuated  Dr. 
Popplejoyto  the  asylum,  and  Mr.  Fogg^  received  him  in  due  form,  and  with 
great  gravity,  saying,  almost  with  tears  in  his  eyes— 

"  My  dear  sir, 'the  whole  aim  of  my  existence  now,  is  to  endeavour  to  soften 

I the  rigours  of  the  necessary  confinement  of  the  insane,  and  I  wish  this  inspec- 
tion of  my  establishment  to  be  made  by  you  in  order  that  I  may  thus  for  a  time 
stand  clear  with  the  world— with  my  own  conscience  lam,  of  course,  always 
clear ;  and  if  your  report  be  satisfactory  about  the  treatment  of  the  unhappy 
persons  I  have  here,  not  the  slightest  breath  of  slander  can  touch  me," 

"  Oh  yes,  yes/'  said  the  old  garrulous  physician  ,  "  I— I— very  good— eugh, 
eugh — I  have  a  slight  cough." 

"  A  very  slight  one,  sir.  Will  you,  first  of  all,  take  a  look  at  one  of  the  sleep- 
ing chambers  of  the  insane  ?" 

The  doctor  agreed,  and  Mr.  Fogg  led  him  into  a  very  comfortable  sleeping- room, 
which  the  old  gentleman  declared  was  very  satisfactory  indeed,  and  when  they 
returned  to  the  apartment  into   which  they  had  already  been,   Mr.  Fogg 

said —  •  ^ 

"  Well  then,  sir,  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  bring  in  the  patients,  one  by  one, 
to  you  as  fast  as  we  can,  so  as  not  to  occupy  more  of  your  valuable  time  than 
necessary ;  and  any  questions  you  ask  will,  no  doubt,  be  answered,  and  I,  being 
by,  can  give  you  the  heads  of  any  case  that  may  excite  your  especial  notice.51 
"Exactly,  exactly.  I— I— quite  correct.  Eugh— eugh !,} 
The  old  man  was  placed  in  a  chair  of  state,  reposing  on  some  very  comfortable 
cushions  ;  and  take  him  altogether,  he  was  so  pleased  with  the  ten  guineas  and 
the  flattery  of  Mr.  Fogg— for  nobody  had  given  him  a  fee  for  the  last  fifteen 
years— that  he  was  quite  ready  to  be  the  foolish  tool  of  the  madhouse-keeper  in 
almost  any  way  that  he  chose  to  dictate  to  him.  We  need  not  pursue  the 
examination  of  the  various  unfortunates  who  were  brought  before  old  Dr. 
Popplejoy ;  it  will  suffice  for  us  if  we  carry  the  reader  through  the  examination 
I  of  Tobias,  who  is  our  principal  care,  without,  at  the  same  time,  detracting  from 
the  genial  sympathy  we  must  feel  for  all  who,  at  that  time,  were  subject  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  Mr.  Fogg.  At  about  half-past  twelve  the  door  of  Tobias's 
cell  was  opened  by  Mr.  Watson,  who,  walking  in,  laid  hold  of  the  boy  by  the 
collar,  and  said — 

**  Hark  you,  my  lad  !  you  are  going  before  a  physician,  and  the  less  you  say 
the  better.  I  speak  to  you  for  your  own  sake  ;  you  can  do  yourself  no  good,  but 
you  can  do  yourself  a  great  deal  of  harm.  You  know  we  keep  a  cart-whip  here. 
Come  along/3 

Tobias  said  not  a  word  in  answer  to  this  piece  of  altogether  gratuitous  advice, 
but  he  made  up  his  mind  that  if  the  physician  was  not  abs9lutely  deaf,  he  should 
hear  him.  Before,  however,  the  unhappy  boy  was  taken  into  the  room  where 
old  Dr.  Popplejoy  was  waiting,  he  was  washed  and  brushed  down  generally,  so 
that  he  presented  a  much  more  respectable  appearance  than  he  would  have  done 
had  he  been  ushered  in  in  his  soiled  state,  as  he  was  taken  from  the  dirty  mad- 
house cell. 

"  Surely,  surely,"  thought  Tobias,  *\  the  extent  of  cool  impudence  can  go  no 
further  than  this  ;  but  I  will  speak  to  the  physician,  if  my  life  should  be  sacri- 
ficed for  so  doing.    Yes,  of  that  I  am  determined. " 

In  another  minute  he  was  in  the  room,  face  to  face  with  Mr.  Fogg  and  Dr. 
Popplejoy. 

"  What— what  ?-*-8ugh !  eugh!"  coughed  the  old  doctor ;  "a  boy,  Mr.  Fogg, 
a  mere  boy.  Dear  me!  I — I— eugh  !  eugh !  eugh  !  My  cough  is  a  little  trouble- 
some I  think,  to-day — eugh  !  eugh  !" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Fogg,  with  a  deep  sigh,  and  making  a  pretence  to  dash  a 
tear  from  his  eye  ;  "  here  you  have  a  mere  boy.  I  am  always  affected  when  I 
look  upon  him,  doctor.  We  were  boys  ourselves  once,  you  know,  and  to  think 
that  the  divine  spark  of  intelligence  has  gone  out  in  one  so  young,  is  enough  to 
make  any  feeling  heart  throb  with  agony.    This  lad  though,  sir,  is  only  a  mono- 

,    -L         _    11111111111     i   ->.  juiiimi  ji  HJ.J  '■'!  .i»n»i»imr   -  1  1  .  ,  .  .        ,  m  , ,  ^^^•Off^m 


0 


m  than  f 


re  oU 


i  I  Quia 


i  YOU  saT 


lire  don* 
rtvinad- 


ctn  go  no 


to*  f 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


135 


maniac.  He  has  a  fancy  that  some  one  named  Sweeney  Todd  is  a  murderer,  and 
that  he  can  discover  his  bad  practices.  On  all  other  subjects  he  is  sane  enough  ; 
but  upou  that,  and  upon  his  presumed  freedom  from  mental  derangement,  he  is 
furious/' 

"  It  is  false,  sir,  it  is  false  !"  said  Tobias,  stepping  up.  **  Oh,  sir,  if  you  are 
not  one  of  the  creatures  of  this  horrible  place,  I  beg  that  you  "will  hear  me,  and 
let  justice  be  done/' 

"  Oh,  yes— I— I— eugh !    Of  course— I— eugh  !" 

"  Sir,  I  am  not  mad,  but  I  am  placed  here  because  I  have  become  dangerous 
to  the  safety  of  criminal  persons." 
"  Oh,  indeed !    Ah— oh— yes." 

"lama  poor  lad,  sir,  but  I  hate  wickedness  ;  and  because  I  found  out  that 
Sweeney  Todd  was  a  murderer,  I  am  placed  here." 
"You  hear  him,  sir,"  said  Fogg  ;  "just  as  I  said." 
"  Oh,  yes,  yes.    "Who  is  Sweeney  Todd,  Mr.  Fogg  if! 
€<  Oh,  sir,  there  is  no  such  person  in  the  world." 

€€  Ah,  I  thought  as  much— I  thought  as  much — a  sad  case,  a  very  sad  case, 
indeed.  Be  calm,  my  little  lad,  and  Mr.  Fogg  will  do  ail  that  can  be  done  for 
you,  I'm  sure." 

"  Oh  !  how  can  you  be  so  foolish,  sir,"  cried  Tobias,  "  as  to  be  deceived  by 
that  man,  who  is  making  a  mere  instrument  of  you  to  cover  his  own  viliany  ? 
What  I  say  to  you  is  true,  and  I  am  not  mad !" 

"I  think,  Dr.  Popplejoy,"  said  Fogg,  with  a  smile,  "it  would ^  take ^ rather 
a  cleverer  fellow  than  I  am  to  make  a  fool  of  you  ;  but  you  perceive,  sir,  that 
in  a  little  while  the  boy  would  get  quite  furious,  that  he  would.  Shall  I  take 
him  away?" 

"  Yes,  yes — poor  fellow  !" 

"  Hear  me— oh,  hear  me,"  shrieked  Tobias.  "  Sir,  on  your  death-bed  you 
may  repent  this  day's  work— I  am  not  mad— Sweeney  Todd  is  a  murderer— he 
is  a  barber  in  Fleet-street — I  am  not  mad  P 

"  It's  melancholy,  sir,  is  it  not?"  said  Fogg,  as  he  again  made  an  effort  to 
wipe  away  a  tear  from  his  eyes.    5J  It's  very  melancholy/' 

"  Oh !  very,  very." 

"  Watson,  take  away  poor  Tobias  Ragg,  but  take  him  very  gently,  and  stay 
with  him  a  little,  in  his  nice  comfortable  room,  and  try  to  soothe  him ;  speakto 
him  of  his  mother,  Watson,  and  get  him  round  if  you  can.  Alas,  poor  child  ! 
my  heart  quite  bleeds  to  see  him.  I  am  not  fit  exactly  for  this  life,  doctor,  1 
ought  to  be  made  of  sterner  stuff,  indeed  I  ought." 

*  %  *  *  *  ■ 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Watson,  as  he  saluted  poor  Tobias  with  a  kick  outside  the 
door,  V  what  a  deal  of  good  you  have  done  P 

The  boy's  patience  was  exhausted ;  he  had  borne  all  that  he  could  bear,  ana 
this  last  insult  maddened  him.  He  turned  with  the  quickness  of  thought,  and 
sprang  at  Mr.  Watson's  throat.  «o  sudden  was  the  attack,  and  so  completely 
unprepared  for  it  was  that  gentleman,  that  down  he  fell  in  the  passage,  with 
such  a  blow  of  his  head  against  the  stone  floor  that  he  was  nearly  insensible  ; 
and,  before  anybody  could  get  to  his  assistance,  Tobias  had  so  pommelled  and 
clawed  his  face,  that  there  was  scarcely  a  feature  discernible,  and  one  ot  his  eyes 
seemed  to  be  in  fearful  jeopardy.  The  noise  of  this  assault  soon  brought^vir. 
Fogg  to  the  spot,  as  well  as  old  Dr.  Popplejoy,  and  the  former  tore  lobm*  rrorj* 
his  victim,  whom  he  seeded  intent  upon  murdering. 


I 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  CONSULTATION  OF  COLONEL  JEFFERY   WITH  THE  MAGISTRATE. 

The  advice  which  his  friend  had  given  to  Colonel  Jeffery  was  certainly  the 
very  best  that  could  have  been  tendered  to  him  ;  and,  under  the  whole  of  these 
circumstances,  it  would  have  been  something  little  short  of  absolute  folly  to 
have  ventured  into  the  shop  of  Sweeney  Todd  without  previously  taking  every 
possible  precaution  to  ensure  the  safety  of  so  doing.  Sir  Richard  was  within 
when  they  reached  his  house,  and,  with  the  acuteness  of  a  man  of  business,  he 
at  once  entered  into  the  affair.  As  the  colonel,  who  wa>  the  spokesman,  pro- 
ceeded, it  was  evident  that  the  magistrate  became  deeply  interested.  Colonel 
Jeffery  concluded  by  saying — 

**  You  will  thus,  at  all  events,  perceive  that  there  is  great  mystery  some- 
where.3' ( 

And  guilt,  I  should  say, 9  replied  the  magistrate. 
You  are  of  that  opinion,  Sir  Richard  iu 
"I  am,  most  decidedly." 

"Then  what  would  you  propose  to  do  ?  Believe  me,  I  do  not  ask  out  of  any 
idle  curiosity,  but  from  a  firm  faith,  that  what  you  set  about  will  be  accom- 
plished in  a  satisfactory  manner." 

"  Why,  in  the  first  place,  I  shall  certainly  go  and  get  shaved  at  Todd's  shop." 
"  You  will  venture  that  V 

u  Oh,  yes ;  but  do  not  fancy  that  I  am  so  headstrong  and  foolish  as  to  run 
any  unnecessary  risks  in  the  matter— I  shall  do  no  such  thing :  you  may  be 
assured  that  I  will  do  all  in  my  power  to  provide  for  my  own  safety  ;  and  if  I  did 
not  think  I  could  do  that  most  effectually,  I  should  not  be  at  all  in  love  with  the 
adventure  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  carefully  avoid  it  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 
We  have  before  heard  something  of  Mr.  Todd." 
"  Indeed! — and  of  a  criminal  character  ?" 

"  Yes ;  a  lady  once  in  the  street  took  a  fancy  to  a  pair  of  shoe-buckles  of 
imitation  diamonds  that  Todd  had  on,  when  he  was  going  to  some  city  enter- 
tainment ;  she  screamed  out,  and  declared  that  they  had  belonged  to  her  hus- 
band, who  had  gone  out  one  morning,  from  his  house  in  Fetter -lane,  to  get 
himself  shaved.  The  case  came  before  me,  but  the  buckles  were  of  too  common 
a  kind  to  enable  the  lady  to  persevere  in  her  statement ;  and  Todd,  who  pre- 
served the  most  imperturbable  coolness  throughout  the  affair,  was,  of  course 
discharged." 

H  But  the  matter  left  a  suspicion  upon  your  mind  ?" 

"It  did;  and  more  than  once  I  have  resolved  in  my  own  mind  what  means 
could  be  adopted  of  coming  at  the  truth :  other  affairs,  however,  of  more  im- 
mediate urgency  ha\fe  occupied  me,  but  the  circumstances  you  detail  revive  all 
my  former  feelings  upon  the  subject ;  and  I  shall  now  feel  that  the  matter  has 
come  before  me  in  a  shape  to  merit  immediate  attention." 

This  was  gratifying  to  Colonel  Jeffery,  because  it  not  only  took  a  great  weight 
off  his  shoulders,  but  it  led  him  to  think,  from  the  well-known  tact  of  the  magis- 
trate, that  something  certainly  would  be  accomplished,  and  that  very  shortly  too 
towards  unravelling  the  secret  that  had  as  yet  only  appeared  to  be  more  com- 
plicated and  intricate  the  more  it  was  inquired  into.  He  made  the  warmest 
acknowledgments  to  the  magistrate  for  the  courtesy  of  his  reception,  and  then 
took  his  leave.  As  soon  as  the  magistrate  was  alone,  he  rang  a  small  hand- 
bell that  was  upon  the  table,  and  the  summons  was  answered  by  a  man,  to  whom 
he  said — 

"  Is  Crotchet  here  V 
g*  Yes,  your  worship." 

€€  Then,  tell  him  I  want  him  at  once,  will  you  ?" 

The  messenger  retired,  but  he  presely  returned,  bringing  with  him  about 


1 


s 


ft  o 


tot  I 


I  tcconi. 
I'likop." 


*3  W  1  |t£ 


vridts  of  i 


f  course, 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


J37 


as  rough  a  specimen  of  humanity  as  the  world  could  have  produced.  He  was 
tall  and  stout,  and  his  face  looked  as  if,  by  repeated  injuries,  it  had  been  knocked 
out  of  all  shape,  for  the  features  were  most  strangely  jumbled  together  indeed, 
and  an  obliquity  of  vision,  which  rendered  it  always  a  matter  of  doubt  who  and 
what  he  was  looking  at,  by  no  means  added  to  his  personal  charms. 


THE  MURDER  AT  THE  WELt  BY  FOGG  AND  WATSON. 

"  Sit  down,  Crotchet,"  said  the  magistrate,  '  and  listen  to  me  without  a  word 

of  interruption."  > ,      .«  *  j  it.  *  <-K<=tan 

If  Mr.  Crotchet  had  no  other  good  quality  on  earth,  he  still  had  that  ol  listen- 
ing attentively,  and  he  never  opened  his  mouth  while  the  magistrate  relate*  to 
him  what  had  just  formed  the  subject  matter  of  Mr.  Jefferys  c0™™um™\™> 
indeed,  Crotchet  seemed  to  be  looking  out  of  the  window  all  the^^e^utmeBL 


No.  18, 


138  -  JB    -THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  v     m  ^ 


Sir  Ricliaxd^knew7 the  little  peculiarities  of  his  visual  organs.  When  he 
had  concluded  his  statement,  Sir  Richard  said— 

u  Well,  Crotchet,  what  do  you  think  of  all  that  ?    What  does  Sweeney  Todd 

do  with  his  customers  I* 

Mr.  Crotchet  gave  a  singular  and  peculiar  kind  of  grin,  as  he  said,  still  look- 
ing apparently  out  of  the  window,  although  his  eyes  were  really  fixed  upon  the 
magistrate — 

"  He  smugs  'em." 

"What?" 

"  Uses  'em  up,  yer  worship  ;  it's  as  clear  to  me  as  mud  in  a  wine-glass,  that 
it  is.  Lor'  bless  you !  Fve  been  thinking  he  did  that  'ere  sort  of  thing  a  deuce 
of  a  while,  but  I  didn't  like  to  interfere  too  soon,  you  see." 

"  What  do  you  advise,  Crotchet  ?  I  know  1  can  trust  to  your  sagacity  in  such 


a  case* 


49  Why,  your  worship,  I'll  think  it  over  a  bit  in  the  course  of  the  day,  and  let 
your  worship  know  what  I  think.  It's  a  awkward  job  rather,  for  a  wariety  of 
reasons,  but  howsomdever  there's  always  a  something  to  be  done,  and  if  we  don't 
do  it,  I'll  be  hung  if  I  know  who  can,  that's  all  !" 

44  True,  true,  you  are  right  there ;  and,  perhaps,  before  you  see  me  again,  you 
will  walk  down  Fleet-street,  and  see  if  you  can  make  any  observations  that  will 
be  of  advantage  in  the  matter.  It  is  an  affair  which  requires  great  caution 
indeed." 

"  Trust  me,  yer  worship  :  I'll  do  it,  and  no  mistake.  Lor'  bless  you,  it's 
easy  for  anybody  now  to  go  lounging  about  Fleet-street,  without  being  taken 
much  notice  of ;  for  the  fact  is,  the  whole  place  is  agog  about  the  horrid  smell 
as  has  been  for  never  so  long  in  the  old  church  of  St.  Dunstan." 

46  Smell —  smell — in  St.  Dunstan's  church !  I  never  heard  of  that  before, 
Crotchet." 

44  Qh,  Lor'  yes,  it'is  enough  to  pison  the  devil  himself,  Sir  Richard  ;  and  t'other 
day  when  the  blessed  bishop  went  to  4  firm  a  lot  of  people,'  he  as  good  as  told  'em 
they  might  all  be  damned  first,  afore  he  '  firm  nobody  in  such  a  place." 

The  magistrate  was  in  a  deep  thought  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  he  said 
suddenly — 

44  Well,  well,  Crotchet,  you  turn  the  matter  over  in  your  mind  and  see  what 
you  can  make  of  it ;  I  will  think  it  over  likewise.  Do  you  hear  ? — mind  you 
are  with  me  at  six  this  evening  punctually  ;  I  do  not  intend  to  let  the  matter 
rest,  and  you  may  depend,  that  from  this  moment  I  will  give  it  my  greatest 
attention." 

H  Wery  good,  yer  worship  ;  wery  good  indeed;  I'll  be  here,  and  something 
seems  to  strike  me  uncommon  forcible  that  we  shall  unearth  this  fox  very  soon, 
yer  worship." 

44 1  sincerely  hope  so." 

Mr.  Crotchet  took  his  leave,  and  when  he  was  alone  the  magistrate  rose  and 
paced  his  apartment  for  some  time  with  rapid  strides,  as  if  he  was  much  agitated 
by  the  reflections  that  were  passing  through  his  mind.  At  length  he  flung  him- 
self into  a  chair  with  something  like  a  groan,  as  he  said — 

"  A  horrible  idea  forces  itself  upon  my  consideration—most  horrible!  most 
horrible  !  most  horrible  !  Well,  well,  we  shall  see— we  shall  see.  It  may  not 
be  so  :  and  yet  what  a  hideous  probability  stares  me  in  the  face  !  I  will  go  down 
at  once  to  St.  Dunstan's  and  see  what  they  are  really  about.  Yes,  yes,  I  shall 
not  get  much  sleep  I  think  now,  until  some  of  these  mysteries  are  developed. 
A  most  horrible  idea,  truly !" 

The  magistrate  left  some  directions  at  home  concerning  some  business  calls 
which  he  fully  expected  in  the  course  of  the  next  two  hours,  and  then  he  put  on 
a  plain,  sad-coloured  cloak  and  a  hat  destitute  of  all  ornament,  and  left  his  house 
with  a  rapid  step.  He  took  the  most  direct  route  towards  St.  Dunstan's  church, 
and  finding  the  door  of  the  sacred  edifice  yielded  to  the  touch,  he  at  once  entered 


THE  STRING  01  PEARLS.  189 


It ;  but  he  had  not  advanced  many  steps  before  he  was  met  and  accosted  by  the 

beadle,  who  said,  in  a  tone  of  great  dignity  and  authority— 
i€  This  ain't  Sunday,  sir  ;  there  ain't  no  service  here  to-day/5 
u  I  don't  suppose  there  is,"  replied  the  magistrate ;  <c  but  I  see  you  have 

workmen  here.    What  is  it  you  are  about  ?" 

"  Well,  of  all  the  impudence  that  ever  I  came  near,  this  is  the  worstesfr— to  ask 

a  beadle  what  he  is  about ;  I  beg  to  say,  sir,  this  is  quite  private,  and  there's  the 

door." 

u  Yes,  I  see  it,  and  you  may  go  out  at  it  just  as  soon  as  you  think  proper." 

"  Oh,  conwulsions  I  oh,  conwutsions  I    This  to  a  beadle." 

**  What  is  all  this  about  ?"  said  a  gentlemanly-looking  man,  stepping  forward 
from  a  part  of  the  church  where  several  masons  were  employed  in  raising  some 
of  the  huge  flag-stones  with  which  it  was  paved.    f  <  What  disturbance  is  this  ?" 

"  I  believe,  Mr.  Antrobus,  you  know  me,"  said  the  magistrate. 

**  Oh,  Sir  Richard,  certainly.    How  do  you  do  ?" 

tc  Gracious,"  said  the  beadle,  "  Fve  put  my  blessed  foot  in  it.  Lor*  bless  us, 
sir,  how  should  I  know  as  you  was  Sir  Richard  ?  I  begs  as  you  won't  think 
nothing  o' what  I  said.  If  I  had  aknowedyou,  in  course  I  shouldn't  have  said 
it,  you  may  depend,  Sir  Richard — I  humbly  begs  your  pardon." 

r<  It's  of  no  consequence — I  ought  to  have  announced  myself ;  and  you  are  per- 
fectly justified  in  keeping  strangers  out  of  the  church,  my  friend." 

The  magistrate  walked  up  the  aisle  with  Mr.  Antrobus,  who  was  one  of  the 
churchwardens  ;  and  as  he  did  so,  he  said,  in  a  low,  confidential  tone  of  voice — 

"  I  have  heard  sgfme  strange  reports  about  a  terrible  stench  in  the  church. 
What  does  it  mean  ?   I  suppose  you  know  all  about  it,  and  what  it  arises  from  I" 

"  Indeed  I  do  not.  If  you  have  heard  that  there  is  a  horrible  smell  in  the 
church  after  it  has  been  shut  up  for  some  time,  and  upon  the  least  change  in  the 
weather,  from  dry  or  wet,  or  cold  or  warm,  you  know  as  much  as  we  know  upon 
the  subject.  It  is  a  most  serious  nuisance,  and,  in  fact,  my  presence  here-to  day 
is  to  try  and  make  some  discovery  of  the  cause  of  the  stench ;  and  you  see  we 
are  going  to  work  our  way  into  some  of  the  old  vaults  that  have  not  been  opened 
for  some  time,  with  a  hope  of  finding  out  the  cause  of  this  disagreeable  odour." 

"  Have  you  any  objection  to  my  being  a  spectator  ?" 

'*  None  in  the  least." 

"  I  thank  you.  Let  us  now  join  the  workmen,  and  I  can  only  now  tell  you 
that  I  feel  the  strongest  possible  curiosity  to  ascertain  what  can  be  the  meaning 
of  all  this,  and  shall  watch  the  proceedings  wim  the  greatest  amount  of  interest" 

"  Come  along  then ;  I  can  only  say,  for  my  part,  that,  as  an  individual,  I  am 
glad  you  are  here,  and  as  a  magistrate,  likewise,  it  gives  me  great  satisfaction  to 
have  you." 


CHAPTER  XXVIIL 
Tobias's  escape  from  mr.  fogg's  establishment. 

The  rage  into  which  Mr.  Fogg  was  thrown  by  the  attack  which  the  desperate 
Tobias  had  made  upon  his  representative.  Mr.  Watson,  was  so  great,  that,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  presence  of  stupid  old  Dr.  Popplejoy  in  the  house,  no  doubt 
he  would  have  taken  some  most  exemplary  vengeance  upon  him.  As  it  was, 
however,  Tobias  was  thrown  into  his  cell  with  a  promise  of  vengeance  as  soon  as 
the  coast  was  clear.  These  were  a  kind  of  promises  which  Mr.  Fogg  was  pretty 
sure  to  keep,  and  when  the  first  impulse  of  his  passion  had  passed  away,  poor 
Tobias,  as  well  indeed  he  might,  gave  himself  up  to  despair. 

"  Now  all  is  over,"  he  said ;  "  I  shall  be  half  murdered  !  Oh,  why  do  they 
not  kill  me  at  once  ?  There  would  be  some  mercy  in  that.  Come  and  murder 
me  at  once,  you  wretches !  You  villains,  murder  me  at  once !"  [  ?  *  \ 

In  his  new  excitement,  he  rushed  to  the  door  of  the  cell,  and  banged  at  it  with 


140 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS, 


his  fists,  when  to  his  surprise  it  opened,  and  he  found  himself  nearly  falling  into 
the  stone  corridor  from  which  the  various  cell  doors  opened.  It  was  evident 
that  Mr.  Watson,  thought  he  had  locked  him  in,  for  the  bolt  of  the  lock  was  shot 
back,  but  had  missed  its  hold— a  circumstance  probably  arising  from  the  state  of 
rage'  and  confusion  Mr.  Watson  was  in,  as  a  consequence  of  Tobias's  daring 
attack  upon  him.  It  almost  seemed  to  the  boy  as  if  he  had  already  made  some 
advance  towards  his  freedom,  when  he  found  himself  in  the  narrow  passage 
beyond  his  cell  door,  but  his  heart  for  some  minutes  beat  so  tumultuously  with 
the  throng  of  blissful  associations  connected  with  freedom,  that  it  was  quite  im- 
possible for  him  to  proceed.  A  slight  noise,  however,  in  another  part  of  the 
building  roused  him  again,  and  he  felt  that  it  was  only  now  by  a  great  coolness 
and  self-possession,  as  well  as  great  courage,  that  he  could  at  all  hope  to  turn 
to  account  the  fortunate  incident  which  had  enabled  him,  at  all  events,  to  make 
that  first  step  towards  liberty. 

"  Oh,  if  I  could  but  get  out  of  this  dreadful  place/'  he  thought ;  "  if  I  could 
but  once  again  breathe  the  pure  fresh  air  of  heaven,  and  see  the  deep  blue  sky,  I 
think  I  should  ask  for  no  other  blessings/1 

Never  do  the  charms  of  nature  present  themselves  to  the  imagination  in  more 
lovely  guise  than  when  some  one  with  an  imagination  full  of  such  beauties,  and 
a  mind  to  appreciate  the  glories  of  the  world,  is  shut  up  from  real,  actual  con- 
templation. To  Tobias  now  the  thought  of  green  fields,  sunshine  and  flowers, 
y  was  at  once  rapture  and  agony. 

'If  I  must/'  he  said,  "  I  must — I  will  be  free." 

A  thorough  determination  to  do  anything,  we  are  well  convinced,  always  goes 
a  long  way  towards  its  accomplishment ;  and  certainly  Tobias  now  would  cheer- 
fully have  faced  death  in  any  shape,  rather  than  he  would  again  have  been  con- 
demned to  the  solitary  horrors  of  the  cell,  from  which  he  had  by  such  a  chance 
got  free.  He  conjectured  the  stupid  old  Dr.  Popplejoy  had  not  left  the  house,  by 
the  unusual  quiet  that  reigned  in  it,  and  he  began  to  wonder  if,  while  that  quiet 
subsisted,  there  was  the  remotest  chance  of  his!  getting  into  the  garden,  and 
then  scaling  the  wall,  and  so  reaching  the  open  common.  While  this  thought 
was  establishing  itself  in  his  mind,  and  he  was  thinking  that  he  would  pursue 
the  passage  in  which  he  was  until  he  saw  where  it  led  to,  he  heard  the  sound  of 
footsteps,  and  he  shrank  back.  For  a  few  seconds  they  appeared  as  if  they  were 
approaching  where  he  was ;  and  he  began  to  dread  that  the  cell  would  be 
searched,  and  his  absence  discovered,  in  which  case  there  would  be  no  chance 
for  him  but  death.  Suddenly,  however,  the  approaching  footsteps  paused,  and 
then  he  heard  a  door  banged  shut.  It  was  still,  even  now,  some  minutes  before 
Tobias  could  bring  himself  to  traverse  the  passage  again,  and  when  he  did,  it 
was  with  a  slow  and  stealthy  step.  He  had  not,  however,  gone  above  thirty 
paces,  before  he  heard  the  indistinct  murmur  of  voices,  and  being  guided  by  the 
sound,  he  paused  at  a  door  on  his  right  hand,  which  he  thought  must  be  the  one 
he  had  heard  closed  but  a  few  minutes  previously.  It  was  from  the  interior  of 
the  room  which  that  was  the  door  of,  that  the  sound  of  voices  came,  and  as  it  was 
a  matter  of  the  very  first  importance  to  Tobias  to  ascertain  in  what  part  of  the 
house  his  enemies  were,  he  placed  his  ear  against  the  panel,  and  listened  atten- 
tively* He  recognised  both  the  voices :  they  were  those  of  Watson  and  Fogg. 
It  was  a  very  doubtful  and  ticklish  situation  that  poor  Tobias  was  now  in,  but 
it  was  wonderful  how,  by  dint  of  strong  resolution,  he  had  stilled  the  beating  of 
his  heart  and  the  general  nervousness  of  his  disposition.  There  was  but  a  frail 
door  between  him  and  his  enemies,  and  yet  he  stood  profoundly  still  and  listened. 
Mr.  Fogg  was  speaking. 

"  You  quite  understand  me,  Watson,  I  think/'  he  said,  u  as  concerns  that 
little  viper,  Tobias  Ragg ;  he  is  too  cunning,  and  much  too  dangerous  to  live 
long.    He  almost  staggered  old  superannuated  Popplejoy." 

"Oh,  confound  him!"  replied  Watson,  "  and  he's  quite  staggered  me.'* 

"Why,  certainly  your  face  is  rather  scratched/' 

"Yes,  the  little  devil !  but  it's  all  in  the  way  of  business,  that,  Mr.  Fogg,  and 


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THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


141 


you  never  heard  me  grumble  at  such  little  matters  yet ;  and  I'll  be  bound  never 
will,  that's  more/' 

"  I  give  you  credit  for  that,  Watson  ;  but  between  you  and  I,  I  think  the  dis* 
ease  of  that  boy  is  of  a  nature  that  will  carry  him  off  very  suddenly. " 
"I  think  so  too,"  said  Watson,  with  a  chuckle. 

"  It  strikes  me  forcibly  that  he  will  be  found  dead  in  his  bed  some  morning, 
and  I  should  not  in  the  least  wonder  if  that  were  to-morrow  morning  :  what's 
your  opinion,  Watson  ?" 

"  Oh,  damn  it,  what's  the  use  of  all  this  round-about  nonsense  between  us  ? 
the  boy  is  to  die,  and  there's  an  end  of  it,  and  die  he  shall  during  the  night — 
I  owe  him  a  personal  grudge,  of  course,  now/* 

"  Of  course  you  do — he  has  disfigured  you." 

"  Has  he  ?  Well,  I  can  return  the  compliment ;  and  I  say,  Mr.  Fogg,  my 
opinion  is,  that  it's  very  dangerous  having  these  medical  inspections  you  have 
such  a  fancy  for." 

"My  dear  fellow,  it  is  dangerous,  that  I  know  as  well  as  you  can  tell  me,  but 
it  is  from  that  danger  we  gather  safety.  If  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  disturbance 
should  arise  about  any  patient,  you  don't  know  of  what  vast  importance  a  re- 
port from  such  a  man  as  old  Dr.  Popplejoy  might  be.5' 

"  Well,  well,  have  it  your  own  way.  1  shall  not  go  near  Master  Tobias  for 
the  whole  day,  and  shall  see  what  starvation  and  solitude  does  towards 
taming  him  down  a  bit." 

"  As  you  please ;  but  it  is  time  you  went  your  regular  rounds." 

"  Yes,  of  course." 

Tobias  heard  Watson  rise.  The  crisis  was  a  serious  one.  His  eye  fell  upon 
a  bolt  that  was  outside  the  door,  and,  with  the  quickness  of  thought,  he  shot  it 
into  its  socket,  and  then  made  his  way  down  the  passage  towards  his  cell,  the 
door  of  which  he  shut  close.  His  next  movement  was  to  run  to  the  end  of  the 
passage  and  descend  some  stairs.  A  door  opposed  him,  but  a  push  opened  it, 
and  he  found  himself  in  a  small,  dimly-lighted  room,  in  one  corner  of  which, 
upon  a  heap  of  straw,  lay  a  woman,  apparently  sleeping.  The  noise  which 
Tobias  made  in  entering  the  cell,  for  such  it  was,  roused  her  up,  and  she 
said— 

"  Oh !  no,  no  ;  not  the  lash  !  not  the  lash  !  I  am  quiet.  God,  how 
quiet  I  am,  although  the  heart  within  is  breaking.  Have  mercy  upon 
me  I" 

<€  Have  mercy  upon  me,"  said  Tobias,  "  and  hide  me  if  you  can." 
€<  Hide  you  !  hide  you  !  God  of  Heaven,  who  are  you  V9 

"  A  poor  victim,  who  has  escaped  from  one  of  the  cells,  and  I  " 

"  Hush  V*  said  the  woman ;  and  she  made  Tobias  shrink  down  in  the  corner 
of  the  cell,  cleverly  covering  him  up  with  the  straw,  and  then  lying  down  her- 
self in  such  a  position  that  he  was  completely  screened.  The  precaution  was 
not  taken  a  moment  too  soon,  for,  by  the  time  it  was  completed,  Watson  had 
burst  open  the  door  of  the  room  which  Tobias  had  bolted,  and  stood  in  the 
narrow  passage. 

"  How  the  devil,"  he  said,  "  came  that  door  shut,  I  wonder  ?" 
V  Oh !  save  me,"  whispered  Tobias. 

"  Hush  !  hush  !  He  will  only  look  in,"  was  the  answer.  "  You  are  safe.  I 
have  been  only  waiting  for  some  one  who  could  assist  me,  in  order  to  attempt  an 
escape.  You  must  remain  here  until  night,  and  then  I  will  show  you  how  it 
may  be  done.  Hush! — he  comes."  Watson  did  come,  and  looked  into  the 
cell,  muttering  an  oath,  as  he  said— 

JOh,  you  have  enough  bread  and  water  till  to-morrow  morning,  I  should  say ; 
so  you  need  not  expect  to  see  me  again  till  then." 

"  Oh  !  we  are  saved  !  we  shall  escape,"  said  the  poor  creature,  after  Watson 
had  been  gone  some  minutes. 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?*' 

"  Yes,  yes  !    Oh,  boy,  I  do  not  know  what  brought  you  here,  but  if  you  have 


mm 


142  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


suffered  one-tenth  part  of  the  cruelty  and  oppression  that  I  have  suffered,  you 
are  indeed  to  be  pitied/' 

"  If  we  are  to  stay  here,"  said  Tobias,  "  till  night,  before  making  any  attempt 
to  escape,  it  will,  perhaps,  ease  your  mind,  and  beguile  the  time,  if  you  were  to 
tell  me  how  you  came  here." 

"  God  knows!  it  might— it  might/' 

Tobias  was  very  urgent  upon  the  poor  creature  to  tell  her  story,  to  beguile  the 
tedium  of  the  time  of  waiting,  and  after  some  amount  of  persuasion  she  con- 
sented to  do  so. 

51  You  shall  now  hear/5  she  said  to  Tobias,  if  if  you  will  listen,  such  a  cata- 
logue of  wrongs,  unredressed  and  still  enduring,  that  would  indeed  drive  any 
human  being  mad ;  but  I  have  been  able  to  preserve  so  much  of  my  mental 
faculties  as  will  enable  me  to  recollect  and  understand  the  many  acts  of  cruelty 
and  injustice  that  I  have  endured  here  for  many  a  long  and  weary  day.  My 
persecutions  began  when  I  was  very  young — so  young  that  I  could  not  com- 
prehend their  cause,  and  used  to  wonder  why  I  should  be  treated  with  greater 
rigour  or  with  greater  cruelty  than  people  used  to  treat  those  who  were  really 
disobedient  and  wayward  children.  1  was  scarcely  seven  years  old  when  a 
maiden  aunt  died ;  she  was  the  old  person  whom  1  remember  as  having  been 
uniformly  kind  to  me  ;  though  I  can  only  remember  her  indistinctly,  yet  I  know 
she  was  kind  to  me  ;  I  know  also  I  used  to  visit  her,  and  she  used  to  look  upon 
me  as  her  favourite,  for  I  used  to  sit  as  her  feet  upon  a  stool,  watching  her  as 
she  sat  amusing  herself  by  embroidering,  silent  and  motionless  sometimes,  and 
then  I  asked  her  some  questions  which  she  answered.  This  is  the  chief  feature 
of  my  recollection  ol  my  aunt:  she  soon  after  died,  but  while  she  lived,  I  had 
no  unkindne&s  from  anybody;  it  was  only  after  that  that  I  felt  the  cruelty  and 
coolness  of  my  family.  It  appeared  that  I  was  a  favourite  with  my  aunt  above 
all  others,  either  in  our  family  or  any  other  ;  she  loved  me,  and  promised  that 
when  she  died,  she  would  leave  me  provided  for,  and  that  I  should  not  be 
dependent  upon  any  one.  Well,  I  was,  from  the  day  after  the  funeral,  an 
altered  being.  I  was  neglected,  and  no  one  paid  any  attention  to  me  whatso- 
ever ;  I  was  thrust  about,  and  nobody  appeared  to  care  even  if  I  had  the 
necessaries  of  life.  Such  a  change  I  could  not  understand.  I  could  not  believe 
the  evidence  of  my  own  senses;  I  thought  it  must  be  something  that  I  did  not 
understand  ;  perhaps  my  poor  aunt's  death  had  caused  this  distress  and  altera- 
tion in  people's  demeanour  to  me.  However,  I  was  a  child,  and  though  1  was 
quick  enough  at  noting  all  this,  yet  I  was  too  young  to  feel  acutely  the  conduct 
of  my  friends.  My  father  and  mother  were  careless  of  me,  and  let  me  run  where 
I  would ;  they  cared  not  when  I  was  hurt,  they  cared  not  when  I  was  in  danger. 
Come  what  would,  I  was  left  to  take  my  chance.  I  recollect  one  day  when  I 
had  fallen  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  some  stairs  and  hurt  myself  very  much ; 
but  no  one  comforted  me ;  I  was  thrust  out  of  the  drawing-room,  because  I 
cried.  I  then  went  to  the  top  of  the  stairs,  where  I  sat  weeping  bitterly  for 
some  time.  At  length,  an  old  servant  came  out  of  one  of  the  attics,  and 
said— 

"  '  Oh  !  Miss  Mary,  what  has  happened  to  you,  that  you  sit  crying  so  bitterly 
on  the  stair  head?  Come  in  here  ?' 

5s 1  arose  and  went  into  the  attic  with  her,  when  she  set  me  on  a  chair,  and 
busied  herself  with  my  bruises,  and  said  to  me — 

"  'Now,  tell  me  what  are  you  crying  about,  and  why  did  they  turn  you  out 
of  the  drawing-room — tell  me  now  V 

"  '  Ay/  said  I,  6  they  turned  me  out  because  I  cried  when  I  was  hurt.  I  fell 
all  the  way  down  stairs,  but  they  don't  mind/ 

(€  *  No,  they  do  not,  and  yet  in  many  families  they  would  have  taken  more  care 
of  you  than  they  do  here  ?' 

"  *  And  why  do  you  think  they  would  have  done  so/  I  inquired  ? 

*' €  Don't  vou  know  what  good  fortune  has  lately  fallen  into  your  lap  ?  I  thought 
you  knew  all  about  it/ 


Xif — 


THE  STRING  OF  PEAKLS. 


143 


€€  *  I  don't  know  anything,  save  they  are  very  unkind  to  me  lately. 9 
"  They  have  been  very  unkind  to  you,  child,  and  I  am  sure  I  don't  know  why, 
nor  can  I  tell  you  why  they  have  not  told  you  of  your  fortune/ 
" 6  My  fortune/  said  1 ;  f  what  fortune  f 

€€ '  Why,  don't  you  know  that  when  your  poor  aunt  died  you  were  her 
favourite  |1  . 

"cl  know  my  aunt  loved  me/  I  said;  *  she  loved  me,  and  was  kind  to  me  ; 
but  since  she  has  been  dead,  nobody  cares  for  me/ 

Well,  my  child,  she  has  left  a  will  behind  her  which  says  that  all  her  for- 
tune shall  be  yours  ;  when  you  are  old  enough  you  shall  have  all  her  fine  things  ; 
you  shall  have  all  her  money  and  her  house/ 

u  *  Indeed  !'  said  1 ;  4  who  told  you  so  V 

"  4  Oh,  I  have  heard  it  from  those  who  were  present  at  the  reading  of  the  will, 
that  you  are,  when  you  are  old  enough,  to  have  all.  Think  what  a  great  lady 
you  will  be  then  !    You  will  have  servants  of  your  own/ 

" f  I  don't  think  I  shall  live  till  then/ 

€€  i  Oh  yes,  you  will— or  at  least  I  hope  so/ 

"  •  And  if  I  should  not,  what  will  become  of  all  those  fine  things  that  you  have 
told  me  of  ?   Who'll  have  them  ?' 

" '  Why,  if  you  do  not  live  till  you  are  of  age,  your  fortune  will  go  to  your 
father  and  mother,  who  take  all/ 

"  4  Then  they  would  sooner  I  should  die  than  live  V 

(i 4  What  makes  you  think  so  V  she  inquired. 

ft  <  Why/  said  I, 4  they  don't  care  anything  for  me  now,  and  they  will  have  my 
fortune  if  I  were  dead — so  they  don't  want  me/ 

"  4  Ah,  my  child  V  said  the  old  woman,  4 1  have  thought  of  that  more  than 
once;  and  now  you  can  see  it.  I  believe  that  it  will  be  so.  There  has  many  a 
word  been  spoken  truly  enough  by  a  child  before  now,  and  I  am  sure  you  are 
right — but  do  you  be  a  good  child,  and  be  careful  of  yourself,  and  you  will  always 
find  that  Providence  will  keep  you  out  of  any  trouble/ 
44  4  I  hope  so,'  I  said. 

'  And  be  sure  you  don't  say  who  told  you  about  this/ 
4  Why  not/  I  inquired  ;  *  why  may  I  not  tell  who  told  me  about  it  V 
44  4 Because/  she  replied,  '  if  it  were  known  that  I  told  you  anything  about  it^ 
as  you  have  not  been  told  by  them,  they  might  discharge  me,  and  I  should  be' 
turned  out/ 

* '  I  will  not  do  that/  I  replied ;  6  they  shall  not  learn  who  told  me,  though  I 
should  like  to  hear  them  say  the  same  thing/ 

a  4  You  may  hear  them  do  so  one  of  these  days/  she  replied,  4  if  you  are  not 
impatient :  it  will  come  out  one  of  these  days — two  may  know  of  it/ 

"  '  More  than  my  father  and  mother  V 

44  4  Yes,  more — several/ 

44  No  more  was  said  then  about  the  matter  ;  but  I  treasured  it  up  in  my  mind, 
I  resolved  that  I  would  act  differently,  and  not  have  anything  to  do  with  them — 
that  is,  I  would  not  be  more  in  their  sight  than  I  could  help — I  would  not  be  in 
their  sight  at  all,  save  at  meal  times — and  when  there  was  any  company  there  I 
always  appeared.  I  cannot  tell  why ;  but  I  think  it  was  because  I  sometimes 
attracted  the  attention  of  others,  and  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  hear  something  re- 
specting  my  fortune ;  and  in  the  end  I  succeeded  in  doing  so,  and  then  I  was  satis- 
fied—not that  it  made  any  alteration  in  my  conduct,  but  I  felt  I  was  entitled  to 
a  fortune.  How  such  an  impression  became  imprinted  upon  a  girl  of  eight  years 
of  age,  I  know  not :  but  it  took  hold  of  me,  and  I  had  some  kind  of  notion  that  I 
was  entitled  to  more  consideration  than  I  was  treated  to. 

"  '  Mother/  said  I  one  day  to  her. 

* 44  Well,  Mary,  what  do  you  want  to  tease  me  about  now  V 

Didn't  Mrs.  Carter  the  other  day  say  that  my  aunt  left  me  a  fortune  ?* 
*  ft  What  is  the  child  dreaming  about  if  said  my  mother.    *  Do  you  know 
what  you  are  talking  about,  child  ?— «you  can't  comprehend/ 


<< 


1M  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  

~rrlll^^  it:  was  80  to  ^rSt  Carter/ 

"  '  Well,  then,  what  if  I  did,  child  V 

**  <  Why,  vou  must  have  told  the  truth  or  a  falsehood/ 

«  <  Well/  Miss  Impudence  ! — I  told  the  truth,  what  then  I* 

u  <  why,  then  I  am  to  have  a  fortune  when  I  grow  up,  that's  all  I  mean, 
mother,  and  then  people  will  take  care  of  me.  I  shall  not  be  forgotten,  but 
everything  will  be  done  for  me,  and  I  shall  be  thought  of  first/ 

*<  My  mother  looked  at  me  very  hard  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  then,  as  if  she 
was  actuated  by  remorse,  she  made  anjattemptto  speak,  but  checked  herself,  and 
then  anger  came  to  her  aid,  and  she  said — 

"  '  Upon  my  word,  miss !  what  thoughts  have  you  taken  into  your  fancy 
now  2  I  suppose  we  shall  be  compelled  to  be  so  many  servants  to  you !  I  am 
sure  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself— you  ought,  indeed  !' 

" #  I  didn't  know  1  had  done  wrong/  I  said. 

"  <  Hold  your  tongue,  will  you,  or  I  shall  be  obliged  to  flog  you  V  said  my 
mother,  giving  me  a  sound  box  on  the  ears  that  threw  me  down.  1  Now,  hold 
your  tongue  and  go  up  stairs,  and  give  me  no  more  insolence/ 

"  I  arose  and  went  up  stairs,  sobbing  as  if  my  heart  would  break,  I  cannot 
recollect  how  many  bitter  hours  I  spent  there,  crying  by  myself— how  many 
tears  I  shed  upon  this  matter,  and  how  I  compared  myself  to  other  children, 
and  how  much  my  situation  was  worse  than  theirs  by  a  great  deal*  They,  I 
thought,  had  their  companions— they  had  their  hours  of  play.  But  what  com- 
panions had  I?  and  what  had  I  in  the  way  of  relaxation?  What  had  I  to  do 
save  to  pine  over  the  past,  the  !  present,  and  the  future  ?  My  infantile  thoughts 
and  hours  were  alike  occupied  by  the  sad  reflections  that  belonged  to  a  more 
mature  age  than  mine ;  and  yet  I  was  so.  Days,  weeks,  and  months  passed 
on— there  was  no  change,  and  I  grew  apace  ;  but  I  was  always  regarded  by  my 
family  with  dislike,  and  always  neglected.  I  could  not  account  for  it  in  any  other 
way  than  they  wished  me  dead.  It  may  appear  very  dreadful — very  dreadful 
indeed— but  what  else  was  I  to  think  ?  The  old  servant's  words  came  upon  my 
mind  full  of  their  meaning— if  I  died  before  I  was  one-and-twenty,  they  would 
have  all  my  aunt's  money. 

"  *  They  wish  me  to  die/  I  thought,  '  they  wish  me  to  die ;  and  I  shall 
die— I  am  sure  I  shall  die  !  But  they  will  kill  me— they  have  tried  it  by  neg- 
lecting me,  and  making  me  sad.    What  can  I  do— what  can  I  do?' 

"These  thoughts  were  the  current  matter  of  my  mind,  and  how  often  do 
they  recur  to  my  recollection  now  I  am  in  this  dull,  dreadful  plaee  !  I  can 
never  forget  the  past.  I  am  here  because  I  have  rights  elsewhere,  which  others 
can  enjoy,  and  do  enjoy.  However,  that  is  an  old  evil.  I  have  thus  suffered 
long.  But  to  return.  After  a  year  had  gone  by — two,  I  think,  must  have 
passed  over  my  head — before  I  met  with  anything  that  was  at  all  calculated  to 
injure  me.  I  must  have  been  near  ten  years  old,  when,  one  evening,  I  had  no 
sooner  got  into  bed,  than  I  found  I  had  been  put  into  damp — I  may  say  wet 
sheets.  They  were  so  damp  that  I  could  not  doubt  but  this  was  done  on 
purpose.  1  am  sure  no  negligence  ever  came  to  anything  so  positive  and  so 
abominable  in  all  my  life.  1  got  out  of  bed  and  took  them  off,  and  then 
wrapped  myself  up  in  the  blankets  and  slept  till  morning,  without  awaking  any 
one.    When  morning  came,  I  inquired  who  put  the  sheets  there  ? 

"  'What  do  you  mean,  minx  V  said  my  mother. 

" '  Only  that  somebody  was  bad  and  wicked  enough  to  put  positively  wet 
sheets  in  the  bed ;  it  could  not  have  been  done  through  carelessness — it  must 
have  been  done  through  sheer  wilfulness.    I'm  quite  convinced  of  that/ 

"  6  You  will  get  yourself  well  thrashed  if  you  talk  like  that/  said  my  mother. 
( The  sheets  are  not  damp  ;  there  are  none  in  the  house  that  are  damp/ 

"  *  These  are  wet/ 

"  This  reply  brought  her  hand  down  heavily  upon  my  shoulder,  and  I  was 
forced  upon  ray  knees.    1  could  not  help  myself,  so  violent  was  the  blow. 
li  i  There/  added  my  mother,  5  take  that,  and  that,  and  answer  me  if  you  dare/ 

^.^.T^.T,  ..T   .  — .....I  '  fti'au.  »  ■      ii     -  i    ■  '■■iiiiiumm.  ■  j.     «.jwn  ■  n  n«  ■■»■    i 


™  Aoji 

I  canno: 
Ml  mam 


They,  1 
hat  com. 
d  I  to  do 
thodthli 
►oaraor; 
iispassec 
Kd  bymr 
lanvotk 

■IS.  Ini 

it  oreadto. 
('gpoiv 

I  f  At 
brneg- 

often  do 

others 

case  W- 

5Sf  wet 
done  on 
,  and  N 
ad  tbes 

;ing  «T 


i  j 


•it 

I 


jf  P 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


145 


"  As  she  said  this  she  struck  me  to  the  ground,  and  my  head  came  in  violent 
contact  with  the  table,  and  I  was  rendered  insensible.  How  long  I  continued 
so  I  cannot  tell.  What  I  first  saw  when  I  awoke  was  the  dreariness  of  one  of 
the  attics  into  which  I  had  been  thrust,  and  thrown  upon  a  small  bed  without 
any  furniture.    I  looked  around  and  saw  nothing  that  indicated  comfort,  and 


Tobias's  delerium. 

upon  looking  at  my  clothes  there  were  traces  of  blood.  This,  I  had  no  doubt, 
came  from  myself.  I  was  hurt,  and  upon  putting  my  hand  to  my  head,  found 
that  I  was  much  hurt,  as  my  head  was  bound  up.  At  that  moment  the  door 
was  opened,  and  the  old  servant  came  in. 

"fWel!,  Miss  Mary/  she  said,  'and  so  you  have  come  round  again?  I 
really  began  to  be  afraid  you  were  killed.  What  a  fall  you  must  have 
had  V 


— >  *~ 


\ 


1  v  j- 


iiBfi'-n  »■» 


No.  19, 


146  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


I 


a 
it  i 


a  t 


V '  Fail/  said  I ;  4  who  said  it  was  a  fall  V 
^  J  They  told  me  so/ 
"  '  I  was  struck  down." 

H  \  Struck,  Miss  Mary  !    Who  could  strike  you  ?    And  what  did  you  do  to 
deserve  such  a  severe  chastisement  ?  Who  did  it  ?' 
I  spoke  to  my  mother  about  the  wet  sheets/ 

Ah !  what  a  mercy  you  were  not  killed !  If  you  had  slept  in  them,  your 
life  would  not  have  been  worth  a  farthing.  You  would  have  caught  cold,  and 
you  would  have  died  of  inflammation,  I  am  sure  of  it.  If  anybody  wants  to 
commit  murder  without  being  found  out,  they  have  only  to  put  them  into  damp 
sheets/ 

i(  i  So  I  thought,  and  I  took  them  out/ 
5*  'You  did  quite  right — quite  right/ 

What  have  you  heard  about  them  ?'  said  I. 

Oh  !  I  only  went  into  the  room  in  which  you  sleep,  and  I  at  once  found  how 
damp  they  were,  and  how  dangerous  it  was  ;  and  I  was  going  to  tell  your 
mamma,  when  I  met  her,  and  she  told  me  to  hold  my  tongue,  but  to  "go  down 
and  take  you  away,  as  you  had  fallen  down  in  a  fit,  and  she  could  not  bear  to 
see  you  lying  there/ 

'  And  she  didn't  do  anything  for  me  ?' 

'  Oh,  no,  not  as  I  know  of,  because  you  were  lying  on  the  floor  bleeding.  I 
picked  you  up,  and  brought  you  here/  , 
" '  And  has  she  not  inquired  after  me  since  P 
"'Not  once/ 

*  And  don't  know  whether  I  am  yet  sensible  or  not  ?* 
"  '  She  does  not  yet  know  that/ 

"  '  Well/  I  replied,  '  I  think  they  don't  care  much  for  me,  I  think  not  at  all, 
but  the  time  may  come  when  they  will  act  differently/ 

"'No,  miss,  they  think,  or  affect  to  think,  that  you  have  injured  them; 
but  that  cannot  be,  because  you  could  not  be  cunning  enough  to  dispose  your 
aunt  to  leave  you  all,  and  so  deprive  them  of  what  they  think  they  are  entitled 
to/ 

" €  I  never  could  have  believed  half  so  much.* 
"  *  Such,  however,  is  the  case/ 
" < What  can  I  do  V 

"  'Nothing,  my  dear,  but  lie  still  till  you  get  better,  and  don't  say  any  more  ; 
but  sleep,  if  you  can  sleep,  will  do  you  more  good  than  anything  else  now  for  an 
hour  or  so,  so  lie  down  and  sleep/ 

*  *  *  *  *  '  * 

"  The  old  woman  left  the  room,  and  I  endeavoured  to  compose  myself  to  sleep ; 
but  could  not  do  so  for  some  time,  my  mind  being  too  actively  engaged  in  con- 
sidering what  I  had  better  do,  and  I  determined  upon  a  course  of  conduct  by 
which  I  thought  to  escape  much  of  my  present  persecution.  It  was  some  days, 
however,  before  I  could  put  it  in  practice,  and  one  day  I  found  my  father  and 
mother  together,  and  I  said  to  her — 

u  '  Mother,  why  do  you  not  send  me  to  school  V 

"  <  You— send  you  to  school !  did  you  mean  you,  miss  V 

" '  Yes,  I  meant  myself,  because  other  people  go  to  school  to  learn  something, 
but  I  have  not  been  sent  at  all/ 

"  i  Are  you  not  contented  ?' 

€€il  am  not/  I  answered,  'because  other  people  learn  something;  but  at 
the  same  time,  I  should  be  more  out  of  your  way,  since  I  am  more 
trouble  to  you,  as  you  complain  of  me  ;  it  would  not  cost  more  than  living  at 
home/ 

"  '  What  is  the  matter  with  the  child  ¥  asked  my  father. 
" '  I  cannot  tell/  said  my  mother. 

" €  The  better  way  will  be  to  take  care  of  her,  and  confine  her  to  some  part  of 
the  house,  if  »he  does  not  behave  better/ 


'mmtn 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  147 


"  1  The  little  minx  will  be  very  troublesome.' 
u  *  Do  you  think  so  ?* 


I 


u  f  Yes,  decidedly/ 

"  Then  we  must  adopt  some  more  active  measures,  or  we  shall  have  to  ao 
what  we  do  not  wish.  I  am  amused  at  her  asking  to  be  sent  to  school !  Was 
ever  there  heard  of  such  wickedness  ?  Well,  I  could  not  have  believed  such  in- 
gratitude could  have  existed  in  human  nature.5 

w  *  Go  out  of  the  room,  you  hussy/  said  my  mother ;  c  go  out  of  the  room,  and 
don't  let  me  hear  a  word  from  you  more/ 

"  I  left  the  room  terrified  at  the  storm  I  had  raised  up  against  me.  I  knew 
not  that  I  had  done  wrong,  and  went  up  crying  to  my  attic  alone,  and  found  the 
old  servant,  who  asked  what  was  the  matter.  I  told  her  all  I  had  said,  and  what 
had  been  the  result,  and  how  I  had  been  abused. 

" '  Why,  you  should  let  things  take  their  own  course,  my  dear/ 

<c  ( Yes,  but  I  can  learn  nothing/ 

" 4  Never  mind  ;  you  will  have  plenty  of  money  when  you  grow  older, 
and  that  will  cure  many  defects  ;  people  who  have  money  never  want  for 
friends/ 

" '  But  I  have  them  not,  and  yet  I  have  money/ 

" '  Most  certainly— most  certainly,  but  you  have  it  not  in  your  power,  and 
you  are  not  old  enough  to  make  use  of  it,  if  you  had  it/ 
" ?  Who  has  it?'  1  inquired. 
"  ?  Your  father  and  mother/ 

"No  more  was  said  at  that  time,  and  the  old  woman  left  me  to  myself,  and  I 
recollect  1  long  and  deeply  pondered  over  this  matter,  and  yet  could  see  no  way 
out  of  it,  and  resolved  that  I  would  take  things  as  easily  as  I  could ;  but  I  feared 
that  I  was  not  likely  to  have  a  very  quiet  life;  indeed,  active  cruelty  was  exercised 
against  me.  They  would  lock  me  up  in  a  room  a  whole  day  at  a  time,  so  that  I 
was  debarred  the  use  of  my  limbs.  I  was  even  kept  without  food,  and  on  every 
occasion  I  was  knocked  about,  from  one  to  the  other,  without  remorse— every 
one  took  a  delight  in  tormenting  me,  and  in  showing  me  how  much  they 
dared  do.  Of  course  servants  and  all  would  not  treat  me  with  neglect  and  harsh- 
ness if  they  did  not  see  it  was  agreeable  to  my  parents.  This  was  shocking 
cruelty  ;  but  yet  I  found  that  this  was  not  all.  Many  were  the  little  contrivances 
made  and  invented  to  cause  me  to  fall  down  stairs— to  slip— to  trip,  or  do  any- 
thing that  might  have  ended  in  some  fatal  accident,  which  would  have  left  them 
at  liberty  to  enjoy  my  legacy,  and  no  blame  would  be  attached  to  them  for  the 
accident,  and  I  should  most  likely  get  blamed  lor  what  was  done,  and  from 
which  I  had  been  the  sufferer— indeed,  I  should  have  been  deemed  to  have 
suffered  justly.  On  one  occasion,  after  I  had  been  in  bed  some  time,  I  found  it 
was  very  damp,  and  upon  examination  I  found  the  bed  itself  had  been  made  quite 
wet,  with  the  sheets  put  over  it  to  hide  it.  This  I  did  not  discover  until  it  was 
too  late,  for  1  caught  a  violent  cold,  and  it  took  me  some  weeks  to  get  over  it, 
and  yet  I  escaped  eventually,  though  after  some  months'  illness.  I  recovered, 
and  it  evidently  made  them  angry  because  I  did  live.  They  must  have  believed  me 
to  be  very  obstinate  ;  they  thought  me  obdurate  in  the  extreme— they  called  me 
all  the  names  thev  could  imagine,  and  treated  me  with  every  indignity  they  could 
heap  upon  me.  Well,  time  ran  on,  and  in  my  twelfth  year  I  obtained  the  notice 
of  one  or  two  of  our  friends,  who  made  some  inquiries  about  me.  I  always 
remarked  that  my  parents  disliked  any  one  to  speak  to,  or  take  any  notice  of 
me.  They  did  not  permit  me  to  say  much— they  did  not  like  my  speak- 
ing ;  and  on  one  occasion,  when  I  made  some  remark  respecting  school,  she 
replied — 

"  <  Her  health  is  so  bad  that  I  have  not  yet  sent  her,  but  shall  do  so  by  and 
by,  when  she  grows  stronger/ 

"  There  was  a  look  bent  upon  me  that  told  me  at  once  what  I  must  expect,  it 
I  persisted  in  my  half-formed  resolve  of  contradicting  all  that  tad  been  said. 
When  the  visitor  went  I  was  well  aware  of  what  kind  of  a  life  I  should  have 


148 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


turn — — i 


had,  if  I  did  not  absolutely  received  some  serious  injury.  I  was  terrified,  and 
held  my  tongue.  Soon  after  that  I  was  seized  with  violent  pains  and  vomiting. 
I  was  very  ill,  and  the  servant  being  at  home  only,  a  doctor  was  sent  for,  who  at 
once  said  I  had  been  poisoned,  and  ordered  me  to  be  taken  care  of.  I  know- 
how  it  was  done  :  I  had  some  cake  given  me — it  was  left  out  for  me  ;  and  that 
was  the  only  thing  I  had  eaten,  and  it  astonished  me,  for  I  had  not  had  such  a 
thing  given  me  for  years,  and  that  is  why  I§believe  the  poison  was  put  in  the 
cake,  and  I  think  others  thought  so  too.  However,  I  got  over  that  after  a  time, 
though  I  was  a  long  while  before  I  did  so  ;  but  at  the  same  time  I  was  very 
weak,  and  the  surgeon  said  that  had  I  been  a  little  longer  without  assistance,  or 
had  I  not  thrown  it  up,  I  must  have  sunk  beneath  the  effects  of  a  violent  poison. 
He  advised  my  parents  to  take  some  measures  to  ascertain  who  it  was  that  had 
administered  the  poison  to  me  ;  but  though  they  promised  compliance,  they 
I  never  troubled  themselves  about  it — but  I  was  for  a  long  time  very  cautious  of 
what  I  took,  and  was  in  great  fear  of  the  food  that  was  given  to  me.  However, 
nothing  more  of  that  character  took  place,  and  at  length  I  quite  recovered,  and 
began  to  think  in  my  own  mind  that  I  ought  to  take  some  active  steps 
in  the  matter,  and  that  I  ought  to  seek  an  asylum  elsewhere.  I  was  now 
nearly  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  could  •well  see  how  inveterate  was  the  dislike 
with  which  I  was  regarded  by  my  family  :  1  thought  that  they  ought  to  use  me 
better,  for  I  could  remember  no  cause  for  it.  I  had  given  no  deadly  offence,  nor 
was  there  any  motive  why  I  should  be  treated  thus  with  neglect  and  disdain. 
It  was,  then,  a  matter  of  serious  consideration  with  me,  as  to  whether  I 
should  not  go  and  throw  myslf  upon  the  protection  of  some  friend,  and  beg 
their  interference  in  my  behalf ;  but  then  there  was  no  one  whom  I  felt  that 
would  do  so  much  for  me — no  one  from  whom  I  expected  so  great  an  act  of 
friendship.  It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  from  any  one  that  they  should  inter- 
fere between  me  and  my  parents  ;  they  would  have  had  their  first  say,  and  I 
should  have  contradicted  all  they  said,  and  should  have  appeared  in  a  very  bad 
light  indeed.  I  could  not  say  they  had  neglected  my  education— I  could  not  say 
that,  because  there  I  had  been  careful  myself,  and  I  had  assiduously  striven 
when  alone  to  remedy  this  defect,  and  had  actually  succeeded ;  so  that,  if  I 
were  examined,  I  should  have  denied  my  own  assertions  by  contrary  facts, 
which  would  injure  me.  Then  again,  if  1  were  neglected  I  could  not  prove 
any  injury,  because  I  had  all  the  means  of  existence  ;  and  all  I  could  say  would 
either  be  attributed  to  some  evil  source,  or  it  was  entirely  false — but  at  the 
same  time  I  felt  that  I  had  great  cause  of  complaint,  and  none  of  gratitude; 
I  could  hold  no  communion  with  any  one — all  alike  deserted  me,  and  I  knew 
none  who  could  say  aught  for  me  if  I  requested  their  good«will.  I  had  serious 
thoughts  of  possessing  myself  of  some  money,  and  then  leaving  home,  and 
staying  away  until  I  had  arrived  at  age  ;  but  this  I  deferred  doing,  seeing  that 
there  were  no  means,  and  I  could  not  do  more  than  I  then  did — that  is,  to  live 
on  without  any  mischief  happening,  and  wait  for  a  few  years  more.  I  con- 
tracted an  acquaintance  with  a  young  man  who  came  to  visit  my  father — he 
came  several  times,  and  paid  me  more  civility  and  attention  than  any  one 
else  ever  did,  and  I  felt  that  he  was  the  only  friend  I  possessed.  It  is  no 
wonder  I  looked  upon  him  as  being  my  best  and  my  only  friend.  I  thought 
him  the  best  and  the  handsomest  man  I  ever  beheld.  This  put  other  thoughts 
into  my  head.  I  did  not  dress  as  others  did,  much  less  had  I  the  opportunity 
of  becoming  possessed  of  many  of  those  little  trinkets  that  most  young  women 
of  my  age  had.  But  this  made  no  alteration  in  the  good  opinion  of  the  young 
gentleman,  who  took  no  notice  of  that,  but  made  me  several  pretty  presents. 
These  were  treasures  to  me,  and  I  must  say  I  gloated  over  them,  and  often, 
when  alone,  I  have  spent  hours  in  admiring  them  ;  trifling  as  they  were,  they 
made  me  happier.  I  knew  now  one  person  who  cared  for  me,  and  a  delightful 
feeling  it  was  too.  I  shall  never  know  it  again — it  is  quite  impossible.  Here, 
among  the  dark  walls  and  unwholesome  cells,  we  have  no  cheering  ray  of  life  or 
hope — all  is  dreary  and  cold ;  a  long  and  horrible  punishment  takes  place,  to 


 n*  .Wiiwuni  i.ni.,1   ,  ■■■    i,-  ..        ,   t    ..r._v_.J1L__     (|.   _     _.    .  .  . 

^■-w  ■w- ...  Li---  jfu  'iiL-N?'  ,r..,mr-ni»jmm-in.if  »  '      ■  ■  -, -,  - ,  j , ,      ,  — m  ..       ,  ,  .     ■     ,    *~*         ' "     "  1  1-11         ,J —  i   i  win  mm     — 

_  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  149 

which  there  is  no  end  save  with  life,  and  in  which  there  is  no  one  mitigating 
circumstance— ail  is  bad  and  dark.    God  help  me  !* 

*****  *  * 

"  However,  my  dream  of  happiness  was  soon  disturbed.  By  some  means  my 
parents  had  got  an  idea  of  this,  and  the  young  man  was  dismissed  the  house, 
and  forbidden  to  come  to  it  again.  This  he  determined  to  do,  and  more  than 
once  we  met,  and  then  in  secret  I  told  him  all  my  woes.  When  he  had  heard 
all  I  said,  he  expressed  the  deepest  commiseration,  and  declared  I  had  been 
most  unjustly  and  harshly  treated,  and  thought  that  there  was  not  a  harder  or 
harsher  treatment  than  that  which  I  had  received.  He  then  advised  me  to  leave 
home.  ;  1     v/i  m 

"  c  Leave  home/  I  said  ;  'where  shall  I  fly?  I  have  no  friend/ 

"  Come  to  me,  I  will  protect  you ;  I  will  stand  between  you  and  all  the 
world ;  they  shall  not  stir  hand  or  foot  to  your  injury/ 

<l '  But  I  cannot,  dare  not  to  do  that ;  if  they  found  me  out,  they  would  force 
me  back  with  all  the  ignominy  and  shame  that  could  be  felt  from  having  done 
a  bad  act ;  not  any  pity  would  they  show  me.' 

€< '  Nor  need  you  ;  you  would  be  my  wife— I  mean  to  make  you  my  wife/ 

"  <  You  ?' 

u '  Yes !  I  dreamed  not  of  anything  else.  You  shall  be  my  wife ;  we  will 
hide  ourselves,  and  remain  unknown  to  all  until  the  time  shall  have  arrived 
when  you  are  of  age — when  you  can  claim  all  your  property,  and  run  no  risk  of 
being  poisoned  or  killed  by  any  other  means/ 

" *  This  is  a  matter/  said  I,  '  that  ought  to  be  considered  well  before  adopting 
anything  so  violent  and  so  sudden/ 

€< c  It  does  ;  and  it  is  not  one  that  I  think  will  injure  by  being  reflected  upon 
by  those  who  are  the  principal  actors  ;  for  my  own  part  my  mind  is  made  up, 
and  I  am  ready  to  perform  my  share  of  the  engagement/ 

u  I  resolved  to"  consider  the  matter  well  in  my  own  mind,  and  felt  every 
inclination  to  do  what  he  proposed,  because  it  took  me  away  from  home,  and 
because  it  would  give  me  one  of  my  own.  My  parents  had  become  utterly 
estranged  from  me :  they  did  not  act  as  parents,  they  did  not  act  as  friends,  they 
had  steeled  my  heart  against  them ;  they  never  could  have  borne  any  love  to 
me,  I  am  sure  of  it,  who  could  have  committed  such  great  crimes  against  me. 
As  the  hour  drew  near,  that  in  which  I  was  likely  to  become  an  object  of  still 
greater  hatred  and  dislike  to  them,  I  thought  I  was  often  the  subject  of  their 
private  thoughts,  and  often  when  I  entered  the  room  my  mother  and  father,  and 
the  rest,  would  suddenly  leave  off  speaking,  and  look  at  me,  as  if  to  ascertain 
if  I  had  overheard,  them  say  anything.  On  one  occasion  I  remember  very  well 
I  heard  them  conv  ersing  in  a  low  tone.  The  door  happened  to  have  opened  of 
itself,  the  hasp  not  having  been  allowed  to  enter  the  mortise.  I  heard  my  name 
mentioned  :  1  paused  and  listened/ 

"  1  We  must  soon  get  rid  of  her/  said  my  mother. 

** '  Undoubtedly/  he  replied ;  *  if  we.  do  not,  we  shall  have  her  about  our  ears  : 
she'll  get  married,  or  some  infernal  thing,  and  then  we  shall  have  to 
refund/ 

" 4  We  could  prevent  that/ 

*f  '  Not  if  her  husband  were  to  insist  upon  it,  we  could  not ;  but  the  onlyfplan  I 
can  now  form  is,  what  I  told  you  of  already/ 
"  c  Putting  her  into  a  madhouse  V 

u  Yes  :  there,  you  see,  she  will  be  secured,  and  cannot  get  away.  Besides, 
those  who  go  there  die  in  a  natural  way  before  many  years/ 
<c '  But  she  can  speak/ 

"  6  So  she  may  ;  but  who  attends  to  the  ravings  of  a  mad  woman  ?  No,^  no ; 
depend  upon  it,  that  is  the  best  plan  :  send  her  to  a  lunatic  asylum—- a  private 
madhouse.    I  can  obtain  all  that  is  requisite  in  a  day  or  two/ 


u  '  Then  we  will  consider  that  settled  ?' 
"  '  Certainly/ 


s 


150  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS, 


"  '  In  a  few  days,  then  ?' 

"€  Before  next  Sunday  ;  because  we  can  enjoy  ourselves  on  that  day  with- 
out  any  restraint,  or  without  any   uncomfortable  feelings  of  uncertainty 

about  us/  . 

0  #  %  %  #  *  * 

"  I  waited  to  hear  no  more  :  I  had  heard  enough  to  tell  me  what  I  had  to 
expect.  I  went  back  to  my  own  room,  and  having  put  on  my  bonnet  and 
shawl  I  went  out  to  see  the  individual  to  whom  I  have  alluded,  and  saw  him. 
I  then  informed  him  of  all  that  had  taken  place,  and  heard  him  exclaim  against 
them  in  terms  of  rising  indignation. 

"  *  Come  to  me,'  he  said  ;  *  come  to  me  at  once/ 

f €  Not  at  once/ 

«  €  Don't  stop  a  day/ 

ft  f  Hush  I*  said  I,  *  there's  no  danger ;  I  will  come  the  day  after  to-morrow  ; 
and  then  I  will  bid  adieu  to  all  these  unhappy  moments,  to  all  these  persecu- 
tions; and  in  three  years'  time  I  shall  be  able  to  demand  my  fortune,  which  will 
be  yours/ 

i        #  *  *  *  * 

p  We  were  to  meet  the  next  day  but  one,  early  in  the  morning ;  there  was  not, 
in  fact,  to  be  more  than  thirty  hours  elapse  before  I  was  to  leave  home— if  home 
I  could  call  it — however,  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  1  made  up  a  small  bundle 
and  had  all  in  readiness  before  I  went  to  bed,  and  placed  in  security,  intending 
to  rise  early,  and  let  myself  out  and  leave  the  house.  That,  however,  was  never 
to  happen.  While  I  slept,  at  a  late  hour  of  the  night,  I  wTas  awakened  by  two 
men  standing  by  my  bedside,  who  desired  me  to  get  up  and  follow  them.  I 
refused,  and  they  pulled  me  rudely  out  of  bed.  I  called  out  for  aid,  and 
exclaimed  against  the  barbarity  of  their  proceedings. 

" f  It  is  useless  to  listen  to  her/  said  my  father,  €  you  know  what  a  mad 
woman  will  say  V 

"  1  Ay,  we  do/  replied  the  men,  4  they  are  the  cunningest  devils  we  ever 
heard.    We  have  seen  enough  of  them  to  know  that/ 

"  To  make  the  matter  plain,  I  was  seized,  gagged,  and  thrust  into  a  coach, 
and  brought  here,  where  I  have  remained  ever  since/  93 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

TOBIAS'S  RAPID  JOURNEY  TO  LONDON. 

There  was  something  extremely  touching  in  the  tone,  and  apparently  in  the 
manner  in  which  the  poor  persecuted  one  detailed  the  story  of  her  wrongs,  and 
she  had  a  tribute  of  a  willing  tear  from  Tobias. 

"  After  the  generous  confidence  you  have  had  in  me/  he  said,  "  I  ought  to 
tell  you  something  of  myself/' 

"  Do  so/  she  replied,  "  we  are  companions  in  misfortune/' 

"  We  are  indeed/' 

Tobias  then  related  to  her  at  large  all  about  Sweeney  Todd's  viilanies,  and  how 
at  length  he,  Tobias ;  had  been  placed  where  he  was  for  the  purpose  of  silencing 
his  testimony  of  the  evil  and  desperate  practices  of  the  barber.  After  that,  he 
related  to  her  what  he  had  overheard  about  the  intention  to  murder  him  that 
very  night,  and  he  concluded  by  saying— 

"  If  you  have  any  plan  of  escape  from  this  horrible  place,  let  me  implore  you 
to  tell  it  to  me,  and  let  us  put  it  into  practice  to-night,  and'if  we  fail,  death  is  at 
any  time  preferable  to  continued  existence  here, 
!      "  It  is — it  is— listen  to  me/' 

"  I  will  indeed/'  said  Tobias :  "  you  will  say  you  never  had  such  attention 
as  I  will  now  pay  to  you/* 

*    " "■' '         '"» »      llll  IM  11  I  IB  I— III  M  ,   ...      „       }       U|       ,   _    f       v  „    ....  ,  '  ""*- 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  151 


Y  ou  must  know,  then,  that  this  cell  is  paved  with  flag-stones,  as  you  see, 
and  that  the  wall  here  at  the  back  forms  liekwise  part  of  the  wall  of  an  old  wood- 
house  in  the  garden,  which  is  never  visited* '; 
"  Yes,  I  understand," 

<*  Well,  as  I  have  been  here  so  long,  I  managed  to  get  up  one  of  the  flag-stones 
that  forms  the  flooring  here,  and  to  work  under  the  wall  with  my  hands— a  slow 
labour,  and  one  of  pain,  until  I  made  a  regular  kind  of  excavation,  one  end  of 
which  is  here,  and  the  other  in  the  wood-house." 

"  Glorious !"  said  Tobias.    "  I  see— I  see— go  on." 

"  I  should  have  made  my  escape  if  I  could,  but  the  height  of  the  garden  wall 
has  always  been  the  obstacle.  I  thought  of  tearing  this  miserable  quilt  into 
strips,  and  making  a  sort  of  rope  of  it ;  but  then  how  was  I  to  get  it  on  the 
wall  ?  you,  perhaps  will,  with  your  activity  and  youth,  be  able  to  accomplish 
that." 

"  Oh,  yes,  yes !  you're  right  enough  there ;  it  is  not  a  wall  shall  stop  me.'* 

They  waited  until,  from  a  church  clock  in  the  vicinity,  they  heard  ten  strike, 
and  they  began  operations.  Tobias  assisted  his  new  friend  to  raise  the  stone 
in  the  cell,  and  there,  immediately  beneath,  appeared  the  excavation  leading  to 
the  wood-house,  just  sufficiently  wide  for  one  person  to  creep  through.  It  did 
not  take  long  to  do  that,  and  Tobias  took  with  him  a  piece  of  work,  upon  which 
he  had  been  occupied  for  the  last  two  hours,  namely  the  quilt  torn  up  into  long 
pieces,  twisted  and  tied  together,  so  that  it  formed  a  very  tolerable  rope,  which 
Tobias  thought  would  sustain  the  weight  of  his  companion.  The  wood-house 
was  a  miserable-looking  hole  enough,  and  Tobias  at  once  thought  that  the  door 
of  it  was  fastened,  but  by  a  little  pressure  it  came  open ;  it  had  only  stuck 
through  the  dampness  of  the  woodwork  afc  that  low  point  of  the  garden.  And 
now  they  were  certainly  both  of  them  at  liberty,  with  the  exception  of  sur- 
mounting the  wall,  which  rose  frowningly  before  him  in  all  its  terrors.  There 
was  a  fine  cool  fresh  air  in  the  garden,  which  was  indeed  most  grateful  to  the 
senses  of  Tobias,  and  he  seemed  doubly  nerved  for  anything  that  might  be 
required  of  him  after  inhaling  that  delicious,  cool  fresh  breeze.  There  grew  close 
to  the  wall  one  of  those  beautiful  mountain-ash  trees,  which  bend  over  into  such 
graceful  foliage,  and  which  are  so  useful  in  the  formation  of  pretty  summer- 
houses.  Tobias  saw  that  if  he  ascended  to  the  top  of  this  tree  there  would  not 
be  much  trouble  in  getting  from  there  to  the  wall. 

'*  We  shall  do  it,"  he  said,  "  we  shall  succeed." 

"  Thank  God,  I  hear  you  say  so,"  replied  his  companion, 

Tobias  tied  one  end  of  the  long  rope  they  had  made  of  the  quilt  to  his  waist, 
so  that  he  might  carry  it  up  with  him,  and  yet  leave  him  free  use  of  his  hands 
and  feet,  and  then  he  commenced  ascending  the  tree.  In  three  minutes  he  was 
on  the  wall.  The  moon  shone  sweetly.  There  was  not  a  tree  or  house  in 
the  vicinity  that  was  not  made  beautiful  now,  in  some  portions  of  it,  by  the 
sweet,  soft  light  that  poured  down  upon  them.  Tobias  could  not  resist  pansing 
a  moment  to  look  around  him  on  the  glorious  scene  ;  but  the  voice  of  her  for 
whom  he  was  bound  to  do  ail  that  was  possible,  aroused  him. 

"  Oh,  Tobias  !"  she  said,  u  quick,  quick — lower  the  rope;  oh,  quick !" 

"  In  a  moment — in  a  moment,"  he  cried. 

The  top  of  the  wall  was  here  and  there  armed  with  iron  spikes,  and  some  of 
these  formed  an  excellent  grappling  place  for  the  torn  quilt.  In  the  course  of 
another  minute  Tobias  had  his  end  of  it  secure. 

"  Now/'  he  said,  "  can  you  climb  up  by  it,  do  you  think  ?  Don't  hurry  about 
it.  Remember,  there  is  no  alarm,  and  for  all  we  know  we  have  hours  to  our- 
selves yet." 

If  Yes,  yes — oh,  yes — thank  God !"  he  heard  her  say* 

Tobias  was  not  where  he  could,  by  any  exertion  of  strength,  tender  her  now 
the  least  assistance,  and  he  watched  the  tightening  of  the  frail  support  by  which 
she  was  gradually  climbing  to  the  top  of  the  wall  with  the  most  intense  and 
painful  interest  that  can  be  imagined. 


152     <  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


"I  come — I  come/'  she  said, *' I  am  saved." 
"  Come  slowly— for  God's  sake,  do  not  hurry. 
"  No,  no." 


JNo  no  * 
At  this  moment  Tobias  heard  the  frail  rope  giving  way ;  there  was  a  tearing 

sound-it  broke,  and  she  fell.   Lights,  too,  at  that  unlucky  moment  flashed 

from  the  house,  and  it  was  now  evident  an  alarm  had  been  given.    What  could 

he  do  ?  if  two  could  not  be  saved  he  might  himself  be  saved.    He  turned,  and 

flung  his  feet  over  the  wall;  he  hung  by  his  hands  as  low  as  he  could,  and  then 

he  dropped  the  remainder  of  the  distance.    He  was  hurt,  but  m  a  moment  he 

sprang  to  his  feet,  for  he  felt  that  safety  could  only  lay  in  instant  and  rapid 

flight.    The  terror  of  pursuit  was  so  strong  upon  him  that  he  forgot  his 

bruises.  M  * 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

«  Thank  Heaven,f  exclaimed  Tobias,  «  I  am  at  last  free  from  that  horrible 
place.  Oh,  if  I  can^but  reach  London  now,  I  shall  be  safe  j  and  as  for  b  weeney 
Todd,  let  him  bewaire,  for  a  day  of  retribution  for  him  cannot  be  far  ott. 

So  saying,  Tobias  turned  his  steps  towards  the  .city,  and  at  a  hard  trot,  soon 
left  Peckham  Eye  far  behind  him  as  he  pursued  hik  route. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

MRS.  tOVETT'S  COOK  MAKES  A  DESPERATE  ATTEMPT. 

There  are  folks  who  can  and  who  will  bow  like  reeds  to  the  decrees  of  evil 
fortune,  and  with  a  patient,  ass-like  placidity,  go  on  bearing  the  ruffles  of  a 
thankless  world  without  complaining,  but  Mrs.  Lovett's  new  cook  was  not  one  of 
those.  The  more  destiny  seemed  to  say  to  him— «  Be  quiet!"  the  more  he 
writhed,  and  wriggled,  and  fumed,  and  could  not  be  quiet.  The  more  fate 
whispered  in  his  ears— "  You  can  do  nothing,"  the  more  intent  he  was  upon 
doing  something,  let  it  be  what  it  might.  And  he  had  a  little  something,  m  the 
shape  of  a  respite  too,  now,  for  had  he  not  baked  a  batch  of  pies,  and  sent  them 
up  to  the  devouring  fangs  of  the  lawyers'  clerks  in  all  their  gelatinous  beauty 
and  gushing  sweetness,  to  be  devoured.  To  be  sure  he  had,  and  therefore  hav- 
ing, for  a  space,  obeyed  the  behests  of  his  task-mistress,  he  could  sit  with  his 
head  resting  upon  his  hands  and  think.  Thought !  What  a  luxury!  Where 
is  the  Indian  satrap— where  the  arch  Inquisitor— where  the  grasping,^  dis- 
honest, scheming  employer  who  can  stop  a  man  from  thinking  ? — and  as  Shak- 
speare,  says  of  sleep, 

*  From  that  sleep,  what  dreams  may  come  ?" 

so  might  he  have  said  of  thought, 

From  that  thought  what  acts  may  come  ? 

Now  we  are  afraid  that,  in  the  first  place,  the  cook,  in  spite  of  himself,  uttered 
some  expression  concerning  Mrs.  Lovett  of  neither  an  evangelical  or  a  polite 
character,  and  with  these  we  need  not  trouble  the  reader.  They  acted  as  a  sort 
of  safety-valve  to  his  feelings,  and  after  consigning  that  fascinating  female  to  a 
certain  warm  place,  where  we  may  fancy  everybody's  pie  might  be  cooked  on  the 
very  shortest  notice,  he  got  a  little  more  calm. 
"  What  shall  I  do?— what  shall  I  do?" 

Such  was  the  rather  vague  question  he  asked  of  himself.  Alas  !  how  often  are 
those  four  simple  words  linked  together,  finding  but  a  vain  echo  in  the  over- 
charged heart.  What  shall  I  do  ?  Ay,  what !— small  power  had  he  to  do 
anything,  except  the  quietest  thing  of  ali— that  one  thing  which  Heaven  in  its 
mercy  has  left  for  every  wretch  to  do  if  it  so  pleases  him— to  die  !  But,  some- 
how or  another,  a  man  upon  the  up-hill  side  of  life  is  apt  to  think  he  may  do 


rdtrof,J 


iKteesois 
t  raffia  of: 
ni  not  ok  ; 
ti»  mi*' 
feeoorefe 
br  ns  up« 
dung,  in  tt 
td  sent  the 
jnoas  bea; 
■adoit  to 

ST?* 


f«l> 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


158 


something  rather  than  that,  and  our  cook,  although  he  was  about  as  desperate  a 
cook  as  the  world  ever  saw,  did  not  like  yet  to  say  die.  Now,  in  that  curious 
combination  of  passions,  impulses,  and  prejudices  in  the  mind  of  this  man,  it 
would  be  a  hard  case  if  some  scheme  of  action  did  not  present  itself,  even  in  cir- 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  TOBIAS  FROM  PECKHAM  MAD-HOUSE. 

cumsfcmces  of  the  greatest  possible  seeming  depression,  and  so,  after  a  time,  the 
cook  did  think  of  something  to  do.  , 

"  Many  of  these  pies,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  are  not  eaten  in"  the  shop,  ergv 
they  are  eaten  out  of  the  shop,  and  possibly  at  the  respective  houses  of  tne  pu  - 
chasers— what  more  feasible  mode  of  disclosing  my  position,  and  "  the  secrets 


M@i  20* 


r 


154  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  ,  

of  my  prison-house,"  can  there  be  than  the  enclosing  a  note  in  one  of  Mrs. 
Lovett's  pies  ?" 

After  reviewing  all  the  pros  and  cons  of  this  scheme,  there  only  appeared  a 
few  little  difficulties  in  the  way,  but,  although  they  were  rather  serious,  they  were 
not  insurmountable.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  possible  enough  that  the  unfortu- 
nate pie  in  which  the  note  might  be  enclosed  might  be  eaten  in  the  shop,  in 
which  event  the  note  might  go  down  the  throat  of  some  hungry  lawyer's  clerk, 
and  it  might  be  handed  to  Mrs.  Lovett,  with  a  ff  God  bless  me,  ma'am,  what's 
this  in  the  pie  ?"  and  then  Mrs.  Lovett  might,  by  a  not  very  remote  possibility, 
say  to  herself—"  This  cook  is  a  scheming,  long-headed  sort  of  a  cook,  and  not- 
withstanding he  does  his  duty  by  the  pies,  he  shall  be  sent  upon  an  errand  to 
another  and  a  better  world,"  and  in  that  case  the  delectable  scheme  of  the  note 
could  only  end  in  the  total  destruction  of  the  unfortunate  who  conceived  it. 
Objection  the  second  was,  that,  although  nothing  is  so  easy  as  to  say— "  Oh, 
write  a  note  all  about  it,"  nothing  is  so  difficult  as  to  write  a  note  about  any- 
thing without  paper,  ink,  and  a  pen.  The  cook  rubbed  hi*  forehead,  and  cried— 

«D  nit!" 

This  seemed  to  have  the  desired  effect,  for  he  at  once  recollected  that  he  was 
supplied  with  a  thin  piece  of  paper  for  the  purpose  of  laying  over  the  pies  if  the 
oven  should  by  chance  be  over  heated,  and  so  subject  them  to  an  over-browning 
process. 

"  Surely,"  he  thought,  "  I  shall  be  able  to  make  a  substitute  for  a  pen,  and 
as  for  ink,  a  little  coal  and  water,  or— ah,  I  have  it,  black  from  my  lights,  of 
course.  Ha — ha  !  How  difficulties  vanish  when  a  man  has  thoroughly  made  up 
Jiis  mind  to  overcome  them.  Ha — ha !  I  write  a  note — I  post  it  in  a  pie — some 
lawyer  sends  his  clerk  for  a  pie,  and  he  gets  that  pie.  He  opens  it  and  sees  the 
note — he  reads  it— he  flies  to  a  police-office,  and  gets  a  private  interview 
with  a  magistrate — a  couple  of  Row-street  runners  walk  down  to  Bell  Yard, 
and  seize  Mrs.  Lovett — I  hear  a  row  in  the  shop,  and  cry — (  Here  I  am — I  am 
here— make  haste— here  I  am— here  I  am  !f   Ha — ha— ha — ha — ha — ha !" 

"  Are  you  mad  ? 

The  cook  started  to  his  feet— 

"  Who  spoke — who  spoke  ?" 

"  I,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  looking  through  the  ingenious  little  wicket  at  the  top 
of  the  door.  "  What  do  you  mean  by  that  laughing  ?  If  you  have  gone  mad, 
as  one  cook  once  did,  death  will  be  a  relief  to  you.  Only  convince  me  of  that 
fact,  and  in  two  hours  you  sleep  the  long  sleep." 

V.  I  beg  your  pardon,  ma'am,  I  am  not  at  all  mad." 

u  Then  why  did  you  laugh  in  such  a  way  that  it  reached  even  my  ears  above  I" 

**  Why,  ma'am,  are  you  not  a  widow  ?" 

"Well?" 

"  Well  then,  you  could  not  have  possibly  looked  at  me  as  you  ought  to  have 
done,  or  you  would  have  seen  that  I  am  anything  but  a. bad  looking  fellow,  and 
as  I  am  decidedly  single,  what  do  you  say  to  taking  me  for  better  or  for  worse  ? 
The  pie  business  is  a  thriving  one,  and,  of  course,  if  I  had  an  interest  in  it,  I 
should  say  nothing  of  affairs  down  below  here." 

"Fool!"  ? 

"  Thank  you,  madam,  for  the  compliment,  but  I  assure  you,  the  idea  of  such 
an  arrangement  made  me  laugh,  and  at  all  events,  provided  I  do  my  duty,  you 
don't  mind  my  laughing  a  little  at  it  ?" 

Mrs.  Lovett  disdained  any  further  conversation  with  the  cook,  and  closed  the 
little  wicket.  When  she  was  gone  he  took  himself  seriously  to  task  for  being  so 
foolish  as  to  utter  his  thoughts  aloud,  but  yet  he  did  not  think  he  had  gone  so 
far  as  to  speak  loud  enough  about  the  plan  of  putting  the  letter  in  a  pie  for  her 
to  hear  that. 

''Oh,  no— no,  I  am  safe  enough.  It  was  the  laughing  that  made  her  come. 
I  am  safe  as  yet !" 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  Ikj 

Having  satisfied  himself  fully  upon  this  point,  he  at  once  set  to  work  to 
manufacture  his  note.  The  paper,  as  he  had  said,  was  ready  at  hand.  To  be 
sure,  it  was  of  a  thin  and  flimsy  texture,  and  decidedly  brown,  but  a  man  in  his 
situation  could  be  hardly  supposed  to  stand  upon  punctilios.  After  some  trouble 
he  succeeded  in  making  an  apology  for  a  pen  by  the  aid  of  a  piece  of  stick,  and 
he  manufactured  some  very  tolerable  ink,  at  least,  as  good  as  the  soot  and  water 
commonly  sold  in  London  for  the  best  "  japan,"  and  then  he  set  about  writing 
his  note.  As  we  have  an  opportunity  of  looking  over  his  shoulder,  we  give  the 
note  verbatim. 

"  Sir— (or  Madam)— I  am  a  prisoner  beneath  the  shop  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  th 
pie  female,  in  Bell  Yard.  I  am  threatened  with  death  if  I  attempt  to  escape  from 
my  now  enforced  employment.  Moreover,  I  am  convinced  that  there  is  some 
dreadful  secret  connected  with  the  pies,  which  I  can  hardly  trust  my  imagination 
to  dwell  upon,  much  less  here  set  it  down.  Pray  instantly,  upon  receipt  of  this,  go 
to  the  nearest  police-office  and  procure  me  immediate  aid,  or  I  shall  soon  be 
numbered  with  the  dead.  In  the  sacred  names  of  juctice  and  humanity,  I  charge 
you  to  do  this." 

The  cook  did  not,  for  fear  of  accidents,  put  his  name  to  this  epistle.  It  was 
sufficient,  he  thought,  that  he  designated  his  condition,  and  pointed  out  where  he 
was.  This  note  he  folded  into  a  close  flat  shape,  and  pressed  it  with  his  hands, 
so  that  it  would  take  up  a  very  small  portion  of  room  in  a  pie,  and  yet,  from  its 
size  and  nature,  if  the  pie  fell  into  the  hands  of  some  gourmand  who  com- 
menced eating  it  violently,  he  could  not  fail  to  feel  that  there  was  a  something 
in  his  mouth  more  indigestible  than  the  delicate  mutton  or  veal  and  the  flaky 
crust  of  which  Mrs.  Lovett's  delicacies  were  composed.  Having  proceeded 
thus  far,  he  concluded  that  the  only  real  risk  he  run  was,  that  the  pie  might  be. 
eaten  in  the  shop,  and  the  enclosure,  without  examination,  handed  over  to  Mrs 
Lovett  merely  as  a  piece  of  paper  which  had  insinuated  itself  where  it  had  no 
right  to  be.  But  as  no  design  whatever  can  be  carried  out  without  some  risk 
or  another,  he  was  not  disposed  to  give  up  his,  because  some  contingency  of 
that  character  was  attached  to  it.  The  prospect  of  deliverance  from  the  horrible 
condition  to  which  he  was  reduced,  now  spread  over  his  mind  a  pleasing  calm, 
and  he  set  about  the  manufacture  of  a  batch  of  pies,  so  as  to  have  it  ready  for 
the  oven  when  the  bell  should  ring.— Into  one  of  them  he  carefully  introduced 
his  note.  Oh,  what  an  eye  he  kept  upon  that  individual  pie.  How  often  he 
carefully  lifted  the  upper  crust,  to  have  a  peep  at  the  little  missive  which  was 
about  to  go  upon  an  errand  of  life  or  death. — How  he  tried  to  picture  to  his 
mind's  eye  the  sort  of  person  into  whose  hands  it  might  fall,  and  then  how  he 
thought  he  would  listen  for  any  sounds  during  the  next  few  hours,  which  should 
be  indicative  of  the  arrest  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  and  the  presence  of  the  police  in  the 
place.  He  thought,  then,  that  if  his  laugh  had  been  sufficiently  loud  when 
merely  uttered  to  himself,  to  reach  the  ears  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  surely  his  shout  to 
the  police  would  be  heard  above  all  other  sounds,  and  at  once  bring  them  to  his 
aid.  Tingle !  tingle !  tingle  !  went  a  bell.  It  was  the  signal  for  him  to  get  a 
batch  of  pies  ready  for  the  oven. 

"  Good,"  he  said,  "it  is  done." 

He  waited  until  the  signal  was  given  to  him  to  put  them  in  to  be  cooked,  and 
then,  after  casting  one  more  look  at  the  pie  that  contained  his  note,  in  went  the 
batch  to  the  hot  air  of  the  oven,  which  came  out  upon  his  face  like  the  breath  of 
some  giant  in  a  highly  febrile  state. 

"'Tis  done,"  he  said.   "'Tis  done,  and  I  am  saved  !" 

He  sat  down  and  covered  his  face  with  his  hands,  while  delicious  dreamy 
thoughts  of  freedom  came  across  his  brain.  Green  fields,  trees,  meadows  and 
uplands,  and  the  sweet  blue  sky,  all  appeared  before  him  in  bright  and  beautiful 
array. 

"Yes,"  he  said.  "Yes,  I  shall  see  them  all  once  again.— Once  again  I 
shall  look,  perchance,  upon  the  bounding  deep  blue  sea.   Once  again  I  shall 


feel  the  sun  of  a  happier  clime  than,  this  fanning  my  cheek*  Oh,  liberty,  liberty, 
what  a  precious  boon  art  thou !" 

Tingle  !  tingle !  tingle !  He  started  from  his  dream  of  joy.  The  pies  are 
wanted ;  Mrs.  Lovett  knew  well  enough  how  long  they  took  in  doing,  and  that 
by  this  time  they  should  be  ready  to  be  placed  upon  the  ascending  trap.  Down 
it  came.  Open  went  the  oven  door,  and  in  another  minute  the  note  was  in  the 
shop.  The  cook  placed  his  hand  upon  his  heart  to  still  its  tumultuous  beating 
as  he  listened  intently.  He  could  hear  the  sound  of  feet  above— only  dimly 
though,  through  that  double  roof.  Once  he  thought  he  heard  high  words,  but 
all  died  away  again,  and  nothing  came  of  it. — All  was  profoundly  still.  The 
batch  of  pies  surely  were  sold  now,  and  in  a  paper  bag  he  told  himself  his  pie, 
par  excellence^  had  gone  perhaps  to  the  chambers  of  some  attorney,  who  would 
be  rejoiced  to  have  a  finger  in  it ;  or  to  some  briefless  barrister,  who  would  be 
rejoiced  to  get  his  name  in  the  papers,  even  if  it  were  only  connected  with  a 
story  of  a  pie.  Yes,  the  dream  of  freedom  still  clung  to  the  imagination  of  the 
cook,  and  he  waited,  with  every  nerve  thrilling  with  expectation,  the  result  of 
his  plan.  One,  two,  three  hours  had  passed  away,  and  nothing  came  of  the  pie 
or  the  letter.  All  was  as  quiet  and  as  calm  as  though  the  malignant  fates  had 
determined  that  there  he  was  to  spend  his  days  for  ever,  and  gradually  as  in  a 
frigid  situation  the  narrow  column  of  mercury  in  a  thermometer  will  sink,  sank 
his  spirits—down — down — down  ! 

"No — no,"  he  said.  "  No  hope.  Timidity  or  incredulity  has  consigned  my 
letter  to  the  flames,  perhaps,  or  some  wide-mouthed,  stupid  idiot  has  actually 
swallowed  it.  Oh  that  it  had  choked  him  by  the  way.  Oh  that  it  had  actually 
stuck  in  his  throat. — It  is  over,  1  have  lost  hope  again.  This  horrible  place  will 
be  my  charnel-house — my  family  vault !  Curses  ! — No — no.  What  is  the  use 
of  swearing  ?    My  despair  is  past  that— far  past  that— " 

"  Cook  V  said  a  voice. 

He  sprang  up,  and  looked  to  the  wicket.   There  was  Mrs.  Lovett  gazing  in 
at  him. 
"Cook!" 

"  Well — well. — Fiend  in  female  shape,  what  would  you  with  me  ?  Did  you 
not  expect  to  find  me  dead  V 

"  Certainly  not.    Here  is  a  letter  for  you." 
"  A — a— letter  I" 

?•  Yes.    Perhaps  it  is  an  answer  to  the  one  you  sent  in  the  pie,  you  know." 

The  unfortunate  grasped  his  head,  and  gave  a  yell  of  despair.  The  letter— for 
indeed  Mrs.  Lovett  had  one — was  dropped  upon  the  ground  floor  from  the  open- 
ing through  which  she  conversed  with  her  prisoner,  and  then,  without  another 
word,  she  withdrew  from  the  little  orifice,  and  left  him  to  his  meditation. 

"Lost!— lost!— lost!"  he  cried.  "All  is  lost.  God,  is  this  enchantment  ? 
Or  am  I  mad,  and  the  inmate  of  some  cell  in  an  abode  of  lunacy,  and  all 
this  about  pies  and  letters  merely  the  delusion  of  my  overwrought  fancy  ?  Is 
there  really  a  pie— a  Mrs.  Lovett— a  &ell  Yard— a  letter— a— a— a— damn  it,  is 
there  such  a  wretch  as  I  myself,  in  this  vast  bustling  world,  or  is  all  a  wild  and 
fathomless  delusion  ?" 

He  cast  himself  upon  the  ground,  as  though  from  that  moment  he  gave  up  all 
hope  and  desire  to  save  himself.    It  seemed  as  though  he  coald  have  said— 

"  Let  death  come  in  any  shape  he  may,  he  will  find  me  an  unresisting  victim . 
I  have  fougnt  with  fate,  and  am,  like  thousands  who  have  preceded  me  in  such 
a  contest— beaten !" 

A  kind  of  stupor  came  over  him,  and  there  he  lay  for  more  than  two  hours ; 
but  youth  will  overcome  much,  and  the  mind,  like  some  depressed  spring,  will,  in 
the  spring  of  life,  soon  recover  its  rebound ;  so  it  was  with  the  unhappy  cook. 
After  a  time  he  rose  and  looked  about  him. 

"  No,"  he  said,  u  it  is  no  dream.   It  is  no  dream !" 

He  then  saw  the  letter  lying  upon  the  ground,  which  Mrs.  Lovett  had  with 
such  iroay  cast  unto  him. 


THE  STRING  0¥  PEARLS.  1ST 


t. 


ItTT"!'  ~"  *  "^mwiMMfiiMiwaiin- -  rirm~~T-*nrTnmirr ■firmwrT  


"  Surely/'  he  said,  "  she  might  have  been  content  to  tell  me  she  had  discovered 
my  plans,  without  adding  this  practical  sneer  to  it/' 

He  lifted  the  letter  from  the  door,  and  found  it  was  addressed  "  To  Mrs. 
Lovett's  Cook,  Bell  Yard,  Teirple  Bar and  what  made  it  all  the  more  pro- 
voking was,  that  it  seemed  to  have  come  regularly  through  the  post,  for  there 
were  the  official  seal  and  blue  stamp  upon  it.  Curiosity  tempted  him  to  open  it, 
and  he  read  as  follows^- 

"  Sir— Having,  in  a  most  delicious  pie,  received  the  extraordinary  communi- 
cation which  you  inserted  in  it,  I  take  the  earliest  opportunity  of  replying  to 
you.  The  character  of  a  highly  respectable  and  pious  woman  is  not,  sir,  to  be 
whispered  away  in  a  pie  by  a  cook.  When  the  whole  bench  of  bishops  were 
proved,  in  black  and  white,  to  be  the  greatest  thieves  and  speculators  in  the 
known  world,  it  was  their  character  that  saved  them,  for,  as  people  justly  enough 
reasoned,  bishops  should  be  pious  and  just— therefore,  a  bishop  cannot  be  a  thief 
and  a  liar  !  Now,  sir,  apply  this  little  mandate  to  Mrs.  Lovett,  and  assure  your- 
self ;  but  no  one  will  believe  anything  you  can  allege  against  a  female  with  so 
fascinating  a  smile,  and  who  attends  to  her  religious  duties  so  regularly.  Reflect, 
young  man,  on  the  evil  that  you  have  tried  to  do,  and  for  the  future  learn  to  be 
satisfied  with  the  excellent  situation  you  have.   The  pie  was  very  good." 

I  am,  you  bad  young  man, 

A  Parishioner  of  St.  Dunstan's, 
T  Sweeney  Todd." 

u  Now  was  there  ever  such  a  piece  of  cool  rascality  as  this  ?"  cried  the  cook. 
"  Sweeney  Todd— Todd— Todd.  Who  the  devil  is  he  i  This  is  some  scheme 
of  Mrs.  Lovett's  to  drive  me  mad." 

He  dashed  the  letter  upon  the  floor. 

"Not  another  pie  will  I  make!  No— no — no.  Welcome  delfth— welcome 
that  dissolution  which  may  be  my  lot,  rather  than  the  continued  endurance  of 
this  terrible  imprisonment.  Am  I,  at  my  time  of  life,  to  be  made  the  slave  of 
such  a  demon  in  human  shape  as  this  woman  ?  Am  I  to  grow  old  and  grey 
here,  a  mere  pie  machine  ?    No — no,  death  a  thousand  times  rather  I" 

Tears  !  yes,  bitter  scalding  tears  came  to  his  relief,  and  he  wept  abundantly, 
but  those  tears  were  blessed,  for  as  they  flowed,  the  worst  bitterness  of  his  heart 
flowed  with  them,  and  he  suddenly  looked  up,  saying — 

ft  I  am  only  twenty- four.* 

There  was  magic  in  the  sound  of  those  words.  They  seemed  in  themselves  to 
contain  a  volume  of  philosophy.  Only  twenty-four.  Should  he,  at  that  green 
and  unripe  age,  get  rid  of  hope.  Should  he,  at  twenty-four  only,  lie  down  and 
say—"  Let  me  die !"  just  because  things  had  gone  a  little  adverse,  and  he  was  the 
enforced  cook  of  Mrs.  Lovett  ?" 

«* No-no/'  he  said.  "No,  I  will  endure  much,  and  I  will  hope  much 
Hitherto,  it  is  true,  I  have  been  unsuccessful  in  what  1  have  attempted  for  my 
release,  but  the  diabolical  cunning,  even  of  this  woman,  may  fail  her  at  some 
moment,  and  I  may  have  my  time  of  revengef  No— no,  I  need  not  ask  for  re- 
venge, justice  will  do— common  justice*  I  will  keep  myself  alive.  Hope  shall 
be  my  guiding  star.  They  shall  not  subdue  the  proud  spirit  they  have  succeeded 
in  caging,  quite  so  easily,  I  will  not  give  up,  I  live  and  have  youthful  blood  in 
my  veins,  I  will  not  despair.  Despair  ?  No— Hence,  fiend  !— I  am  as  yet  only 
twenty-four.    Ha— ha !   Only  twenty- four,  " 


• 


■ 


158  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  ■> * m 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

SHOWS  HOW  TOBIAS  GOT  TO  LONDON. 

Wb  will  now  take  a  peep  at  Tobias.  On— on— on*  . like  the  wind,  went  the 
poor  belated  boy  from  the  vicinity  of  that  frightful  prison-house  at  Peckham. 
Terror  was  behind  him— terror  with  dishevelled  locks  was  upon  his  right  hand, 
and  terror  shrieking  in  his  ear  was  upon  his  left.  On — on,  he  flew  like  a  whirl- 
wind. Alas,  poor  Tobias,  will  your  young  intellects  yet  stand  these  trials? 
We  shall  see !  Through  the  deep  mud  of  the  Surrey  roads— past  pedestrians— 
past  horsemen,  and  past  coaches  flew  poor  Tobias,  on— on.  He  had  but  one 
thought,  and  that  was  to  place  miles  and  miles  of  space  between  him  and  Mr. 
Fogg's  establishment.  The  perspiration  poured  down  his  face— his  knees 
shook  under  him— his  heart  beat  as  though  in  some  wild  pulsation  it  would 
burst,  but  he  passed  on  until  he  saw  afar  off  the  old  Bridge  of  London.  The 
route  to  Blackfriars  he  had  by  some  chance  avoided.  Many,  who  for  the  lasfc  two 
miles  of  Tobias's  progress,  had  seen  him,  had  tried  to  stop  him.  They  had  called 
after  him,  but  he  had  heeded  them  not.  Some  fast  runners  had  pursued  him  for 
a  short  distance,  and  then  given  up  the  chase  in  despair.  He  reached  the  bridge. 
"  Stop  that  boy !"  cried  a  man,  "  he  looks  mad  V* 
"  No— no,"  shrieked  Tobias,  "  I  am  not  mad  !  I  am  not  mad !" 
A  man  held  out  his  arms  to  stop  him,  but  Tobias  dashed  past  him  like  a  flash 
of  lightning,  and  was  off  again. 

"Stop  him!"  cried  twenty  voices.  "Stop  thief  1"  shouted  some  who  could 
not  conceive  that  anybody  was  to  be  stopped  on  any  other  account. 

"No, no,"  gasped  Tobias,  as  he  flew  onwards — " not  mad,  not  mad!" 

His  feet  failed  him.  He  reeled  a  few  more  paces  like  a  drunken  man,  and 
then  fell  heavily  upon  some  stone  steps,  where  he  lay  bathed  in  perspiration. 
Blood  too  gushed  from  his  mouth.  A  gentleman's  horse  was  standing  at  the 
door,  and  the  man  came  out  to  mount  him  at  that  moment,  and  he  saw  the 
rapidly  collecting  crowd.  With  the  reins  of  his  steed  in  his  hand,  he  pushed  his 
way  through  the  mob,  saying— 

"  What  is  it  ?  what  is  it  >" 

"A  mad  boy,  sir,"  said  some.  "  Only  look  at  him.  Did  you  ever  see  the 
like.   He  looks  as  if  he  had  run  a  hundred  miles." 

"  Good  God !"  cried  the  gentleman.   "It  is  he!   It  is  he'" 
"  Who,  sir  ?  who,  sir  ?" 

"A  poor  lad  that  I  know,  I  will  take  charge  of  him.  My  name  is  Jeffery,  I 
am  Lolonel  i  effery.   A  couple  of  guineas  to  any  strong  man  who  will  carry  him 

to  the  nearest  surgeon's.  Alas!  poor  boy,  what  a  state  is  this  to  meet  him 
in. 

It  was  quite  astonishing  the  numbers  of  strong  men  that  there  were  all  of  a 
sudden  m  the  crowd,  who  were  each  anxious  and  willing  to  earn  the  colonel's  two 
guineas.  There  was  danger  of  a  fight  arising  upon  the  subject,  when  one  man. 
after  knocking  down  two  others  and  threatening  the  remainder,  stepped  up,  and 
lifting  Tobias  as  though  he  had  been  an  infant,  exclaimed— 

"Ale  does  it !  ale  does  it !   Come  on,  my  little  'un." 

All  gave  way  before  the  gigantic  proportions  of  no  other  than  our  old  friend 
J3ig  Ben  the  Beef  Eater,  who,  as  chance  would  have  it,  was  upon  the  spot,  and 
who,  without  a  thought  of  the  colonel's  two  guineas,  only  heard  that  a  poor  sick 
boy  had  to  be  carried  to  the  nearest  medical  man.  Tobias  could  not  be  in 
better  hands  than  Ben  s,  for  the  latter  carried  him  much  more  carefully  than  eter 
nursemaid  carried  a  child  out  of  sight  of  its  mother. 

"  Follow  me,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  as  he  saw  in  the  distance  a  party-coloured 
lamp,  whieh  hung  over  a  door  appertaining  to  a  chemist.  «  Follow,  and  I  will 
reward  you." 

"  Doesn't  want  it,"  said  Ben.  "  It's  ale  as  does  it." 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS/  159 


"What?" 

"  Ale  does  it;    Here  you  is.   Come  on." 

Colonel  Jeffery  was  rather  surprised  at  the  droll  customer  he  had  picked  up 
in  the  street,  but  provided  he  carried  Tobias  in  safety,  which  by-the-bye  he  (the 
colonel)  would  not  have  scrupled  to  do  himself,  had  he  not  been  encumbered  by 
his  horse,  it  was  all  one  to  him,  and  that  he  saw  Ben  was  effectually  doing. 
Tobias  had  shown  some  slight  symptoms  of  vitality  before  being  lifted  from  the 
step  of  the  door  close  to  which  he  had  fallen,  but'  by  the  time  they  all  reached 
the  chemist's  shop,  he  was  in  a  complete  state  of  insensibility.  Of  course  the 
usual  crowd  that  collects  on  such  occasions  followed  them,  and  during  the  walk 
the  colonel  had  time  to  think,  and  the  result  of  those  thoughts  was,  that  it  would 
be  a  most  desirable  thing  to  keep  the  knowledge  to  himself  that  Tobias  was 
Tobias.  He  had,  in  order  to  awe  the  mob  from  any  interference  with  him,  an- 
nounced who  he  was,  but  had  not  announced  Tobias.  At  least  if  he  had  uttered 
his  name,  he  felt  certain  that  it  was  in  an  interjectional  sort  of  way,  and  not  cal- 
culated to  awaken  any  suspicion. 

"  I  will  keep  it  to  myself,"  he  thought,  u  that  Tobias  is  in  my  possession, 
otherwise  if  such  a  fact  should  travel  round  to  Sweeney  Todd,  there's  no  saying 
to  what  extent  it  might  put  that  scoundrel  upon  his  guard." 

By  the  time  the  colonel  had  arrived  at  this  conclusion  the  whole  party  had 
reached  the  chemist's,  and  Big  Ben  walked  in  with  Tobias,  and  placed  him  at 
once  upon  the  top  of  a  plate-glass  counter,  which  had  upon  it  a  large  collec- 
tion of  trumpery  scent  bottles  and  wonderful  specifics  for  everything,  through 
which  Tobias  went  with  a  crash. 

"  There  he  is  !"  said  Ben — u  ale  does  it.5' 

"  Fire  I  murder !  my  glass  case  !"  cried  the  chemist.   m  Oh,  you  monster !" 
"  Ale  does  it.    What  do  you  mean,  eh  ?" 

Big  Ben  backed  a  pace  or  two  and  went  head  and  shoulders  through  a  glass 
case  of  similar  varieties  that  was  against  the  wall. 

"  Gracious  bless  the  beasteses,"  said  Ben,  **  is  your  house  made  of  glass  ? 
What  do  you  mean  by  it,  eh  ?  A  fellow  can't  turn  round  here  without  going 
through  something.  You  ought  to  be  persecuted  according  to  law,  that  you 
ought." 

Now  this  learned  chemist  had  in  the  glass  case  against  which  Big  Ben  had 
tumbled  a  skeleton,  which,  from  the  stunning  and  terrible  look  it  had'in  his  shop, 
brought  him  many  customers,  and  it  was  against  this  remnant  of  humanity  that 
Big  Ben's  head  met,  after  going  through  the  glass  as  a  preparatory  step.  By 
some  means  or  another  Ben  caught  his  head  under  the  skeleton5*  libs,  and  the 
consequence  was  that  out  he  hooked  him  from  the  glass  case,  and  the  first  inti- 
mation Ben  had  of  anything  unusual,  consisted  of  seeing  a  pair  of  bony  legs 
dangling  down  on  each  side  of  him.  So  unexpected  a  phenomenon  gave  Ben 
what  he  called  a  u  blessed  turn,"  and  out  he  bounced  from  the  shop,  carrying  the 
skeleton  for  all  the  world  like  what  is  called  pick-a-back,  for  the  wires  that 
supplied  the  place  of  cartilages  held  it  erect,  and  so  awful  a  sight  surely  was 
never  seen  in  the  streets  of  London  as  Big  Ben  with  a  skeleton  upon  his  back. 
People  fled  before —some  turned  in  at  shop  doors ;  and  an  old  lady  with  a  large 
umbrella  and  a  pair  of  gigantic  pattens  went  clean  through  a  silversmith's 
window.  But  we  must  leave  Ben  and  the  skeleton  to  get  on  as  well  as  they  can 
en  route  to  the  Tower,  while  we  turn  our  attention  to  Tobias. 

t€  Are  you  a  surgeon  ?"  cried  Colonel  Jeffery. 

"  A— a  surgeon  ?  No,  Pm  only  a  druggist ;  but  is  th&t  any  reason  why  a  second 
Goliah  should  come  into  my  shop  and  destroy  everything  ?" 

Colonel  Jeffery  did  not  wait  for  anything  more,  but  snatching  Tobias  from  the 
remnants  of  the  plate  glass,  he  ran  to  the  door  with  him,  and  handing  him  to  the 
first  person  he  saw  there,  he  cried— 

"  When  I  am  mounted  give  me  the  boy.15 

u  Yes,  sir." 

He  sprang  upon  his  horse  j  Tobias  was  handed  to  him  like  a  bale  of  goods,  and 


160 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


laying  him  comfortably  as  he  could  upon  the  saddle  hefore  him,  off  set  the 
colonel  at  a  good  round  trot  through  Finsbury  to  his  own  house.  Colonel 
Jeffery  had  no  sort  of  intention  that  the  chemist  should  be  a  sufferer,  but  in  his 
hurry  to  be  off  with  Tobias,  and  speedily  get  medical  advice  for  him,  he  forgot 
to  say  so,  and  accordingly  there  stood  the  man  of  physic  then  fairly  bewildered 
by  the  events  of  the  last  few  moments,  during  which  his  stock  in  trade  had  been 
materially  damaged  and  a  valuable  amount  of  glass  broken,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  singular  and  most  nnexpected  abduction  of  his  friend  the  skeleton. 

"  Here's  a  pretty  day's  work  !?'  he  said.  "  Here's  a  pretty  day's  work  !  More 
mischief  done  than  enough,  and  the  worst  of  it  is,  my  wife  will  hear  of  it,  and 
then  there  will  be  a  deal  of  peace  in  the  house.  Oh,  dear — oh,  dear — was  there 
ever  such  an  unfort — I  knew  it — 99 

A  good  rap  upon  his  head  from  a  pair  of  bellows  wielded  by  a  little  meagre- 
faced  yvoman,  that  he  was  big  enough  to  have  swallowed,  confined  his  words. 
While  all  this  was  going  on,  Colonel  Jeffery  had  ridden  fast,  and  passing  through 
Finsbury  and  up  the  City-road,  had  reachedjhis  house]in  the  fashionable — but  now 
quite  the  reverse,  as  the  man  says  in  the  play — district  of  Pentonville. 

H  This  is  a  prize,'*  thought  the  colonel,  "  worth  the  taking.  It  will  go  hard 
with  me  but  I  will  extract  from  this  boy  all  that  he  knows  of  Sweeney  Todd,  and 
we  shall  see  how  far  that  knowledge  will  go  towards  the  confirmation  of  my 
suspicions  regarding  him." 

He  carried  Tobias  himself  to  a  comfortable  bed-room,  and  immediately  sent 
for  a  medical  practitioner  of  good  repute  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  happening 
fortunately  to  be  at  home,  obeyed  the  summons  immediately.  He  sent  likewise 
for  his  friend  the  captain,  whom  he  knew  would  be  overjoyed  to  hear  of  what  he 
would  ca'l  the  capture  of  Tobias  Ragg.  The  medical  man  made  his  appearance 
first,  as  being  much  closer  at  hand,  and  the  colonel  led  him  to  the  apartment  of 
the  invalid  boy,  saying  to  him  as  he  went — 

"  I  know  nothing  of  what  is  the  matter  with  this  lad — I  have  been  very  anxi- 
ous to  see  him  on  account  of  certain  information  that  he  possesses,  and  only 
found  him  this  morning  upon  a  door  step  in  the  stieet,  in  the  state  you  see 

him."  V 
"Is  he  very  ill?* 
"  I  am  afraid  he  is/' 

The  medical  man  followed  the  colonel  to  the  room  in  which  poor  Tobias  lay, 
and  after  gazing  upon  him  for  a  few  moments,  and  opening  with  his  fingers  the 
closed  eyelids  of  Tobias,  he  shook  his  head. 

"  I  wish  I  knew,"  he  said,  "  what  has  produced  this  state.  Can  you  not  in- 
form me,  sir  ?" 

"  Indeed  I  cannot,  but  I  suspect  that  the  boy's  imagination  has  been  cruelly 
acted  upon  by  a  man,  whom  you  will  excuse  me  from  naming  just  at  present, 
but  whom  I  sincerely  hope  to  bring  to  justice  shortly.0 

"  The  boy's  brain,  no  doubt,  is  in  a  bad  condition.  I  do  not  take  upon  my- 
self to  say  that,  as  an  organ,  it  is  diseased,  but  fractionally  it  is  damaged. 
However,  we  must  do  the  best  we  can  to  recover  him  from  this  condition  of 
collapse  in  which  he  is.*' 

u  Can  you  form  any  opinion  as  to  his  probable  recovery  ?" 

"  Indeed  I  cannot,  but  he  is  young,  and  youth  is  a  great  thing.  The  best 
that  can  be  done  shall  be  done.1* 

*  I  thank  you.  Spare  nothing  for  the  lad,  and  pay  him  every  attention,  as 
though  he  were  a  son  or  a  brother  of  my  own ;  I  long  to  hear  him  speak,  and  to 
convince  him  that  he  is  really  among  friends,  who  arc  not  only  willing  to  protect 
him,  but  have  likewise  the  power  to  do  so." 

The  medical  man  bowed,  as  he  said— 

"  May  I  ask  his  name,  sir  V% 

He  had  his  ta1  lets  in  his  hand  ready  to  book  the  name  of  Tobias,  but  the 
colonel  was  so  very  much  afraid  that  Sweeney  Todd  might  by  some  means  learn 
that  Tobias  was  in  his  house,  and  so  take  an  alarm,  that  he  would  not  trust  even 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  161 

the  medical  man,  who,  no  doubt,  had  no  other  motive  in  asking  the  name  than 
merely  to  place  it  in  his  list  of  calls. 
"  Smith,"  said  the  colonel. 

The  medical  man  gave  a  short  dry  sort  of  cough,  as  he  wrote  "  Master  Smith" 


Johanna's  alarm  at  the  sight  of  sweeney  todd. 


upon  his  tablets,  and  then  promising  to  return  in  half  an  hour,  he  took  his  leave. 
At  the  expiration  of  half  an  hour  Tobias  was  put  under  a  course  of  treatment. 
His  head  was  shaved,  and  a  blister  clapped  upon  the  back  of  his  neck.  The 
room  was  darkened,  and  strict  quiet  was  enjoined. 

"  As  soon  as  he  betrays  any  signs  of  consciousness,  pray  send  for  me,  sir/' 
said  the  surgeon. 


162 


THE  STRING  Of  PEARLS. 


"  Certainly."  . 

In  the  course  of  the  day  the  captain  made  his  appearance,  and  Colonel  Jeffery 
detailed  to  him  all  that  had  taken  place,  only  lamenting  that,  after  so  happily  get- 
ting possession  of  Tobias,  he  should  be  in  so  sorry  a  condition.    The  captain 
expressed  a  wish  to  see  him,  and  they  both  went  to  the  chamjber,  where  a  woman 
had  been  hired  to  sit  with  Tobias,  in  order  to  give  the  first  intimation  of  his 
stirring.   Of  course,  as  it  was  her  duty,  and  what  she  was  specially  hired  for, 
to  keep  wide  awake,  she  was  fast  asleep,  and  snoring  loud  enough  to  awaken 
any  one  much  worse  than  poor  Tobias.   But  that  was  to  be  expected. 
u  Oh,"  said  the  captain,  11  this  is  a  professional  nurse.** 
"  A  professional  devil  Y*  said  the  colonel*   H  How  did  you  know  that  J* 
"By  her  dropping  off  so  comfortably  to  sleep,  and  her  utter  neglect  of  her 
charge.  I  never  knew  one  that  did  not  do  so,  and,  in  good  truth,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  it  is  the  very  best  thing  they  can  do,  for  if  they  are  not  asleep  they  are  ob- 
noxiously awake/' 

The  colonel  took  a  pin  from  his  cravat,  and  rather  roughly  inserted  its  point 
into  the  fat  arm  of  the  nurse.    She  started  up,  exclaiming-^ 

"  Drat  the  fleas,  can't  a  mortal  sleep  in  peace  for  them  ?"| 

"  Madam,"  said  the  colonel,  "  how  much  is  owing  to  yoi  for  slee]*ng  here  a 
few  hours  V9 

"  Lord  bless  me,  sir,  is  this  you  I  The  poor  soul  has  never  so  much  as  stirred. 
How  my  heart  bleeds  continually  for  him,  to  be  sure.  Ah,  dear  me,  we  are  all 
born  like  sparks,  and  keep  continually  flying  wpwasd,  as  the  psalm  gays*" 

"  How  much  do  I  owe  you  t* 

**  Here  to-day,  and  gone  to-morrow.    Bless  his  innoeent  face.'* 
The  colonel  rung  the  bell,  and  a  strapping  footman  made  his  appearance. 
"  You  will  see  tins  woman  to  the  door,  John,"  he  said,  *  and  pay  her  for  being 
here  about  three  hours." 

"  Why,  you  raangey  skin-flint/9  cried  the  woman.   "  What  do  you  n 

She  was  cut  short  in  her  vituperative  eloquence  by  John,  who  handed  her 
down  stairs  with  such  dispatch  that  a  pint  bottle  of  gin  rolled  out  of  her  pocket 
and  was  smashed,  filling  the  house  with  an  odour  that  was  quite  unmistakaeble. 
"  What  do  you  propose  to  do  }**  said  the  captain. 

**  Why,  as  we  have  dined,  if  vou  have  no  objection  we  will  sit  here  and  keep 
this  poor  benighted  one  company  for  awhile.  He  is  better  with  no  one  than 
such  as  she  whom  I  have  dislodged ;  but  before  night  he  shall  have  a  more  tender 
and  less  professional  nurse.  You  know  more  of  the  world,  after  all,  than  I  do, 
captain." 


mm 


CHAP  TIE  XXII. 

TOBIAS  HAS  A  MIND  DISEASED* 

With  a  bottle  of  claret  upon  the  table  between  them,  Colonel  Jeffery  and  his 
old  friend  sat  over  the  fire  in  the  bed-room  devoted  to  the  use  of  poor  Tobias 
Ragg.  Alas !  poor  boy,  kindness  and  wealth  that  now  surrounded  him  came  late 
in  the  day.  Before  he  first  crossed  the  threshold  of  Sweeney  Todd's  odious 
abode,  what  human  heart  could  have  more  acutely  felt  genuine  kindness  than 
Tobias's,  but  his  destiny  had  been  an  evil  one.  Guilt  has  its  victims,  and  Tobias 
was  in  all  senses  one  of  the  victims  of  Sweeney  Todd. 

€t  I  am  sufficiently,  perhaps  superstitious,  you  will  call  it,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery 
in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  **  to  think  that  my  meeting  with  this  boy  was  not  altogether 
accidental.'' 
" Indeed  ?" 

"  N@.  Many  things  have  happened  to  me  during  life — although  I  admit  that 
they  may  be  all  accounted  for  as  natural  coincidences,  curious  only  at  the  best  ^ 


m 


THE  STEIN G  OF  PEAELS,         ^  \  163 


A. 


bmt  still  suggestive  of  something  very  different,  and  make  me  at  times  a  convert 
to  the  belief  in  an  interfering  special  Providence,  and  thie  is  one  of  them," 

*  It  is  a  dangerous  doctrine,  my  friend.'* 
"  Think  you  so  ?" 

*  Yes;  It  is  much  better  and  much  safer  both  for  the  judgment  and  imagi- 
nation to  account  naturally  for  all  those  things  Which  admit  of  a  natural  explana- 
tion, than  to  fall  back  upon  a  special  Providence,  and  fancy  that  it  i©  continually 
interfering  with  the  great  and  imimxtable  laws  that  govern  the  world.  I  do  not— 
mark  me— deny  such  a  thing,  but  I  would  notbefhasty  in  asserting  it.  No  man's 
experience  oan  have  been  without  numerous  instances  such  as  you  mention 

"  Certainly  not." 

u  Then  I  should  say  to  you,  as  St.  Paul  said  to  the  Athenians—*  In  all  things 
I  find  you  superstitious.'   What's  that  r9 

A  faint  moan  had  come  upon  both  their  ears,  and  after  listening  for  a  few 
moments  another  made  itself  heard,  and  they  fancied,  by  the  direction  of  the 
sound,  that  Tobias's  Hps  must  have  uttered  it.  Placing  his  finger  against  his 
mouth  to  indicate  silence,  the  colonel  stepped  up  to  the  bedside,  and  hiding 
behind  the  curtains,  he  said,  in  the  softest  and  kindest  voice  he  could  assume— 
"  Tobias  I  Tobias !  fear  nothing  now  you  are  with  friends,  Tobias ;  and,  above 
all,  you  are  perfectly  free  from  the  power  of  Sweeney  Todd." 

"  I  am  nst  mad  I  I  am  not  mad  \"  shouted  Tobias  with  a  shrill  vehemence  that 
made  both  the  colonel  and  his  friend  start.  \. 

u  Nay,  who  says  you  are  mad,  Tobias  ?  We  know  you  are  not  mad,  my  lad. 
Don't  alarm  yourself  about  that,  we  know  you  are  not  mad/' 

"Mercy!  mercy!  I  will  say  nothing — nothing.  How  fiend-like  he  looks. 
Oh,  Mr.  Todd,  spare  me,  and  I  will  go  far,  far  away,  and  die  somewhere  else, 
but  do  not  kill  me  now,  I  am  yet  such?— such  a  boy  only,  and  my  poor  father  is 
dead — dead— dead  !* 

"Ring  the  bell,"  said  Jeffery  to  his  friend,  "and  tellJohn  to  go  for  Mr. 
Chisolm,  the  surgeon.  Come— come,  Tobias,  you  still  fancy  you  are  under  the 
power  of  Todd,  bttt  it  is  not  so — you  are  quite  safe  here.* 

"  Hush !  hush !  mother— oh,  where  are  you,  mother— did  you  leave  me  here, 
mother  ?  Say  you  took,  in  a  moment  of  thoughtlessness,  the  silver  candlestick !  Is 
Todd  to  be  a  devil,  because  you  were  thoughtless  once  ?  Hide  me  from  him« 
hide  me — hide !  hide!  I  am  not  mad.  Hark !  I  hear  him — one— two— three— » 
four— five-Hsix  steps,  and  all  Todd's.  Each  one  leaves  blood  in  its  track.  Look 
at  him  now  !  His  face  changes— 'tis  a  fox's—a  serpent's— hideous— hideous- 
God-— God  !  I  am  mad — mad — mad!"  v 

The  boy  dashed  his  head  from  side  to  side,  and  would  have  flung  himself  from 
the  bed  had  not  Colonel  Jeffery  advanced  and  held  him.  j 

*  Poor  fellow,"  he  said,  "this  is  very  shocking.   Tobias  !  Tobias !" 
"  Hush !  I  hear — poor  thing,  did  they  say  you  was  mad  too  ? — Hide  me  in  the 

straw !  There-^-there— what  a  strange  thing  it  is  for  all  the  air  to  be  so  full  of 
blood.  Do  we  breathe  blood,  and  only  fancy  it  air  ?  Hush !  not  a  word— he 
comes  with  a  serpent's  face— oh,  tell  me  why  does  God  let  such  beings  ever  riot 
upon  the  beautiful  earth— one — two— three— four — five — six— Hiss— hiss !  Off 
—off!   I  am  not  mad — not  mad.   Ha !  ha !  ha  t 

An  appalling  shriek  concluded  this  paroxysm,  and  for  a  few  moments  Tobias 
was  still.  The  medical  man  at  this  time  entered  the  room. 

11  Oh,"  he  said,  "  we  have  roused  him  up  again,  have  we."  Medical  men  are 
rather  fond  of  the  plural  identifying  style  of  talking. 

u  Yes/1  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  "  but  he  had  belter  have  slept  Ihe  sleep  of  death 
than  have  awakened  to  be  what  he  is,  poor  fellow." 
"  A  little— eh  V% 

The  doctor  tapped  his  forehead.  ^  I 

"Not  a  little." 

*  Far  away  over  the  sea  !*  said  Tobias, u  oh,  yes—in  ati^  ghlp,  otfly  do  not  kill 
me,  Mr.  Todd— Jet  me  go  and  I  will  say  nothing,  X  will  work  and  send  my  poor 

■ — £   ■■i.nil'im*')  I    i  ■     i.,  '  <W.a «„,-,-  ■  ,1,,      in   mil  n.u,  i-in«,.n,      mi  m    i  ,        i  ni.rtT.ini       Hi    i  i« 


m  THE  STRING  01  PEARLS. 


mother  hard-earned  gold,  and  your  name  shall  never  pass  our  lips.  Oh,  no— no 
— .no,  do  not  say  that  I  am  mad.  Do  you  see  these  tears  ?  I  have— I  have  not 
crzed  so  since  my  poor  father  called  me  to  him  and  held  me  in  a  last  embrace  of 
his  wasted  arms,  saying,  '  Tobias,  my  darling,  I  am  going— going  far  from  you. 
God's  blessing  be  upon  you,  poor  child.'  I  thought  my  heart  would  break  then, 
but  it  did  not,  I  saw  him  put  from  the  face  of  the  living  into  the  grave,  and  I  did 
not  quite  break  my  heart  then,  but  it  is  broken—broken  now !  Mad  !  mad  ! 
oh,  no,  not  mad — no — no,  but  the  last — but  the  last.  I  tell  you,  sir,  that  I  am — 
am — am  not  mad.  Why  do  you  look  at  me,  I  am  not  mad— one — two — three- 
four — five — six.  God — God — God!  I  am  mad — mad.  Ha!  ha!  ha!  There  they 
come,  all  the  serpents,  and  Todd  is  their  king.  How  the  shadows  fly  about— 
they  shrink— I  cannot  shrink.  Help !  God !  God !  God  !" 
a  This  is  horrible,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery. 

"  It  is  appalling,  from  the  lips  of  one  so  young/'  said  the  captain. 

The  medical  man  rubbed  his  hands  together  as  he  said— 

"Why,  a-hem  !  it  certainly  is  strangely  indicative  of  a  considerable  amount  of 
mental  derangement,  but  we  shall  be  able,  I  dare  say,  to  subdue  that.  I  think,  if 
he  could  be  persuaded  to  swallow  a  little  draught  I  have  here,  it  would  be  bene- 
ficial, and  allay  this  initation,  which  is  partly  nervous.'' 

"  There  cannot  be  much  difficulty,"  said  the  colonel,  "  in  making  him  swallow 
anything,  I  should  think.5 1 

"Let  us  try." 

They  held  Tobias  up  while  the  doctor  poured  the  contents  of  a  small  phial  into 
his  mouth.  Nature  preferred  performing  the  office  of  deglutition  to  choking,  and 
it  was  taken.  The  effect  of  the  opiate  was  rapid,  and  after  some  inarticulate 
moans  and  vain  attempts  to  spring  from  the  bed,  a  deep  sleep  came  over  poor 
Tobias. 

"Now,  gentlemen,"  said  Mr.  Chisolm,  "I  beg  to  inform  you  that  this  is  a 
bad  case." 

"  1  feared  as  much."  * 

"  A  very  bad  case.  Some  very  serious  shock  indeed  has  been  given  to  the 
lad's  brain,  and  if  he  at  all  recovers  from  it,  he  will  be  a  long  time  doing  so.  I 
do  not  think  those  violent  paroxysms  will  continue,  but  they  may  leave  a  kind 
of  fatuity  behind  them  which  may  be  exceedingly  difficult  to  grapple  with." 

€%  In  that  case,  he  will  not  be  able  to  give  me  the  information  1  desire,  and  all 
I  can  do  is  to  take  care  that  he  is  kindly  treated  somewhere,  poor  lad.  Poor 
fellow,  his  has  been  a  hard  lot.  He  evidently  has  a  mind  of  uncommon  sensi- 
bility, as  is  manifest  from  his  ravings.1 1 

"Yes,  and  that  makes  the  case  worse.  However,  we  must  hope  for  tiie  best, 
and  I  will  call  again  in  the  morning."     . » ;.; 

"  Will  he  awake  soon  ?" 

"  Not  for  six  or  eight  hours  at  least,  and  when  he  does,  it  is  very  unlikely  that 
those  paroxysms  will  again  ensue.    He  will  be  quiet  enough." 

"  Then  it  will  be  scarcely  necessary,  during  that  time.,  to  watch  him,  poor 
fellow?'' 

"  Not  at  all.  Of  course,  when  he  awakens  it  will  be  very  desirable  that  some 
one  should  be  here  to  speak  to  him ;  for,  finding  himself  in  a  strange  place,  he 
will  otherwise  naturally  be  terrified." 

AH  this  was  promised  by  the  colonel,  and  the  medical  man  left  the  house, 
evidently  with  very  slender  hopes  in  his  own  mind  of  the  recovery  of  Tobias. 
The  colonel  and  his  friend  retired  to  another  room,  and,then,  after  a  consultation, 
they  agreed  that  it  was  highly  proper  they  should  inform  Sir  Richard  Blunt  of 
what  had  taken  place,  for  although  poor  Tobias  was  in  no  present  condition  to 
give  any  information,  yet  his  capture,  if  it  might  be  called  by  such  a  term,  was 
so  important  an  event  that  it  would  be  unpardonable  to  keep  it  from  the  magis- 
trate. They  accordingly  went  together  to  his  house,  and  luckily  finding  him  at 
home,  they  at  once  communicated  to  him  their  errand.  He  listened  to  them 
with  the  most  profound  attention,  and  when  they  had  concluded,  he  said— 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  165 


Gentlemen,  it  will  be  everything,  if  this  lad  recovers  sufficiently  to  be  a  wit- 
ness against  his  rascal  of  a  master,  for  that  is  just  what  we  want.  However, 
from  the  account  you  give  me  of  him,  I  am  very  much  afraid  the  poor  fellow's 
mind  is  too  severely  affected." 
"  That,  too,  is  our  fear. " 

"  Well,  we  must  do  the  best  we  can,  and  I  should  advise  that  when  he 
awakens  some  one  should  be  by  him  with  whose  voice,  as  a  friendly  sound,  he 
will  be  familiar •?? 

u  Who  can  we  get  >"  u::  a  y$ 

"  His  poor  mother." 

%€  Ah,  yes,  I  will  set  about  that  at  once." 

u  Leave  it  to  me,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  c<  leave  that  to  me — I  know  where 
to  find  Mrs.  Ragg,  and  what's  best  to  say  to  her  in  the  case.  Let  me  see,  in 
about  four  hours  from  now  probably  Tobias  may  be  upon  the  point  of  recovery/' 

"  Most  probably." 

"  Then,  sir,  expect  me  at  your  house  in  that  time  with  Mrs.  Ragg.  I  wil 
take  care  that  the  old  lady's  mind  is  put  completely  at  ease,  so  that  she  will  aid 
us  in  any  respect  to  bring  about  the  recovery  of  her  son,  who  no  doubt  has 
suffered  severely  from  some  plan  of  Todd's  to  put  him  out  of  the  way.  That 
seems  to  me  to  be  the  most|likely  solution  to  the  mystery  of  his  present  condition. 
Todd,  I  am  convinced/'  said  Colonel  Jeftery,  "would  stop  at  no  villany." 
Certainly  not.  My  own  belief  is,  that  he  is  so  steeped  to  the  lips  in  crime, 
that  he  sees  no  other  mode  of  covering  his  misdeeds  already  done  than  by  the 
commission  of  new  ones.   But  his  career  is  nearly  at  an  end,  gentlemen/' 

The  colonel  and  the  captain  took  the  rising  of  the  magistrate  from  his  chair  as 
a  polite  hint  that  he  had  something  else  to  do  than  to  gossip  with  them  any  longer, 
and  they  took  their  leave,  after  expressing  again  to  him  how  much  they  appre- 
ciated his  exertions. 

"  If  the  mystery  of  the  fate  of  my  unhappy  friend,"  said  the  colonel,  "  is  ever 
cleared  up,  it  will  be  by  your  exertion,  Sir  Richard,  and  he  and  I,  and  society  at 
large,  will  owe  to  you  a  heavy  debt  of  gratitude  for  unmasking  so  horrible  a 
villain  as  Sweeney  Todd,  for  that  he  is  such  no  one  can  doubt/ 9 


it 


mw      *"   I  tti 

»<*!  <  4i-*SF4 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

JOHANNA  WALKS  ABROAD  IN  DISGUISE. 

But,  amid  all  the  trials,  and  perplexities,  and  anxieties  that  beset  the  dramatis 
persona?  of  our  story,  who  suffered  like  Johanna  ?  What  heart  bled  as  her's 
bled  ?  What  heart  heaved  with  sad  emotion  as  her's  heaved  >  Alas  !  poor 
Johanna,  let  the  fate  of  Mark  Ingestrie  be  what  it  might,  he  could  not  feel  the 
pangs  that  tore  thy  gentle  heart.    Truly  might  she  have  said— 

"  Man's  love  is  of  his  life  a  thing  apart 
'Tis  woman's  whole  existence,'  j 

for  she  felt  that  her  joy—her  life  itself,  was  bartered  for  the  remembrance  of  how 
she  had  been  loved  by  him  whose  fate  was  involved  in  one  of  the  most  painful 
and  most  inscrutable  of  mysteries.  Where  could  she  seek  for  consolation,  where 
for  hope  ?  The  horizon  of  her  young  life  seemed  ever  darkening,  and  the  more 
she  gazed  upon  it  with  the  fond  hope  of  singing— 

«« The  first  faint  star  of  coming  joy," 

the  more  confounded  her  gentle  spirit  became  by  the  blackness  of  despair.  It  is 
sad  indeed  that  the  young,  the  good,  and  the  gentle,  should  be  the  grand  sufferers 
in  this  world,  but  so  it  is.   The  exquisite  capacity  to  feel  acutely  is  certain  to  nna 


166  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


ample  food  for  agony.  If  human  nature  could  wrap  itself  up  in  the  chill  mantle 
of  selfishness,  and  be  perfectly  insensible  to  all  human  feeling,  it  might  escape, 
but  such  cannot  be  done  by  those  who,  like  the  fine  and  noble-minded  Johanna 
Oakley,  sympathise  with  all  that  is  beautiful  and  great  in  creation.  Already  the 
pangs  of  hope  deferred  were  feeding  upon  the  damask  of  her  cheeks.  The  lily 
had  usurped  the  rose,  and  although  still  exquisitely  beautiful,  it  was  the  pale 
beauty  of  a  statue  that  she  began  to  show  to  those  who  loved  her.  In  the  street 
people  would  turn  to  gaze  after  her  with  admiration  blended  with  pity;  They 
already  looked  upon  her  as  hali  an  angel,  for  already  it  seemed  as  though  she 
had  shaken  off  much  of  her  earthly  lurements,  and  was  hastening  to 

"Rejoin  the  stars," 

Let  us  look  at  her  as  she  lies  weeping  upon  the  breast  of  her  friend  Arabella 
Wilmot.  The  tears  of  the  two  young  girls  are  mingling  together,  but  tho  one  is 
playing  the  part  of  comforter,  while  the  other  mourns  over  much. 

"Now,  Johanna,"  sobbed  Arabella,  "you  talk  of  doing  something  to  save 
Mark  Ingestrie,  if  he  be  living,  or  to  bring  to  justice  the  man  whom  yeu  sus- 
pect to  be  his  murderer.  Let  me  ask  you  what  you  can  hope  to  do,  if  you 
give  way  to  such  an  amount  of  distress  as  this  ?" 

u  Nothing — nothing," 

"  And  are  you  really  to  do  nothing  ?  Have  you  not  agreed,  J ohanna,  to 
make  an  attempt,  in  the  character  of  a  boy,  to  find  out  the  secret  of  Ingestrie's 
disappearance,  and  have  not  I  provided  for  you  all  that  you  require  to  support 
the  character  ?  Courage,  courage,  courage.— Oh,  I  could  tell  you  such  stories 
of  fine  ladies  dressing  as  pages,  and  following  gallant  knights  to  the  field  of 
battle,  that  you  would  feel  as  though  you  could  go  through  anything/' 

"  But  the  age  of  chivalry  is  gone." 

"Yes,  and  why — because  folks  will  not  be  chivalric.  To  those  who  will,  the 
age  of  chivalry  comes  back  again  in  all  its  glory." 

£f  Listen  to  me,  Arabella :  if  I  really  thought  that  Mark  was  no  more,  and 
lost  to  me  for  ever,  I  could  lie  down  and  die,  leaving  to  Heaven  the  punish- 
ment of  those  who  have  taken  his  life,  but  in  the  midst  of  all  my  grief — in  the 
moments  of  my  deepest  depression,  the  thought  clings  to  me,  that  he  lives  yet. 
I  do  not  know  how  it  is,  but  the  thought  of  Mark  Ingestrie  dead,  is  but  a  vague 
one,  compared  to  the  thought  of  Mark  Ingestrie  suffering." 

"Indeed?" 

"  Yes,  and  at  times  it  seems  as  if  a  voice  whispered  to  me,  that  he  was  yet 
to  be  saved,  if  there  existed  a  heart  fair  enough  and  loving  enough  in  its  strength 
to  undertake  the  task.  It  is  for  that  reason,  and  not  from  any  romantic  love  of 
adventure,  or  hope  of  visiting  with  punishment  a  bad  man,  that  my  imagination 
clings  to  the  idea  of  going  in  boy's  apparel  to  Fleet»street,  to  watch,  and  per- 
chance to  enter  that  house  to  which  he  last  went,  and  from  which,  according  to 
all  evidence,  he  never  emerged*" 

"  And  you  are  really  bold  enough  ?" 

"  I  hope  so — I  think,  if  I  am  not,  God  will  help  me" 

A  sob  that  followed  these  words,  sufficiently  testified  how  much  in  need  of 
God's  help  poor  Johanna  was,  but  after  a  few  minutes  she  succeeded  in  re- 
covering herself  from  her  emotion,  and  she  said  more  cheerfully— 

"  Come,  Arabella,  we  talked  of  a  rehearsal  of  my  part ;  but  I  shall  be  more  at 
ease  when  I  go  to  act  it  in  reality,  and  with  danger.  I  shall  be  able  to  comport 
myself  well,  with  only  you  for  a  companion,  and  such  chance  passengers  as  the 
streets  of  the  city  may  afford  for  my  audience." 

"I  am  glad,"  said  Arabella,  "that  you  keep  in  this  mind.  Now  come  and 
dress  yourself,  and  we  will  go  out  together.  You  will  be  taken  for  my  brother, 
you  know." 

In  the  course  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  Johanna  presented  the  appearance  of 
as  good-looking  a  lad  of  about  fourteen  as  the  world  ever  saw,  and  if  she  eould 
but  have  imparted  a  little  moite  confidence  and  boyish  bustle  to  her  gait  aind 

    «— ' 

 "wiiik  »i  iiihii   iimiiiJii  I  i  ..m  .nihil  ji  i.  .  ,,  ,        ,  .„  ,  mmm 


» the  tef  - 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


11  kk 


odo,ifR 

Johanna,  u 
'  Iogtttn' 

•thefiddi 


[  lit  JZls 

ibuiangi 
t  he  wis  Tr 


167 


manner,  she  would  have  passed  muster  mnder  the  most  vigilant  scrutiny.  But 
as  it  was,  nothing  could  be  more  unlikely  than  that  any  one  should  penetrate  her 
disguise,  for  what  is  not  suspected,  is  seldom  seen  very  readily. 

"  You  will  do  capitally,5'  said  Arabella,  <g  I  must  take  your  arm,  you  know 
We  will  not  go  far.5' 
"  Only  to  Fleet  Street.55 

*  Flee*  Street.  You  surely  will  not  go  so  far  as  that  ?• 
?  Yes,  Arabella.   Now  that  I  have  attired  myself  in  these  garments  for  a 
special  purpose,  let  me  do  a  something  towards  the  carrying  it  out.    By  walking 
that  distance  I  shall  accustom  myself  to  the  road ;  and,  moreover,  a  dreadful 
kind  of  fascination  drags  me  to  that  man5s  shop.55 

Arabella,  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  shook  a  little  as  they,  after  watching  an 
opportunity,  emerged  into  the  street,  for  although  the  spirit  of  romantic  adven- 
ture had  induced  her  to  give  the  advice  to  Johanna  that  she  had,  her  own  natu- 
ral feminine  sensibilities  shrunk  from  the  carrying  of  it  out.  Ashamed,  however, 
of  being  the  first  to  condemn  her  own  suggestion,  she  took  the  arm  of  Johanna, 
and  those  two  young  creatures  were  in  the  tide  of  human  life  that  ebbs  and 
flows  in  the  great  city.  The  modest  walk  and  gentle  demeanour  of  the  seeming 
young  boy  won  J ohanna  many  a  passing  glance  as  she  and  Arabella  proceeded 
down  Ludgate  Hill  towards  Fleet  Street,  but  it  was  quite  clear  that  no  one  sus- 
pected the  disguise  which,  to  do  Arabella  justice,  in  its  general  arrangement  was 
very  perfect,  and  as  Johanna  wore  a  cap,  which  concealed  much  of  the  upper 
part  of  her  face,  and  into  which  was  gathered  all  her  hair,  she  might  have  really 
deceived  those  who  were  the  most  intimate  with  her,  so  that  it  was  no  wonder 
she  passed  unobserved  with  mere  strangers.  In  this  way,  then,  they  reached 
Fleet  Street  without  obstruction,  and  Johannafs  heart  beat  rapidly  as  they  ap- 
proached the  shop  of  Sweeney  Todd. 

u  It  will  be  imprudent  to  stop  for  even  a  moment  at  his  door  or  window,55  said 
Arabella,  *  for,  remember,  you  have  no  opportunity  of  varying  your  disguise.55 

a  I  will  not  stop.  We  will  pass  rapidly  on,  but — but  it  is  something  to  look 
upon  the  doorstep  over  which  the  shadow  of  Mark  has  last  passed." 

In  another  moment  they  were  on  a  level  with  the  shop.  Johanna  cast  a  glance 
at  the  window,  and  then  shrunk  back  with  affright  as  she  saw,  occupying  one 
of  the  upper  panes  of  glass,  the  hideous  face  of  Todd.  He  was  not  looking  at 
her  though,  for  with  an  awful  squint  that  revealed  all  the  whites  of  his  eyes— we 
were  going  to  say,  but  the  dirty  yellows  would  have  been  much  nearer  the 
truth — he  seemed  to  be  observing  something  up  the  street. 
a  Come  on — come  ©n,'5  whispered  Johanna. 

Arabella  had  not  happened  to  observe  this  apparition  of  Todd  in  the  window, 
and  she  looked  round  to  see  what  occasioned  Johanna's  sudden  terror,  when  a 
young  Temple  clerk,  who  chanced  to  be  a  few  paces  behind  them,  immediately, 
with  the  modeety  peculiar  to  his  class,  imagined  the  glance  of  the  blooming  girl 
to  be  a  tribute  to  his  attractions.  He  kissed  the  end  of  a  faded  glove,  and  put 
on  what  he  eonsidered  a  first-class  fascinating  aspect.  c~ 

"  Come  on— come  on,5'  said  Arabella  now  in  her  turn. 

Johanna,  of  course,  thought  that  Arabella  too  had  caught  sight  of  the  hideous 
and  revolting  countenance  of  Sweeney  Todd,  and  so  they  both  hastened  on 
together. 

"  Don't  look  back,"  said  Arabella, 
*'  Is  he  following  ?'* 
r  Oh,  yes — yes.55 

Johanna  thought  she  meant  Todd,  while  Arabella  really  meant  the  Temple 
gent,  but,  notwithstanding  the  mutual  mistake,  they  hurried  on,  and  the  clerk 
taking  that  as  quite  sufficient  encouragement,  pursued  them,  putting  his  cravat 
to  rights  as  he  did  so,  in  order  that  when  he  came  up  to  them,  he  should  present 
the  most  fascinating  aspect  possible. 

"No-no;'  said  Johanna,  as  she  glanced  behind.  "  You  must  have  been 
mistaken,  Arabella.   He  is  not  pursuing  us.'* 


168  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Oh  I  am  so  glad/' 

Arabella  looked  back,  and  the  Temple  gent  kissed  his  dilapidated  glove. 

«  oh,  Johanna/'  she  said,  "  how  could  you  tell  me  he  was  not  following,  when 

there  he  it/' 

<<  What,  Todd?5' 

«  No.   That  impertinent  ugly  puppy  with  the  soiled  cravat." 
u  And  you  meant  him  ?" 
"  To  be  sure.'* 

"  Oh,  what  a  relief,  I  was  flying  on,  fancying  that  Todd  was  in  pursuit  of  us, 
and  yet  my  judgment  ought  at  once  to  have  told  me  that  that  could  not  be  the 
case,  knowing  nothing  of  us.  How  our  fears  oveicome  all  reason.  Do  you 
know  that  strange -looking  young  man  ?* 

"  Know  him?    Not  I." 

"  Well,  my  darling,"  said  the  gent,  reaching  to  within  a  couple  of  paces  of 
Arabella,  "  how  do  youMo  to-day  ?— a-hem  !  Are  you  going  far  ?  Ain't  you  afraid 
that  somebody  will  run  away  with  such  a  pretty  gal  as  you— 'pon  soul,  you  are  a 
charmer." 

"  Cross,"  whispered  Arabella,  and  the  two  young  girls  at  once  crossed  Fleet 
Street.  It  was  not  then  so  difficult  an  operation  to  get  from  one  side  of  that 
thoroughfare  to  the  other  as  it  is  now.  The  gent  was  by  no  means  disconcerted 
at  this  evident  wish  to  get  out  of  his  way,  but  he  crossed  likewise,  and  com- 
menced a  series  of  persecution,  which  such  animals  call  gallantry,  and  which,  to 
any  respectable  young  female,  are  specially  revolting. 

€{  Now,  my  dea*,"  he  said,  "  St.  Dunstan's  is  just  going  to  strike  the  hour, 
and  you  will  see  the  clubs  hit  the  bells  if  you  look,  and  I  shall  expect  a  kiss 

when  it's  all  over/' 

4f  You  are  impertinent/'  said  Johanna. 

'•Cone,  that's  a  good  joke— why,  you  little  whipper  snapper,  I  suppose  you 
came  out  to  take  care  of  your  sister.  Here's  a  penny  to  go  and  buy  yourself  a 
cold  pie  at  Mrs.  Lovett's.  Fll  see  to  your  sister  while  you  are  gone.  Oh,  you 
need  not  look  so  wild  about  it.  Did  you  never  hear  of  a  gent  talking  to  a  pretty 
gal  in  the  street  ?" 

"  Often,"  said  Johanna,  "  but  I  never  heard  of  a  gentleman  doing  so." 

"  Upon  my  word,  you  are  as  sharp  as  a  needle,  so  Fll  just  pull  your  ears  to 
teach  you  better  manners,  you  young  rascal— come— come,  it's  no  use  your 
kicking.5' 

«  Help— help  VI  cried  Arabella. 

They  were  now  just  opposite  the  principal  entrance  to  the  Temple,  and  as 
Arabella  cried  "help,"  who  should  emerge  from  under  the  gateway  but  Ben 
the  Beef  Eater.  The  fact  is,  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  Tower  just  previous 
to  the  meeting  with  Colonel  Jeffery  and  Tobias.  Arabella,  who  had  twice  or 
thrice  seen  him  at  the  Oakley's,  knew  him  at  once. 

"Ob,  sir,"  she  cried,  "  I  am  Johanna's  friend,  Miss  Wilmot,  and  this — this 
gent  won't  leave  me  and  my  cousin  here  alone." 

The  gent  made  an  effort  to  escape,  but  Ben  caught  him  by  the  hinder  part  of 
his  apparel,  and  held  him  tight. 

"  Is  this  him  B" 

"Yes — yes." 

"  Oh  dear  no— oh  dear  no,  my  good  sir.  It's  that  fellow  there,  with  the  white 
hat.  There  he  goes,  up  Chancery  Lane.  My  dear  sir,  you  are  quite  mis- 
taken ;  I  wanted  to  protect  the  young  lady,  and  as  for  the  lad,  bless  his  heart, 
I — oh  dear,  it  wasn't  me*5' 

Still  holding  the  gent  by  the  first  grasp  he  had  taken  of  him,  Ben  suddenly 
crossed  the  road  to  where  a  parish  pump  stood,  at  the  corner  of  Bell  Yard,  and 
holding  him  under  the  spout  with  one  hand,  he  worked  the  handle  with  the  other, 
despite  the  shrieks  and  groans  of  his  victim,  who  in  a  few  moments  was 
rendered  so  limp  and  wet,  that  when  Ben  let  him  go,  he  fell  into  the  sink  below 
the  pump,and  there  lay,  until  some  small  boys  began  pelting  him.    During  the 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


169 


confusion  and  laughter  of  the  bystanders,  Arabella  and  Johanna  rapidly  retreated 
towards  the  City  again,  for  they  thought  Ben  might  insist  upon  escorting  them, 
and  that,  in  such  a  case,  it  was  possible  enough  the  disguise  of  Johanna,  good  as 
it  was,  might  not  suffice  to  save  her  from  the  knowledge  of  one  so  well  ac- 
quainted with  her.  * 


THE  SECRET  TRAP  DISCOVERED  IN  T<j>DD'S  HOUSE. 


"  Let  us  cross,  Arabella,"  she  said.  ."  Let  us  cross,  if  it  be  but  for  one  moment, 
to  hear  what  the  subject  of  the  conversation  between  Todd  and  that  man 

"  If  you  wish  it,  Johanna." 
"  I  do,  I  do." 

They  crossed,  and  once  again  passed  the  shop  of  Todd,  when  they  heard  the 
man  say—   


170       -    3  -THE  STftDJG  OE  PEARLS.  , 

^"Wdl,  if  he  hasgone  he  has  gone,  but  I  think  it  is  the  strangest  thing  I  ever 

heard  of." 

"So  do  T,"  said  Todd. 

Without  lingering,  and  so  perhaps  exciting  Todd's  attention  and  suspicion, 
they  could  hear  no  more,  but  Johanna  had  heard  enough  to  give  the  spur  to 
imagination,  and  when  they  had  again  crossed  Fleet-street,  and  were  making 
their  way  rapidly  up  Ludgate  hill,  she  whispered  to  Arabella — 

u  Another !  another  1" 

"  Another  what,  Johanna  ?  You  terrify  me  by  that  tone.  Oh,  be  calm.  Be 
calm,  I  pray  you.    Some  one  will  observe  your  agitation." 

"  Another  victim/'  continued  Johanna.  "Another  victim— another  victim. 
Did  you  not  hear  what  the  man  said  ?  Was  it  not  suggestive  of  another  murder  ? 
Oh,  Heaven  preserve  my  reason,  for  each  day,  each  hour,  brings  to  me  such 
accumulating  proof  of  horrors,  that  I  fear  I  shall  go  mad." 

"  Hush !  hush !  Johanna — ^Johanna l" 

"My  poor.,  poor  Mark — — " 

"  Remember  that  you  are  in  the  street,  Johanna,  and  for  my  sake,  I  pray  you 
to  be  calm.  Those  tears  and  that  flushed  cheek  will  betray  you.  Oh,  why  did 
I  ever  advise  you  to  come  upon  such  an  enterprise  as  this  ?  It  is  my  fault,  all 
my  fault." 

The  terror  and  the  self-accusation  of  Arabella  Wilmot  did  more  to  bring 
Johanna  to  a  reasonable  state  than  anything  else,  and  she  made  an  effort  to 
overcome  her  feelings,  saying— 

"  Forgive  me — forgive  me,  my  dear  friend — I,  onlyf  am  to  blame.  But  at  the 
moment  I  was  overcome  by  the  thought  that,  in  the  heart  of  London,  such  a 
system  of  cold-blooded  murder  99 

She  was  unable  to  proceed,  and  Arabella,  holding  her  arm  tightly  within  her 
own,  said~ 

"  Do  not  attempt  to  say  another  word  until  we  get  home.  There,  in  my 
chamber,  you  can  give  free  vent  to  your  feelings,  but  let  the  danger,  as  well  as 
the  impropriety  of  doing  so  in  the  open  street,  be  present  to  your  mind.  Say 
no  more  now,  I  implore  you ;  say  no  more." 

This  was  prudent  advice,  and  Johanna  had  sufficient  command  of  herself 
to  take  it,  for  she  uttered  not  one  other  word  until  they  were  both  almost  breath- 
less with  the  haste  they  had  made  to  Arabella's  chamber.  Then,  being  no 
longer  under  the  restraint  of  locality  or  circumstances,  the  tears  of  Johanna 
burst  forth,  and  she  wept  abundantly.  Arabella's  romantic  reading  did#  some- 
times, as  it  would  appear,  stand  her  in  good  stead,  and  upon  this  occasion  she 
did  not  attempt  to  stem  the  torrent  of  grief  that  was  making  its  way  from  the 
eyes  of  her  fair  young  friend.  She  told  herself  that  with  those  tears  a  load  of 
oppressive  grief  would  be  washed  from  Johanna's  spirit,  and  the  result  fully 
justified  her  prognostications.  The  tears  sabsided  into  sobs,  and  the  sobs  to 
sighs. 

"Ah,  my  dear  friend,"  she  said,  "how  much  have  you  to  put  up  with  from 
me.    What  a  world  of  trouble  I  am  to  you." 

"  No,"  said  Arabella,  "  that  you  are  not,  Johanna ;  I  am  only  troubled  when 
I  see  you  overcome  with  too  excessive  grief,  and  then,  I  confess,  my  heart  is 
heavy." 

"  It  shall  not  be  so  again.    Forgive  me  this  once,  dear  Arabella." 

Johanna  flung  herself  into  her  friend's  arms,and  while  they  kissed  each  other, 
and  Arabella  was  about  commencing  a  hopeful  kind  of  speech,  a  servant  girl, 
with  open  mouth  an d  eyes,  looked  into  the  room,  transfixed  with  amazement. 

"  Well,  Miss  Bella,"  she  cried  at  last,  "  you  is  fond  of  boys !" 

Arabella  started,  and  so  did  Johanna. 

"  Is  that  you,  Susan?" 

"Yes,  Miss  Bella,  it  is  me.  Well  I  never  !  The  idea!  I  shall  never  get  the 
better  of  this  here !  Only  to  think  of  you,  Miss  Bella,  having  a  boy  at  your 
time  of  life." 


"  What  do  you  mean,  Susan  ?  How  dare  you  use  such  language  to  me  ? 
Get  you  gone  \" 

"  Oh,  yes,  Fm  a-going  in  course;  but  if  I  had  anybody  in  the  house,  it 
shouldn't  be  a  little  impudent  looking  boy  with  no  whiskers." 
u  She  must  know  all/5  whispered  Johanna. 

"  No,  no/'  said  Arabella,  "  I  will  not,  feeling  my  innocence,  be  forced  into 
making  a  confidant  of  a  servant.    Let  her  go." 
"  But  she  will  speak." 
€€  Let  her  speak:." 

Susan  left  the  room,  and  went  direct  to  the  kitchen,  holding  up  her  hands  all 
the  way,  and  giving  free  expression  to  her  feelings  as  she  did  so — 

€t  Well,  the  idea  now,  of  a  little  stumpy  looking  boy,  when  there's  sich  a  lot  of 
nice  young  men  with  whiskers  to  be  had  just  for  the  wagging  of  one's  little  finger. 
Only  to  think  of  it.  Sitting  in  her  lap  too,  and  them  a  kissing  one  another  like — 
like — coach  horscfs.  Well  I  never.  Now  there's  Lines's,  the  cheesemonger's, 
young  manv  as  I  has  in  of  a  night,  he  is  somebody,  and  such  loves  of  whiskers 
I  never  seed  in  my  born  days  afore;  but  1  is  surprised  at  Miss  Bella,  that  I  is — a 
shrimp  of  a  boy  in  her  lap !    Oh  dear,  oh  dear  !" 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

MR.  FOGG  FINDS  THAT  ALL  IS  NOT  GOLD  THAT  GLITTERS. 

We  feel  that  we  ought  not  entirely  to  take  leave  of  that  unfortunate,  who 
failed  in  escaping  with  Tobias  Ragg,  from  Mr.  Fogg's  establishment  at  Peckham, 
without  a  passing  notice.  It  will  be  recollected  that  Tobias  had  enough  to  do  to 
get  away  himself,  and  that  he  was  in  such  a  state  of  mind  that  it  was  quite  a 
matter  of  new  mechanical  movement  of  his  limbs  that  enabled  him  to  fly  from  the 
madhouse.  Horror  of  the  place,  and  |  dread  of  the  people  who  called  it  theirs, 
had  lighted  up  the  glare  of  a  partial  insanity  in  his  brain,  and  he  flew  to  Lon- 
don, we  admit,  without  casting  another  thought  upon  the  wretched  creature  who 
had  fallen  in  the  attempt  to  free  herself  from  those  fiends  in  human  shape  who 
made  a  frightful  speculation  in  the  misery  of  their  fellow  creatures,  lhe  alarm 
was  already  spread  in  the  madhouse,  and  Mr.  Fogg  himself  arrived  at  the  spot 
where  the  poor  creature  lay  stunned  and  wounded  by  her  fall. 

"  Watson  !  Watson !"  he  cried. 

"  Here,"  said  that  official,  as  he  presented  himself. 

"  Take  this  carcase  up,  Watson.    I'm  afraid  Todd's  boy  is  gone." 

"Ha!  ha!" 

"  Why  do  you  laugh  ?" 

"  Why  where's  the  odds  if  he  has.  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Fogg,  I  haven't  been 
here  so  long  without  knowing  what's  what.  If  that  boy  ever  recovers  his  senses 
enough  to  tell  a  rational  tale,  I'll  eat  him.  However,  I'll  soon  go  and  hunt  him 
up.    We'll  have  him  again." 

**  Well,  Watson,  you  give  me  hopes,  for  you  have  upon  two  different  occasions 
brought  back  runaways.    Bring  the  woman  in  and— and,  Watson?  \ 

«*  Aye,  aye." 

"  I  think  I  would  put  her  in  No.  10." 

«  Ho !  ho  !— No.  10.  Then  she's  booked.  Well,  well,  come  on  Fogg,  come 
on,  it's  all  one.  I  suppose  the  story  will  be  « An  attempt  to  escape  owing  to  too 
much  indulgence and  some  hints  consequent  on  that,  and  then  brought  back 
to  her  own  warm  comfortable  bed,  where  she  went  asleep  so  comfortably  that  we 
all  thought  she  was  as  happy  as  an  Emperor,  and  then  " 

"  She  never  woke  again,"  put  in  Fogg.    "  But  in  this  case  you  are  wrong, 


172  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Watson,  It  is  true  that  twice  or  thrice  I  have  thought,  for  the  look  of  the  thing, 
it  would  be  desirable  to  have  an  inquest  upon  somebody,  but  in  this  case  I  will 
not.    The  well  is  not  full  F 
"Full*" 

"  No,  I  say  the  well  is  not  full,  Watson  ;  and  it  tells  no  tales.55 
**  It  would  hold  a  hundred  bodies  one  upon  another  yet,"  said  Watson,  "  and 
tell  no  tales,    Ha  !  ha !" 
"Good!" 

"  It  is  good.    She  is  to  go  there,  is  she  ?  well,  so  be  it." 

Watson  carried  the  miserable  female  in  his  arms  to  the  house. 

"  By-the-bye,  it  is  a  second  thought,"  he  said,  "  about  No.  10.'' 

u  Yes,  yes,  there's  no  occasion.  Watson,  could  you  not  at  once— eh  ?  It  is  a 
good  hour.  Could  you  not  go  right  through  the  house,  my  good  Watson,  and 
at  once— eh?" 

"  At  once  what  ?" 

"  Oh,  you  know.  Ha !  ha !  You  are  not  the  dull  fellow  at  comprehending  a 
meaning  you  would  fain  make  out;  but  you,  Watson — you  understand  me  well 
enough,  you  know  you  do.    We  understand  each  other,  and  always  shall "f 

et  I  hope  so,  but  if  you  want  anything  done  Pll  trouble  you  to  speak  out; 
What  do  you  mean  by  '  couldn't  you  go  through  the  house  at  once — eh  V  " 

"  Pho  !  pho  !  Put  her  down  the  well  at  once.  Humanity  calls  upon  us  to  do 
it.  Why  should  she  awaken  to  a  sense  of  her  disappointment,  Watson  ?  Put 
her  down  at  once,  and  she  will  never  awaken  at  all  to  a  sense  of  anything." 

"  Very  well.    Come  on,  business  is  business." 

u  You—  you  don't  want  me?" 

"  Don't  \f\  said  Watson,  bending  his  shaggy  brows  upon  him,  and  looking 
extra  hideous  on  account  of  a  large  black  patch  over  one  eye,  which  he  bore 
as  a  relict  of  his  encounter  with  Tobias.  <f  Don't  I  ?  Hark  you,  Fogg ;  if  you 
won't  come  and  help  me  to  do  it,  you  shall  have  it  to  do  by  yourself,  without 
me  at  all." 

"  Why — why,  Watson,  Watson.    This  language  99 

u  Is  nothing  new,  Fogg." 

"Well,  well,  come  on.- — Come  on— if  it  must  be  so,  it  must. — I — I  will  hold 
a  lantern  for  you,  of  course  ;  and  you  know,  Watson,  I  make  things  easy  to  you, 
in  the  shape  of  salary,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing." 

Watson  made  no  reply  to  all  this,  but  went  through  the  house  to  the  back 
part  of  the  grounds,  carrying  with  him  his  insensible  burthen,  and  Fogg  fol- 
lowed him,  trembling  in  every  limb.  The  fact  was,  that  he,  Fogg,  had  not  for 
some  time  had  a  refresher  in  the  shape  of  some  brandy.  The  old  deserted  well 
to  which  they  were  bound  was  at  a  distance  of  about  fifty  yards  from  the  back 
of  the  house ;  towards  it  the  athletic  Watson  hastened  with  speed,  closely  fol- 
lowed by  Fogg,  who  was  truly  one  of  those  who  did  not  mind  holding  a  candle 
to  the  devil.  The  walls  of  that  building  were  high,  and  it  was  not  likely  that 
any  intruder  from  the  outside  could  see  what  was  going  on,  so  Watson  took  no 
precaution.— The  well  was  reached,  and  Fogg  cried  to  him— 

"  ]^)w — now — quick  about  it,  lest  she  recovers," 

Another  moment  and  she  would  have  been  gone  in  her  insensibility,  but  as  if 
Fogg's  words  were  prophetic,  she  did  recover,  and  clinging  convulsively  to 
Watson,  she  shrieked — 
"  Mercy !  mercy  !   Oh,  have  mercy  upon  me  !    Help  !  help  !" 
u  Ah,  she  recovers !"  cried  Fogg,  "  I  was  afraid  Qf  that*   Throw  her  in. 
Throw  her  in,  Watson." 
'•'Confound  her!" 
Why  don't  you  throw  her  in  ?" 

She  clings  to  me  like  a  vice.    I  cannot — Give  me  a  knife,  Fpgg*   You  will 
find  one  in  my  coat  pocket — a  knife — a  knife  !" 
"  Mercy  !  mercy  !   Have  mercy  uppji  ipe !   >To— no— nor-Help !   Oh  God  { 

God  r 


* 


"  The  knife !    The  knife.  I  say  !' '  ,  t  , 

«  Here,  here,"  cried  Fogg,  as  he  hastily  took  it  from  Watson  s  pocket  and 
opened  it.   Here  !    Finish  her,  and  quickly  too,  Watson  I" 

The  scene  that  followed  is  too  horrible  for  description.  The  hands  of  the 
wretched  victim  were  hacked  from  their  hold  by  Watson,  and  m  the  course  of 
another  minute,  with  one  last  appalling  shriek,  down  she  went  like  a  flash  of 
lightning  to  the  bottom  of  the  well. 
Gone  SciicI  Wcttson 
Another  shriek  and  Fogg,  even,  stopped  his  ears,  so  appalling  was  that  cry, 
coming  as  it  did  so  strangely  from  the  bottom  of  the  well. 

"Throw  something  upon  her,"  said  Fogg.    "  Here's  a  brick  "  1 

"  Bah  1"  cried  Watson,  "bah  !  there's  no  occasion  to  throw  anything  on  her. 
She'll  soon  get  sick  of  such  squealing." 

Another  shriek,  mingled  with  a  strange  frothy  cry,  as  though  some  one  had 
managed  to  utter  it  under  water,  arose.  The  perspiration  stood  in  large  drops 
upon  the  face  of  Fogg.— He  seized  the  brick  he  had  spoken  of,  and  cast  it  into 
the  well.  All  was  still  as  the  grave  before  it  reached  the  bottom,  and  then  he 
wiped  his  face  and  looked  at  Watson. 

"  This  is  the  worst  job,"  he  said,  "  that  ever  we  have  had  

"  Not  a  whit.— Brandy— give  me  a  tumbler  of  brandy,  Fogg.    Some  of  our 
own  particular,  for  1  have  something  to  say  to  you  now,  that  a  better  oppor- 
tunity than  this  for  saying  is  not  likely  to  occur." 
««  Come  into  my  room  then,"  said  Fogg,  "  and  we  can  talk  quietly.— Do  you 

think— that— that  " 

"What?" 

"  That  she  is  quite  dead  ?" 

"What  do  I  care.— Let  her  crawl  out  of  that,  if  she  can.  : 
With  a  ierk  of  his  thumb.  Watson  intimated  that  the  well  was  the  '  that 
he  referred  to,  and  then  he  followed  Fogg  into  the  house,  whistling  as  he 
went  the  same  lively  air  with  which  he  had  frequently  solaced  his  feelings  m  the 
hearing  of  poor  Tobias  Ragg.  Never  had  Fogg  been  in  such  a  state  of  agita- 
tion, except  once,  and  that  was  long  ago,  upon  the  occasion  of  his  first  crime. 
Then  he  had  trembled  as  he  now  trembled,  but  the 

"  Dull  custom  of  iniquity" 
had  effectually  blunted  soon  the  keen  edge  of  his  conscience,  and  he  had  for 
years  carried  on  a  career  of  infamy  without  any  other  fee  ing  than  exultation, 
at  his  success,- Why  then  did  he  suffer  now  ?  Had  the  well  m  the  garden  ever 
before  received  a  victim  ?  Was  he  getting  alive  to  the  excellence  of  youth  and 
beauty  .-Oh  no-no.  Fogg  was  getting  old.  He  could  not  stand  what  he 
once  stood  in  the  way  of  conscience.  When  he  reached  his  room-that  room 
in  which  he  had  held  the  conference  with  Todd,  he  sank  into  a  chair  with  a 

^What's'  the  matter  now  ?"  cried  Watson,  who  got  insolent  in  proportion  as 
Fogg's  physical  powers  appeared  to  be  upon  the  wane. 

"' Nothmg ?  — Welf  I  never  knew  anybody  look  so  white  with  nothing  the 

^t^Z^T!  l\t^^h^  ^  «  out,  Watson.|  You 

Wi^lS^UtXw  iu  obeying  this  order    The  ^"dy  was  Myprodu  ced 
and  alter  Fozsi  had  drank  as  much  as  would  have  produced  intoxication  m  any 
one  not  so  us!  to  the  ardent  spirit  as  himself,  he  spoke  more  calmly,  for  .t  only 
acted  upon  him  as  a  gentle  sedative.  •  - 

"  You  wished  to  say  something  to  me,  Watson.  - 

"  Yes."  v  jU ' ' 

"  What  is  it  f»" 

"  I  am  tired,  completely  tired,  Fogg," 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Tired  ?  Then  why  don't  you  retire  to  rest  at  once,  Watson  ?  There  is,  I 
am  sure,  nothing  to  keep  you  up  now ;  I  am  going  myself  in  a  minute." 

"  You  don't  understand  me,  or  you  won't,  which  is  much  the  same  thing.  I 
did  not  mean  that  I  was  tired  of  the  day,  but  I  am  tired  of  doing  all  the  work, 

Fogg,  while  you— while  you  f 

"  Well— while  I  " 

«  Pocket  all  the  profit.    Do  you  understand  that  ?   Now  hark  you.   We  will 
go  partners,  Fogg,  not  only  in  the  present  and  the  future,  but  in  the  past.    I  j 
will  have  half  of  your  hoarded  up  gains,  or  " 

<s  Qr  what  ?" 

Mr.  Watson  made  a  peculiar  movement,  supposed  to  indicate  the  last  kick  of 
a  culprit  executed  at  the  Old  Bailey. 

"You  mean  you  will  hang  yourself,5'  said  Fogg.  "  My  dear  Watson,  pray 
do  so  as  soon  as  you  think  proper.   Don't  let  me  hinder  you." 

«  Hark  you,  Fogg.  You  may  be  a  fox,  but  I  am  a  badger.  I  mean  that  I 
will  hang  you,  and  this  is  the  way  to  do  it.    My  wife—" 

"  Your  what  ?' ' 

"My  wife,'7  cried  Watson,  "has,  in  writing,  the  full  particulars  of  all  your 
crimes.  She  don't  live  far  off,  but  still  far  enough  to  make  it  a  puzzle  for  you 
to  find  her.  If  she  don't  see  me  once  in  every  forty- eight  hours,  she  is  to  con- 
clude something  has  happened  to  me,  and  then  she  is  to  go  at  once  to  Bow  Street 
with  the  statement,  and  lay  it  before  a  magistrate.  You  understand.  Now  I 
have  contrived,  with  what  I  got  from  you  by  fair  means  as  well  as  by  foul, 
and  by  robbing  the  patients  besides,  to  save  some  money,  and  if  you  and  I 
don't  agree,  Mrs.  Watson  and  I  will  start  for  New  Zealand,  or  some  such  place, 
but— but,  Fogg  " 

*  Well  ?" 

"  We  will  denounce  you  before  we  go." 

"  And  what  is  to  be  the  end  of  all  this  ?  The  law  has  a  long  as  well  as  a 
strong  arm,  Watson." 

"  I  know  it.   You  would  say  it  might  be  long  enough  to  strike  me. 

Fogg  nodded. 

"  Leave  me  to  take  care  of  that.  But  as  you  want  to  know  the  result  of  all 
this,  it  is  just  this.  I  want  to  have  my  share,  and  I  will  have  it.  Give  me  a 
couple  of  thousand  down,  and  half  for  the  future/' 

Fogg  was  silent  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  then  he  6aid~ 

"  Too  much,  Watson,  too  much.    I  have  not  so  much." 

"  Bah !    At  your  banker's  now  you  have  exactly  £11,267." 

Fogg  writhed. 

"  You  have  been  prying.   Well,  you  shall  have  the  two  thousand.'' 
"  On  account." 

Fogg  writhed  again.  "  I  say  you  shall  have  so  much,  Watson,  and  you  shall 
keep  the  books,  and  have  your  clear  half  of  all  future  proceeds.  Is  there  anything 
else  you  have  set  your  mind  upon,  because  if  you  have,  while  we  are  talking 
about  business,  you  may  as  well  state  it,  you  know." 

"  No,  there's  nothing  else— I  am  satisfied.  All  I  have  to  add  is,  that  you  had 
better  put  your  head  into  the  fire  than  attempt  to  play  any  tricks  with  me.  You 
understand  ?" 

"Perfectly." 

Watson  was  not  altogether  satisfied.  He  would  have  been  better  pleased  if 
Fogg  had  made  more  resistance.  The  easy  compliance  of  such  a  man  with 
anything  that  touched  his  pocket  looked  suspicious,  and  filled  the  mind  of 
Watson  with  a  thousand  vague  conjectures.  Already— aye,  even  before  he  left 
Fogg's  room,  Watson  began  to  feel  the  uneasiness  of  his  new  position,  and  to 
pay  dearly  for  the  money  he  was  to  have.  Even  money  may  be  given  an 
exorbitant  price  for.  When  he  was  by  himself,  as  he  traversed  the  passage  leading 
to  his  own  sleeping  room,  Watson  could  not  forbear  looking  cautiously  around 
him  at  times,  as  though  gaunt  murder  stalked  behind  him,  and  he  fastened  his 


r 


THE  STRING  OF  PEAELS.  •— -"?<T*»*w  175 


bed-room  door  with  more  than  his  usual  caution.    The  wish  to  sleep  came  not 
to  him,  and  sitting  down  upon  his  bed-side  he  rested  his  chin  upon  his  hand 
and  said  to  himself  in  a  low  anxious  shrinking  kind  of  whisper— 
"  What  does  Fogg  mean  to  do  V3 

Nor  was  the  recent  interview  without  its  after  effects  upon  the  mad-house 
keeper  himself.  When* the  door  closed  upon  Watson  he  shook  his  clenched 
hand  in  the  direction  he  had  taken,  and  muttered  curses, 

"  Not  loud,  but  deep." 

"The  time  will  come,'5  he  said,  u  Master  Watson,  and  that  quickly  too,  when 
I  will  let  you  see  that  I  am  still  the  master  spirit.  You  shall  be  satisfied  for  the 
present,  but  your  death-warrant  is  preparing.  You  will  not  live  long  to  triumph 
over  me  by  threats  of  what  your  low  canning  can  accomplish." 

He  rose  and  drank  more  raw  brandy,  after  which,  still  muttering  maledictions 
upon  Watson,  he  returned  to  his  bed  room,  where,  if  he  did  not  sleep,  and  if 
during  the  still  hours  of  the  night  his  brain  was  not  too  much  vexed,  he  hoped 
to  be  able  to  concoct  some  scheme  which  should  present  him  with  a  prospect  of 
exemplary  vengeance  upon  Watson. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


MRS.  LOVETT?S  NEW  LOVER. 


Mrs.  Lovett  was  a  woman  of  luxurious  habits*  Perhaps  the  constant 
savoury  hot  pie  atmosphere  in  which  she  dwelt  contributed  a  something  to  the 
development  of  her  tastes,  but  certainly  that  lady,  in  dress,  jewellery,  and  men, 
had  her  fancies.  Did  the  reader  think  that  she  saw  anything  attractive  in  the 
satyr-like  visage  of  Todd,  with  its  eccentricities  of  vision?  Did  the  reader 
think  that  the  lawyers'  clerks  frequenting  her  shop  suited  her  taste,  varying, 
as  all  the  world  knows  that  class  of  bipeds  does,  between  the  fat  and 
flabby,  and  the  white  and  candle  looking,  if  we  may  be  allowed  the  expression  ? 
Ah,  no, — Mrs.  Lovett's  dreams  of  man  had  a  loftier  range,  but  we  must  not 
anticipate.   Facts  will  speak  trumpet-tongued  for  themselves. 

It  is  the  hour  when  lawyers'  clerks 

Prom  many  a  gloomy  chamber  stalk  ; 
It  is  the  hour  when  lovers' vows 

Are  heard  in  every  Temple  walk. 

Mrs.  Lovett  was  behind  her  counter  all  alone,  but  the  loneliness  continued 
but  for  a  very  brief  period,  for  from  Carey-street,  with  a  nervousness  of  gait 
highly  suggestive  of  a  fear  of  bailiffs — bailiffs  were  there  in  all  their  glory— 
comes  a — -a  what  shall  we  say  ?  Truly  there  are  some  varieties  of  the  genus 
homo  that  defy  minute  classification,  but  perhaps  this  individual  who  hastened 
down  Bell  Yard  was  the  nearest  in  approximation  to  what  used  to  be  called 
u  a  swaggering  companion,"  that  can  be  found.  He  was  a  gent  upon  town — 
that  is  to  say,  according  to  his  own  phraseology,  he  lived  upon  his  wits ;  and  if  the 
reader  will  substitute  dishonesty  for  wits,  he  will  have  a  much  clearer  notion  of 
what  the  swaggering  companion  of  modern  days  lived  upon.  He  was  tall,  burly, 
forty  years  of  age,  and  his  bloated  countenance  and  sleepy  eyes  betrayed  the 
effects  of  a  long  course  of  intemperance.  He  wore  mock  jewellery  of  an  out- 
rageous size;  his  attire  was  flashy  and  gaudy— his  linen.  the  less  we  say 

about  that  the  better — enormous  black  whiskers  (false)  shaded  his  cheeks,  and 
maagey-looking  moustache  (real)  covered  his  upper  lip — add  to  all  this,  such  a 
stock  of  ignorance  and  impudence  as  may  be  supposed  to  thoroughly  saturate 
one  individual,  and  the  reader  has  the  swaggering  companion  before  him.  At  a 
rapid  pace  he  neared  Mrs.  Lovett's,  muttering  to  himself  as  he  went— 


m  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


a 

a 

I 


"I  wonder  if  I  can  gammon  her  out  of  a  couple  of  guineas." 

Yes  reader  this  compound  of  vulgarity,  ignorance,  impudence  and  debauchery 
was  Mrs  Lovett's  gentle  fancy— her  taste— her— her,  what  shall  we  say  >— her 
personification  of  all  that  a  man  should  be.  Do  not  start;  Mrs.  Lovett  has  many 
imitators,  for,  without  libelling  the  fairer,  better,  and  more  gentle  of  that  sex, 
who  can  be  such  angels  as  well  as  such— a-hem !— there  are  thousands  who 
would  be  quite  smitten  with  the  "  swaggering  companion/1  When  he  reached 
the  shop-window,  he  placed  his  nose  against  it  for  a  moment  to  reconnoitre  who 
was  in  the  shop,  and  seeing  the  fair  one  alone,  he  at  once  crossed  the  threshold. 

"  Ah,  charmer,  how  do  the  fates  get  on  with  you  ?" 

«  gir_ » 

A  smile  upon  the  face  of  Mrs.  Lovett  was  a  practical  contradiction  to  the 
rebuff  which  her  reception  of  him  by  words  of  mouth  seemed  to  carry. 

"  Oh,  you  bewitching— a— a  "  ;  .         .  . 

The  remainder  of  the  sentence  was  lost  m  the  devouring  a  pie,  which  the 
"  swaggering  companion  V  took  from  the  shop  counter. 

«  Really,  sir/'  said  Mrs.  Lovett— "  I  wish  you  would  not  come  here,  I  am 
all  alone  and*— 

"  Alone  ?    You  beautiful  female.-^Oh  you  nice  creature  .—Allow  me." 

The  ^  swaggering  companion"  lifted  up  that  portion  of  the  counter  which 
enabled  Mrs.  Lovett  to  pass  from  one  side  of  it  to  the  other,  and  as  coolly  as  pos- 
sible walked  into  the  parlour.  Mrs.  Lovett  foUowed  him,  protesting  at  what  she 
called  his  impudence.  But  for  all  that,  a  bottle  of  spirits  and  some  biscuits 
were  procured.  The  "  swaggering  companion,"  however,  pushed  the  biscuits 
aside,  saying — 

"  Pies  for  me.    Pies  for  me." 

Mrs.  Lovett  looked  at  him  scrutinisingly  as  she  said— 

"And  do  you  really  like  the  pies,  or  do  you  only  eat  them  out  of  compliment 
tome?" 

"  Really  like  them  ?  I  tell  you  what  it  is ;  out  of  compliment  to  you,  of 
course,  I  could  eat  anything,  but  the  pies  are  delicacies.— Where  do  you  get 
your  veal  ? 1 I 

"Well,  if  you  will  have  pies  you  shall,  Major  Bounce/1 — That  was  the  name 
which  the  (f  swaggering  companion''  appended  to  his  disgusting  corporealty. 

"Certainly,  my  dear,  certainly.    As  I  was  saying,  I  could  freely,  to  compli- 
ment you,  eat  old  Tomkins,  the  tailor,  of  Fleet  Street/' 
H-  Really.    How  do  you  think  he  would  taste  ?" 
"Tough  !" 
"Ha!  Ha!" 

It  was  an  odd  laugh  that  of  Mrs.  Lovett's.  Had  she  borrowed  it  from  Todd?55 
"My  dear  Mrs.  L./'  said  the  major,  "what  made  you  laugh  in  that  sort  of 

way?    Ah,  if  I  could  only  persuade  you  to  go  from  L  to  B  " 

"  Sir  ?" 

"  Now,  my  charmer,  seriously  speaking  :— Here  am  I,  Major  Bounce,  a  gen- 
tleman with  immense  expectations,  ready  and  willing  to  wed  the  most  charming 
woman  under  the  sun,  if  she  will  only  say  '  yes/  " 

"  Have  you  any  objection  to  America  V9 

"  America  ?  None  in  the  least. — With  you  for  a  companion,  America  would 
be  a  Paradise.  A  regular  garden  of,  what  do  you  call  it,  my  dear  ?  Only  say 
the  word,  my  darling.'' 

The  major's  arm  was  gently  insinuated  round  the  lady's  waist,  and  after  a  few 
moments  she  spoke. 

"  Major  Bounce,  I — I  have  made  money.3' 

"  The  devil! — so  have  I,  but  the  police  one  day — a-hem  ! — a-hem  ! — what  a 
cough  I  have/' 

"  What  on  earth  do  you  mean  V* 

"  Oh,  nothing— nothing— only  a  joke.   You  said  you  had  made  money,  and 


1 1 


,!**  Mi 


iOltr, 


*"  .1 

ita*  whit; 
aDy  as  po§. 


icoap 


rn  tbfi 
r  to  compli 


5  M 5 


.191 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


177 


that  put  me  in  mind  of  what  J  read  in  the  '  Chronicle'  to-day  of  some  coiners, 
that's  all.    Ha— ha!" 

"  When  I  spoke  of  making  money,  I  meant  in  the  way  of  trade,  but  having 
made  it,  I  should  not  like  to  spend  it  in  London,  and  be  pointed  out  as  the  well- 
known  pie-woman." 

u  Pie-woman  !    Oh,  the  wretches — only  let — 


SWEENEY  TODD  ASTONISHED  BY  CROTCHET,  THE  BOW-  STREET  OFFICER. 

"  Peace.  Hold  your  tongue,  and  hear  me  out.  If  I  marry  and  retire,  it  will 
be  far  from  here — very  far  indeed/' 

'*  Ah,  any  land,  with  you."   The  major  absolutely  saluted  the  lady. 
*  Be  quiet.    Pray,  in  what  service  are  you  a  major  V9 

"  The  South  American,  my  love.  A  much  higher  service  than  the  British." 
"Indeed/'   

ft    |    m  -J.  „„,   j,   Hiii     HI  II  I  - 

No.  23. 


11 


178 


THE  STEING  OP  PEARLS. 


ti 


it 


^^Lord^less  you,  yes.  If  I  was  now  to  go  to  my  estates  in  South  America, 
there  would  be  a  jubilee  of  ten  days  at  the  very  least,  and  the  people  as  well  as 
the  government  would  not  know  how  to  make  enough  of  me,  I  can  assure  you. 
In  fact,  I  have  as  much  right  to  take  the  rank  of  general  as  of  major,  but  the 
natural  modesty  of  a  military  man,  and  of  myself  in  particular,  steps  in  and  says 
'  A  major  be  it/  55 

Then  you  have  property?'5 

Property— property  ?  I  believe  you,  I  have.  Lots  !" 
The  major  dealt  his  forehead  a  slap  as  he  spoke,  which  might  be  taken  as  an 
indication  that  that  was  where  his  property  was  situated,  and  that  it  consisted 
of  his  ignorance  and  impudence— very  good  trading  capitals  in  this  world  for, 
strange  to  say,  the  parties  solely  possessing  such  qualifications  get  on  much 
better  than  education,  probity,  and  genius  can  push  forward  their  unhappy  vic- 
tims. Mrs.  Lovett  was  silent  for  some  minutes,  during  which  the  major  saluted 
her  again.    Then,  suddenly  rising,  she  said— 

"  I  will  give  you  an  answer  to-morrow.  Go  away  now.  We  shall  be  soon  in- 
terrupted.  If  I  do  consent  to  be  yours,  there  will  be  something  to  do  before  we 

leave  England.3*  , 

"  By  Jove,  only  mention  it  to  me,  and  it  is  as  good  as  done.  By-the-bye, 
there  is  something  to  do  before  I  leave  here,  and  that  is,  my  charmer,  to  pay  you 
for  the  pies," 
Oh,  no — no.'5 

Yes,  yes-~my  honour.  Touch  my  honour,  even  in  regard  of  a  pie,  and  touch 
my  life. — I  put  two  guineas  in  one  end  of  my  purse,  to  pay  my  glover  in  the 
Strand,  and  at  the  other  end  are  some  small  coins— where  the  deuce— can— I — 
have — put — it." 

The  major  made  an  affectation  of  feeling  in  all  his  pockets  for  his  lost  purse  f 
and  then,  with  a  serio-comic  look,  he  said — 
"  By  Jove,  some  rascal  has  picked  my  pocket." 
Never  mind  me/'  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  "  I  don't  want  payment  for  the  pies." 
Well,  but — the — the  glover.    Poor  devil,  and  I  promised  him  his  money 
this  morning.    For  a  soldier  and  a  man  of  honour  to  break  his  word  is  death. 
What  shall  I  do  ? — Mrs.L.,  could  you  lend  me  a  couple  of  guineas  until  I  have 
the  happiness  of  seeing  you  again  ?" 
"  Certainly,  major,  certainly  I  can," 

The  gallant  son  of  Mars  pocketed  the  coins,  and  after  saluting  Mrs.  Lovett 
some  half  score  of  times — and  she,  the  beast,  liked  it — he  left  the  shop  and  went 
chuckling  into  the  Strand,  where  in  a  few  minutes  he  was  in  a  pot-house,  from 
whence  he  emerged  not  until  he  had  liquidated  one  of  the  guineas.  Was  Mrs. 
Lovett  taken  in  by  the  major  ?  Did  she  believe  his  title,  or  his  wealth,  and  his 
common  honesty  ?  Did  she  believe  in  the  story  of  the  purse  and  of  the  two 
guineas  that  were  to  be  paid  to  tne  poor  glover  because  he  wanted  them  ?  No 
— no— ^certainly  not.  But  for  all  that,  she  admired  the  major. — He  was  her 
beau  ideal  of  a  fine  man  !  That  was  sufficient.  Moreover,  being  what  he  was— 
a  rogue,  cheat,  and  common  swindler — she  could  exercise,  so  she  thought,  a 
species  of  control  over  him  which  no  decent  man  would  put  up  with*  and  so 
in  her  own  mind  she  had  determined  to  marry  the  major  and  fly ;  but  as  she 
said— "There  was  a  little  something  to  be  done  first.55  Did  that  relate  to  the 
disposal  of  Todd  ?  We  shall  see.  If  she  calculated  upon  the  major  putting 
Sweeney  Todd  out  of  the  way,  she  sadly  miscalculated ;  but  the  wisest  heads  will 
blunder.  Compared  to  Todd,  the  major  was  indeed  a  poor  creature;  but  Mrs. 
Lovett,  in  the  stern  courage  of  her  own  intellect;  could  not  conceive  the  ppssibility 
of  the  great,  puffy;  bloated;  fierce  Major  Bounce  being  as  arrant  a  coward  as 
ever  was  kicked.  He  was  so,  though,  for  all  that.  After  he  had  left  her,  Mrs. 
Lovett  sat  for  a  long  time  in  a  profound  reverie,  and  as  it  happened  that  no  one 
came  into  the  shop;  the  current  of  her  evil  thoughts  was  uninterrupted. 

"  I  have  sufficient,55  she  said  ;  "  and  before  it  gets  too  late,  I  will  leave  this 
mode  of  life.   Why  did  I— tempted  by  the  fiend  Todd — undertake  it,  but  that 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  179 


I  might  make  wealth  by  it,  and  so  assume  a  position  that  my  heart  panted  for. 
I  will  not  delay  until  it  is  too  late,  or  I  may  lose  the  enjoyment  that  I  have  sacri- 
ficed so  much  to  find  the  means  of  getting.  I  live  in  this  world  but  for  the 
gratification  of  the  senses,  and  finding  that  I  could  not  gratify  them  without 
abundant  means,  I  fell  upon  this  plan.    I— ah— that  is  he  " 

Suddenly  the  swaggering  companion,  the  redoubtable  Major  Bounce,  rushed 
past  the  shop-window,  without  so  much  as  looking  in  for  a  single  moment, 
and  made  his  way  towards  Carey  Street.  Mrs.  Lovett  started  up  and  made  her 
way  into  the  front  shop.  Major  Bounce  was  out  of  sight,  but  from  Fleet  Street 
came  a  poor,  draggled,  miserable  looking  woman,  making  vain  efforts  at  a  speed 
which  her  weakness  prevented  her  from  keeping  up.— She  called  aloud— 

"  Stop  !  stop  ! — only  a  moment,  Flukes  !  Only  a  moment,  John.  Stop  !— 
stop!" 

Her  strength  failed  her,  and  she  fell  exhausted  upon  Mrs.  Lovett' s  door-step. 

"Heartless! — heartless  ever!"  she  cried.  "May  the  judgment  of  the 
Almighty  reach  him — may  he  suffer — yes— may  he  suffer  only  what  I  have  suf- 
fered." 

?  Who  and  what  are  you  ?"  said  Mrs;  Lovett. 

"  Poor,  and  therefore  everything  that  is  abject  and  despicable  in  London." 

"What  a  truth,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett.  "What  a  truth  that  is.  Who  would 
not  do  even  as  I  do  to  avoid  poverty  in  a  widowed  life  ! — It  is  too  horrible. 
Amid  savages  it  is  nothing,  but  here  it  is  indeed  criminality  of  the  deepest  dye* 
Whom  did  you  call  after,  woman?" 

"» My  husband." 

ic  Husband.    Describe  him." 

"A  sottish-looking  man,  with  moustache.    Once  seen,  he  is  not  easily  mis* 
taken — ruffian  and  villain  are  stamped  by  nature  upon  his  face." 
Mrs.  Lovett  winced  a  little. 

"  Come  in,"  she  said,  "  I  will  relieve  you  for  the  present.    Come  in." 

The  woman  by  a  great  effort  succeeded  in  rising  and  crossing  the  threshold. 
Mrs.  Lovett  gave  her  a  seat,  and  having  presented  her  with  a  glass  of  cordial 
and  a  pie,  she  waited  until  the  poor  creature  should  be  sufficiently  recovered  to 
speak  composedly,  and  then  she  said  to  her  with  perfect  calmness,  as  though 
she  was  by  no  manner  of  means  personally  interested  in  the  mutter— 

"  Now  tell  me— Is  the  man  with  moustache  and  the  braided  coat,  who  passed 
hastily  up  Bell  Yard  a  few  moments  only  before  you,  really  your  husband  ?" 
"  Yes,  madam,  that  is  Flukes  " 
"Who?" 

"Flukes,  madam/' 

"  And  pray  who  and  what  is  Flukes  ?" 

"  He  was  a  tailor,  and  he  might  have  been  as  respectable  a  man,  and  earned  as 
honest  and  good  a  living  as  any  one  in  the  trade,  but  a  love  of  idleness  and 
dissipation  undid  him." 

"Flukes— a  tailor?" 

iC  Yes,  madam ;  and  now  that  I  am  utterly  destitute,  and  in  want  of  the  common 
necessaries  of  life,  if  1  chance  to  meet  him  in  the  streets  and  ask  him  for  the 
merest  trifle  to  relieve  my  necessities,  he  flies  from  me  in  the  manner  he  has 
done  to-day." 

"  Indeed !" 

"  Yes,  madam.  If  we  were  in  a  lonely  place  he  would  strike  me,  so  that  I 
should,  from  the  injury  he  would  do  me,  be  unable  to  follow  him,  but  that  in  the 
public  streets  he  dare-not  do,  for  he  fears  some  man  would  interfere  and  put  a 
a»top  to  his  cruelty.5* 

"  There,  my  good  woman."  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  "  there  are  five  shillings  for  you. 
Go  now,  for  I  expect  to  be  busy  very  shortly." 

With  a  profusion  of  thanks,  that  while  they  lasted  were  quite  stunning,  pcor 
Mrs.  Flukes  left  the  pie-shop  and  hobbled  homewards.    When  she  was  gone  the 


180 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS, 


colour  went  and  came  several  times  upon  the  face  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  and  then  she 
repeated  to  herself— Flukes  a  tailor!" 

«■  Pies  ready  ?"  said  a  voice  at  tne  door. 

"  Not  quite." 

"  How  long,  mum ;  we  want  half  a  dozen  of  the  muttons  to-day," 
"  In  about  ten  minutes." 
"Thank  you,  I'll  look  in  again." 

"  Flukes — a  tailor  ?  Indeed ! — Flukes — a  tailor  ?  Well  I  ought  to  have  expected 
something  like  this.  What  a  glorious  thing  it  is  really  to  care  for  no  one  but 
oneself  after  all,    I  shall  lose  my  faith  in— in-—fine  men." 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
tobias's  mother  awakens  old  recollections. 

Poor  Tobias  still  remains  upon  his  bed  of  sickness.  The  number  of  hours 
at  the  expiration  of  which  the  medical  man  had  expected  him  to  recover  were 
nearly  gone.  In  Colonel  Jeftery's  parlour  three  persons,  besides  himself,  were 
assembled.  These  three  were  his  friend  the  captain,  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and 
Mrs.  Ragg.  The  lady  was  sitting  with  a  not  over  clean  handkerchief  at  her  eyes, 
and  keeping  up  a  perpetual  motion  with  her  knee,  as  though  she  were  nursing 
some  fractious  baby,  and  Mrs.  Ragg  had  been  used]of  late  to  go  out  as  a  monthly 
nurse  occasionally,  which,  perhaps,  accounted  for  this  little  peculiarity. 

"Now,  madam/*  said  the  colonel,  "you  quite  understand,  I  hope,  that  you  are 
not  to  mention  to  any  living  soul  the  fact  of  your  son  Tobias  being  with  me." 

u  Oh,  dear  me,  no,  sir.    Who  should  I  mention  it  to  ?" 

i(  That  we  can't  tell,"  interrupted  the  captain,  *s  you  are  simply  desired  not  to 
tell  it." 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  see  anybody  once  in  a  week,  sir." 

"  Good  God !  woman,"  cried  the  colonel,  "  does  that  mean  that  when  you  do 
see  any  one  you  will  tell  it  ?" 

"  Lord  love  you,  sir,  it's  few  people  as  comes  to  see  you  when  you  are  down 
in  the  world.  I'm  sure  it's  seldom  enough  a  soul  taps  at  my  door  with  a  €  Mrs. 
Ragg,  how  are  you  V  " 

"  Now  was  there  ever  such  an  incorrigible  woman  as  this  ?" 

u  If  you  were  to  talk  to  her  for  a  month,"  said  Sir  Robert  Blunt,  "you  would 
not  get  a  direct  answer  from  her.    Allow  me  to  try  something  else — Mrs.  Ragg." 

"  Yes,  sir — humbly  at  your  service,  sir." 

"  If  you  tell  any  one  that  Tobias  is  here,  or  indeed  anywhere  within  your 
knowledge,  I  will  apprehend  you  about  a  certain  candlestick.' ' 
"  Goodness  gracious,  deliver  us." 

€i  Do  you  understand  that,  Mrs.  Ragg  ?  You  keep  silence  about  Tobias,  and 
I  keep  silence  about  the  candlestick.  You  speak  about  Tobias,  and  I  speak  about 
the  candlestick." 

Mrs.  Ragg  shook  her  head  and  let  fall  a  torrent  of  tears,  which  the  magistrate 
took  as  sufficient  evidence  that  she  did  understand  him  and  would  act  accordingly, 
so  he  added — 

"  Shall  we  all  proceed  up  stairs  ?  for  a  great  deal  will  depend  upon  the  boy's 
first  impression  when  he  awakens— and  in  this  case  we  should  not  lose  a  chance." 

In  pursuance  of  this  sound  advice  they  all  proceeded  to  poor  Tobias's  bed- 
room, and  there  he  lay  in  that  profound  repose  which  the  powerful  opiate 
administered  to  him  had  had  the  effect  of  producing.  It  did  not  seem  as  though 
he  had  moved  head  or  foot  since  they  had  left  him.  His  face  was  very  pale,  and 
when  Mrs.  Ragg  saw  him  she  burst  into  tears,  exclaiming— 


1 


r  of  htmi 
wer  to: 
■dl,  weft 
Blunt,  ana 
uhereys 

a  i  moot 

It. 


■■tdowi 
•Mr. 


speak  abo* 
p  the  W| 

^  as  ^ 

■ 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


181 


f<  He  is  dead—he  is  dead  V9 

"No  such  thing,  madam/'  said  Colonel  Jeffery.  "He  only  sleeps/5 

"  But,  oh  deary  me,  what  makes  him  look  so  old  and  so  strange  now  ?  He 
was  bad  enough  when  I  saw  him  last,  poor  fellow,  but  not  like  this." 

"  He  has  received  ill-usage  from  someone,  and  that  is  precisely  what  we  want 
to  find  out.  If  you  can  get  from  him  the  particulars  of  what  he  has  suffered, 
we  will  take  care  those  who  have  made  him  suffer  shall  not  escape.3' 

u  Bless  you,  gentlemen,  what's  the  use  of  that  if  my  poox  boy  is  killed  ?" 

There  was  a  good  home  truth  in  these  words  from  Mrs.  Ragg,  although,  upon 
the  score  of  general  social  policy,  they  might  well  be  answered.  An  argument 
with  Mrs.  Ragg,  however,  upon  such  a  subject  was  not  very  a-propos,  The 
colonel  made  her  sit  down  by  Tobias's  bed-side,  and  he  was  then  upon  the  point 
of  remarking  to  his  friend,  the  captain,  that  it  would  be  as  well  since  so  many 
hours  had  passed,  to  send  for  thev medical  man,  when  that  personage  made  his 
appearance. 

"Has  he  awakened  V9  he  asked. 

"  No— not  yet." 

9  Oh,  1  see  you  have  a  nurse.0  * 

"  It  is  his  mother.  We  hope  that  she,  by  talking  to  him  familiarly,  may  produce 
a  good  effect,  and  possibly  rid  him  of  that  bewilderment  of  intellect  under  which 
he  now  labours.    What  think  you,  sir  >ff 

t(  That  it  is  a  good  thought.  Let  us  darken  the  room  as  much  as  possible,  as 
twilight  will  be  most  grateful  to  him  upon  awakening,  which  he  must  do  shortly/ 

The  curtains  of  the  window  were  so  arranged  that  the  room  was  in  a  state  of 
semi-darkness,  and  then  they  all  waited  with  no  small  anxiety  for  Tobias  to  recover 
from  the  deep  and  death-like  sleep  that  had  come  over  him.  After  about  five 
minutes  he  moved  uneasily  and  uttered  a  low  moan. 

u  Speak  to  him,  Mrs.  a— a—what's  your  name?" 

"  Ragg>  sir-" 

"Aye,  Ragg,  just  speak  to  him  ;  of  course  he  is  well  acquainted  with  your 
voice,  and  it  may  have  the  effect  of  greatly  rousing  him  from  his  lethargic 
condition.'' 

Poor  Mrs.  Ragg  considered  that  she  had  some  very  extraordinary  post  to 
perform,  and  accordingly  she  collected  lo  her  aid  all  her  learning,  which,  inter- 
rupted by  her  tears,  and  now  and  then  by  a  sob,  which  she  had  to  gulp  down  like 
a  large  globule  of  castor  oil,  had  certainly  rather  a  droll  effect. 

w  My  dear  Tobias — my  dear — lie  a  bed,  sluggard,  you  know — well,  I  never- 
Put  the  kettle  on,  Polly,  and  let's  all  have  tea.  Tobias,  my  dear— bless  us  and  save 
us,  are  you  going  to  stay  in  bed  all  day  V 

Another  groan  from  Tobias. 

u  Well,  my  dear,  perhaps  you  won't  mind  getting  up  and  just  running  to- 
wards the  corner  for  a  bunch  of  water  cresses  ?  Dear  heart  alive,  there  goes  the 
muffin-man  like  a  lamplighter  P 

It  was  by  such  domestic  themes  that  Mrs.  Ragg  sought  to  recall  the  wander- 
ing senses  of  poor  Tobias  to  a  cognizance  of  the  present.  But  alas!  his 
thoughts  were  still  in  the  dim  and  misty  land  of  visions.    Suddenly  he  spoke— 

"  Hush — hush  !  There  they  come  ! — elephants  ! — elephants  ! — on — on — on. 
Now  for  the  soldiers,  and  all  mad— mad — mad  !  Hide  me  in  the  straw— deep 
in  a  world  of  straw.  Hush  !  He  comes.  Sing,  oh  sing  again! — and  he^-he 
will  not  suspect." 

The  surgeon  made  a  sign  to  Mrs.  Ragg  to  speak  again. 

"  Why,  Tobias,  my  dear,  what  are  you  talking  about  ?  Do  you  mean  the 
Elephant  and  Castle?" 

u  Call  to  his  remembrance,"  said  the  surgeon,    some  old  scenes." 

€t  Yes,  sir,  but  when  one's  heart  and  all  that  sort  of  thing  is  in  one's  mouth 
it's  very  difficult  to  recollect  things  oneself.    Tobias  t"   —  _ 

"Yes— yes.    Ha— ha  P 

1\  was  a  low,  plaintive,  strange  laugh  that,  that  came  from  the  poor  boy  whose 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


mind  had  been  so  overthrown,  and  it  jarred  upon  the  feelings  of  all  who  heard 
it 

'u  Tobias,  do  you  recollect  the  little  cottage  down  the  lane  at  Holloway,  where 
we  lived,  and  the  cock  roaches,  and  the  strange  cat,  you  know,  Tobias,  that 
would  not  go  away  ?  Don't  you  recollect,  Tobias,  how  the  coals  there  were  all 
slates,  and  how  your  poor  father,  as  is  dead  and  gone  " 

"  Yes,  I  see  him  now.'' 

Mrs.  Ragg  gave  a  faint  scream-  '■  ' . 

"Father  \— father !"  said  Tobias,  as  he  held  out  his  arms,  and  the  big  tears 
rolled  down  his  cheeks.  "  Father— father,  Todd  has  not  got  me  now.  Don't 
cry  so,  father.   Stand  out  of  the  way  of  the  elephants." 

"  My  dear !  my  dear !"  cried  Mrs.  Ragg,  "  do  you  want  to  break  my  heart  ? 

Tobias  rose  to  a  sitting  position  in  the  bed,  and  looked  his  mother  in  the 
fae©™- " 

"Are  you,  too,  mad  ?"  he  said.  «'Are  you,  too,  mad?  Did  you  tell  of 
Todd  ?" 

,  "  Yes,  the  only  way,"  said  Colonel- Jeffery,  "  for  people  not  to  be  mad,  is  to 
tell  of  Todd." 

"Yes — yes."  ,     .  , 

"  And  so  you,  Tobias,  will  tell  us  all  you  know.  That  is  what  we  want  you 
to  do,  and  then  you  will  be  quite  happy  and  comfortable  for  the  remainder  ot 
your  days,  and  live  with  your  mother  again  far  from  any  apprehension  Irom  I  odd. 

Do  you  understand  me  ?"  , 

Tobias  opened  his  mouth  several  times  in  an  eager,  gasping  sort  ot  manner, 
as  though  he  would  have  said  something  rapidly,  but  he  could  not.  He  placed 
his  hands  upon  his  brain,  and  rocked  to  and  fro  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  he 
broke  out  into  the  same  low,  peculiar  laugh  that  had  before  so  strangely  attected 
Colonel  Jeffery  and  the  others  who  were  there  present  in  that  room.  Ine  sur- 
geon shook  his  head  as  he  said,  mournfully — 
"{It  is  of  no  use  !" 
Do  you  really  think  so  ?"  said  the  colonel. 

For  the  present,  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  of  no  use  to  attempt  to  recall  his 
wandering  senses.  Time  will  do  wonders,  and  he  has  the  one  grand  element  of 
youth  in  his  favour.  That,  as  well  as  time,  will  do  wonders.  The  case  is  a  bad 
one,  and  the  shock  the  brain  of  this  lad  has  received  must  be  a  most  fearful 
one, 

"  Do  not/'  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  «  give  up  so  readily,  Mrs.  Ragg ;  I  would 
have  you  try  him  again.  Speak  to  him  again  of  his  father— that  seemed  to  be 
the  topic  that  most  moved  him.'7 

Mrs.  Ragg  could  hardly  do  so  for  her  tears,  but  she  managed  to  stammer  out— 
"Tobias,  do  you  recollect  when  your  father  bought  you  the  rabbit,  and  out 
of  vexation,  the  creature  eat  its  way  out  of  a  willow- work  cage  in  the  night  ? 
Do 
and 

Mrs.  Ragg  could  get  no  further. 

«  Ha— ha— ha  !"  laughed  Tobias,  "  who  told  of  Todd  V9 
"Who  is  this  Todd/5  said  the  surgeon,  "  that  he  continually  speaks  of,  and 
shudders  at  the  very  name  of?"  . 

Colonel  Jeffery  glanced  at  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  the  latter,  who  wished  the 
affair  by  no  means  to  transpire,  merely  said— 

**  We  are  quite  as  much  in  the  dark  as  you,  sir.  It  is  just  what  we  should 
like  to  know,  who1  this  Todd  is,  whose  very  name  seems  to  hold  the  imagina- 
tion of  this  poor  boy  in  a  grasp  of  iron.  1  begin  to  think  that  nothing  more  can 
be  done  now." 

"  Nothing,  gentlemen,  you  may  depend/'  said  the  surgeon.  "  How  old  is  the 
lad?" 

"  Sixteen  as  never  was/'  replied  Mrs.  Ragg,  "  and  a  hard  time  I  had  of  it, 
sir,  as  you  may  suppose/' 


Si 


exation,  the  creature  eat  its  way  out  ot  a  wiuow-worK  cage  m  mo  nrgw,« 
you  remember  your  poor  father's  funeral,  Tobias,  and  how  we  went,  you 
I,  my  poor  boy,  to  take  the  last  look  at  the  only  one  who— who— who  99 


sat 


The  surgeon  did  not  exactly  see  how  he  was  called  upon  to  suppose  anything 
of  the  sort  j  however  he  made  no  further  remark  to  Mrs.  Ragg,  but  continued  in 
conversation  for  some  time  with  Colonel  Jeffery,  who  informed  him  that  Tobias  i 
should  remain  for  a  time  where  he  was,  so  that  there  should  be  every  j 
possible  chance  given  for  his  recovery. 

"  I  wish  you  to  continue  attending  upon  him,  sir/5  he  added,  u  for  I  would 
spare  nothing  that  medical  advice  can  suggest  to  restore  him,   He  has,  I  am 
convinced,  been  a  great  sufferer.5' 
"  That  is  sufficiently  clear,  sir.   You  may  rely  upon  ray  utmost  attention." 
i€  Mrs.  Ragg,"  said  the  colonel,  €€  can  you  cook  ?" 

u  Cook,  sir?  Lord  bless  you,  sir.  I  can  cook  as  well  as  here  and  there  a  one, 
though  I  say  it  that  oughtn't,  and  if  poor  Tobias  was  but  all  right,  I  should  not 
go  to  be  after  making  myself  miserable  now  about  bygones.  What's  to  be 
cured  must  be  endured — it's  a  long  lane  as  hasn't  a  turning*  As  poor  Mr.  Ragg 
often  used  to  say  when  he  was  alive — '  Grizzling  ain't  fattening.' " 

"  I  should  think  it  was  not.  It  so  happens,  Mrs.  Ragg,  that  there  is  a 
vacancy  in  my  house  for  a  cook,  and  if  you  like  to  come  and  take  the  place,  you 
can  look  after  Tobias  as  well,  you  know,  for  I  intend  him  to  remain  here  for  the 
present.    Only  remember,  you  tell  this  to  no  one.5'  >a 

"  Me,  sir !    Lord  bless  you,  sir,  who  do  I  see  ?" 

The  colonel  was  by  no  means  anxious  to  convince  himself  a  second  time  of  the 
impossibility  of  bringing  Mrs.  Ragg  to  a  precise  answer,  so  he  changed  the 
subject,  and  it  was  finally  arranged  that  without  a  word  to  any  one  upon  the 
subject,  that  very  night  Mrs.  Ragg  was  to  take  up  her  abode  with  Tobias.  After 
this  had  been  all  arranged,  the  three  gentlemen  proceeded  to  the  dining  room, 
and  held  a  consultation. 

u  Of  the  guilt  of  Todd,  said  the  magistrate,  u  I  entertain  no  doubt,  but  I  own 
that  I  am  extremely  anxious  to  bring  the  crime  legally  home  to  him." 

"  Exactly,"  said  the  colonel,  "  and  I  can  only  say  that  every  plan  you  can 
suggest  will  be  cheerfully  acquiesced  in  by  me  and  my  friend  here." 

The  captain  signified  his  assent. 

"  Be  assured,  gentlemen/'  added  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "that  something  shall 
be  done  of  a  decisive  character  before  many  days  are  past.  I  have  seen  the 
higher  powers  upon  the  subject,  and  have  full  authority,  and  you  may  rest  satisfied 
that  I  shall  not  mind  running  a  little  personal  risk  to  unravel  the  mysteries  that 
surround  the  career  of  Sweeney  Todd,  I  think  one  thing  may  be  done  con- 
veniently." 

"  What  is  that,  sir  ?" 

"  Why,  it  seems  to  be  pretty  well  understood  that  no  one  resides  in  Todd's 
house  but  himself,  and  as  now  he  has  no  boy — unless  he  has  provided  himself 
with  one  already—he  must  go  out  sometimes  and  leave  the  place  to  itself,  and 
upon  one  of  those  occasions  an  opportunity  might  be  found  of  thoroughly 
searching  the  upper  part,  at  all  events,  of  his  house." 

u  Could  that  be  done  with  safety  ?" 

€i  I  think  so.  At  all  events,  I  feel  inclined  to  try  it.  If  I  do  go,  and  make  any 
discovery,  you  may  depend  upon  my  letting  you  know  without  an  hour's  delay, 
and  I  sincerely  hope  that  all  that  will  take  place  may  have  the  effect  of  setting 
your  mind  at  rest  regarding  your  friend,  Mr.  Ingestrie." 

"  But  not  of  restoring  him  to  us  ?"  * 

The  magistrate  shook  his  head. 

"  I  think,  sir,"  he  said,  u  that  you  ought  to  consider  that  he  has,  if  any  one 
has,  fallen  a  victim  to  Sweeney  Todd." 
"  Alas  !  I  fear  so." 

u  All  the  evidence  points  that  way,  and  we  can  only  take  measures  in  the  best 
way  possible  to  bring  his  murderer  to  justice — that  that  murderer  is  Sweeney 
Todd,  I  cannot  for  one  moment  of  time  bring  myself  to  doubt." 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  shortly  afterwards  left  Colonel  Jeffery's  house  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  execution  of  a  plan  of  proceeding,  with  the  particulars  of  which 


^         i.  .  in.-.,.  mi     x'lii  »  -mu+ktr: 


184  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


he  had  not  thought  proper  to  entrust  to  the  colonel,  and  his  friend  the  captain. 
Long  habits  of  caution  had  led  the  magistrate— who  was  not  one  of  the  fancy 
magistrates  of  the  present  day,  but  a  real  police  officer—active,  cool,  and  deter- 
mined— to  trust  no  one  but  himself  with  his  secrets,  and  so  he  kept  to  himself 
what  he  meant  to  do  that  night..  When  he  was  gone,  Colonel  Jefferyhada 
long  talk  with  his  friend,  and  the  subject  gradually  turned  to  Johanna,  whom  the 
|  colonel  yet  hoped,  he  said,  to  be  able  one  day  to  call  his  own. 
\  "  No  one,"  he  remarked,  "  would  be  more  truly  rejoiced  than  I  to  restore 
I  Mark  Ingestrie  to  her  whom  he  loves,  and  whose  affection  for  him  is  cf  so 
enduring  and  remarkable  a  character,  but  if,  as  Sir  Richard  Blunt  supposes,  he 
is  really  no  more,  I  think  Johanna,  by  being  mine,  would  stand  a  better  chance 
of  recovering  her  serenity,  if  not  of  enjoying  all  the  happiness  in  this  world  that 
she  deserves/' 

"  Hope  for  the  best/ *  said  the  captain,  "  and  recollect  what  the  surgeon  said 
as  regarded  Tobias,  that  time  works  wonders/' 


CHAPTER  XXXVII.  ur) 

THE   SEARCH   AT  TODD*S» 


The  house  in  Fleet  Street,  next  door  to  Todd's,  was  kept  by  a  shoemaker, 
named  Whittle,  and  in  this  shoemaker's  window  was  a  bill,  only  put  up  on  the 
very  day  of  poor  Tobias's  escape  from  Peckham,  announcing— "An  Attic  to 
Let."  This  was  rather  an  alluring  announcement  to  Sir  Kichard  Blunt.  At 
about  half  an  hour  after  sunset  on  the  same  evening  that  had  witnessed  the  utter 
discomfiture  of  the  attempt  to  restore  poor  Tobias  J&agg  to  his  senses,  two  men 
stood  in  the  deep  recess  of  a  doorway  immediately  opposite  to  the  house  of 
Sweeney  Todd.  These  two  men  were  none  other  than  Sir  Richard  and  his 
esteemed  but  rather  eccentric  officer,  Mr.  Crotchet.  After  some  few  momenta' 
silence,  Sir  Richard  spoke,  saying— 

"  Well,  Crotchet—what  do  you  think  of  the  affair  now  ?" 

"  Nothink." 

"Nothing  ?    You  do  not  mean  that,  Crotchet  ?* 
"Says  what  I  means— means  what  I  says,  and  then  leaves  it  alone/' 
But  you  have  some  opinion,  Crotchet  ?" 

Had,  master—had  " 

"Well,  Crotchet;  I  think  we  can  now  cross  over  the  way,  and  endeavour  to 
get  possession  of  the  shoemaker's  attic,  from  which  we  can  get  into  Todd's 
house/' 

"  And  find  nothink  criminatory/ 

"  You  think  not ;  but  do  you  know,  Crotchet,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
greatest  and  cleverest  rogues  not  unfrequently  leave  themselves  open  to  detection, 
in  some  little  particular,  which  they  have  most  strangely  and  unaccountably 
neglected.  I  am  not  without  a  hope  that  we  shall  find  the  man,  Sweeney  Todd; 
to  be  one  of  that  class,  and  if  so,  we  shall  not  fail  to  do  some  good  by  our  visit 
to  the  house.— You  remain  here  and  watch  for  his  going  out,  and  when  he  is 
gone,  come  over  the  way  and  ask  for  Mr.  Smith.    Have  you  seen  Fletcher  ?" 

"  No,  but  he  will  be  here  presently,  and  will  wait  till  that  'ere  fellow  goes 
away,  if  so  be  as  he  goes  out,  and  then  when  you  and  me  hears  two  notes  on  the 
key-bugle,  it  will  be  time  all  for  us  to  go  for  to  come  to  mizzle." 

"  Very  good,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  he  crossed  over  to  the  shoemaker's 
shop,  leaving  Crotchet  on  the  watch  in  the  deep  doorway. 

The  fact  is,  they  had  been  waiting  there  for  some  time,  in  the  hope  that  Todd 
would  go  out,  but  he  had  not  stirred,  so  that  the  magistrate  thought  it  would  be 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


185 


as  well  to  let  Crotchet  remain  while  he  secured  the  shoemaker's  attic,  with  a 
view  to  ulterior  proceedings.  The  magistrate  was  dressed  as  a  respectable, 
staid  clerk,  and  he  walked  into  the  shoemaker's  shop  with  a  gravity  of  gait  that 
was  quite  imposing. 

*'  You  have  an  attic  to  let,"  he  said.   "  Is  it  furnished  ?" 


SWEENEY  TODD  HE-VISITED  BY  THE  DOG  OF  ONE  OF  HIS  VICTIMS. 

"  Oh  yes,  sir,  and  comfortably  too.  My  missus  looks  after  all  that,  I  can  tell 
you."  t 

"  Very  well,  I  want  just  such  a  place;  for,  do  you  know,  since  I  have  left  a 
widower,  I  like  to  live  in  some  lively  situation,  and  as  all  my  friends  are  at 
Cambridge,  and  not  a  soul  that  I  know  in  London,  I  don't  half  fancy  going  into 
an  out-of-the-way  place  to  live ;  though,  I  dare  say,  for  all  that,  London  is  sate 
enough. 


No.  21 


186 


"  Why,  I  don't  know  that/'  said  the  shoemaker.  "  However,  you'll  be  safe 
enough  here,  sir,  never  doubt.   The  rent  is  four  shillings  a  week." 

"Very  good.  I  think,  if  you  will  show  it  to  me,  we  shall  suit  each  other. 
The  great  object  with  me  is  to  find  myself  in  the  house  of  a  respectable  man,  and 
one  look  at  you,  sir,  is  quite  sufficient  to  show  me  that  you  are  one.5' 

This  was  all  highly  flattering  to  the  shoemaker,  and  he  was  so  well  pleased  to 
get  such  a  respectable,  civil-spoken,  middle  aged  gentleman  into  his  house,  that 
he  was  prepared,  upon  half  a  word  to  that  effect,  to  come  down  a  whole  sixpence 
a  week  in  the  rent,  if  needs  were.  Of  course,  the  would-be-lodger  was  well 
enough  pleased  with  the  attic,  and  turning  to  the  shoemaker,  he  handed  him 
four  shillings,  saying — 

u  As  my  friends  are  all  so  far  off,  I  ought  to  give  you  a  week's  rent  in  advance, 
instead  of  a  reference,  and  there  it  is." 

After  this,  who  could  ask  any  further  questions  ?  The  magistrate,  just,  of 
his  own  accord,  added  that  his  name  was  Smith,  and  that  he  would  stay  a  short 
time  in  his  room  if  the  shoemaker  could  oblige  him  with  a  light,  which  was  done 
accordingly,  and  when  the  shoemaker's  wife  came  home — that  lady  having  been 
out  to  gossip  with  no  less  a  personage  than  Mrs*  Loyett — he  was  quite  elated  to 
tell  her  what  a  lodger  they  had,  and  as  he  handed  her  the  four  shillings,  saying 
"  My  dear,  that  will  buy  you  the  ribbon  at  Mrs.  Keating's,  the  mercer,  that  you 
had  set  your  mind  upon,"  how  could  she  be  other  than  quite  amiable  ? 

"  Well,  John/'  she  said,  "  for  once  in  a  way,  I  must  say  that  you  have  shown 
great  judgment,  and  if  I  had  been  at  home  myself,  I  could  not  have  managed 
better." 

This,  we  are  quite  sure,  our  lady  readers  will  agree  with  us  was  as  much  as 
any  married  female  ought  to  say.  Sir  Richard  Blunt  ascended  to  the  attic,  of 
which  he  was  now,  by  virtue  of  a  weekly  tenancy,  lord  and  master,  with  a  light, 
and  closing  the  door,  he  cast  his  eyes  around  the  apartment.  Its  appointments 
were  decidedly  not  luxurious.  In  one  corner  a  stump-bedstead  awakened  any- 
thing but  lively  associations,  while  the  miserable  little  grate,  the  front  of  which 
was  decidedly  composed  of  some  portions  of  an  old  iron  hoop  from  a  barrel,  did 
not  look  redulent  of  comforts.  The  rest  of  the  apartments  were  what  the 
auctioneers  call  en  suite,  the  said  auctioneers  having  but  a  dreamy  notion  of  what 
en  suite  means.  But  the  appointments  or  disappointments  of  his  attic  were  of 
little  consequence  to  Sir  Jlichard  Blunt.  It  was  the  window  that  offered  attrac- 
tions to  him.  Softly  opening  it,  he  looked  out,  and  found  that  there  was  a 
leaden  gutter,  with  only  the  average  amount  of  filth  in  it,  the  drain  being,  of 
course,  stopped  up  by  a  dishclout  and  a  cracked  flower-pot,  which  is  perfectly 
according  to  custom  in  London.  He  saw  enough  at  a  glance,  however,  to  con- 
vince him  that  there  would  be  no  difficulty  whatever  in  getting  to  the  attic  of 
Todd's  house,  and  that  fact  once  ascertained,  he  waited  with  exemplary  and 
placid  patience  the  return  of  Crotchet.  Now,  Sweeney  Todd  was,  during  much 
of  that  day,  in  what  is  denominated  a  brown  study.  He  could  not  make  up  his 
mind  in  what  way  he  was  to  make  up  for  the  loss  of  the  senses  of  Tobias.  It 
was  with  him  an  equal  choice  of  disagreeables.  To  have  a  boy,  or  not  to  have  a 
boy,  which  to  do  became  an  anxious  question. 

u  A  boy  is  a  spy,"  muttered  Todd  to  himself — <e  a  spy  upon  all  my  actions— 
a  perpetual  police-officer  in  a  small  way,  constantly  at  my  elbow — an  alarum 
continually  crying  to  me   '  Todd  !  Todd!  beware!'    Curses  on  them  all,  and 
yet  what  a  slave  am  I  to  this  place  without  a  lad ;  and,  after  all,  when  they  do  ; 
become  too  troublesome  and  inquisitive,  I  can  but  dispose  of  them  as  I  have  |j 
disposed  of  him.*  1 

Todd  patrolled  his  shop  for  some  time,  thus  communing  with  himself;  but  as  j 
yet  he  could  not  make  up  his  mind  which  to  do. — A  boy  or  not  a  boy  ?— ■ that 
was  the  question.    He  remained  in  this  unsatisfactory  state  of  mind  until  sun- 
set had  passed  away  and  the  dim  twilight  was  wrapping  all  things  in  obscurity. 
Then,  without  deciding  upon  either  course,  he  suddenly,  in  a  very  hurried 

manner,  shut  up  his  shop,  and  closing  the  outer  door  carefully,  he  walked  rapidly 

  __  i 

' ^^^^^^m^^mtmmmmlJLlMMmml^m*mmmmm»m  '  ■  ■iiii'i'  ■■  n.i inn  wnup  Uii  till.   iltii  "  '"I"  'wJtJg.  h'i'h  i iw""T*^---~^****r^^ 


THE  STRING  Of  PEARLS. 


187 


towards  Bell  Yard.  He  was  going  to  Mrs.  Lovett's,  whither  we  shall  follow 
him  at  a  more  convenient  opportunity,  but  just  now  we  have  Sir  Richard  Blunt's 
enterprise  to  treat  of.  Todd  had  no  sooner  got  fairly  out  of  sight,  than  Mr. 
Crotchet  emerged  from  the  doorway  in  which  he  was  concealed,  and  went  a  few 
paces  down  Fleet  Street,  towards  the  Temple*— He  soon  met  a  man  genteelly 
dressed,  who  seemed  to  be  sauntering  along  in  an  idle  fashion. 

"  All's  right,  Fletcher,''  said  Crotchet.  ,^ 

ffOfa,  is  it?" 

*S  Yes.    Have  you  got  that  ere  little  article  with  you  ?" 
«  The  bugle  ?    Oh,  yes." 

"  Mind  you  blows  it  then,  if  you  sees  Todd  come  home,  and  no  gammon." 
•'Trust  to  me,  old  fellow.'5 

Without  another  word,  Mr.  Crotchet  crossed  over  the  road,  and  opened  the 
shop-door  of  the  shoemaker.  Now  the  face  of  Mr.  Crotchet  was  not  the  most 
engaging  in  the  world,  and  when  he  looked  in  upon  the  shoemaker,  that  indus- 
trious workman  felt  a  momentary  pang  of  alarm,  and  particularly  when  Mr. 
Crotchet,  imparting  a  horrible  obliquity  to  his  vision,  said— 

"  How  is  yer,  old  un  ?" 

"Sir?"  said  the  shoemaker. 

"  You  couldn't  show  a  fellow  the  way  up  to  Smith's  hattic,  I  supposes  ?" 

**  Smith— Smith  ? — Oh,  dear  me,  that's  the  new  lodger.  I'll  call  him  down  if 
you  wait  heie."  # 

"  No  occasion.  I'll  toddle  up,  my  tulip.  He's  a  relation  o'  mine,  don't  you 
see  the  likeness  atween  us  ? — We  was  considered  the  handsomest  pair  5o  men 
as  was  in  London  at  one  time,  and  it  sticks  to  us  now,  I  can  tell  you." 

fl  If  you  wish,  sir,  to  go  up,  instead  of  having  Mr.  Smith  called  down,  of 
course,  sir,  you  can,  as  you  are  an  old  friend.    Allow  me  to  light  you,  sir." 

"Not  the  least  occasion.  Only  tell  me  where  it  isn't,  and  I'll  find  out  where  it 
is,  old  chap." 

"It's  the  front  attic." 

"  All's  right.  Don't  be  sich  a  hass  as  to  be  flaring  away  arter  me,  with  that 
erdftlouble  dip,rI  can  find  my  way  in  worserer  places  than  this  here.  All's  right 
—easy  does  it.' ,  4 

To  the  surprise  of  the  shoemaker,  his  mysterious  visitor  opened  the  little  door 
at  the  back  of  the  shop,  which  led  to  the  staircase,  and  in  a  moment  disappeared 
up  them. 

**  Upon  my  life,  this  Mr.  Smith,"  thought  Ihe  shoemaker,  "seems  to  have 
some  very  strange  connexions.  JHe  told  me  he  knew  nobody  in  London,  and 
then  here  comes  one  of  the  ugliest  fellows,  I  think,  I  ever  saw  in  all  my  life,  and 
claims  acquaintance  with  him.  What  ought  I  to  do  ?— Ought  I  to  tell  Mrs.  AV. 
of  it?" 

At  this  moment  Mrs.  W.  made  her  appearance  from  the  mercer's,  with  the 
ribbon  that  had  tickled  her  feminine  fancy — all  smiles  and  sweetness.  The  heart 
of  the  shoemaker  died  within  him,  for  well  he  knew  what  visitation  he  was 
likely  to  come  in  for,  if  anything  connected  with  the  lodger  turned  out  wrong. 

"  A-hem  !  a-hem  !    Well,  my  dear,  have  you  got  the  ribbon  ?" 

€€  Oh  yes,  to  be  sure,  and  a  love  it  is  " 

«Ah!— ah!" 

«  What's  the  matter  ?" 

€*  Nothing,  my  dove.  I  was  only  thinking  that  it  wasn't  the  ribbon  that 
makes  folks  look  lovely,  but  the  person  who  wears  it.  You  would  look  beauti- 
ful in  any  ribbon." 

"  Why;  my  dear,  that  may  be  very  true,  but  still  one  ought  to  look  as  well  as 
one  can,  you  know,  for  the  credit  of  one's  maker." 
"  Oh,  yes,  yes;  but  I  was  only  thinking—" 

u  Thinking  of  what  ?  Bless  me,  Mr.  Wheeler,  how  myst  ifying  you  are 
to-night,  to  be  sure.    What  do  you  mean  by  this  conduct  ?    Was  ever  a  woman 


m 


"5S! 


so  pestered  ancftormented  with  a  fool  of  a  man,  who  looks  like  an  owl  in  an  ivy 
bush  for  all  the  world,  or  a  crow  peeping  into  a  marrowbone.1* 

IT  "I  1         "I  -  «r/M1      POTT  Cr% 


"  My  duck,  how  can  you  say  so  r 

"  Duck  indeed  ?    Keep  your  ducks  to  yourself.    Hoity  toity.    Duck,  indeed. 

You  low  good-for-nothing  " 

"  My  dear,  my  dear;  I  was  only  thinking,  and  not  in  the  least  wishing  to  offend." 
ic  But  you  do  offend  me,  you  nasty  insinuating,  sneering  wretch.— What  were 
you  thinking  about  ?    Tell  me  this  moment." 

«  Why,  that  a  pretty  silver-grey  satin  mantle  would  set  off  your  figure  so  well, 

that  " 

"Oh,  John !"  ■  t  ' 

«  That,  though  quarter-day  is  near  at  hand,  I  think  you  ought  to  have  one, 

"  Really,  Jackey." 
"  Yes,  my  dear.53 

"  What  a  man  you  are.  Ah,  Jackey,  after  all,  though  we  have,  like  all  people, 
our  little  tiffs  and  wiffs  and  sniffs— after  all,  I  say  it,  perhaps,  that  should  not  say 
it,  you  are  a  dear,  good,  obliging  " 

"  Don't  mention  it." 

V  Yes,  but 


xes,  uut  " 

"No,  don't.    By-the-bye,  do  you  know,  Susey,  that  I  begin  to  have  my  sus- 
picions—mind, I  may  be  wrong,  but  1  begin  to  have  my  suspicions,  do  you 
know,  that  our  attic  ffidger  is,  after  all,  no  better  than  he  should  be." 
"  Gracious  I" 

"  Hush  !  hush  !  There  has  been  a  man  here;  so  ugly— so— so— squintified, 
if  I  may  say  so,  that  between  you  and  me  and  the  post,  my  dear,  it's  enough  to 
frighten  any  one  to  look  at  him,  it  is  indeed.— But  as  for  the  silver-grey  satin, 
don't  stint  the  quality  for  a  sixpence  or  so." 

"The  wretch!" 

"  And  take  care  to  have  plenty  of  rich  trimming  to  it.* 
"  The  monster  1" 

"  And  have  something  pretty  to  match  it,  so  that  when  you  go  to  St.  Dun- 
stan's  next  Sunday,  all  the  folks  will  ask  what  fine  lady  from  £<k^%  has  come 
into  the  city  out  of  curiosity  to  see  the  old  church/5 

"  Oh,  Jackey." 

"That's  what  I  call,"  muttered  Mr.  Wheeler,  "pouring  oil  upon  <hs 
troubled  waters."  He  then  spoke  aloud,  saying—"  Now,  my  dear,  it  is  your 
judgment  and  advice  I  want.  What  shall  we  do  in  this  case  ?  for  you  see — first 
of  all,  the  new  lodger  denies  knowing  a  soul,  and  then,  in  half  an  hour,  an  old 
acquaintance  calls  upon  him  here." 

The  silver-grey  satin— the  flattering  allusion  to  the  probable  opinion  of  the 
eople  in  St.  Dunstan's  Church  on  the  next  Sunday— the  obscure  allusion  to  a 
something  else  to  match  i  %  and  the  appeal  to  her  judgment,  all  had  the  effect 
desired  upon  Mrs.  Wheeler,  who,  dropping  entirely  the  hectoring  tone,  fell  into  her 
husband's  views,  and  began  calmly  and  dispassionately,  without  abuse  or  crimi- 
nation, to  discuss  the  merits,  or  rather  the  probable  demerits,  of  the  new  lodger. 

"  I  tell  you,  my  dear,  my  opinion/'  said  the  lady.  "As  for  stopping  in  the 
hotise  and  not  knowing  who  and  what  he  is,  I  won't." 

"  Certainly  not,  my  love." 

"  Then,  Mr.  W.,  the  only  thing  to  do,  is  for  you  and  I  to  go  up  stairs,  and  say 
that  as  I  was  out  you  did  not  know  a  Mr.  Jones  had  spoken  about  the  lodging, 
but  that,  if  he  could  give  a  reference  in  London,  we  would  still  have  him  for  a 
lodger." 

"  Very  well.  That  will  be  only  civil,  and  if  he  says  he  can't,  but  must  send  to 
Cambridge——" 

"  Why  then,  my  dear,  you  must  say  that  he  may  stay  till  he  writes,  and  I'll  be 
guided  by  his  looks.    If  I  give  you  a  nudge,  so,  with  my  elbow,  you  may  con- 
sider that  it's  pretty  right." 
"  Very  well,  my  dove." 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

SIR  RICHARD  PRIES  INTO  TODD'S  SECRETS. 

Crotchet  soon  reached  the  attic  floor  of  the  shoemaker's  house,  and  although 
in  profound  darkness,  he  managed,  as  he  thought  to  touch  the  right  door.  Tap  ! 
tap !  went  Crotchets  knuckles,  and  as  he  did  so  he  followed  a  habit  very  general, 
when  the  knock  is  only  a  matter  of  ceremony,  and  opened  the  door  at  the  same 
moment.  He  popped  his  head  into  a  room  where  there  was  a  light,  and 
said — 

*  Here  yer  is.* 

A  scream  was  the  reply  to  him,  and  then  Crotchet  saw,  by  the  state  of  affairs 
there,  that  he  had  made  a  little  mistake  in  the  topography  of  the  attic  landing. 
The  attic  in  which  he  found  himself,  for  he  had  crossed  the  threshold,  was  in 
the  occupation  of  an  elderly  gaunt- looking  female,  who  was  comforting  her  toes 
by  keeping  them  immersed  in  a  pan  of  water  by  the  side  of  a  little  miserable 
fire,  which  was  feebly  pretending  to  look  cheerful  in  the  little  grate. 

<<  Lor,  mum  !"  said  Crotchet.    "  Who'd  a  thought  o'  seeing  of  you  ?" 

"Oh,  you  monster.   You  base  man,  what  do  you  want  here  ?" 

«  Nothink !" 

"  Be  off  with  you,  or  else  I'll  call  the  perlice." 

«  Oh,  I'm  a  going,  mum.    How  do  you  bring  it  in,  mum,  in  a  genera 
way?"  * 
"Help!  Murder!" 

"  Lord  bless  us,  what  a  racket.  Don't  you  go  for  to  fancy,  mum,  that  I  corned 
up  these  here  attic  stairs  for  to  see  you.    Quite  the  rewerse,  mum/' 

Then,  pray  who  did  you  come  to  see,  you  big  ugly  monster  you  ?  The  other 
attic  is  empty.  Oh,  you  base  infidel.  I  believe  I  knows  what  men  are  by  this 
time." 

"  No  doubt  on  it,  mum.  Howsomedever  this  here's  the  wrong  door,  I  take 
it.  No  harm  done,  mum.  I  wish  you  and  your  toes,  mum,  a  remarkably  good 
evening/' 

"  Crotchet/'  said  a  voice. 

"  Here  yer  is." 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  been  attentively  listening  for  Crotchet,  and  when  he 
heard  the  screams  of  the  old  lady  in  the  next  attic,  he  opened  the  door  of  his 
apartment,  and  looked  out.  He  soon  discovered  what  was  amiss,  and  called 
out  accordingly. 

"  Bless  us,  who's  that  ?* 

"  The  Emperor  o'  Russia,  mum/'  said  Crotchet.  "  He's  took  that  'ere  attic 
next  to  you,  cos  he's  heard  so  much  o'  the  London  chumbley  pots,  and  he 
wants  to  have  a  good  look  at  them  at  his  leisure." 

With  these  words  Mr.  Crotchet  left  the  old  lady's  attic,  and  closed  the  door 
carefully,  leaving  her,  no  doubt,  in  a  considerable  state  of  bewilderment.  In 
another  moment  he  was  with  the  magistrate. 

u  Crotchet,"  said  Sir  Richard,  *  I  thought  I  told  you  to  do  this  thing  as 
quietly  as  you  possibly  could/5      -t  t 

u  Down  as  a  hammer,  sir/' 

"  I  think  it  is  anything  but  down." 

"  Right  as  a  trivet,  sir,  with  a  hextra  leg.  Lots  o5  fear,  but  no  danger.  Now 
for  it,  Sir  Richard.    What  lay  is  we  to  go  on  V9 

'  It  certainly  never  occurred  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt  to  hold  any  argument  with 
Mr.  Crotchet.  He  had  long  since  found  out  that  he  must,  if  he  would  avail  him- 
self of  his  services — and  for  courage  and  fidelity  he  was  unequalled — put 
up  with  his  eccentricities  ;  so  upon  this  occasion  he  said  no  more  about  Crotchet's 
mistake,  but,  after  a  few  moments'  pause,  pointing  to  the  attic  door,  he  said — 


190 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Secure  it." 
"  All's  right." 

I     Crotchet  took  a  curious  little  iron  instrument  from  his  pocket,  and  secured  it 
into  the  wall  by  the  side  of  the  door.    It  divd  not  take  him  more  than  a  moment 
to  do  so,  and  then,  fully  satisfied  of  the  efficacy  of  his  work,  he  said — 
"Let  'em  get  over  that  if  they  can." 

While  he  was  so  occupied,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  himself  had  opened  the  window, 
and  fastened  it  open  securely. 

"  Now,  Crotchet,"  he  said,  "  look  to  your  pistols/' 
"All's  ri^ght,  sir." 

The  magistrate  carefully  examined  the  priming  of  his  own  arms,  and  seeing 
that  all  was  right,  he  at  once  emerged  from  the  attic  through  the  window  on  to 
the  parapet  of  the  house.  He  might  have  crept  along  the  gutter  just  within  the 
parapet,  but  the  gutter  aforesaid  was  not  exactly  in  the  most  salubrious  con- 
dition. Indeed,  from  its  filthy  state,  one  might  have  fancied  it  to  be  peculiarly 
under  the  direction  of  the  city  commissioners  of  sewers.  Crotchet  followed  Sir 
Richard  closely,  and  in  a  moment  or  two  they  had  traversed  a  sufficient  portion 
of  the  parapet  to  find  themselves  at  the  attic  window  of  Todd's  house.  It 
would  have  been  next  thing  to  a  miracle  if  they  had  been  seen  in  their  progress, 
for  the  roof  was  very  dark  coloured,  and  the  night  had  fairly  enough  set  in,  so 
that  if  any  one  had  by  chance  looked  up  from  the  street  below,  they  would 
scarcely  have  discovered  that  there  was  anybody  creeping  along  the  parapet. 
Now  there  was  a  slight  creaking  noise  for  about  half  a  minute,  «and  then  the 
window  of  Sweeney  Tood's  attic  swung  open. 

"  Come  on/3  said  Sir  Richard,  and  he  softly  alighted  in  the  apartment. 
Crotchet  followed  him,  and  then  the  magistrate  carefully  closed  the  window 
again,  and  left  it  in  such  a  way,  that  a  touch  from  within  would  open  it.  Then 
they  were  in  profound  darkness,  and  as  it  was  no  part  of  the  policy  of  Sir 
Richard  Blunt  to  run  any  unnecessary  risks,  he  did  not  move  one  inch  from  the 
place  upon  which  he  stood  until  he  had  lighted  a  small  hand  lantern,  which 
had  a  powerful  reflector  and  a  tin  shade,  which  in  a  moment  could  be  passed 
over  the  glass,  so  as  to  hide  the  light  upon  an  emergency. 

"  Now,  Crotchet/'  he  said,  "  we  shall  see  where  we  are." 

"  ReetherJ'  said  Crotchet. 

By  holding  the  light  some  height  up,  they  were  able  to  command  a  good  view 
of  the  attic.  It  was  a  miserable  looking  room :  the  walls  were  in  a  state  of 
premature  decay,  and  in  several  places  lumps  of  mortar  had  fallen  from  the 
ceiling,  making  a  litter  of  broken  plaster  upon  the  floor.  It  was  entirely  destitute 
of  furniture,  with  the  exception  of  an  old  stump  bedstead,  upon  which  there  lay 
what  looked  like  a  quantity  of  old  clothes. 

u  Safe  enough,"  said  Sir  Richard. 

"  Stop ! "  said  Crotchet. 

"What's  the  matter?" 

"  There's  something  odd  on  the  floor  here.  I>on't  you  see  as  the  dust  has 
got  into  a  crevice  as  is  bigger  nor  all  the  oth«r  crevices,  and  goes  right  along 
this  ways  and  then  along  that  ways  ?  Don't  you  move,  sir,  I'll  be  down  upon  it 
in  a  minute." 

Mr.  Crotchet  laid  himself  down  flat  upon  the  floor,  and  then  crept  on  until  he 
came  to  that  part  of  the  flooring  which  had  excited  his  suspicions.  As  soon  as 
he  pressed  upon  it  with  both  his  hands  it  gave  way  under  them  plainly,  by  the 
elevation  of  the  other  end  of  the  three  boards  of  which  this  trap  was  composed, 
proclaiming  that  it  was  a  moveable  portion  of  the  floor,  revolving  or  turning  upon 
one  of  the  joists  as  a  centre." 

"  Oh  dear,  how  clever !"  said  Crotchet.  n  If  Mr.  Todd  goes  on  a  cutting  away 
his  joists  in  this  here  way  he'll  bring  his  blessed  old  house  down  with  a 
run  some  day.^  How  nice  and  handy,  now,  if  any  one  was  to  step  upon 
here — they'd  go  down  into  the  room  below,  and  perhaps  break  their  blessed  legs 
as  they  went." 

^«>,tM,Jliul.i»rwM^^  .IIUHMMWI.  I.  .,  i.    .111  mi  ■■■in   — 


ft 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  191 


Escape  the  first  for  us  !"  said  Sir  Richard. 

Oh,  lor,  yes.  Now  this  here  Todd  thinks,  by  putting  this  here  man-trap 
here,  as  he  has  perwided  again  any  accidents ;  but  we  ain't  them  'ere  sort  o' 
birds  as  is  catched  by  chaff,  not  we.  Why  he  must  have  spilted  his  blessed 
ceiling  down  below  to  make  this  here  sort  of  a  jigamaree  concern/' 

u  It's  not  a  bad  contrivance  though,  Crotchet.  Its  own  weight,  you  see,  re- 
stores it  to  its  place  again,  and  so  there's  no  trouble  with  it." 

"  Oh  dear,  no.  It's  a  what  I  calls  a  self-acting  catch-'enuwho-can  sort  o' 
machine.  Yes,  Sir  Richard,  I  never  did  think  that  'ere  Todd  was  wery 
green.    He  don't  know  quite  so  much  as  we  know  ;  but  yet  he's  a  rum  'un." 

"  No  doubt  of  it.  Do  you  think,  Crotchet,  there  is  anything  else  in  this  attic 
to  beware  of  ?" 

"  Not  likely  ;  when  he'd  finished  this  here  nice  little  piece  of  handywork,  I 
dare  say  he  said  to  himself — 'This  will  catch  'em/  and  so  down  stairs  he 
tod'dled,  and  grinned  like  a  monkey  as  has  swallowed  a  wnole  nut  by  haccident, 
and  gived  himself  a  pain  in  the  side  in  consekence.  €  That'll  catch  'em,' 
says  he." 

Mr.  Crotchet  seemed  so  much  amused  at  the  picture  he  drew  to  himself  of  the 
supposed  exultation  of  Todd,  that  for  some  moments  he  did  nothing  but  laugh. 
The  reader  must  not  suppose,  however,  that  in  the  circumstances  of  peril  in 
which  they  were,  he  indulged  in  a  regular  **  Ha  !  ha  !" — quite  the  contrary.  He 
had  a  mode  of  laughing  under  such  circumstances  that  was  entirely  his  own,  and 
which,  while  it  made  no  noise,  shook  his  huge  frame  as  though  some  commotion 
had  taken  sudden  possession  of  it,  and  the  most  ridiculous  part  of  the  process 
was  the  alarming  suddenness  with  which  he  would  become  preternaturally 
serious  again.  But  Sir  Richard  Blunt  knew  his  peculiarities,  and  paid  no  at- 
tention to  them,  unless  they  very  much  interfered  with  business. 

u  We  must  not  waste  time.    Come  on,  Crotchet." 

Sir  Richard  walked  to  the  door  of  the  attic  and  tried  it.  It  was  as  fast  as  though 
it  had  been  part  of  the  wall  itself. 

**  So — so/'  he  said.  "  Master  Todd  has  taken  some  precautions  against  being 
surprised  from  the  top  of  his  house.  He  has  nailed  up  this  door  as  surely  as 
any  door  was  ever  nailed  up." 

"  Has  he  really,  though  ?" 

"  Yes.    Quick,  Crotchet.    Ton  have  your  tools  about  you,  I  suppose." 

€i  Never  fear,"  said  Crotchet.  u  I'm  the  indiwedal  as  never  forgets  nothink, 
and  if  I  don't  have  the  middle  panel  out  o'  this  door  a'most  as  soon  as  look  at  it, 
it's  only  cos  it  takes  more  time." 

With  this  philosophical  and  indisputable  remark,  Mr.  Crotchet  stooped  down 
before  the  door,  and  taking  various  exquisitely  made  tools  from  his  pocket,  he 
began  to  work  at  the  door.  He  knocked  nearly  noiselessly,  and  it  looked  like 
something  little  short  of  magic  to  see  how  the  panel  was  forced  out  of  the  door 
without  any  of  the  hammering  and  flustering  which  a  carpenter  would  have  made 
of  it. 

P  All's  right/'  he  said.  i€  If  we  can't  creep  through  here,  we  are  bigger  than 
I  think  we  is." 

"That  will  do.  Hush!" 

They  both  listened  attentively,  for  Sir  Richard  thought  he  heard  a  faint  noise 
from  the  lower  part  of  the  house.  As,  however,  five  minutes  of  attentive  listen- 
ing passed  away,  and  no  repetition  of  it  occurred,  they  thought  it  was  only  some 
one  of  those  accidental  sounds  which  will  at  times  be  heard  in  all  houses  whether 
occupied  or  not.  Crotchet  took  the  lead  by  creeping  clearly  enough  through  the 
opening  that  he  had  made  in  the  door  of  the  attic,  and  Sir  Richard  followed  him. 
They  were  both,  now,  at  the  head  of  the  staircase,  and  Sir  Richard  held  up  the 
lantern  so  as  to  have  a  good  look  around  him.  The  walls  looked  damp  and 
neglected.  There  were  two  other  doors  opetoing  from  that  landing,  but  neither  of 
them  was  fastened,  so  that  they  entered  the  rooms  easily.  j^They  took  care, 
though,  not  to  go  beyond  the  threshold  forbear"  of  accidents,"  although  \it  was 


,   i   i   ffWg» 


* 


192 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS, 


very  unlikely  that  Todd  would  take  the  trouble  to  construct  a  trap-door  in  any 
other  attic  than  the  one  which  was  so  easily  accessible  from  the  parapet.  ( 

"Old  clothes — old  clothes l"  said  Crotchet.  "There  seems  to  be  nothing  else 
in  these  rooms/' 

"  So  it  would  appear/'  said  Sir  Richard. 

He  lifted  up  some  of  the  topmost  of  a  heap  of  garments  upon  the  floor,  and  a 
cloud  of  moths  flew  upwards  in  confusion. 
"  There's  the  toggery,"  said  Mr.  Crotchet,  u  of  the  mugged  \ns  V9 
."You  really  think  so." 

"  Knows  it."  1 

"Well,  Crotchet,  I  don't  think  from  what  I  know  myself  that  we  shall  disagree 
about  Todd's  guilt.  The  grand  thing  is  to  discover  how,  and  in  what  way  he  is 
guilty/  ^  > 

"Just  so.  I'm  quite  sure  we  have  seed  all  as  there  is  to  see  up  here,  so  sup- 
pose we  toddle  down  stairs  now,  sir.  There's,  perhaps,  quite  a  lot  q' wonders  and 
natur,  and  art,  down  below." 

"  Stop  a  bit.    Hold  the  lamp." 

Crotchet  did  so,  while  Sir  Richard  took  from  his  pocket  a  pair  of  thick  linsey- 
woolsey  stockings,  and  carefully  drew  them  on  over  his  boots,  for  the  purpose  of 
deadening  the  sound  of  his  footsteps ;  and  then  he  held  the  light,  while  Mr. 
Crotchet,  who  was  similarly  provided  with  linsey-woolseys,  went  through  the 
same  process.    After  this,  they  moved  like  spectres,  so  perfectly  noiseless  were 
their  footsteps  upon  the  stairs.    Sir  Richard  went  first,  while  Crotchet  now 
carried  the  light,  holding  it  sufficiently  high  that  the  magistrate  could  see  the  f 
stairs  before  him  very  well,  as  he   proceeded.    It  was  quite  evident,  from  the 
state  of  those  stairs,  as  regarded  undisturbed  dust,  that  they  had  not  been  [ 
ascended  for  a  considerable  time ;  and  indeed,  Todd,  considering  the  top  of  his  I 
house  as  perfectly  safe  after  the  precautions  he  had  taken,  did  not  trouble  him-  j 
self  to  visit  it.    Our  adventurers  reached  the  landing  upon  the  second  floor  in  j 
perfect  safety  ;  and  after  giving  a  few  minutes  more  to  the  precautionary  measure 
of  listening,  they  opened  the  first  door  that  presented  itself  to  the  observation,  and 
entered  the  room.    They  both  paused  in  astonishment,  for  such  a  miscellaneous 
collection  of  matters  as  was  in  this  room,  could  only  have  been  expected  to  be 
met  with  in  the  shop  of  a  general  dealer.    Several  chairs  and  tables  were  loaded 
with  wearing  apparel  of  all  kinds  and  conditions.    The  corners  of  the  room 
were  literajly  crowded  with  mobs  of  swords,  walking  sticks,  and  umbrellas  ; 
while  a  countless  he^p  of  hats  lay  upon  the  floor  in  disorder.    You  could  not 
have  stepped  into  that  room  for  miscellaneous  personal  appointments  of  one  sort 
or  another;  and  Mr.  Crotchet  and  Sir  Richard  Blunt  trod  upon  the  hats  as  they  j 
walked  across  the  floor,  from  sheer  inability  to  get  out  of  the  way. 

'"Well/*  said  Crotchet,  "  if  so  be  as  shaving  should  go  out  of  fashion,  Todd 
could  set  up  a  clothier's  shop,  and  not  want  for  stock  to  begin  with." 

"  I  can  imagine,"  muttered  the  magistrate  to  himself,  "  what  a  trouble  and 
anxiety  all  these  things  must  be  to  Todd,  and  woollen  goods  are  so  difficult  to 
burn.  Crotchet,  select  some  of  the  swords,  and  look  if  there  are  maker's  names  ! 
upon  the  blades." 

While  Crotchet  was  preparing  this  order,  Sir  Richard  was  making  a  hasty 
but  sufficiently  precise  examination  of  the  room. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX, 

THE  MYSTERIOUS  CUPBOARD* 

i(  Here  they  are,*  said  Crotchet.   "  Some  of  these  are  worth  something." 
*'  Get  a  cane  or  two,  likewise." 

"  All's  right,  sir.    I  tell  you  what  it  is,  sir.    If  there's  such  things  as  ghoste  [] 


i 


MM 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


193 


in  the  world,  f  wonder  how  this  Todd  can  sleep  o*  nights,  for  he  must  have  a 
plaguy  lot  of  'em  about  his  bed  of  a  night.' ' 

"  Perhaps  he  satisfied  himself  upon  that  head,  Crotchet,  before  he  began  his 
evil  practices,  for  all  we  know ;  but  let  us  make  our  way  into  another  room,  for 
I  think  we  have  seen  all  there  is  to  see  in  this  one." 


MR.  OAKLEY  DEFENDS  JOHANNA  PROM  THE  VIOLENCE  OP  HER  MOTHER. 

"  Not  a  doubt  of  it.  It's  only  a  kind  of  store-room,  this,  and  from  the  size  of 
it,  I  should  say  it  ain't  the  largest  on  this  floor." 

Sir  Richard  walked  out  of  the  room  on  to  the  landing  place.  All  was  per- 
fectly still  in  the  barber's  house,  and  as  he  had  heard  nothing  of  the  bugle  sound 
in  Fleet-street,  he  felt  quite  satisfied  that  Todd  had  not  returned.  It  was  a  great 
thing,  in  all  his  daring  exploits  in  discovering  criminals,   and  successfully 


i 


No.  25. 


194  THE  STRING  PEARLS. 

ferreting  out  their  haunts,  that  he  (Sir  Richard)  could  thoroughly  depend  upon 
his  subordinates.  He  knew  they  were  not  only  faithful  but  brave-  He  knew 
that,  let  what  might  happen,  they  would  never  leave  him  m  the  lurch.  Hence,  in  the 
present  instance,  he  felt  quite  at  his  ease  in  the  house  of  Todd,  so  long  as  he  did 
not  hear  the  sound  of  the  bugle.  Of  course,  personal  danger  he  did  not  consider, 
for  he  knew  he  was,  if  even  he  had  been  alone,  more  than  a  match  for  Todd  ;  but 
what  he  wanted  was,  not  to  overcome  Sweeney  Todd,  but  to  find  out  exactly  what 
were  his  practices.  He  could,  upon  the  information  he  already  had,  have  walked 
into  Todd's  shop  at  any  time,  and  have  apprehended  him,  but  that  would  not 
have  answered.    What  he  wanted  to  do  was  to 

!  "  Pluck  out  the  heart  of  his  mystery/ ' 

and,  in  order  to  do  that,  it  was  not  only  necessary  that  Todd  should  be  at 
large,  but  that  he  should  have  no  hint  that  such  a  person  as  he,  Sir  Richard 
Blunt,  had  his  eyes  wide  open  to  his  actions  and  manoeuvres.    Hence  was  it 
that,  in  this  examination  of  the  house,  he  wished  to  keep  himself  so  secret,  and  ( 
free  from  any  observation.    There  were  three  rooms  upon  the  second  floor  of 
Todd's  house,  and  the  very  next  one  they  met  with,  was  the  one  immediately 
beneath  the  trap  in  the  floor  of  the  attic.    A  glance  at  the  ceiling  enabled  them 
easily  to  perceive  it.    This  room  was  larger  than  the  other  considerably,  and  in 
it  were  many  boxes  and  chests,  as  well  as  in  the  centre  an  immense  old-fashioned 
counting-house  desk,  with  six  immense  flaps  to  it,  three  upon  each  side,  while 
a  brass  railing  went  along  the  middle. 

"Ah!"  said  Sir  Richard,  '/here  will  be  something  worth  the  examining, 
I  hope." 

"  Let's  take  the  cupboards  first/ '  said  Crotchet.  €k  There  are  two  here,  and 
as  they  are  the  first  we  have  seen,  let's  look  at  'em,  Sir  Richard.  I  never 
likes  to  Le  in  a  strange  room  long,  without  a  peep  in  the  cupboard." 

*?  Very  well,  Crotchet.  Look  in  that  one  to  the  left,  while  I  look  in  this  one  to 
the  right." 

Sir  Richard  opened  a  cupboard  door  to  the  right  of  the  fire-place  in  this  room,  I 
while  Crotchet  opened  one  to  the  left.  1 

"  More  clothes,"  said  Sir  Richard.    "  What's  in  yours,  Crotchet?" 

u  Nothing  at  all.    Yet  stay.    There's  a  something  high  up  here.    I  don't 
know  what  it  is,  but  I'll  try  and  reach  it  if  I  can." 

Crotchet  went  completely  into  the  cupboard,  but  he  had  no  sooner  done  so, 
than  Sir  Richard  Blunt  heard  a  strange  crushing  sound,  and  then  all  was 
still. 

"  Hilloa  !    What's  that,  Crotchet  ?" 

He  hastily  stepped  to  the  cupboard.    The  door  had  swung  close.    It  Vas 
evidently  hung  upon  its  hinges  in  a  manner  to  do  so.    With  his  disengaged 
hand,  the  magistrate  at  once  pulled  it  open.  Crotchet  was  gone.  The  astonish- 
ment of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  for  a  moment  was  excessive.    There  was  the  flooring 
of  the  cupboard  perfectly  safe,  but  no  Crotchet.  Nothing  to  his  eyes  had  looked 
so  like  a  magical  disappearance  as  this,  and  with  the  trap  in  his  hand,  he  stood 
while  any  one  might  have  counted  twenty,  completely  motionless  and  transfixed 
by  astonishment.    Starting  then  from  this  lethargic  condition,  he  drew  a  pistol 
from  his  pocket,  and  rushed  to  the  door  of  the  room.    At  this  instant,  he  heard 
the  bugle  sound  clearly  and  distinctly  in  the  street.    Before  the  echo  of  the  f 
sound  had  died  away,  the  magistrate  was  upon  the  landing-place  outside  the  door 
of  the  second  floor.    He  listened  intently,  and  heard  some  one  below  coughing. 
It  was  not  the  cough  of  Crotchet.    What  was  he  to  do  ?    If  he  did  not  make 
a  signal  to  the  officers  in  the  street  that  all  was  safe,  the  house  would  soon  be 
stormed,  and,  for  all  he  knew,  that  might  ensure  the  destruction  of  Crotchet, 
instead  of  saving  him.  For  a  moment,  the  resolution  to  go  down  the  stair- 
case  at  all  hazards  and   face  Todd — for  he   had  no  doubt  but  that  he 
had  come  ^home— possessed  him,   but  a   moment's  reflection  turned  the 
scale  of  thought   in  another   direction.    If  the  officers,  not  finding  him 


I 


Todd;iJ! 


floor  oi 

tnesi 
h  ud  in 

M  In 


sail*  M 


iff.  1 


pi  bK  ft 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


195  1 


i 


make  a  signal  that  he  was  safe,  did  attack  the  house,  they  would  not  do  so  for 
some  minutes.  It  was  their  duty  not  to  be  precipitate.  He  leant  on  the  ballus- 
trade,  and  listened  with  an  intentness  that  was  perfectly  painful.  He  heard  the 
cough  again  from  quite  the  lower  part  of  the  house,  and  then  he  became  aware 
that  some  one  was  slowly  creeping  up  the  stairs.  He  had  placed  the  slide  over 
the  bull's  eye  of  his  little  lamp,  so  that  all  was  darkness,  but  he  heard  the  breathe- 
ing  of  the  person  who  was  coming  up  towards  him.  He  shrunk  back  close  to 
the  wall,  determined  to  seize,  and  with  an  iron  hand,  any  one  who  should  reach 
the  landing.  Suddenly,  from  quite  the  lower  part  of  the  building,  he  heard  the 
cough  again.  The  thought,  then,  that  it  must  be  Crotchet  who  was  coming  up, 
impressed  itself  upon  him,  but  he  would  not  speak.  In  a  few  moments  some 
one  reached  the  landing,  and  stretching  out  his  right  arm,  Sir  Richard  caught 
whoever  it  was,  and  said  in  a  whisper — 

"  Any  resistance  will  cost  you  your  life." 

"  Crotchet  it  is/'  said  the  new  comer. 

"  Ah,  how  glad  I  am  it  is  you  ?" 

"  Reether.  Hush.  The  old  'un  is  below.  Ain't  I  shook  a  bit.  It's  a  precious 
good  thing  as  my  bones  is  in  the  blessed  habit  o'  holding  on,  one  of  'em  to  the 
rest  and  all  the  rest  to  one,  or  else  I  should  have  tumbled  to  bits." 

"Hush!  hush!" 

"  Oh,  he's  a  good  way  off.  That  'ere  cupboard  has  got  a  descending  floor 
with  ropes  and  pullies,  so  down  I  went  and  was  rolled  out  into  a  room  below  and 
up  went  the  bit  of  flooring  again.    I  was  very  nearly  startled  a  little.^ 

H  Nearly  P 

"  Reether,  but  here  I  is.    I  got  out  and  crept  up  stairs  as  soon  as  I  could,  cos, 
says  I,  the  governor  will  wonder  what  the  deuce  has  become  of  me." 
"I  did,  indeed." 

"Just  as  I  thought  Sir  Richard,  just  listen  to  me?  I've  got  a  fancy  for 
Todd." 

A  fancy  for  Todd?" 

Yes,  and  I  want  to  stay  here  a  few  hours— yes,  go  and  let  them  as  is  outside 
know  all's  right,  and  leave  me  here,  I  think  somehow  I  shall  like  to  be  in  this 
crib  alone  with  Todd  for  an  hour  or  two.  You  have  got  other  business  to  see 
to,  you  know,  so  just  leave  me  here  ;  and  mind  yer,  if  I  don't  get  here  by  six  in  the 
morning,  just  consider  as  he's  got  the  better  of  me.* 
"  No,  Crotchet,  I  cannot." 
"  Can't  what?" 

"  Consent  to  leave  you  here  alone." 

"Bother!  what's  the  row,  and  where's  the  danger,  I  should  like  to  know? 
Who's  Todd?   Who  am  I?  Gammon!" 

Sir  Richard  shook  his  head,  although  Crotchet  could  not  very  well  see  him 

shake  it,  and  after  a  pause  he  added — 

"1  don't  suppose  exactly  that  there  is  much  danger,  Crotchet,  but,  at  all  events, 
I  don't  like  it  said  that  I  brought  you  into  this  place  and  then  left  you  here." 

"Bother!" 

u  You  go  and  leave  me." 

"  A  likely  joke  that.  No,  I  tell  yer  what  it  is,  Sir  Richard.  You  knows  me 
and  I  knows  you,  so  what  does  it  matter  what  other  folks  say  ?  Business  is  busi- 
ness I  hope,  and  don't  you  believe  that  I'm  going  to  be  such  a  flat  as  to  throw 
away  my  life  upon  such  a  fellow  as  Todd.  I  think  I  can  do  some  good  by  staying 
here ;  if  I  can't  Til  come  away,  but  I  don't  think,  in  either  case,  that  Todd  will 
see  me.  If  he  does  I  shall,  perhaps,  be  forced  to  nab  him,  and  that,  after  all,  is 
the  worst  that  can  come  of  it." 

"  Well,  Crotchet,  you  shall  have  your  own  way, 

"  Good." 

"  I  will  return  to  the  attic  as  soon  as  I  conveniently  csn,  and,  let  what  will 
happen  to  you,  remember  that  you  are  not  deserted.  * 
"  I  knows  it.'1 


13 


r 


196  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Good  bye.    Take  care  of  yourself,  old  friend." 
"  I  means  it." 

"  I  should  be  indeed  afflicted  if  anything  were  to  happen  to  you." 
"  Gammon." 

Sir  Richard  left  him  his  own  pistols,  in  addition  to  the  pair  which  he,  Grot- 
chet,  always  had  about  him,  so  that  he  was  certainly  well-armed,  let  what  would 
|  happen  to  him  in  that  house  of  Sweeney  Todd's,  which  had  now  become  some- 
*1  thing  more  than  a  mere  object  of  suspicion  to  the  police.  Well,  they  knew 
Todd's  guilt— it  was  the  mode  in  which  he  was  guilty  only  that  still  remained  a 
mystery.  The  moment  Sir  Richard  Blunt  reached  the  attic  again,  he  held  his 
arm  out  at  full  length  from  the  window,  and  waved  to  and  fro  the  little  lantern 
as  a  signal  to  the  officers  in  the  street  that  he  was  safe.  This  done,  he  would 
not  return  to  the  room  he  had  hired  of  the  bootmaker,  but  he  resolved  to  wait 
about  ten  minutes  longer  in  case  anything  should  happen  in  the  house  below 
that  might  sound  alarming.  After  that  period  of  time,  he  resolved  upon  leaving 
for  an  hour  or  two,  but  he,  of  course,  would  not  do  so  without  apprising  his 
officers  of  Crotchet's  situation.  During  the  time  that  had  been  passed  by  Crot- 
chet and  Sir  Richard  Blunt  in  Sweeney  Todd's  house,  the  shoemaker  and 
his  wife  had  had  an  adventure  which  created  in  their  minds  abundance  of 
surprise.  It  will  be  recollected  that  the  shoemaker's  wife  had  decided  upon 
what  was  to  be  done  regarding  the  new  lodger — namely,  that  under  the  pretence 
that  a  Mr.  Jones  was  a  more  satisfactory  lodger,  he  was  to  be  asked  to  be  so 
good  as  to  quit  the  attic  he  had  so  strangely  taken.  The  arrival  of  Mr.  Crotchet 
with  so  different  a  story  from  that  told  by  Sir  Richard  Blunt  certainly  had  the 
effect  of  engendering  many  suspicions  in  the  minds  of  Sir  Richard's  new  land- 
lord and  landlady. 

"  Well,  my  dear,"  said  the  shoemaker,  "  if  you  are  willing  to  come  up  stairs, 
I  will  say  what  you  wish  to  this  man,  particularly  as  his  pretended  friend  don't 
seem  to  be  coming  down  stairs  again." 

"  Very  well,  my  dear;  I'll  take  the  kitchen  poker  and  follow  you,  and  while 
I  am  behind  you,  if  I  think  he  is  a  pleasant  man,  you  know,  and  we  had  better 
let  him  stay,  I  will  give  you  a  slight  poke." 
€\  A-hem  !    Thank  you — yes." 

Armed  with  ths  poker,  the  lady  of  the  mansion  followed  her  husband  up  the 
staircase,  and  perhaps  we  may  fairly  say  that  curiosity  was  as  strong  a  feeling 
with  her  as  any  other  in  the  business.  To  tell  the  truth,  the  shoemaker  did  not 
half  like  the  job  ;  but  what  will  a  man,  who  is  under  proper  control  at  home,  not 
do  to  keep  up  the  shallow  treaty  of  peace  which  his  compliance  produces  between 
him  and  his  better  half?  Is  there  anything  which  a  hen-pecked  husband  dares 
say  he  will  not  do,  when  the  autocrat  of  his  domestic  hearth  bids  him  do  it  ? 
Up — up  the  long  dark  staircase  they  went !  Our  ancestors,  as  one  of  their  pieces 
of  wisdom,  had  a  knack  of  marking  steep  dark  staircases  ;  and,  to  tell  the  truth, 
there  are  many  modern  architects  equally  ingenious.  At  length  the  attic  landing 
was  reached.  The  shoemaker  knew  the  localities  of  his  house  better  than  to 
make  such  a  mistake  as  Crotchet  had  done  ;  so  the  old  lady,  with  her  feet  in  the 
pan  of  water,  was  saved  such  another  irruption  as  had  already  taken  place  into 
her  peaceful  domains. 

u  Now,  my  dear,  knock  boldly,"  said  the  lady  of  the  mansion.    "  Knock  like 
a  man."  • 
"  Yes,  my  love." 

The  shoemaker  tapped  at  the  door  with  about  the  energy  of  a  fly.  The  soft 
appeal  produced  no  effect  whatever,  and  the  lady  growing  impatient,  then  poised 
the  poker,  and  dealt  the  door  a  blow  which  induced  her  husband  to  start  aside, 
lest  the  lodge  r  should  open  it  quickly,  and  rush  out  in  great  wrath.  All  was 
profoundly  still,  however  ;  and  then  they  tried  the  lock,  and  found  it  fast. 
u  He's  gone  to  bed,"  said  the  shoemaker. 

€i  He  can't,"  said  the  lady,  "for  there  are  no  sheets  on  the  bed.  Besides, 
they  have  not  both  gone  to  bed.    I  tell  you  what  it  is.    There's  some  mystery 


„■        i     '       h»  i~   ..  «  mm  mm-^*  --ri»- >1<  _S  jrWUHSmf 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  197 


in  this  that  I  should  like  to  find  out.  Now,  all  the  keys  of  all  the  attics  ar 
alike.   Just  wait  here,  and  I'll  borrow  Mrs.  Macconikie's." 

The  shoemaker  waited  in  no  small  amount  of  trepidation,  while  this  pro- 
cess of  key-borrowing  from  th&^ld  lady  who  enjoyed  a  pan  of  water,  took  place 
upon  the  part  of  his  wife. 


•:'^»:',1-*'^nsf»yr«'!v* 


-n-       CHAPTER  XL.      ':  ^V-v 

CROTCHET  ASTONISHES  MR.  TODD. 

The  key  was  soon  procured,  but  it  will  be  recollected  that  Cachet  had 
fastened  the  door  rather  too  securely  for  it  to  be  opened  by  any  such  ordinary 
implement  as  a  key,  and  so  disappointment  was  the  portion  of  the  shoemaker's 
wife. 

"  Don't  you  think,  my  love/'  said  the  shoemaker,  "that  it  will  be  just  as 
well  to  leave  this  affair  until  the  morning,  before  taking  any  further  notice  of 
it?" 

u  And  pray,  then,  am  I  to  sleep  all  night,  if  I  don't  know  the  rights  of  it,  I 
should  like  to  know?  Perhaps,  if  you  can  tell  me  that,  you  are  a  little  wiser 
than  T  think  you.    Marry,  come  up  V 

«  Oh,  well,  I  only  H 

u  You  only  !  Then  only  don't.  That's  the  only  favour  I  ask  of  you,  sir,  is  to 
only  don't." 

What  extraordinary  favour  this  was,  the  lady  did  not  condescend  to  explain 
any  more  particulars,  but  it  was  quite  enough  for  the  husband  to  understand 
that  a  storm  was  brewing,  and  to  become  humble  and  submissive  accordingly. 

"  Well,  my  dear,  I'm  sure  I  only  wish  you  to  do  just  what  you  like  ;  that's 
all,  my  dear,  I'm  sure." 

*'  Very  good."  '  '  { 

After  this,  she  made  the  most  vigorous  efforts  to  get  into  the  attic,  and  if  any 
one  had  been  there — which  at  that  juncture  there  was  not — they  might  truly 
have  asked  "  Who's  that  knocking  at  the  door?"  Finding  that  all  her  efforts 
were  ineffectual,  she  took  to  peeping  through  the  key-hole,  but  nothing  was  to 
be  seen;  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  the  idea  struck  her  that  there  was  some- 
thing  supernatural  about  the  business,  and  in  a  few  moments  this  notion  gained 
sufficient  strength  f  o  engender  some  lively  apprehensions. 

"  I  tell  you  what,"  she  said  to  her  husband,  "  if  you  don't  fetch  a  constable 
at  once,  and  have  the  door  opened,  and  see  all  about,  I'm  afraid— indeed  I'm  quite 
sure — I  shall  be  very  ill." 

€i  Oh,  dear — oh,  dear/' 

"  It's  of  no  use  your  standing  here  and  saying  €  Oh,  dear/  like  a  great  stupid 
as  you  are — always  was  and  always  will  be.    Go  for  a  constable,  at  once." 
"  A  constable?" 

"  Yes,  There's  Mr.  Otton,  the  beadle  of  St.  Dunstan's,  lives  opposite,  as  you 
well  know,  and  he's  a  constable.  Run  over  the  way  and  fetch  him,  this  minute." 

She  began  hastily  to  descend  the  stairs,  and  the  shoemaker  followed  her,  re- 
monstrating, for  the  idea  of  fetching  a  constable,  and  making  him  and  his  house 
the  talk  of  the  whole  neighbourhood,  was  by  no  means  a  proposition  that  met 
with  his  approval.  The  lady  was  positive,  however,  and  Mr.  Otton,  the 
beadle  of  St.  Dunstan's,  was  brought  from  over  the  way,  and  the  case  stated  to 
him  at  length. 

"  Conwulsions !"  exclaimed  Otton,  "  what  can  I  do  ?" 

"  Burst  open  the  door/'  said  the  lady. 

J6 Burst  a  door  open,  mum!  What  is  you  a  thinking  on?  Why,  that's 
contrary  to  Habus  Corpus,  mum, ,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  Conwulsions, 
miim !  you  mustn't  do  it.    But  I  tell  you  what,  now,  will  be  the  thing."  ! 


i         a.-llii.iami)iM«iiwii«n     i       „       i  i 


198  THE  STEIN  G  OF  PEARLS. 


Here  Mr.  Otton  put  his  finger  to  the  side  of  his  nose,  and  looked  so  cunninS 
that  you  would  hardly  have  believed  it  possible. 
"  What  ?— what  ?" 

"Why,  suppose,  mum,  we  ask  Mr.  Todd,  next  door,  to  give  us  leave  to  go  up 
into  his  attic,  and  get  out  at  the  window  and  look  in  at  yours,  mum  ?" 
"That'll  do.    Run  in  " 

"Me  I"  cried  the  shoemaker.  ts  Oh,  M — Mr.  Todd  is  a  strange  man— a  very 
strange  man — not  at  all  a  neighbourly  sort  of  man,  and  I  don't  like  to  go  to  him. 
— I  won't  go,  that's  flat — unless,  my  love,  you  particularly  wish  it." 

"  Conwulsions  V  cried  the  beadle.  "  Ain't  I  a-going  with  you  ?  Ain't  la 
constabulary  force,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  Conwulsions !  What  is  yer  afeard 
on  ?  Come  on.  Lor,  what's  the  meaning  o'  that,  I  wonders,  now  ;  I  should 
just  like  to  take  that  ere  fellow  up.  Whoever  heard  of  a  horn  being  blowed  at 
such  a  rate,  in  the  middle  o'  Fleet-street,  afore,  unless  it  was  somethin'  as  con- 
sarned  the  parish?  Conwulsions  !  it's  contrary  to  Habus  Corpus,  it  is.  Is  me 
a  constabulary  force,  or  is  me  not  ?" 

This  was  the  bugle  sound  which  warned  Sir  Richard  Blunt  and  his  friend 
Crotchet  that  Sweeney  Todd  had  returned  to  his  shop  ;  and,  in  iact,  while  this 
very  conversation  was  going  on  at  the  shoemaker's,  Todd  had  lit  the  lamp  in  his 
shop,  and  actually  opened  it  for  business  again,  as  the  evening  was  by  no  means 
very  far  advanced.  Mr.  Otton  went  to  the  door,  and  looked  about  for  the 
audacious  bugle  player,  but  he  was  not  to  be  seen  ;  so  he  returned  to  the  back 
parlour  of  the  shoemaker,  uttering  his  favourite  expletive  of  "  Conwulsions'* 
very  frequently. 

"Now,  if  you  is  ready,"  he  said,  "I  is;  so  let's  come  at  once,  and  speak  to 
Mr.  Todd.  He  may  be  a  strange  man,  but  for  all  that,  he  knows,  I  rfessay, 
what's  proper  respect  to  a  beetle" 

With  this  strange  transformation  of  his  own  title  upon  his  lips,  Mr.  Otton 
stalked  on  rather  majestically,  as  he  thought,  to  the  street,  and  thence  to  Todd's 
shop  door,  with  the  shoemaker  following  him.  The  gait  of  the  latter  expressed 
reluctance,  and  there  was  a  dubious  expression  upon  his  face,  which  was  quite 
amusing  to  behold. 

"Really,  Mr.  Otton,"  he  said,  "don't  you  think,  after  all,  it  would  be  better 
to  leave  this  affair  alone  till  the  morning?  We  can  easily  tell  my  wife,  vou  know, 
that  Mr.  Todd  won't  let  us  into  his  attic.  That  must  satisfy  her,  for  what  can 
she  sav  to  it?" 

"  Sir/9  said  the  beadle,  "  when  you  call  in  the  consiabullary  force,  you  must 
do  just  what  they  say,  or  lasteways  you  acts  contrary  to  Habus  Corpuses.  Come 
on.  Conwulsions  !  is  we  to  be  brought  over  the  street,  and  then  is  we  to  do  nothing 
to  go  down  to  prosperity  ?" 

The  beadle  uttered  these  words  with  such  an  air  of  pomposity  and  importance 
that  the  shoemaker,  who  had  a  vague  idea  that  Habus  Corpus  was  some  fearful 
engine  of  the  law  at  the  command  of  all  its  administrators,  no  longer  offered  any 
opposition,  but,  as  meekly  as  any  lamb,  followed  Mr.  Otton  into  Sweeney  Todd's 
shop.  The  door  yielded  to  a  touch,  and  Mr.  Otton  presented  his  full  rubicund 
countenance  to  the  gaze  of  Sweeney  Todd,  who  was  at  the  further  end  of  the 
shop,  as  though  he  had  just  come  from  the  parlour  at  the  back  of  it,  or  was  just 
going  there.  He  did  not  at  first  see  the  shoemaker,  who  was  rather  obscured  by 
the  portly  person  of  the  beadle,  and  Todd's  first  idea  was,  the  most  natural  one 
in  the  world,  namely,  that  the  beadle  came  upon  an  emergency  to  be  shaved. 
Giving  him  an  hideous  leer,  Todd  said — • 

rc  A  fine  night  for  a  clean  shave." 

"  Werry.  In  course,  Mr.  T.,  you  is  the  best  judge  o5  that  'ere,  but  I  does  for 
myself." 

As  he  spoke,  Mr.  Otton  rubbed  his  chin,  to  intimate  that  it  was  to  his  shaving 
himself  that  he  alluded  just  then. 

"  Hair  cut  ?"  said  Todd,  giving  a  snap  to  the  blades  of  a  large  pair  of  scissors, 


— —  .        ~— ~~tt — nrrmm — n — — Tnrrrirr~B~TriTTCTirw»ipi:iMiii  j  i,  ..,.„#_ 


0 


V  Pho !— Pho  !  Can't  you  take  a  joke,  Mr.  Otton  ?  I  know  you 
It  s  my  funny  way  to  call  people,  whom  T  admire  very  much,  all  th 

T  Pfln  thinly  r*f 


that  made  Mr.  Otton  jump  again,  and  nearly  induced  the  shoemaker  to  run  ou 
of  the  shop  into  the  street. 

"  No,"  said  the  beadle  ;  and  taking  off  his  hat,  he  felt  his  hair,  as  though  to 
satisfy  himself  that  it  was  all  there,  just  as  usual.    "  No." 

Todd  looked  as  though  he  would  have  shaved  him  with  extreme  pleasure,  and 
advancing  a  few  steps,  he  added — 

?'  Then  what  is  it  that  you  bring  your  wleldy  carcase  here  for,  vou  gross  lump 
of  stupidity?    Ha!  ha!  ha!" 
"What?    Conwulsions !" 

well  enough, 
the  hard  names 

1  can  think  of." 
"Is  it?" 

"Oh,  dear,  yes.  I  thought  you  and  all  my  neighbours  knew  that  well  enough. 
I  m  one  of  the  drollest  dogs  alive.    That  I  am.   Won't  you  sit  down  V 

"  Well.  Mr.  Todd,  a  joke  may  be  a  joke."  The  beadle  looked  very  sententious 
at  this  discovery.  "  But  you  have  the  oddest  way  of  poking  your  fun  at  any  one 
that  ever  I  heard  of;  but,  I  comes  to  you  now  as  a  respectable  parishioner, 
to  " 

"Oh,"  said  Todd,  putting  his  hands,  very  deliberately  into  his  pockets, 
" how  much?" 

"  It  ain't  anything  to  pay.    It's  a  mere  trifle.    I  just  want  to  go  up  to  your 

front  attic,  and  " 

•  "What?" 

"  Your  front  attic,  and  get  out  of  the  window  to  look  into  the  front  attic  next 
door*    We  won't  trouble  you  if  you  will  oblige  us  with  a  candle.  That's 

&U."         *#§fe  <  ^k>mj:;  k&A  iv%k  * 

Todd  advanced  two  steps  further  towards  the  beadle  and  looked  peeringly  in 
his  face.  All  the  suspicious  qualities  of  his  nature  rose  up  in  alarm.  Every 
feeling  of  terror  regarding  the  instability  of  his  position,  and  the  danger  by 
which  he  was  surrounded,  rushed  upon  him.  At  once  he  conjectured  that  danger 
was  approaching  him,  and  that  in  this  covert  manner  the  beadle  was  intent  upon 
getting  into  the  house,  for  the  purpose  of  searching  it  to  his  detriment.  As  the 
footpad  sees  in  each  bush  an  officer,  so,  in  the  most  trivial  circumstances,  even 
the  acute  intellect  of  Sweeney  Todd  saw  dangers,  and  rumours  of  dangers,  which 
no  one  but  himself  could  have  had  the  remotest  idea  of.  He  glared  upon  the 
beadle  with  positive  ferocity,  and  so  much  affected  was  Otton  by  that  lynx-like 
observation  of  Sweeney  Todd's,  that  he  stepped  aside  and  disclosed  that  he  was 
not  alone.  If  anything  could  have  confirmed  Todd  in  his  suspicions  that  there 
was  a  dead-set  at  him,  it  was  finding  that  the  beadle  was  not  alone.  And  yet 
the  shoemaker  was  well  known  to  him.  But  what  will  lull  such  suspicion  as 
Sweeney  Todd  had  in  his  mind?  Once  engendered,  it  was  like  the  jealousy 
that — 

u  Makes  tke  meat  it  feeds  on  !" 

He  advanced,  step  by  step,  glaring  upon  the  beadle  and  upon  the  shoemaker. 
Reaching  up  his  hand,  he  suddenly  turned  the  lamp  that  hung  from  the  ceiling 
clear  round,  so  that,  in  lieu  of  its  principal  light  falling  upon  him,  it  fell  upon  the 
faces  of  those  who  had  paid  him  so  unceremonious  a  visit. 
"  Lawks  !"  said  the  beadle. 

"Excuse  us,  Mr.  Todd,"  said  the  shoemaker,  "1  assure  you  we  only 
meant  " 

"What?"  thundered  Todd.    Then  suddenly  softening  his  voice,  he  added— 
t€  You  are  very  welcome  here  indeed.    Pray  what  do  you  want  ?" 
"  Why,  sir,"  said  Otton,  "  you  must  know  that  this  gentleman  has  a  lodger." 
"  A  what  ?" 

"  A  lodger,  sir,  and  so  you  see  that's  just  the  case*  You  understand  that  this 
lodger— lor,  Mr.  Todd,  this  is  your  neighbour  the  shoemaker,  you  know.  The 


front  attic,  you  know,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.    After  this  explanation,  I  hope 
you'll  lend  us  a  candle  at  once,  Mr.  Todd,  and  let  us  up  to  the  attic." 

Todd  shaded  his  eyes  with  his  hands,  and  looked  yet  more  earnestly  at  the 

beadle.  ,       •  _  , 

f  Why,  Mr.  Otton,"  he  said,  "  indeed  you  do  want  a  shave." 

"A.  shave  ?" 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Otton,  I  have  a  good  razor  here  that  will  go  over  your  chin  like  a 
piece  of  butter.  Only  take  a  seat,  sir,  and  if  you,  neighbour,  will  go  home  com- 
fortably to  your  own  fireside,  I  will  send  for  you  when  Mr.  Otton  is  shaved/' 

"  But  really/'  said  the  beadle,  rubbing  his  chin,  «  I  was  shaved  this  morning, 
and  as  I  do  for  myself  always,  you  see,  why  1  don't  think  I  require.  Conwul- 
sions  !  Mr.  Todd,  why  do  you  look  at  a  man  so  ?  Remember  the  Habus  Corpus. 
That's  what  we  call  the  paladermius  of  the  British  Constitution,  you  know." 

By  this  time  the  beadle  had  satisfied  himself  that  he  did  not  at  all  require 
shaving,  and  turning  to  the  shoemaker,  he  said — 

u  Why  don't  you  be  shaved  ?" 

<*  Well,  I  don't  care  if  I  do,  and  perhaps,  in  the  meantime  you,  Mr.  Otton, 
will  go  up  to  the  attic,  and  take  a  peep  into  the  next  one,  and  see  if  my  lodger  is 
up  or  in  bed,  or  what  the  deuce  has  become  of  him.  It's  a  very  odd  thing,  Mr. 
Todd,  that  a  man  should  take  one's  attic,  and  then  disappear  without  coming 
down  stairs." 

"Disappear  without  coming  down  stairs  ?"  said  Todd. 
C6  Yes,  and  my  wife  says— — * 
Todd  made  an  impatient  gesture. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  will  look  in  my  attic  myself.  The  fact  is,  that  the  flooring  is 
rather  out  of  order,  and  unless  you  know  exactly  where  to  step  you  will  be  apt 
to  fall  through  a  hole  into  the  second  floor/' 

"The  deuce  you  are!"  said  Otton. 

"  Yes;  so  I  would  not  advise  either  of  you  to  make  the  attempt.  Just  remain 
there,  and  Til  go  at  once." 

The  proposition  suited  both  parties,  and  Mr.  Todd  immediately  passed  through 
a  door  at  the  back  of  his  shop,  which  he  immediately  closed  behind  him  again. 
Instead  of  going  up  stairs,  however,  he  slid  aside  a  small  opening  in  the  panel 
of  this  door,  and  placed  his  ear  to  it.  "  If  people  say  anything  impudent,  it  is 
the  moment  they  are  free  from  the  company  that  has  held  them  in  check/'  was 
one  of  Sweeney  Todd's  maxims.  His  first  notion  that  the  beadle  and  the  shoe- 
maker had  come  covertly  to  search  his  house,  had  given  way  a  little,  and  he 
wanted  to  convince  himself  of  the  innocency  or  the  reverse  of  their  intentions, 
before  he  put  himself  to  any  further  trouble. 

"  I  don't  like  it/'  said  the  shoemaker. 

"Like  what?  Conwulsions  !  what  don't  vou  like  ?" 

"  Intruding  upon  Mr.  Todd.  What  does  he  care  about  my  lodgers  ?  It  ain't 
as  if  he  let  anv  of  his  own  house,  and  had  a  fellow  feeling  with  us/' 

"  Werry  good/1  said  the  beadle,  "  but  you  send  for  me,  and  you  ask  me  that's 
best,  and  I  tell  yer  that  Habus  Corpus,  and  one  thing  and  another,  what  I 
advised  was  the  only  thing,  that  was  to  get  into  Mr.  Todd's  attic,  and^then  get 
on  the  parapet  and  into  yours.  But  if  so  be  as  there's  holes  in  Mr.  Todd's 
attic,  that  will  alter  the  affair,  you  know.0 

«Fool— fool !"  muttered  Todd.  "  After  all,  they  only  come  upon  their  own 
tw addling  affairs,  and  I  was  idiot  enough  to  suspect  such  muddy  pated 
rascals/' 

"  In  an  instant  he  was  in  the  shop  again.  ' 
"  Nobody  there,  gentlemen ;  I  have   looked  into  the  attic,  and    there  s 

nobody  there." 

"Well,  Pin  very  much  obliged  to  you,  Mr.  Todd/'  said  the  shoemaker,  "  for 
taking  so  much  trouble.   I'll  go,  and  rather  astonish  my  wife,  I  think/' 

"  Conwulsions  1"  said  the  beadle.  "  It's  an  odd  thing,  but  you  know,  Mr. 
Todd,  Habits  Corpus  must  have  his  way." 


m/m,M.Mmw'm  i»"*>*'*»*i»<  aM«niuni»i«  nn.  "iin  n  j'         ■■'.'w.uiy.y  <■'»»'  iqr 


V 


if  r  ' 


Ife  Ottoa, 
thm?  Mr 


tie  JJ3D£l 

Act  it  » 


r  vhat  II 
I '  Todd's  ^ 


of 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


201 


CHAPTER  XLI. 
todd's  vision. 

**'  ^  kft'  T°dd  reraaine<1  for  s°""  ^      attitad.  of 

Mi  tt  i  i  » — . . .  


TOBIAS  RESTORED  TO  HIS  SENSES  BY  MINNA'S  ASSISTANCE. 

an J?hfnrnL?fLmaginative  ?an  quite*  He  was  iust  the  ^dividual  to  think, 
ft  tlnl  J?  /  Untl1  he  made  something  of  it,  verj  different  from  what 
it  remiy  was,  and  yet  there  was  some  hope  that  the  matter  was  no  more  than 
what  it  appeared  to  be,  by  the  character  of  the  parties  who  had  come  upon  the 
mission,  it  anything  serious  had  come  to  the  ears  of  the  authorities,  he  thought, 


No.  2Qt 


202  ' THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


that  surely  two  such  people  as  the  beadle  of  St.  Dunstan's,  and  his  neighbour 
the  shoemaker,  would  not  be  employed  to  unravel  such  a  mystery.  He  sat  down 
in  an  arm  chair  and  rested  his  head  upon  his  hand,  and  while  he  was  in  that 
attitude  the  door  of  his  shop  opened,  and  a  man  in  the  dress  of  a  carter  made 
his  appearance. 

"  Be  this  Muster  Todd's  ?" 
m  S  Well/'  said  Todd,  "  what  then  ?* 

"  Why,  then,  this  be  for  him  like.   It's  a  letter,  but  laming  waren't  much  i' 
the  fashion  in  my  young  days,  so  I  can't  read  what's  on  it."  , 

Todd  stretched  out  his  hand.    An  instant  examination  showed  him  it  bore 
the  Peckham  post-mark. 

"  Ah  !"  he  muttered,  "  from  Fogg.  Thank  you,  my  man,  that  will  do.  That 
will  do.  What  do  you  wait  for  ?" 

€i  Please  to  remember  the  carter,  your  honour  P* 

Todd  looked  daggers  at  him,  and  slowly  handed  out  twopence,  which  the  man 
took  with  a  very  ill  grace. 

u  What/'  said  Todd,  "  would  you  charge  me  more  for  carrying  a  letter  than 
King  George  the  Third  does,  you  extortionate  rascal  V* 

The  carter  gave  a  nod. 

€t  Get  out  with  you,  or  by  " 

Todd  snatched  up  a  razor,  and  the  carter  was  off  like  a  shot,  for  he  really 
believed,  from  the  awful  looks  of  Todd,  that  his  life  was  not  worth  a  minute's 
purchase.  Todd  opened  the  letter  with  great  gravity. — It  contained  the  following 
words  : — 

u  Dear  Sir," 

'*  The  lad,  T.  R.,  I  grieve  to  say,  is  no  more.  Let  us  hope  he  is  gone  where 
the  weary  are  at  rest,  and  where  there  is  neither  sin  nor  sorrow. 
mmM^  "  1  am>  dear  Sir,  yours  faithfully, 

"Jacob  B.  Fogg/' 

"  Humph  i»  said  Todd. 

He  held  the  letter  in  the  flame  of  the  lamp  until  it  fell  a  piece  of  airy  tinder  at 
his  feet. 

*?  Humph  I1*  he  repeated,  and  that  humph  was  all  that  he  condescended  to  say 
of  poor  Tobias  Ragg,  whom  the  madhouse -keeper  had  thought  proper  to  say 
was  dead ;  hoping  that  Todd  might  never  be  undeceived,  for  the  barber  was  a 
good  customer. 

If,  however,  Tobias  should  turn  up  to  the  confusion  of  Fogg  and  of  Todd, 
what  could  the  latter  do  for  the  deceit  that  had  been  practised  upon  him? — literally 
nothing. 

"  No  sooner,"  said  Todd,  ?j  does  one  cloud  disappear  from  my  route  than, 
another  takes  its  place.    What  can  that  story  mean  about  the  attic  next  door? 
It  sounds  to  my  ears  strange  and  portentous.    What  am  I  to  think  of  it  ?"J 

He  rose  and  paced  his  shop  with  rapid  strides.  At  length  he  paused,  as  though 
he  had  come  to  a  determination. 

u  The  want  of  a  boy  is  troublesome  to  me/'  he  said.    "  I  must  get  one,  but 
for  the  present  this  must  suffice." 

He  wrote  upon  a  small  slip  of  paper  the  words — "  Gone  to  the  Temple—^will 
return  shortly/'  He  then,  by  the  aid  of  a  wafer,  affixed  this  announcement  to 
the  upper  part  of  the  half-glass  door  leading  into  his  shop.  Locking  this  door 
securely  on  the  inside,  and  starting  a  couple  of  bolts  into  their  sockets,  he  lit  a  | 
candle  and  left  his  shop.  With  a  stealthy,  cat-like  movement,  Todd  passed 
through  the  room  immediately  behind  his  business  apartment,  and  opening 
another  door  he  made  his  way  towards  the  staircase.  Then  he  paused  a  moment. 
He  thought  some  sound  from  above  had  come  upon  his  ears,  but  he  was  not 
quite  sure.  To  suspect,  however,  was  with  such  a  man  as  Todd  to  be  prepared 
for  the  worst,  and  accordingly  he  went  back  to  the  room  behind  his  shop  again, 
and  from  a  table-drawer  he  took  a  knife,  such  as  is  used  by  butchers  in  their 


4 


trade,  and  firmly  clutching  it  in  his  right  hand,  while  he  carried  the  candle  in  his 
left,  he  once  more  approached  the  staircase. 

"  I  do  not  think/'  he  said,  u  that  for  nine  years  now  any  mortal  footsteps,  but 
my  own,  have  trod  upon  these  stairs  or  upon  the  flooring  of  the  rooms  above. 
Woe  be  to  those  who  may  now  attempt  to  do  so.  Woe,  I  say,  be  to  them,  for 
their  death  is  at  hand." 

These  words  were  spoken  in  a  deep  hollow  voice,  that  sounded  like  tones  from 
a  sepulchre,  as  they  came  from  the  lips  of  that  man  of  many  crimes.  To  give 
Todd  his  due,  he  did  not  seem  to  shrink  from  the  unknown  and  dimly  appre- 
ciated danger  that  might  be  up  staiis  in  his  house.  He  was  courageous,  but  it 
was  not  the  high-souled  courage  that  nerves  a  man  to  noble  deeds.  No, 
Sweeney  Todd's  courage  was  that  of  hate — hatred  to  the  whole  human  race, 
which  he  considered,  with  a  strange  inconsistency,  had  conspired  agains  him  ; 
whereas  he  had  been  the  one  to  place  an  impassable  barrier  between  himself  and 
the  amenities  of  society.  He  ascended  the  stairs  with  great  deliberation.  When 
he  reached  the  landing  upon  the  first  floor,  he  cast  his  eyes  suspiciously  about 
him,  shading  the  light  as  he  did  so  with  his  hand — that  same  hand  that  held 
the  knife,  the  shadow  of  which  fell  upon  the  wall  in  frightful  proportions. 

"  All  is  still,"  he  said.  "  Is  fancy,  after  all,  only  playing  me  such  tricks  as 
she  might  have  played  me  twenty  years  ago  ?  I  thought  I  was  too  old  for  such 
freaks  of  the  imagination." 

Todd  did  not  suspect  that  there  was  a  second  period  in  his  life,  when  the  mental 
infirmities  of  his  green  youth  might  come  back  to  him,  with  many  superadded 
horrors  accumulated,  with  a  consciousness  of  guilt.  He  slowly  approached  a 
door  and  pushed  it  open,  saying  as  he  did  so — 

"No — no — no.  Above  all  things,  I  must  not  be  superstitious.  If  I  were  so, 
into  what  a  world  of  horrors  might  I  not  plunge.  No — no,  I  will  not  people  the 
darkness  with  horrible  phantasies,  I  will  not  think  that  it  is  possible  that  men  with 

11  Twenty  murders  on  their  heads/' 

can  revisit  this  world  to  drive  those  who  have  done  them  to  death  with  shrieking 
madness — this  world  do  I  say  ?  There  is  no  other.  Bah  !  Priests  may  talk, 
and  the  weak-brained  fools  who  gape  at  what  they  do  not  understand,  may 
believe  them,  but  when  man  dies — when  the  electric  condition  that  has  imputed 
to  his  humanity  what  is  called  life,  flies,  he  is  indeed 

"Dust  to  dust!" 

Ha !  ha !  I  have  lived  as  I  will  die,  fearing  nothing  and  believing  nothing." 

As  he  uttered  those  words — words  which  found  no  real  echo  in  his  heart,  for 
at  the  bottom  of  it  lay  a  trembling  belief  in,  and  a  dread  of  the  great  Gt)d  that 
rules  all  things,  and  who  is  manifest  in  the  meanest  seeming  thing  that  crawls 
upon  the  earth — he  entered  one  of  the  rooms  upon  that  floor,  and  glanced  uneasily 
around  him.  All  was  still.  There  were  trunks— clothes  upon  chairs,  and  a  vast 
amount  of  miscellaneous  property  in  this  room,  but  nothing  in  the  shape  of  a 
human  being.  Todd's  spirits  rose,  and  he  held  the  long  knife  more  carelessly 
than  he  had  done. 

"  Pho  !  pho  !"  he  said.  "I  do,  indeed,  at  times  make  myself  the  slave  of  a 
disturbed  fancy.  Pho  !  pho !  I  will  no  more  listen  to  vague  sounds,  meaning 
nothing ;  but  wrapping  myself  up  in  my  consciousness  of  having  nothing  to  fear, 
I  will  pursue  my  course,  hideous  though  it  may  be/' 

He  turned  and  took  his  way  towards  the  landing  place  of  the  staircase  again. 
He  was  now  carrying  both  the  light  and  the  knife  rather  carelessly,  and  every- 
body knows  that  when  a  candle  is  held  before  a  person's  face,  that  but  little 
indeed  can  be  seen  in  the  hazy  vapour  that  surrounds  it.  So  it  was  with  Todd. 
He  had  got  about  two  paces  from  the  door,  when  a  strange  consciousness  of 
something  being  in  his  way  came  over  him.  fie  immediately  raised  his  hand- 
that  hand  that  still  carried  the  knife,  to  shade  the  light,  and  then,  horror !  horror 
He  saw  standing  upon  the  landing  a  figure  attired  in  faded  apparel,  whose  face 
was  dabbled  in  blood,  and  the  stony  eyes  which  were  fixed  upon  the  face  of  | 


Todd,  with  so  awful  an  expression,  that  had  the  barbers  heart  been  made  of 
much  more  flinty  materials  than  it  was,  he  could  not  have  resisted  the  terrors  of 
that  awful  moment.  With  a  shriek  that  echoed  through  the  house,  Todd 
fell  upon  the  landing.  The  light  rolled  from  stair  to  stair  until  it  was  finally  ex- 
tinguished, and  all  was  darkness. 

"  Good/'  said  Crotchet,  for  it  wa3  he  who  had  enacted  the  ghost.  "  Good! 
Pm  blessed  if  I  didn't  think  that  ere  would  nail  him.  These  sort  o'  chaps  are 
always  on  the  look-out  for  something  or  another  to  be  frightened  at,  and  you  have 
only  to  show  yourself  to  put  'em  almost  out  of  their  seven  senses.  It  was  a  capital 
idea  that  of  me  to  cut  my  finger  a  little,  and  get  some  blood  to  smear  over  my 
face.  It's  astonishing  what  a  long  way  a  little  drop  will  go,  to  be  sure.  I 
dare  say  it  makes  me  look  precious  rum." 

Mr.  Crotchet  was  quite  right  regarding  the  appearance  which  the  blood, 
smeared  over  his  face,  gave  to  him.  It  made  him  look  perfectly  hideous,  and 
any  one  whose  conscience  was  not— - 

<{  With  injustice  corrupted !" 

might  well  have  been  excused  for  a  cold  chill,  and,  perchance,  even  a  swoon,  like 
Sweeney  Todd's,  at  his  appearance. 

"I  rather  think/5  added  Crotchet,  " that's  a  settler;  so  I'll  just  take  the 
liberty,  old  fellow,  of  lighting  your  candle  again,  and  then  mizzling,  for  I  don't 
somenow  think  much  good  is  to  be  done  in  this  crib  jiftst  now." 

By  the  aid  of  his  phosphorus  match  Crotchet  soon  succeeded  in  re-illumining 
the  candle,  which  he  found  on  a  mat  in  the  passage ;  but  notwithstanding  his 
opinion  that  he  had  seen  about  as  much  as  there  was  to  see  in  Todd's  house,  he, 
when  he  had  the  candle  alight,  thought  he  might  just  as  well  peep  into  the  par- 
lour immediately  behind  the  shop,  before  going  up-stairs  again.  The  door  offered 
no  opposition,  for  Todd  had  certainly  not  expected  any  one  down  stairs,  and 
Mr.  Crotchet  found  himself  in  the  parlour  about  as  soon  as  he  had  formed  the 
wish  to  be  there.  This  parlour  was  perfectly  crammed  with  furniture,  and  all 
of  the  bureau  kind,  that  is  to  say,  large  shapeless  looking  pieces  of  mahogany, 
with  no  end  of  drawers.  Crotchet  made  an  attempt  at  several  before  he  found 
one  that  yielded  to  his  efforts  to  open  it,  and  that  only  did  so  because  the  hasp 
into  which  the  lock  was  shot  had  given  way,  and  no  longer  held  it  close.  This 
drawer  was  full  of  watches. 

"  Humph!*  said  Crotchet,  €t  Todd  ought  to  know  the  time  of  day  certainly, 
and  no  mistake.  Ah,  these  ere  machines,  if  they  had  tongues  now,  I  rather 
think,  could  tell  a  tale  or  two.    Howsomedever,  I'll  pocket  some  of  'em.* 

Mr.  Crotchet  put  about  a  dozen  watches  in  his  pocket  forthwith,  and  then  he 
began  to  think  that,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  take  Mr.  Todd  just  then  into  custody, 
it  would  be  just  as  well  if  he  left  the  house.  Besides,  the  barber  had  only  fell 
into  a  swoon  through  fright,  sc\  that  his  recovery  was  a  matter  that  could  be  cal- 
culated upon  with  something  like  certainty  in  a  short  time. 

"  It  would  be  a  world  of  pities  if  he  was  to  find  out  as  the  ghost  was  only  me," 
said  Crotchet,  "  so  I'll  be  off  before  he  comes  to  himself." 

Extinguishing  the  light,  Crotchet  wound  his  way  up  the  staircase  again,  but 
when  he  got  to  the  landing  he  stopped,  and  said — 

"  Bless  us  !  I've  not  got  them  canes  and  swords  as  Sir  Richard  wanted  me  to 
bring  away  with  me.  Well,  the  watches  will  answer  better  than  them,  for  all 
he  wants  is  to  compare  'em  with  the  descriptions  of  some  folks  as  has  been 
missed  by  their  blessed  relations  in  London,  so  that's  all  right.    Hilloa  P 

This  latter  ejaculation  arose  from  Crotchet  having  trodden  upon  Todd. 

"  The  deuce  !"  he  added,  "  I  thought  I  had  got  clear  of  him." 

He  paused,  and  heard  Todd  utter  a  deep  groan.  Mr.  Crotchet  took  this  as  a 
signal  that  he  had  better  be  off;  and  accordingly  he  ascended  the  next  staircase 
quickly,  and  in  a  very  few  minutes  reached  the  attic  of  Todd's  house.  When 
there,  he  quickly  made  his  appearance  in  the  shoemaker's  attic,  and  found  that 
Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  left  the  door  of  it  just  upon  the  latch  for  him.  He 


1 


irfytn  II, 

'  taie  the 

r  /  don't  j 

fining  I 

o  tbepjr. ; 
lootofoti 

?  'Je  iasp 


ctrtaioly, 

i 

ft  cBstody. 


loiB.  W 


,  has  been 


MM 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


205 


was  Upon  the  point  of  passing  out  of  the  room,  and  going  down  stairs,  when  he 
heard  a  confused  sound  approaching  the  attic,  and  he  paused  instantly.  The 
6ound  came  nearer  and  nearer,  until  Crotchet  found  that  some  half  dozen  people 
were  upon  the  landing,  and  all  talking  together  in  anxious  whispers. 

*4  What  the  deuce  is  up  now  V\  he  thought. 

He  approached  the  door  and  listened. 

**  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Mr.  Otton,"  said  a  female  voice.    "  It's  now  getting 
on  for  ten  o'clock,  and  I  positively  can't  sleep  in  my  oed  unless  I  know  some- 
thing more  about  this  horrid  attic/' 
Well,  but,  mum-  99  i 


44 


U 


Don't  speak  to  me.  Here's  an  attic,  and  two  men  go  into  it.  Then  all  at 
once  there's  no  men  in  it ;  and  then  all  at  once,  one  man  comes  down  and  walks 
out  as  cool  as  a  cucumber,  and ,  says  nothing  at  all ;  and  then  we  know  well 

enough  as  there  was  two  men,  and  only  one  " 

u  But,  mum  99 

*'  Don't  speak  to  me,  and  only  one  has  come  down." 

u  And  here's  the  t'other!'*  cried  Crotchet,  suddenly  bouncing  out  of  the  attic 
The  confusion  that  ensued  baffles  all  description.    A  grand  rush  was  made 
into  the  apartments  of  the  lady  who  was  fond  of  putting  her  feet  into  hot  water  • 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion,  Crotchet  quickly  enough  went  down  stairs* 
and  made  his  escape  from  the  shoemaker's  house. 


CHAPTER  XLII 


THB  GREAT  SACRIFICE. 


While  all  these  things  were  going  on  at  Sweeney  Todd's,  in  Fleet-street, 
Mrs.  Lovett  was  not  quite  idle  as  regarded  her  own  affairs  and  feelings.  That 
lady's — what  shall  we  say — certainly  not  affections,  for  she  had  none — passions 
is  a  better  word — were  inconceivably  shocked  by  the  discovery  she  had  made  of 
the  perfidy  of  her  flaunting  and  moustachied  lover.  It  will  be  perceived,  by  this 
little  affair  of  Mrs.  Lovett's,  how  strong-minded  women  have  their  little  weak- 
nesses. The  hour  of  the  appointment,  which  she  (Mrs.  Lovett)  had  made  with 
her  military-looking  beau,  came  round ;  and  there  she  sat,  looking  rather  dis- 
consolate. 

"  Am  I  never  to  succeed/'  she  muttered  to  herself,  u  in  finding  one  with 
whom  I  can  make  my  escape  from  this  sea  of  horrors  that  surrounds  me?  Am 
I,  notwithstanding  I  have  so  fully  accomplished  all  I  wished  to  accomplish,  by — 
by  n — she  shuddered  and  paused. — "Well,  well,  the  time  will  come — I  must  go 
alone.  Let  Todd  go  alone,  and  let  me  go  alone.  Why  should  he  wish  to  trammel 
my  actions  ?  He  cannot  surely  think,  for  a  moment,  that  with  him  I  will  con- 
sent to  pass  the  remainder  of  my  life  V9 

The  scornful  curl  of  the  lip,  and  the  indignant  toss  of  the  head,  which  ac- 
companied these  words,  would  have  been  quite  sufficient  to  convince  Todd,  had 
he  seen  them,  of  the  hopelessness  of  any  such  notion. 

u  No,"  she  added,  after  a  pause,  "I  shall  be  alone  in  the  world,  or,  if  I  make 
ties,  they  shall  be  made  in  another  country.  There  it  is  possible  1  may  be — oh, 
no,  no — not  happy  ;  but  I  may  be  powerful,  aud  have  cringing  slaves  about  me, 
who,  finding  that  I  am  rich,  will  tell  me  that  I  am  beautiful,  and  I  shall  be  able 
to  drink  deeply  of  the  intoxicating  cup  of  pleasure,  in  some  land  where  prudery, 
or  what  is  called  propriety,  has  not  set  up  its  banner  as  it  has  in  this  land  of 
outward  virtue.  As  for  Todd — I — I  will  try  to  be  assured  that  he  is  a  corpse 
before  I  breathe  freely ;  and  if  I  fail  in  that,  I  will  hope  that  we  shall  be  thou- 
sands of  leagues  asunder," 

A  shadow  passed  the  window.    Mrs.  Lovett  started  to  her  feet. 


206  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Ah !  who  comes  ?    'Tis  he— no— God  !  'tis  Todd." 

For  a  moment  she  pressed  her  hands  upon  her  face,  as  though  she  would 
squeeze  out  the  traces  of  passion  from  the  muscles,  and  then  her  old  set  smile 
came  back  again.  Todd  entered  the  shop.  For  a  few  moments  they  looked  at 
each  other  in  silence,  and  then  Todd  said— 

«  Alone  ?" 

u  Quite/5  she  replied. 

He  gave  one  of  his  peculiar  laughs,  and  then  glided  into  the  parlour  behind  the 
shop.    Mrs.  Lovett  followed  him. 
"News?"  he  said. 
"None." 

"Hem!    The  time  is  coming." 
"  The  time  to  leave  off  this  ? 

"Yes.    The  time  to  quit  business,  Mrs.  Lovett.    All  goes  well— Swimmingly. 

Ha!  ha!" 

She  shuddered  as  she  said— 
"  Do  not  laugh." 

"  Let  those  laugh  who  win,"  replied  Todd.    «'  How  old  are  you,  Sarah  ?" 
"  Old?" 

"  Yes,  or  to  shape  the  question  perhaps  more  to  a  woman's  liking,  how 
young  are  you  ?  Have  you  yet  many  years  before  you  in  which  to  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  our  labours  ?  Have  you  the  iron  frame  which  will  enable  you  to  say — '  I  shall 
revel  for  years  in  the  soft  enjoyments  of  luxury  stolen  from  a  world  I  hate  V 
Tell  me." 

Mrs.  Lovett  fell  into  a  musing  attitude,  and  Todd  thought  she  was  reflecting 
upon  her  age  ;  but  at  length  she  said — 

"  I  sometimes  think  I  would  give  half  of  what  is  mine  if  I  could  forget  how  I 
became  possessed  of  the  whole." 

"Indeed!" 

"Yes,  Todd.    Has  no  such  feeling  ever  crossed  you  ?" 

"  Never  !  I  am  implacable.  Fate  made  me  a  barber,  but  nature  made  me 
something  else.  In  the  formation  of  man  there  is  a  something  that  gives  weak- 
ness to  his  resolves,  and  makes  him  pause  upon  the  verge  of  enterprise  with  a 
shrinking  horror.  That  is  what  the  world  calls  conscience.  It  has  no  hold  of 
me.  I  have  but  one  feeling  towards  the  human  race,  and  that  is  hatred.  I  saw 
that  while  they  pretended  to  bow  down  to  God,  they  had  in  reality  set  up  another 
idol  in  their  heart  of  hearts.  Gold !  gold !  Tell  me — how  many  men  there  are 
in  this  great  city  who  do  not  worship  gold  far  more  sincerely  and  heartily  than 
they  worship  Heaven  ?" 

"  Few— few." 

"Few?   None,  I  say,  none.    No.    The  future  is  a  dream — an  ignis  fatuus — 
a  vapour.    The  present  we  can  grasp — ha !" 
"  What  is  our  wealth,  Todd  ?" 
"  Hundreds  of  thousands." 

He  shaded  his  eyes  with  his  hands,  and  peered  from  the  parlour  into  the 
shop. 

"  Who  is  that  keeps  dodging  past  the  window  each  moment,  and  peeping  in 
at  every  convenient  open  space  in  the  glass  that  he  can  find  ?" 
Mrs.  Lovett  looked,  and  then,  after  an  effort,  she  said-— 
<(  Todd,  1  was  going  to  speak  to  you  of  that  man/' 
"Ah!" 

"  Listen  ;  I  suspect  him.  For  some  days  past  he  has  haunted  the  shop,  and 
makes  endeavours  to  become  acquainted  with  me.  I  did  not  think  it  sound 
policy  wholly  to  shun  him,  but  gave  him  such  encouragement  as  might  supply 
me  with  opportunities  of  judging  if  he  were  a  spy  or  not/' 

"  Humph !" 

"  I  think  him  dangerous." 

Todd's  eyes  glistened  like  burning  coals. 


mm     "    ■""  ■  1  ■       ■■'    ~*n  "  — — w 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  *  207 


"  Should  he  come  into  your  shop  to  be  shaved,  Todd— V  & 
"Ha!  ha!" 

The  horrible  laugh  rang  through  the  place,  and  Mrs*  Lovett's  lover,  with  the 
moustache,  sprung  to  the  other  side  of  Bell  Yard,  for  the  unearthly  sound  even 
reached  his  ears  as  he  was  peeping  through  the  window  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  charming  widow. 

u  You  understand  me,  Todd  ?" 

*f  Perfectly— perfectly — I  shall  know  him  again.  Ah,  my  dear  Mrs.  Lovett, 
how  dangerous  it  is  to  be  safe  in  this  world.  Even  our  virtue  cannot  escape  de- 
traction ;  but  we  will  live  in  hopes  of  better  times.  You  and  I  will  show  the 
world,  yet,  what  wealth  is." 

<(  Yes — yes." 

Todd  crept  close  to  her,  and  was  about  to  place  his  arm  round  her  waist,  but 
she  started  from  him,  exclaiming — 

fl  No — no,  Todd — a  thousand  times  no.  Have  we  not  before  quarrelled  upon 
this  point.  Do  not  approach  me,  or  our  compact,  infernal  as  it  is,  is  at  an  end. 
I  have  sold  my  soul  to  you,  but  I  have  not  bartered  myself." 

The  expression  of  Todd's  countenance  at  this  juncture  was  that  of  an  incarnate 
fiend.  He  glared  at  Mrs.  Lovett  as  though  with  the  horrible  fascination 
of  his  ugliness  he  would  overcome  her,  and  then  slowly  rising,  he  said — 

"  Her  soul— ha!    She  has  sold  her  soul  to  me — ha !    I  will  call  to-morrow." 

He  left  the  shop,  and  as  he  passed  the  gent  who,  by  force  of  his  moustache, 
hoped  to  win  the  affections  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  he  gave  him  such  a  look  that  he 
terrified  him,  and  the  gent  found  himself  in  the  shop  before  he  was  aware. 

u  Bless  me,  what  a  horrid  looking  fellow  !  I  swear  by  my  courage  and  honour 
I  never  saw  such  a  face.  Ah,  my  charmer!  Who  was  that  left  yourc  harming 
presence  just  now  If 

"  Some  one  who  came  for  a  pie." 

j i  'Pon  honour,  he's  enough  to  poison  all  the  pies  !    Oh,  you  beauty,  yo— ou 


■ou — ou- 


The  gallant's  mouth  was  so  full  of  a  veal  pie  that  he  had  stuffed  into  it  that 
for  some  few  moments  he  could  not  produce  an  intelligible  sound.  When  he  had 
recovered,  he  walked  into  the  parlour  and  sat  down,  saying — 

"  Now,  Mrs.  Lovett,  here  am  I,  'pon  honour,  your  humble  servant,  and  stop  my 
breath  if  I'd  say  as  much  to  the  commander-in-chief.  When's  the  happy  day 
to  be  r 

"  Do  you  really  love  me  ?" 

"  Do  I  love  you  ?  Do  I  love  fighting  ?  Do  I  love  honour — glory  ?  Do  I  love 
eating  and  drinking?   Do  I  love  myself?** 

"  Ah,  Major  Bounce,  you  military  men  are  so  gallant.' 

"  Ton  honour  we  are.  General  Cavendish  used  to  say  to  me — €  Bounce,'  says 
he,  1  if  you  don't  make  your  fortune  by  war,  which  you  ought  to  do,  Bounce, 
'pon  honour,  you  will  make  it  by  love/  1  General,'  says  I — now  I  was  always 
ready  for  a  smart  answer,  Mrs.  Lovett — so  '  General/  says  I, '  the  same  to  you  V  " 

"  Very  smart." 

"  Yes,  wasn't  it.    'Pon  honour  it  was,  and  'pon  soul  you  looks  more  and  more 
charming  every  day  that  I  see  you/*  m 
a  Oh  you  flatterer  !" 

«  No— no.  Bar  flattering— bar  flattering.  His  Majesty  has  often  said,  "  Talk 
of  flattery.  Oh  dear,  Bounce  is  the  man  for  me.  He  is  right  down— straight  up 
—off  handed.    And  no  sort  of  mistake,  on — on — on/  " 

Another  pie  converted  the  oratory  of  the  major  into  something  between  a  grunt 
and  a  sigh. 

"  But  major,  I'm  afraid  that  you  will  regret  marrying  me.  If  I  convert  all  I 
have  into  money" — the  major  pricked  up  his  ears — "  I  could  not  make  of  it  more 
than  fifty  thousand  pounds." 

The  major's  eyes  opened  to  the  size  of  pint  saucers,  as  he  said — 

m  Fifty—fift— fif.—Say  it  again ! " 


208  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


"  Fifty  thousand  pounds."  ^ 

The  major  rose  and  embraced  Mrs.  Lovett.  Tears  actually  came  into  his  eyes, 
and  gulping  down  the  pie,  he  cried — 

"  You  have  fifty  thousand  charms.  Only  let  me  be  your  slave,  your  dog, 
damme — your  dog,  Mrs.  Lovett,  and  I  shall  consider  myself  the  luckiest  dog  in 
the  world,  but  not  for  the  money — no  t  for  the  money.  No,  as  the  Marquis  of 
Cleveland  once  said,  4  If  you  want  a  thoroughly  disinterested  man,  go  to 
Bounce.' " 

<*  Well,  major,  since  we  understand  each  other  so  well,  there  are  two  little 
things  that  I  must  name  as  my  conditions." 

"  Name  'em— name  'em.  Do  you  want  me  to  bring  you  the  king's  eye- 
tooth,  or  her  majesty's  wig  and  snuff-box — only  say  the  word." 

"  One  is,  that  I  will  leave  England.    I  have  a  private  reason  for  so  doing." 

u  Damme,  so  have  I.  That  is  a-hem !  If  you  have  a  reason,  that  is  a  reason 
to  me,  you  know." 

"  Exactly.  In  some  other  capital  of  Europe  we  may  spend  our  money  and 
enjoy  all  the  delights  of  existence.    Do  you  speak  French?" 

"  Ah-hem !  Oh,  of  course.  I  never  tried  particularly,  but  as  Lord  North  said 
to  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater,  'Bounce  is  the  man  if  you  want  anything  done  of 
an  out  of-the-way  character/  " 

"  Very  well,  then.  My  next  condition  is,  that  you  shave  off  your  mous. 
tache." 

"What?" 

"  Shave  off  your  moustache  ;  I  have  the  greatest^assible  aversion  to  moustache, 
therefore  I  make  that  a  positive  condiliA^^hou^hich  I  shall  say  no  more  to 
you." 

"  MY  charmer,  do  you  think  I  hesitate  ?  If  you  were  to  say  to  me,  1  Bounce, 
off  with  your  head/  in  a  moment  it  would  roll  at  your  feet/' 

"  Go,  then,  to  Mr.  Todd's,  the  barber,  in  Fleet-street,  and  have  them  taken  6ff 
at  once,  and  then  come  back  to  me,  for  I  declare  I  won't  speak  another  word  to 
you  while  you  have  them  on.* 

"  But,  dear  creature  " 

Mrs.  Lovett  shook  her  head. 

"  Ton  honour!"  '* 

She  shook  her  head  again. 

"  I'll  go  at  once  then,  'pon  soul,  and  have  'em  taken  off.  I'll  be  back  in  a  jiffy, 
Mrs.  Lovett.  Ob,  you  duck,  I  adore  you.  Confound  the  cash  !  It's  you  I 
knuckle  under  to.  Man  doats  on  Venus,  and  I  love  Lovett.  I  Bve,  bye  ;  I'll  get  it 
done  and  soon  be  back.  Fifty  thousand— fifty— fif.— Oh,  dor'  'why  Flukes,  your 
fortune  is  made  at  last.'' 

These  last  words  did  not  reach  the  ear  of  Mrs.  Lovett. .  That  lady  threw  her- 
self  into  a  chair,  where  the  gallant  major  had  left  her. 

'f  Another!"  she  said.  "Another!  ) Why  .  did  he  try  to  deceive  me?  The 
fool,  to  pitch  upon  me,  of  all  persons,  to  make  hisMctim.  I  must  have  found 
him  out,  and  poisoned  him,  tf  I  had  married  him.  It  is  better  that  Todd  should 
take  vengeance  forme,  and  then  the  time  shall  come  when  die  shall  fall.  Yes, 
so  soon  as  I  can,  by  cajollery  or  scheming,  get  sufficient:  of  the  plunder  into  my 
own  hands,  Todd's  hours  are  numbered." 

After,  this,  Mrs.  Lovett  fell  into  a  train  of  musing,  and  her  faoe  assumed  an  ex- 
pression so  different  from  that  with  which  she  was  wont  to  welcome  her  customers 
m  the  shop,  that  not  one  of  them  would  have  known  her.  But  we  must  look 
at  lodd.  It  was  upon  his  return  home  from  several  calls,  the  last  of  which  had 
been  this  recent  visit  to  Mrs.  Lovett,  that  he  had  heard  the  noise  in  his  house, 
which  had  terminated  m  his  going  up  stairs,  and  being  so  terrified  by  Crotchet. 
It  will  be  recollected  that  he  fell  insensible  upon  the  staircase,  and  that  Crotchet 
took  that  opportunity  of  making  good  his  retreat.  How  long  he  lay  there,  he, 
lodd,  had  no  means  of  knowing,  for  all  was  profound  darkness  upon  the  stair- 
case, but  his  first  sensation  consisted  of  a  tingling  in  his  feet  and  hands,  similar 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


to  the  sensation  which  is  properly  called  "your  limbs  going  to  sleep.'*  Then  a 
knocking  noise  came  upon  his  sense  of  hearing. 

"  What's  that  ?  Where  am  I  ?"  he  cried,  «  No—ho.  Don't  hang  me.  Where's 
Mrs.  Lovett  ?   Hang  her.   She  is  guilty !" 


HECTOll'S  ATTACK  Otf  SWEENEY  TODr&, 

Knock  ! — knock  !— knock  ! 

u  Hush!  hush  !  What  is  it  ?  Who  wants  me  ?  Good  God— no— no.  There 
is  no  good  God  for  me!" 

Knock  !  knock !  knock !  came  again  with  increased  violence  at  the  door  of  the 
shop  below. 

No.  27. 


210  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


 !  i  — "  ,T     ~, 


>  CHAPTER  XLIII. 

AN  OLD  ACQUAINTANCE. 

Todd  scrambled  to  his  feet.    He  held  his  head  in  his  hand. 
"  What  does  it  all  mean  ?  What  does  it  ail  mean  ?" 
Knock  !  knock  !  knock  ! 

Todd's  senses  were  slowly  returning  to  him.  He  began  to  recollect  events  at 
first  confusedly,  and  then  the  proper  order  of  their  occurrence — how  he  had 
come  home,  and  then  heard  a  noise,  and  gone  up  stairs  and  seen — what  ? 
There  he  paused  in  his  catalogue  of  events.  What  had  he  seen  ?" 

Knock  !  knock !  knock  ! 

"  Curses  !"  he  muttered.  "  Who  can  that  be  hammering  with  such  devilish 
perseverance  at  my  door  ?  By  all  that's  horrible  they  shall  pay  dearly  for  thus 
disturbing  me.  Who  can  it  be  ?  Not  any  one  to  arrest  me  ?  No — no  !  They 
would  not  knock  so  long.  An  enforced  entrance  long  before  this  would  have 
brought  them  to  me.  What  did  I  see  ?  What  did  I  see  ?  What  did  I  see  ? 
Dare  I  give  it  a  name  ?" 

He  slowly  descended  the  stairs,  and  reaching  the  shop,  he  peeped  through 
a  place  in  the  door  which  he  had  made  for  such  a  purpose.  There  stood  the 
hero  of  the  moustachios  knocking  away  with  all  his  might  to  get  the  behests 
of  Mrs.  Lovett  obeyed.  Todd  suddenly  flung  open  the^door,  and  in  fell  Major 
Bounce,  alias  Flukes. 

"The  devil!    What  do  you  want?" 

"  Ton  honour.  Damn  it.  Is  this  the  way  to  treat  a  military  man  ?* 
Todd  turned  to  the  side  of  the  shop,  and  hastily  put  on  a  wig — by  an  adroit 
movement  of  his  fingers,  he  pulled  his  cravat  sufficiently  out  from  his  neck  to 
be  able  to  bury  his  chin  in  it,  and  when  he  turned  to  the  mock  major,  the 
latter  had^  no  suspicion  that  he  looked  upon  the  same  person  who  had  so 
alarmed  him  by  a  look,  in  Bell  Yard. 
"  Shaved  or  dressed  sir  ?3'  said  Todd. 

"  Confound  you. , 5,  Why  did  you  open  the  door  so  quick  ?*  jl^Jj^i 
44  Thought  you  lliockid,  sir." 

"I  did,  but  stop  my  breath,  if  you  haven't  given  me  an  ugly  fall.  But  no 
matter.  None  but  the  brave  deserve  the  fair*  You  perceive  I  am  a  military 
man?" 

44  Oh,  yes,  sir,  anybody  may  see  that  by  your  martial  air/* 
"A-hem!  You  are  right.  Well  then,  Mr.  Barber,  I  want  my  moustache 
shaved  off.  It's  a  fancy  of  a  lady.  One  of  the  most  charming  of  hex  sex.  One 
with  a  fifty  thousand  pound  charm.  Ton  my  valour,  I  she  has.  Ah  !  I  am  a 
lucky  dog.  Thirty. eight— handsome  as  Apollo,  and  beloved  by  the  fairest  of 
the  fair." 

"  Life  is  a  jolly  thing, 
Life  is  a  jolly  thing, 

While  I  can  drink  deep  and  go  frolicking, 

Fair  maids,  wives,  And  widows, 

Fair  maids,  wives,  and  widows 

Doat  011  the  youth  that  goes  frolicking." 

44  Ha !  ha  !  ha !  Life's  a  bumper.  Upon  my  valour,  Mr.  Barber,  I  feel^fike 
a  young  colt,  that  I  do/' 

44  Really,  sir.  You  don't  say  so  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,  yes!  Ha!  ha!  All's  right.  All's  right.  Now,  Mr.  What's- 
your-name.  Off  with  the  moustache.  It's  only  in  the  cause  of  the  fair  that  I 
would  condescend  to  part  with  them,  that's  a  fact,  but  when  a  lady's  in  the 
case— upon  my  valour,  you  are  an  ugly  fellow." 

44  You  don't  say  so,"  replied  Todd,  as  he  made  a  most  hideous  contortion. 
"  Most  people  think  me  so  fascinating  that  they  stay  with  me.'* 


»m  mi  — '   <•  +      i— ■  ■■■m»i  i  i     iwimiiMii  hi  »i  i-      in  mi. nam      urn  m  tjmmmmmmmtm^m 

THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  211 


Ha  !  ha !  A  good  joke.'5 
Major  Bounce — we  may  as  well  still  call  the  poor  wretch  Major  Bounce- 
placed  his  hat  upon  a  chair,  and  his  sword  upon  the  top  of  it, 
"  Pray,  sir,  be  seated/'  said  Todd. 
"  Ah  !   Damme,  is  this  seat  a  fixture  ?" 
"Yes,  sir,  it' s  in  the  proper  light,  you  see,  sir.5' 

"  Oh,  very  well — I— pluff,  pluff—  puff,  puff !  Confound  you,  what  have  you 
filled  my  mouth  with  soap-suds  for  r 

"  Quite  an  accident,  sir.  Quite  an  accident,  for  which  I  humbly  beg  your 
pardon,  I  assure  you,  sir.  If  you  keep  your  mouth  shut,  and  your  eyes  open, 
you  will  get  on  amazingly.  Have  you  seen  the  paper  to-day,  sir  ?" 

"No!'' 

"  Sorry  for  that,  $ir.  A  very  odd  case,  sir — a  little  on  one  side— a  most 
remarkable  case,  I  may  say.  A  gentleman,  sir,  went  into  a  barber's  shop, 
and  " 

"  Eh! — puff  !  sleush  !  puff!  Am  I  to  be  poisoned  by  your  soap-suds  ?  Upon 
my  valour,  I  shall  have  to  make  an  example  of  you  to  all  barbers/' 
"You  opened  your  mouth  at  the  wrong  time,  sir." 
"  The  wrong  devil.    Don't  keep  me  here  all  night." 

"  Certainly  not,  sir.  But  as  I  was  saying  about  this  curious  case  in  the 
paper.  A  military  gentleman  went  into  a  barber's  shop  to  be  shaved." 

"  Well.   The  devil— pluff,  pluff!  Good  God !    Am  I  to  endure  all  this  f 

u  Certainly  not,  sir.  I'll  show  you  the  paper  itself.  You  must  know,  sir, 
that  the  paragraph  is  headed  'Mysterious  disappearance  of  a  gentleman/  " 

"  Damn  it,  what  do  I  care  about  it  ?    Get  on  with  the  shaving." 

"  Certainly,  sir.5' 

Todd  gave  a  horrible  scrape  to  Major  Bounce's  face  with  a  blunirazor. 
i'  Quite  easy,  sir?" 

"Easy?    Good  gracious,  do  you  want  to  skin  me  ¥' 

"  Oh,  dear  no,  sir.  What  an  idea.  To  skin  a  military  gentleman.  Certainly 
not,  sir.  I  see  you  require  one  of  my  best  keen  razors — one  of  the  Magnum 
Bonums.    Ha  !  ha  !"  1 

"Eh?    What  was  that  ?" 

<c  Only  me  giving  a  slight  smile,  sir." 

"  The  deuce  it  was.  Don't  do  it  again,  then,  that's  all ;  and  get  your  keen 
razor  at  once,  and  make  an  end  of  the  business. " 

"  I  will — make  an  end  of  the  business.  Sit  still,  sir.  I'll  be  back  in  a 
moment/' 

Todd  went  into  the  parlour. 

"  £50,000 !"  muttered  Major  Bounce.  "I  am  a  happy  fellow.  At  last, 
after  so  many  ups  and  downs,  I  light  upon  my  feet.  A  charming  wridow  ! — and 
she  wishes  to  leave   England.    How  lucky.    I  wish  the  very  same  thing. 

£50,000 !— 50,000  charms  r 

#  *  *  *  *  * 

"  Good  God!  what's  that?'*  said  a  man,  who  was  passing  Todd's  window,  in 
Fbet-street.    "  What  a  horrid  shriek.    Did  you  hear  it,  mum  t 

"  Oh  dear,  yes,"  said  a  woman.    "  I'm  all  of  a  tremble." 

"  It  came  from  the  barber's  shop,  here.  Let's  go  in,  and  ask  if  anything  is 
the  matter  ?" 

The  man  and  woman  crossed  Todd's  threshold,  and  opened  the  shop  door.  A 
glance  showed  them  that  a  man's  face  was  at  a  small  opening  of  the  parlour 
door.    The  shaving  chair  was  empty. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?"  said  the  man. 

"  With  whom  ?"  said  Todd. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,  but  I  thought  somebody  cried  out." 
Todd  crept  along  the  floor  until  he  came  close  to  the  man,  and  then  he 
said— 

"  My  friend,  have  you  anything  to  do  V% 


212        ■  -  THE  STUING  OF  PEARLS.  , 

  .  .  .   -  -      -  *  i  ,  ,  ii-    n  [  i  -  -   

 — " '  ~  _  _  _  mmt         -   _  .  .  .  rT|.  "  ~  ' 

"  Yes,  thank  God." 

"Then,  go  and  do  it ;  and  the  next  time  you  hear  me  cry  out  with  the  stomach- 
ache, ask  yourself  if  it  is  your  business  to  come  in  and  ask  me  any  questions 
about  it.  As  for  you.,  ma'am,  unless  you  want  to  be  shaved,  1  don't  know,  for 
the  life  of  me,  what  you  do  here." 

94  Well,  we  only  thought  *' 

Todd  gave  a  hideous  howl,  which  so  terrified  both  the  intruders,  that  they 
left  the  shop  in  a  moment.  His  countenance  then  assumed  that  awful  satanic 
expression  which  it  sometimes  bore,  and  he  stood  for  the  space  of  about  five 
minutes  in  deep  thought.  Starting  then  suddenly,  he  took  up  the  sword  and 
hat  of  Major  Bounce,  and  was  in  the  act  of  putting  boih  into  a  cupboard,  when 
a  smothered  cry  met  his  ears.  Todd  unsheathed  the  sword,  and  after  fastening 
his  shop  door,  he  went  into  the  parlour.  He  was  absent  about  ten  minutes, 
and  when  he  returned  he  had  not  the  sword,  but  he  hastily  washed  his 
hands. 

"Done!"  he  said. 

Scratch !  scratch !  scratch !  came  something  at  his  door,  and  Todd  bent 
forward  in  an  attitude  of  listening.  Scratch! — scratch  ! —scratch ! — His  face 
turned  ghastly  pale,  and  his  knees  knocked  together  as  he  whispered  to  him- 
self— 

44  What  is  that  ?— what  is  that  ? '» 

Todd  was  getting  superstitious.  Since  his  adventure  with  Mr.  Crotchet,  his 
nerves  had  been  out  of  order,  notwithstanding  the  exertious  he  had  made  to 
control  himself,  and  to  convince  his  judgment  that  it  was  all  a  matter  of  ima- 
gination. Yet  now,  somehow  or  another,  although  there  was  no  visible  con- 
nection between  the  two  things,  he  could  not  help  mental  ly  connecting  this 
j  scratching  at  the  door  with  the  vision  on  the  staircase.  It  is  strange  how  the 
fancy  will  play  such  tricks,  but  it  is  no  less  strange  than  true  that  she  does 
so,  yoking  together  matters  most  dissimilar,  and  leading  the  judgment  into 
strange  disorder. 

Scratch  ! — scratch ! — scratch  ! 

"  What— what  is  it  r"  gasped  Todd. 

But  time  ^orks  wonders,  and  after  the  first  shock  to  his  nerves,  the  barber 
began  to  think  that  some  one  must  be  playing  him  a  trick,  and,  for  ail  he  knew, 
it  might  be  the  very  man  whom  he  had  snubbed  so  for  interfering  with  him,  or 
it  might  be  some  boy— the  boys  would  at  times  tease  Sweeney  Todd,  This  sup- 
position gathered  strength  each  moment. 

a  It  is  a  trick — a  trick,"  he  said.   44 1  will  be  revenged  l" 

He  took  a  thick  stick  from  a  corner,  and  stealthily  approached  the  door. 
The  odd  scratching  noise  continued,  and  he  again  paused  for  a  few  moments  to 
listen  to  it. 

44  A  boy- -a  boy,"  he  growled.    4(  It  is  one  of  the  infernal  boys." 

Opening  the  door  a  little  way  with  great  quickness,  Todd  aimed  a  blow 
through  the  opening.  There  was  a  short  angry  bark,  and  his  old  enemy, 
the  dog  that  had  belonged  to  the  mariner,  thrust  in  his  head,  and  glared  at 
Todd. 

«  Help !— help  !    Murder !"  cried  Todd.    "The  dog  again  !" 

He  made  a  vain  effort  to  shut  the  door ;  but  Hector  was  too  strong  for  him, 
and,  as  he  had  got  his  head  in,  he  seemed  to  be  determined  to  force  in  his  whole 
body,  which  he  fully  succeeded  in  doing.  Todd  dropped  the  stick,  and  rushed  into  i 
the  back-parlour  for  safety,  from  whence,  through  a  small  square  of  glass  near  the 
top  of  the  door,  he  glared  at  the  proceedings  of  his  four-footed  foe.  The  dog 
went  direct  to  the  cupboard  from  which  he  had  taken  his  master's  hat,  and, 
opening  the  door,  he  dragged  out  an  assemblage  of  miscellaneous  property,  as 
though  he  hoped  to  find  among  it  some  other  vestige  of  the  dear  master  he  had 
lost.  When,  however,  after  tossing  the  things  about,  he  found  that  they  were 
all  stfange  to  him,  he  gave  a  melancholy  howl.  Hector  then  appeared  to  be 
considering  what  he  should  do  next,  and,  after  a  few  moments*  consideration, 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  213 


l*e  made  a  general  survey  of  the  shop,  and  finally  ended  by  leaping  into  the 
shaving-chair,  where  he  sat  and  commenced  such  a  series  of  melancholy  howls, 
that  Todd  was  nearly  driven  out  of  his  mind  at  the  conviction  that  the  whole 
street  must  be  soon  in  a  state  of  alarm.  Oh  !  how  glad  he  would  have  been 
to  have  shot  Hector  ;  but  then,  although  he  had  pistols  in  the  parlour,  he 
might  miss  him,  and  send  the  bullet  into  Fleet-street  through  his  own 
window,  and,  perchance,  hit  somebody,  and  that  would  be  a  trouble.  The 
report,  too,  would  bring  a  crowd  round  his  shop,  and  the  old  story  of  him  and 
the  accusing  dog — for  had  not  that  dog  accused  him  ? — would  be  brought  tip 
again.    But  yet  something  must  be  done. 

"  Am  I  to  be  a  prisoner  here,"  said  Todd,  while  that  infernal  dog  sits  in  the 
shaving  chair,  howling  ?" 

Now  and  then,  for  the  space  of  about  half-a-minute,  the  dog  would  be  quiet, 
but  then  the  prolonged  howl  that  he  would  give  plainly  showed  that  he  had 
only  been  gathering  breath  to  give  it.    Todd  got  desperate. 

u  I  must  and  -^r  ill  shoot  him,"  he  said. 

Going  to  a  sideboard  he  opened  a  drawer,  and  took  from  it  a  large  double- 
barrelled  pistol.  He  looked  carefully  at  the  priming,  and  satisfying  himself  that 
all  was  right,  he  crept  again  to  the  parlour  door. 

"  I  must  and  will  shoot  him  at  any  risk/'  he  said.  u  This  infernal  dog  will 
be  else  the  bane  and  torment  of  my  life.  I  thought  I  had  been  successful  in 
poisoning  the  brute  as  he  suddenly  disappeared  from  my  door,  but  he  has  been 
preserved  by  some  sort  of  miracle  on  purpose  to  torment  me." 

Howl  went  the  dog  again.  Sweeney  Todd  took  a  capital  aim  with  the  pistol. 
To  be  sure  his  nerves  were  not  quite  in  such  good  order  as  they  sometimes 
were,  but  then  the  distance  was  so  short  that  how  could  he  miss  such  an  object 
as  a  Newfoundland  dog  ? 

"  1  have  him — I  have  him,"  he  muttered.    gt  Ha!  ha!    I  have  him  F- 

He  pulled  the  trigger  of  the  pistol — snap  went  the  lock,  and  the  powder  in  the 
pan  flashed  up  in  Todd's  face,  but  that  was  all.  Before  he  could  utter  even  an 
oath  the  shop  door  was  opened,  and  a  man's  voice  cried — 

"  Hasn't  nobody  seen  nothing  of  never  a  great  dog  nowheres  ?  Oh,  there  you 
is,  my  tulip.  Come  to  your  father,  you  rogue  you.  So  you  guved  me  the  slip 
at  last  did  you,  you  wiilain !" 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 


♦ 


JOHANNA  S  VISIT  TO  TODD. 


Hector  whined  a  kind  of  recognition  of  this  man,  but  he  did  not  move  from 
the  chair  in  Todd's  shop  upon  which  he  had  seated  himself. 

"  Come,  old  fellow,"  said  the  man,  "  you  don't  want  to  be  shaved,  do  youl" 
Hector  gave  a  short  bark,  but  he  wagged  his  tail  as  much  as  to  intimate — 
u  Mind,  I  am  not  at  all  angry  with  you/'   And  indeed  it  was  quite  evident,  from 
the  manner  of  the  dog  to  this  man,  that  there  was  a  good  understanding 
between  them. 

"  Come  now,  Pison,"  said  the  man,  '<  don't  be  making  a  fool  of  yourself  here 
any  more.   You  ain't  on  friendly  terms  here,  my  tulip/' 
"  Hilloa !»  cried  Todd. 

The  man  gave  a  start,  and  Hector  uttered  an  angry  growl. 
'  Hilloa !    Who  are  you  ?" 

?  Why,  I'm  the  ostler  at  the  *  Bullfinch!3  oppesite" 
"  Is  that  your  dog  ?" 

"  Why  in  a  manner  o*  speaking,  for  want  of  a  better  master,  he's  got  me." 
The  ostler,  by  dint  of  shading  his  eyes  with  his  hands,  and  looking  very 
intently,  at  last  saw  Todd,  and  then  he  added-?- 

... ,.  ~\'L!l^~l  L   .  Zr-  '     '  .-A-^  ,  .  .  .  '•  <  '       --  ...  .....  .  .  „,. — t&aitiMMMrtrf !  ii  'li'fKIr  a  -- 


4i 


214  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


44  Oh,  it's  you,  master,  is  it  ?' 

u  Take  away  that  animal  directly/' cried  Todd.  "Take  him  away.  I  hate 
dogs.    Curses  on  both  you  and  him  ;  how  came  he  here  f9 

"  Ah,  Pison,  Pison,  why  did  you  come  here,  you  good  for  nothink  feller  you? 
You  ought  to  have  knowed  better.  Didn't  I  always  say  to  you — leastways, 
since  I've  had  you— didn't  I  say  to  you — 1 Don't  you  go  over  the  way,  for  that 
ere  barber  is  your  natural  enemy,  Pison,  and  yet  here  yer  is." 

As  he  spoke,  the  ostler  embraced  Hector,  who  was  not  at  all  backward  in 
returning  the  cares3,  although  in  the  midst  of  it  he  turned  his  head  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  back-parlour,  and  gave  a  furious  bark  at  Todd. 

"  There  is  some  mystery  at  the  bottom  of  all  this,"  muttered  Todd  ;  and  then 
raising  his  voice,  he  added — *  How  did  you  come  by  the  dog?" 

"  Why,  111  tell  you,  master.  For  a  matter  of  two  days,  you  know,  he  stuck 
at  your  door  with  a  hat  as  belonged  n 

"Well,  well!" 

€t  Yes,  his  master,  folks  said,  was  murdered." 
"Ha!  ha!" 

"  Eh  ?    Oh,  Lord,  what  was  that  ?" 

"  Only  me ;  I  laughed  at  the  idea  of  anybody  being  murdered  in  fleet  Street, 
that  was  all.,, 

"  Oh,  ah !    It  don't  seem  very  likely.    Well,  as  I  was  a  saying,  arter  you  had 

finished  off  his  master  99 

"I?" 

u  Oh,  I  begs  your  pardon  !  Only,  you  see,  the  dog  would  have  it  that  you 
had,  and  so  folks  say  so  as  natural  as  possible ;  but,  howsomdever,  I  corned  by 
and  seed  this  here  dog  in  the  agonies  o'  conwulsions  all  along  o'  pison.  Now 
where  I  come  from,  the  old  man — that's  my  father  as  was — had  lots  o'  dogs,  ajid 
consekewently  I  knowed  somethink  about  them  ere  creturs ;  so  I  takes  up  this 
one  and  carries  him  on  my  back  over  the  way  to  the  stables,  and  there  I  cures 
him  and  makes  a  pet  of  him,  and  I  called  him  Pison,  cos,  you  see,  as  he  had 
been  pisoned.  Lor,  sir,  you  should  only  have  seed  him,  when  he  was  a  getting  a 
little  better,  how  he  used  to  look  at  me  and  try  to  say — €  Bill,  don't  I  love  you 
neither!'    It's  affection — that  it  is,  blow  me !" 

Todd  gave  an  angry  snarl  of  derision. 

"I  tell  you  what  it  is,  my  man/'  he  said  ;  "if  you  will  hang  that  dog,  I  will 
give  you  a  guinea." 

"  Hang  Pison  ?  No,  old  'un,  I'd  much  rather  hang  you  for  half  that  ere 
money.  Come  along,  my  daffydowndilly.  Don't  you  stay  here  any  more.  Why, 
I  do  believe  it  was  you  as  pisoned  him,  you  old  bloak." 

The  ostler  seized  Hector,  or  Pison,  as  he  had  fresh  christened  him,  round  the 
neck,  and  fairly  dragged  him  away  out  of  the  shop.  To  be  sure,  if  Hector  had 
resisted,  the  ostler,  with  all  the  power  of  resistance  he  possessed,  it  would  indeed 
have  been  no  easy  matter  to  remove  him  ;  but  it  was  wonderful  to  see  how  nicely 
the  grateful  creature  graduated  his  struggles,  so  that  they  fell  short  of  doing  the 
smallest  hurt  to  his  preserver,  and  yet  showed  how  much  he  wished  to  remain 
as  a  terror  and  a  reproach  to  Sweeney  Todd.  When  they  were  both  fairly  gone, 
Todd  emerged  from  his  parlour  again,  and  the  horrible  oaths  and  imprecations 
he  uttered  will  not  bear  transcription.  With  eager  haste  he  again  bundled  into 
the  cupboard  all  the  things  that  the  dog  had  dragged  out  of  it,  and  then  stamp- 
ing his  foot,  he  said — 

"Am  I,  after  defeating  the  vigilance  of  heaven  onl  y  knows  who,  and  for  so 
long  preserving  myself  from  almost  suspicion,  to  live  in  dread  of  a  dog  ?  Am  I 
to  be  tormented  with  the  thought  that  that  fiend  of  an  animal  is  opposite  to  me, 
and  ready  at  any  moment  to  fly  over  here  and  chase  me  out  of  my  own  shop. 
Confound  it !  I  cannot  and  will  not  put  up  with  such  a  state  of  things.  Oh,  if 
I  could  but  get  one  fair  blow  at  him.    Only  one  fair  blow  V9 

As  he  spoke  he  took  up  a  hammer  that  was  in  a  corner  of  the  shop,  and  made 
a  swinging  movement  with  it  through  the  air.  Some  one  at  that  moment  opened 


'■  "I-  m  " 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  215 


* 


■  1  —    — "  '      .I.    .  i .        —     i  ii       -.  •    !■     i  ■      „ ,  i.   '  '  ■■» 

the  shop  -door,  and  narrowly  escaped  a  blow  upon  the  head,  that  would  have 
finished  their  mortal  career. 
u  Hilloa !  Are  you  mad  f* 

"  Mad  !"  said  Todd.  / 
"Yes :  do  you  knock  folks'  brains  out  when  they  come  to  be  shaved?1* 
"  Mine's  a  sedentary  employment/'  said  Todd,     and  when  I  am  alone,  I  like 

exercise  to  open  my  chest.   That's  all.    Ain't  it  rather  late  to  be  shaved  ?  I  was 

just  about  to  shut  up." 

"  Why  it  is  rather  late,  Mr.  Todd ;  but  the  fact  is,  I  am  going  to  York  by  the 

early  coach  from  the  Bullfinch  Inn,  opposite,  and  I  want  a  shave  before  I  get 

upon  my  journey,  as  1  shan't  have  an  opportunity  you  see,  again,  for  some 

time  .* 

"  Very  well,  sir." 
"  Come  in,  Charley." 

"  Todd  started."  1 
"What's  that?"  he  said.    He  felt  afraid  that  it  was  the  dog  again,  under  | 
some  new  name.    Truly,  conscience  was  beginning  to  make  a  coward  of  Sweeney 
Todd,  although  he  denied  to  himself  the  possession  of  such  an  article.  Charley 
came  in  the  shape  of  a  little  boy,  of  about  eight  years  of  age. 

"  Now  you  sit  down,  and  don't  do  any  mischief,"  said  the  father,  "  while  I 
get  Mr.  Todd  to  shave  me.  I  am  a  late  customer  indeed.  You  see  the  coach 
goes  in  two  hours,  and  as  I  have  got  to  call  the  last  thing  upon  Alderman 
Stantons,  I  thought  I  would  be  shaved  first,  and  my  little  lad  here  would  come 
with  me." 

"  Oh,  certainly,  sir/'  said  Todd  ;  "  I  believe  I  have  the  pleasure  of  speaking 
to  Mr.  Brown,  the  silversmith." 

"  Yes — yes.  The  alderman  gave  me  some  jewels,  worth  about  three  thousand 
pounds,  to  re-set,  and  though  they  are  not  done,  I  really  don't  like  to  have 
them  at  home  while  I  take  such  a  journey,  so  I  want  to  lodge  them  with  him 
again  until  I  come  back." 

Todd  lathered  away  at  Mr.  Brown's  chin,  as  he  said  with  an  air  of  inno- 
cence— 

€i  Can  you  carry  so  many  jewels  about  with  you,  sir?" 

u  So  many  ?  Aye,  ten  times  as  many.    Why  they  are  all  in  a  little  narrow 
case,  that  would  not  hold  a  pair  of  razors." 
"Indeed!" 

Todd  began  the  shaving. 

«  And  so  this  is  your  little  boy  ?    A  sharp  lad,  no  doubt.'* 
"  Tolerable." 

ct  The  whiskers  as  they  are,  sir  ?" 
"  Oh,  yes — yes." 

"  I  suppose  you  never  trust  him  out  alone  in  the  streets  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  often."  . 

"  Is  it  possible.  Well,  now,  I  should  hardly  have  thought  it.  What  a  sweet 
child  he  looks,  and  such  a  nice  complexion,  too.  It's  quite  a  pleasure  to  see  him. 
I  was  considered  myself  a  very  fine  child  a  good  while  ago." 

Todd  took  care  to  lift  the  razor  judiciously,  so  as  to  give  Mr.  Brown  opportu- 
nities of  replying ;  and  the  silversmith  said—  5> 

"  Oh,  yes :  he's  a  nice  little  fellow.    He  s  got  his  mother  s  complexion. 

"  And  he  shan't  lose  it,"  said  Todd,  « if  there's  any  virtue  in  pearlometncal 
savonia" 

"In  what?"  .    .     .  115fft 

A  Oh,  that's  the  name  I  give  to  a  soap  that  preserves  the  complexion  m  all  its 
purity.  I  have  only  a  small  parcel  of  it,  so  I  don't  sell  it,  but  I  give  it  away  now 
and  then,  to  my  lady  customers.   Excuse  me  for  one  moment." 

"Oh,  certainly."  .     .  h 

Todd  opened  a  glass  case,  and  took  out  two  pieces  of  soap,  of  a  yellowisu 

tint. 


21  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  There,  Charley,"  he  said  as  he  handed  them  to  the  little  fellow,  "  There's 
a  piece  for  you,  and  a  piece  for  mamma." 

"  Really  you  are  very  kind,  Mr.  Todd,"  said  Brown. 

€i  Oh,  don't  mention  it.    Run  home  at  once,  Charley,  with  them,  and  by  the 
time  you  get  back  your  father  will  be — finished.    Run  along." 
"I  won't,"  said  Charley. 

€t  Ah,  come— come,"  said  his  father.  |  t j 

u  I  won't  go,  and  I  don't  like  soap." 

"And  why  don't  you  like  soap,  my  little  man?"  said  Todd,  as  he  recommenced 
operations  upon  the  silversmith's  face. 

"  Because  I  don't  like  to  be  washed  at  all,  it  scrubs  so,  and  I  don't  like  you, 
either,  you  are  so  dreadfully  ugly— that  I  don't.'  ; 
Todd  smiled  blandly. 

"Now,  Charley,"  said  his  father,  "  I  am  very  angry  with  you.    You  are  a 
very  bad  boy  indeed.    Why  don't  you  do  as  Mr.  Todd  tells  you  ?" 
"  Because  I  won't." 

<c  Bless  him/  said  Todd,  "  bless  his  heart.  But  don't  you  think,  Mr.  B."— 
here  Todd's  voice  sank  to  a  whisper-— "  don't  you  think  that  it  s  rather  injudi- 
cious to  encourage  this  obstinacy— if  one  may  call  it  such— thus  early  in  life  ? 
It  may,  you  know,  grow  upon  the  dear  little  fellow." 

"  You  are  right,  Mr.  Todd  ;  "  and  I  know  that  he  is  spoiled  ;  but  I  have  a 
more  than  ordinary  affection  for  him,  since,  under  most  critical  circumstances, 
once  I  saved  his  life.  From  that  time,  I  confess  that  I  have  been  Weak  enough 
to  allow  him  too  much  of  his  own  way.  Thank  you,  Mr.  Todd.  A  very  clean 
comfortable  shave  indeed." 

Mr.  Brown  rose  from  his  chair  and  approached  the  little  boy. 
"  Charley,  my  dear/'  he  said;  "you  will  save  papa's  life"  some  day,  won't 
you  r" 

"  Yes,"-  said  Charlev. 
The  father  kissed  him,-  as  he  added— 

How  affected  I  feel  to-  night.    I  suppose  it's  the  thought  of  the  long  journey 
I  am  going/' 

"  No  doubt,"  said  Todd. 

"  Good  night,  Mr.  Todd.    Come  along,  Charley." 
«  Won't  you  give  me  a  kiss,  you  darling,  before  you  go  ?"  said  Todd. 
"  No,  ugly,  I  won't."  - 

"Oh,  Charley— Charley,  your  behaviour  to  Mr.  Todd  is  really  anything  but 
right.    You  are  a  very  bad  boy  to-night.    Come  along." 

Away  they  went,  and  Todd  stood  stropping  the  lately-used  razor  upon  his 
hand,  as  he  glared  upon  them,  and  muttered — 

"Jewels  worth  three  thousand  pounds!  And  so  you  saved  the  child's 
life,  did  you  ?    By  all  that's  devilish  he  has  returned  the  obligation." 

He  went  to  the  door  and  looked  after  the  retreating  figures  of  the  silversmith 
and  his  child.  He  saw  with  what  tender  care  the  father  lifted  the  little  one 
over  the  road-way,  and  again  he  muttered — 

t€  Three  thousand  pounds  gone  !— gone,  when  it  was  almost  within  my  grasp. 
All  this  is  new.  I  used  not  to  be  the  sport  of  such  accidents  and  adverse  circum- 
stances. Time  was,  when  by  the  seeming  irresistible  force  of  my  will,  I  could 
bend  circumstances  to  my  purposes,  but  now  I  am  the  sport  of  dogs' and  children. 
What  is  the  meaning  of  it  all  ?  Is  my  ancient  cunning  deserting  me  ?  Is  my 
brain  no  longer  active  and  full  of  daring  ?" 

^  He  crept  back  into  his  shop  again.  The  hour  was  now  getting  late,  and  after 
sitting  for  some  time  in  silent  musing  he  rose,  and  without  a  word,  commenced 
closing  his  establishment  for  the  night. 

"  I  must  have  another  boy/'  he  said,  as  he  put  up  the  last  shutter  and  secured 
it  m  its  place.    "  I  must  have  another  boy.   This  state  of  things  will  not  do. 
I  must  certainly  have  another  boy.    Tobias  Ragg  would  have  suited  me  very 
j  well,  if  he  had  not  been  so— so— what  shall  I  call  it,  confoundedly  imaginative. 


I  hive  a 


|  Jll!^  Dill 


mpoi 


to  (Uft 
.  uttle  one 

circaiB- 

j  I*  my 


) 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


217 


But  he  is  dead—- dead  !  that  is  a  comfort.  He  is  dead,  and  I  must  have  anothei 
boy." 

Bang !  went  Sweeney  Todd's  shop  door.  The  beautiful  moon  climbed  over  the 
house-tops  in  old  Fleet  Street.  The  clock  of  St.  Dunstan 's  struck  the  hour  of 
eleven.   The  streets  began  to  be  thin  of  pedestrians,  and  the  din  of  carriages 


TODI>  AND  THE  BEEFEATER  HAVE  SOME  WORDS. 

had  almost  entirely  ceased.  London  then,  although  it  was  so  not  long  "ago, 
persented  a  very  different  aspect  at  the  hour  of  eleven  to  what  it  does  now. 
The  old  hackney-coaches  had  not  been  ousted  from  the  streets  by  the  cabs  and  the 
omnibuses,  and  the  bustle  of  the  city  was  indeed  but  a  faint  echo  then,  of  what 
it  is  now.   Time  changes  all  things. 


No.  28. 


218 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 


Johanna's  new  situation. 


"  Johanna,  attend  to  me,"  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  upon  the  morning  after  these 
events." 

"  Well,  mother  ?" 
"  Your  father  is  an  idiot. " 

"  Mother,  mother !  I  dissent  from  the  opinion,  and  if  it  were  true,  it  comes 
with  the  worst  possible  grace  from  you>  but  I  am  sick  at  heart.  I  pray  you  to 
spare  me  reproaches  or  angry  words,  mother/' 

"  Haity  taity,  one  must  not  speak  next,  I  suppose.  Some  people  fancy  that 
other  people  know  nothing,  but  there  is  such  a  thing  as  overhearing  what  some 
people  say  to  other  people.'* 

Johanna  had  not  the  most  remote  notion  of  what  her  mother  meant,  but  Mrs. 
Oakley's  tongue  was  like  many  pieces  of  machinery,  that  when  once  set  in 
motion  are  not  without  considerable  trouble  brought  to  a  standstill  again,  so  on 
she  went. 

"  Of  course.  I  now  know  quite  well  why  the  godiy  mam  who  would  have 
made  you  a  chosen  vessel  was  refused.  It  was  all  owing  to  that  scamp,  Mark 
Ingestrie." 
"  Mother  !" 

"  Marry  come  up !  you  need  not  look  at  me  in  such  a  way.  We  don't  all 
of  us  see  with  the  same  eyes.    A  scamp  he  is,  and  a  scamp  he  will  be/' 

"  Mother,  he  whom  vou  so  name  is  with  his  God.  Mention  him  no  more. 
The  wild  ocean  rolls  over  his  body — his  soul  is  in  heaven.  Speak  not  irreverently 

of  one  whose  sole  crime  was  that  he  loved  me.    Oh,  mother,  mother,  you  v 

Johanna  could  say  no  more,  she  burst  into  tears. 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  "  if  he  is  dead,  pray  what  hinders  you  from 
listening  to  the  chosen  vessel,  I  should  like  to  know?" 

"  Do  not.  Oh  do  not,  mother,  say  any  more  to  me— I  cannot,  dare  not  trust 
myself  to  speak  to  you  upon  such  a  subject." 

"  What  is  this  ?"  said  Mr.  Oakley,  stepping  into  the  room.    "Johanna  in 
tears  !    What  has  happened  V9 
"  Father — dear  father  !'' 

"And  Mr.  O.,"  cried  Mrs.  Oakley,  "  what  business  is  it  of  yours,  I  should 
like  to  know?  Be  so  good,  sir,  as  to  attend  to  your  spectacles,  and  such  like 
rubbish,  and  not  to  interfere  with  my  daughter.'" 

"  Dear  me  ! — ain't  she  my  daughter  likewise  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,  IVJr.  O. !  Go  on  with  your  base,  vile,  wretched,  contemptible,  un- 
manly insinuations.  Do  go  on,  pray — I  hke  it.  Oh,  you  odious  wretch  !  You 
spectacle-making  monster  V 

"Do  not,"  cried  Johanna,  who  saw  the  heightened  colour  of  her  father's 
cheek.  "  Oh,  do  not  let  me  be  the  unhappy  cause  of  any  quarrelling.  Father! 
father  V9 

"  Hush,  my  dear,  don't  you  say  another  word.  Cousin  Ben  is  coming  to  take 
a  little  bit  of  lunch  with  us  to-day.'' 

"  I  know  it/'  cried  Mrs.  Oakley,  clapping  her  hands  together  with  a  vengeance 
that  made  Oakley  jump  again.  "  I  know  it.  Oh,  you  wretch.  You  couldn't 
have  put  on  such  airs  if  your  bully  had  not  been  coming  ;  I  thought  the  last  time 
he  came  here  was  enough  for  h  m.  Aye,  and  for  you  too,  Mr.  O." 
"  It  was  nearly  too  much,"  said  the  spectacle-maker,  shaking  his  head. 
"Tow  row,  row,  row,  row!"  cried  Big  Ben,  popping  his  head  into  the 
parlour,  "  what  do  you  all  bring  it  in  now  ?  Wilful  murder  with  the  chill  off  or 
what  ?  Ah,  mother  Oakley,  what's  the  price  of  vinegar  now,  wholesale — pluck 
does  it.    Here  you  is.    Ha,  ha !    Aint  we  a  united  family.    Couldn't  stay  away 


from  you,  Mother  Oakley,  no  more  nor  I  could  from  that  ere  laughing  hyena  we 
has  in  the  Tower/' 
"  Eugh  !—  wretch  !" 

"  Sit  down,  Ben,"  said  Mr.  Oakley.    "  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  and  I  am  quite 
sure  Johanna  is." 
"  Oh,  yes,  yes." 

"  That's  it/"  said  Ben.  "  It's  on  Johanna's  account  1  came.  Now,  little  one, 
just  tell  me  " 

Johanna  had  just  time  to  place  her  finger  upon  her  lips,  unobserved  by  any 
one,  and  shake  her  head  at  Ben." 

"  Ah— hem  !  How  are  you,  eh  ?"  he  said,  turning  the  conversation.  "  Come, 
Mother  O.,  stir  your  old  stumps  and  be  alive,  will  you  ?  1  have  come  to  lunch 
with  your  lord  and  master,  so  bustle — bustle.35 

Mrs.  Oakley  rose,  and  placing  her  hands  upon  her  hips,  she  looked  at  Ben,  as 
she  said — 

"You  great,  horrid,  man. mountain  of  a  wretch.  I  only  wonder  you  ain't 
afraid,  after  the  proper  punishment  you  had  on  the  occasion  of  your  last  visit,  to 
show  your  horrid  face  here  again  ?" 

"  You  deludes  to  the  physicking,  I  suppose,  mum.  Lor  bless  you,  it  did  us 
no  end  of  good ;  but,  howsomedever,  we  provide  agin  wice  in  animals  when  we 
knows  on  it  aforehand,  do  you  see.    Oh,  there  you  is." 

A  boy  howled  out  from  the  shop—"  Did  a  gentleman  order  two  gallons  of 
half-and-half  here,  please  ?" 

"  All's  right,"  said  Ben.  "  Now,  Mother  O.,  the  only  thing  I'll  trouble  ycu 
for,  is  a  knife  and  fork.    As  for  the  rest  of  the  combustibles,  here  they  is." 

Ben  took  from  one  capacious  pocket  a  huge  parcel,  containing  about  six 
pounds  of  boiled  beef,  and  from  the  other  he  took  as  much  ham. 

"  Hold  hard  !"  he  cried  to  the  boy  who  brought  the  beer.  "  Take  this  half- 
crown,  my  lad,  and  get  three  quartern  loaves. '* 

"But,  Ben,"  said  old  Mr.  Oakley,  "  I  really  had  no  intention,  when  I  asked 
you  to  come  to  lunch  this  morning,  of  making  you  provide  it  yourself.  We 
have,  or  we  ought  to  have,  plenty  of  everything  in  the  house."  >•  ----- 

■"Old  birds,"  said  Ben,  "isn't  to  be  caught  twice.  A  fellow,  arter  he  has 
burnt  his  lingers,  is  afeard  o'  playing  with  the  fire.  No,  Mrs.  O.,  you  gave 
us  a  benefit  last  time,  and  I  ain't  a-going  to  try  my  luck  again.  Airs  right- 
pitch  into  the  grub.    How  is  the  chosen  vessel,  Mother  O  ?    All  right,  eh  ?" 

Mrs.  Oakley  waited  until  Ben  had  made  an  immense  sandwich  of  ham  and 
beef;  and  then  in  an  instant,  before  he  was  aware  of  what  she  was  about,  she 
caught  it  up,  and  slapped  it  in  his  face  with  a  vengeance  that  was  quite  stag- 
gering. 

"  Easy  does  it,"  said  Ben. 

"  Take  that,  you  great,  fat  elephant/ 

"Go  it-go  it." 

Mrs.  Oakley  bounced  out  of  the  room.  Johanna  looked  her  sorrow  ;  and  Mr. 
Oakley  rose  from  his  chair,  but  Ben  made  him  sit  down  again,  saying— 

«  Easy  does  it— easy  does  it.  Never  mind  her,  cousin  Oakley.  She  must 
have  her  way  sometimes.  Let  her  kick  and  be  off.  There's  no  harm^done— not 
a  bit.    Lord  bless  you,  I'm  used  to  all  sorts  of  cantankerous  animals." 

Mr.  Oakley  shook  his  head. 

"  Forget  it,  father,"  said  Johanna. 

«  1  only  wish,  my  dear,  I  could  forget  manv  things  ;  and  yet  there  are  so  many 
others,  that  I  want  to  remember,  mixed  up  with  them,  that  I  don't  know  how  I 
should  manage  to  separate  them  one  from  the  other." 

fi  You  couldn't  do  it,"  said  Ben.  "  Here's  luck  in  a  bag,  and  shake  it  out  as 
you  want  it; ' 

This  sentiment  was  uttered  while  Ben's  head  was  deep  in  the  recesses  ot  tne 
two-gallon  can  of  beer,  so  that  it  had  a  peculiar  solemn  and  sonorous  effect  with 
it.  After  drinking  about  a  quart,  Ben  withdrew  the  can,  and  drew  a  long  breath. 


"Has  he  brought  yours  ?"  he  said. 
"What?— who  ?"  .. 
"  Why  the  other  two  gallons  for  you  and  Johanna. 
"  Good  gracious,  Ben,  you  don't  mean  that  ?". 


"  Don't  1,  though.  Oh,  here  he  is.  All's  right.  Now,  my  lad,  get  the  little  pint 
]u«  with  the  silver  top  to  it,  and  if  we  don't  mull  a  drop,  pm  a  sinner.  Now, 
you'll  see  if  Mrs.  O.  don't  come  round  quite  handsome."  ,  , 

Ben,  by  the  aid  of  some  sugar,  succeeded  in  making  a  very  palatable  drink, 
and  just  as  the  steam  began  to  salute  the  nostrils  of  old  Oakley  and  himself, 
the  door  of  the  parlour  was  opened,  and  who  should  heedlessly  step  into  the 
room  but  the  pious  Mr.  Lupin  himself.  Mr.  Lupin  was  so  transfixed  by  finding  J 
Ben  there,  that  for  a  moment  or  two  he  could  not  gather  strength  to  retreat ;  and 
during  that  brief  period,  Ben  had  shifted  his  chair,  until  he  got  quite  behind  the 
reverend  gentleman,  who,  when  he  did  step  back,  in  consequence  fell  into  Ben  s 
lap. 

"What  do  yer  mean  ?*  cried  Ben,  in  a  voice  of  thunder.  % 
«  Oh,  murder— murder  !    Have  mercy  upon  me  !    I  only  looked  in  as  1  was 
passing,  to  ask  how  all  the  family  was.'' 

44  Yes/'  said  Mr.  Oakley,  "and  because  you,  no  doubt,  heard  I  was  going  to 
Tottenham,  to  Judge  Merivale's,  to  fit  him  with  a  pair  of  spectacles." 

«  Ob,  dear  !    Oh,  dear !    Let  me  go,  sir."  ,     .  > 

<<  I  don't  want  you,"  said  Ben ;  "  but  as  you  are  here,  let's  make  an  end  ot  all 
differences,  and  have  a  pint  together." 
"  A  pint  ?" 

u  Yes,  to  be  sure.  By  the  look  of  your  nose,  I  should  say  it  knows  pretty  well 

what  a  pint  is."  ,  .  , 

"  Oh,  dear— man  is  sinful  alway.  I  bear  no  malice,  and  if  the  truly  rignt- 
minded  and  pious  Mrs.  Oakley  was  only  here,  we  might  drink  down  all 

differences,  Mr.  a — a  r* 

"Ben*" 

"  Mr.  Ben-    Thank  you,  sir  "  . 
11  Oh,  Mr.  Lupin/'  cried  Mrs.  Oakley,  at  this  moment  bursting  into  the 
parlour.    "  Is  it  possible  that  you  can  giye  your  mind  in  this  way  to  the 
Philistines?    Is  not  this  backsliding  ?" 

U  Let  us  hope  for  the  best,  sister/'  said  Mr.  Lupin,  with  an  evangelical 
twang.  "  Let  us  hope  for  the  best.  If  people  will  drink,  they  had  much  better 
drink  with  the  saints,  who  may  take  some  favourable  opportunity  of  converting 
them,  than  with  sinners," 

"Sit  down,  mum/'  said  Ben,  "  and  let's  bury  all  animosities  in  the  can.  fcasy 

does  it.  Don't  you  go,  Johanna/' 

"  Yes,  but,  Ben,  I  *  '  ? 

"  Now  don't/' 

Ben  saw  by  the  direction  of  Johanna's  eyes,  that  the  Rev.  gentleman  was 
resting  one  of  his  red  raw-looking  hands  upon  her  arm,  and,  situated  as  she  was, 
she  could  not  get  out  of  his  way  but  by  rising, 
«  Sit  still/'  said  Ben.   "  Easy  does  it." 

Lifting  up  the  can,  then,  he  pretended  to  drink  out  of  it,  and  then  brought  it 
with  such  a  thundering  crack  upon  Mr.  Lupin's  head,  that  it  quite  staggered 
him. 

"  Paws  off/'  said  Ben.    "  Just  attend  to  that  ere  gentle  hint,  old  friend." 
Mr.  Lupin  sat  down  with  a  groan. 

"  Now,  mum,"  said  Ben,  who  all  the  while  had  held  fast  the  stone  mug  of 
mulled  porter.  "  Now,  mum,  here's  some  hot,  that  don't  suit  me  so  well  as  the 
cold,  perhaps  you  and  Mr.  Lupin  will  take  that,  while  I  cuts  a  few  more 
sandwiches." 

He  placed  the  jug  before  Mr.  Lupin,  who  thereupon  left  off  rubbing  his  head, 
and  said— 

94  I'm  sure  it  would  be  highly  unchristian  of  me  to  bear  any  malice,  so,  with 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


221 


the  Lord's  leave,  I  will  even  partake  of  some  of  this  worldly  liquor,  called  mulled 
porter." 

"  Now  while  Mr.  Lupin  drank  the  savoury  stream  irom  the  jug,  it  assailed  the 
senses  of  Mrs.  Oakley,  and  when  the  porter  was  placed  before  her,  she  raised  it 
to  her  lips,  saying — 

"  If  folks  are  civil  to  me,  I'm  civil  to  them,  only  I  don't  like  my  godly  friends 
to  be  ill-treated.  Fm  sure  nobody  knows  what  I  have  gone  through  for  my 
family,  and  nobody  thinks  what  a  mother  and  wife  I  have  been.  What  would 
have  become  of  Oakley  if  it  hadn't  been  for  me,  is  a  quesiion  I  often  ask  my- 
self in  the  middle  of  the  night  ?" 

"  She's  a  wonderful  woman,"  sighed  Lupin. 

€t  Oh,  uncommon/'  said  Ben. 
Let  me  go,"  whispered  Johanna  to  Be*  L 

" No,  no  !   Wait  for  the  fun." 

"  What  fun  ?" 

"  Oh,  you'll  see.  You  don't  know  what  k  trouble  it  has  cost  me,  to  be  sure. 
Only  wait  a  bit,  there's  a  duck,  do." 

Johanna  did  not  like  to  say  she  would  not,  so  she  shrunk  back  in  her  chair 
in  no  small  curiosity,  to  know  what  was  about  to  happen.  Mrs.  Oakley  lifted 
the  jug  to  her  lips  and  drunk  deep.  The  aroma  of  the  liquor  must  have  been 
peculiarly  grateful  to  the  palate  of  Mrs.  Oakley,  for  she  certainly  kept  the  jug  at 
her  mouth  for  a  length  of  time,  that,  to  judge  by  the  look  of  impatience  upon 
the  countenance  of  Mr.  Lupin,  was  something  outrageous,  \ 

u  Sister  I"  he  said.    u  Mind  vour  breath/' 

Down  came  the  jug,  and  Mrs.  Oakley,  when  she  could  draw  breath,  gasped — 
"  Very  good  indeed.    A  dash  of  allspice  would  make  it  delicious.,,> 
"  Oh,  sister/'  cried  Lupin  as  he  grasped  the  jug,  that  was  gently  pushed  towards 
him  by  Ben  after  Mrs.  Oakley  had  set  it  down.    "  Oh,  sister,  don't  give  your 
mind  to  carnal  things,  1  beg  of  you.    Why,  she's  drank  it  all." 

Mr.  Lupin  peered  into  the  jug.  He  shut  the  right  eye  and  looked  in  with  the 
left,  and  then  he  shut  the  left  eye  and  looked  in  with  the  right,  and  then  he 
moved  the  jug  about  until  the  silver  lid  came  down  with  a  clap,  that  nearly 
snapped  his  nose  off. 

u  What's  the  matter  V  said  Ben. 

"I — I — don't  exactly  "    Mr.  Lupin  raised  the  lid  again  and  again,  and 

peered  into  the  jug  in  something  of  the  fashion  which  popular  belief  supposes 
a  crow  to  look  into  a  m^r  row  bone. 

At  length  he  turned  the  jug  upside  down,  and  struck  the  bottom  of  it  with  his 
pious  knuckles.  A  huge  toad  fell  sprawling  upon  the  table.  Mrs.  Oakley  gave 
a  shriek,  and  rushed  into  the  yard.  Mr.  Lupin  gave  a  groan,  and  flew  into 
the  street,  and  the  party  in  the  parlour  could  hear  them  in  a  state  of  horrible 
sickness; 

4<  Easy  does  it,"  said  Ben,  u  it's  only  a  piece  of  wood  shaped  like  a  toad  and 
painted,  that's  ail.   Now  I'm  easy.    I  owed  'em  one.'1 


CHAPTER  XLVL 

tobias's  heart  is  touched. 

Tobias  is  no  worse  all  this  time.  But  is  he  better?  Has  the  godlike  spirit 
of  reason  come  back  to  the  mind-benighted  boy  ?  Has  that  pure  and  gentle 
spirit  recovered  from  its  fearful  thraldom,  and  once  again  opened  its  eyes  to  the 
world  and  the  knowledge  of  the  past?  We  shall  see.  Accompany  us,  reader, 
once  again  to  the  house  of  Colonel  Jeffery.  You  will  not  regret  looking  upon 
the  pale  face  of  poor  Tobias  again.  The  room  is  darkened,  for  the  sun  is  shining 


-  222  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 

 !  —  : — !  — — ••  ■    .  ,v  :   -  -  -'  ■      ■    ■ 

brightly,  and  an  almond  tree  in  the  front  garden  is  not  sufficiently  umbrageous 
in  its  uncongenial  soil  to  keep  the  bright  rays  from  resting  too  strongly  upon 
the  face  of  the  boy.  There  he  lies  !  His  eyes  are  closed,  and  the  long  lashes 
— forTobias,  poor  fellow,  was  a  pretty  boy— hung  upon  his  cheek,  held  down  by 
the  moisture  of  a  tear.  The  face  is  pale,  oh,  so  pale  and  thin,  and  the  one  arm 
and  hand  that  lies  outside  the  coverlet  of  the  bed,  show  the  blue  veins  through 
the  thin  transparent  skin.  And  all  this  is  the  work  of  Sweeney  Todd.  Well, 
well  !  heaven  is  patient !  In  the  room  is  everything  that  can  conduce  to  the 
comfort  of  the  slumbering  boy.  Colonel  JefFery  has  kept  his  word.  And  now 
that  we  have  taken  a  look  at  Tobias,  tread  gently  on  tip-toe,  reader,  and  come 
with  us  down  stairs  to  the  back  drawing-room,  where  Colonel  Jeffery,  his  friend 
Captain  Rathbone,  the  surgeon,  and  Mrs.  Ragg  are  assembled.  Mrs.  Ragg  is 
<c  crying  her  eyes  out,"  as  the  saying  is. 

€i  Sit  down,  Mrs.  Ragg  "  said  the  colonel,  "sit  down  and  compose  yourself. 
Come,  now,  there  is  no  good  done  by  this  immoderate  grief/' 

"  But  I  can't  help  it." 

"  You  can  control  it.    Sit  down." 

"  But  1  oughtn't  to  sit  down.  Pm  the  cook,  you  know,  sir/' 

H  Well,  well ;  never  mind  that,  if  you  are  my  cook.    If  I  ask  you  to  be  seated, 

you  may  waive  all  ceremony.    We  want  to  ask  you  a  few  questions,  Mrs. 

Ragg." 

Upon  this  Tobias's  mother  did  sit  down,  but  it  was  upon  the  extreme  edge  of 
a  chair,  so  that  the  slightest  touch  to  it  in  the  world  would  have  knocked  it  from 
under  her,  and  down  she  would  have  gone  on  to  the  floor. 

u  Pm  sore,  gentlemen,  Pll  answer  anything  I  kno^-v,  and  more  too,  with  all  the 
pleasure  in  iife,  for,  as  1  often  said  to  poor  Mr.  Ragg,  who  is  dead  and  gone,  and 
buried  accordingly  in  St.  Martin's,  as  he  naturally  might,  and  a  long  illness  he 
had,  and  what  with  one  thing  and  M 

u  \es!  yes  !  we  know  all  that.  Just  attend  to  us  for  one  moment,  if  you 
please,  and  do  not  speak  until  you  thoroughly  understand  the  nature  of  the 
question  we  are  about  to  put  to  you." 

"  Certainly  not,  sir.  Why  should  I  speak,  for  as  I  often  and  often  said, 
when  9 

"Hush,  hush!" 

Mrs.  Ragg  was  silent  at  last,  and  then  the  surgeon  spoke  to  her  calmly  and 
deliberately,  for  he  much  wished  her  clearly  to  understand  what  he  was  saying 
i  to  her. 

"  Mrs.  Ragg,  we  still  think  that  the  faculties  of  your  son  Tobias  are  not  per- 
manently injured,  and  that  they  are  only  suffering  from  a  frightful  shock." 
Yes,  sir,  they  is  frightfully  shook." 

u  Hush !  We  think  that  if  anything  that  greatly  interested  him  could  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  small  amount  of  perception  that  remains  to  him  he 
would  recover.  Do  you  now  know  of  anything  that  might  exercise  a  strong 
influence  over  him  V9 

"  Lord  bless  you — no,  sir." 

"  How  old  is  he?" 
Fifteen,  sir,  and  you  would  hardly  believe  what  a  time  of  it  I  had  with 
Tobias.    All  the  neighbours  said — "Well,  if  Mrs.  Ragg  gets  over  this,  she's  a 
woman  of  ten  thousand ;  and  Mrs.  Whistlesides,  as  lived  next  door,  and  had 
twins  herself,  owned  she  never  

"  Good  God,  will  you  be  quiet,  madam  i" 

"  Quiet,  sir  ?  Pm  sure  I  haven't  said  two  words  since  I've  been  in  the  blessed 
room.  I  appeal  to  the  kernel.'* 

"  Well  !  well !  it  appears  then,  Mrs.  Ragg,  you  can  think  of  nothing  that 
is  at  all  likely  to  aid  us  in  this  plan  of  awakening,  by  some  strong  impression, 
the  dormant  faculties  of  Tobias?" 

€t  No,  gentlemen,  no  !  I  only  wish  I  could,  poor  boy  ;  and  there's  somebody 
else  wasting  away  for  grief  about  him  ;  poor  little  thing,  when  she  heard  that 


THE  STRING  Of  PEARLS. 


223 


Tobiaa  was  mad,  I'm  sure  I  thought  she'd  have  broke  her  heart,  for  if  Tobias 
ever  loved  anybody  in  all  the  world,  it  was  little  Minna  Gray.  Ah  !  its  affecting 
to  think  how  such  children  love  each  other,  ain't  it,  sir  ?  Lord  bless  you,  the 
sound  of  her  footstep  was  enough  for  him,  and  his  eyes  would  get  like  two  stars, 
as  he'd  clap  his  hands  together,  and  cry — 'Ah!  that's  dear  Minna.'  That  was 
before  he  went  to  Mr.  Todd's,  poor  fellow. " 
"Indeed!" 

"Yes,  sir,  oh,  you  haven't  an  idea." 

"  I  think  I  have.  Who  is  this  Minna  Gray,  who  so  enthralled  his  boyish 
fancy?" 

"Why,  she's  widow  Gray's  only  child,  and  they  live  in  Milford  Lane,  close  to 
the  Temple,  you  see,  and  even  Tobias  used  to  go  with  me  to  drink  tea  with  Mrs. 
Gray,  as  we  was  both  bequeathed  women  in  a  world  of  trouble." 

€t  You  were  what  ?" 

"Bequeathed." 

fC  Bereaved  you  mean,  I  suppose,  Mrs.  Ragg  ;  but  how  could  you  tell  me  that 
you  knew  of  no  means  of  moving  Tobias's  feelings.  This  Minna  Gray,  if  he 
really  loves  her,  is  the  very  thing/' 

"  Lor,  sir.    What  do  you  mean  ?"* 

"  Why,  I  mean  that  if  you  can  get  this  Minna  Gray  here,  the  possibility  is 
that  it  will  be  the  recovery  of  Tobias.  At  all  events,  it  is  the  only  chance 
of  that  kind  that  presents  itself.  If  that  fails,  we  must  only  trust  to  time.  How 
old  is  this  girl  ?" 

u  About  fourteen,  sir,  and  though  I  say  it  " 

u  Well,  well.  Do  you  now,  as  a  woman  of  the  world,  Mrs.  Ragg,  think  that 
she  has  an  affection  for  poor  Tobias  ?" 

"  Do  I  think  ?  Lor  bless  you,  sir,  she  doats  on  the  ground  he  walks  on,  that 
she  does — poor  young  thing.  Hasn't  she  grizzled  a  bit.  It  puts  me  in  mind 
of  * 

u  Yes,  yes.  Of  course  it  does.  Now,  Mrs.  Ragg,  you  understand  it  is  an 
object  with  our  friend  the  colonel  here,  that  no  one  but  yourself  should  know 
that  Tobias  is  here.  Could  you  get  this  young  girl  to  come  to  tea,  for  instance, 
with  you,  without  telling  her  what  else  she  is  wanted  for 

"  Dear  me,  yes,  sir  ;  for,  as  I  used  to  say  to  Mr.  Ragg,  who  is  dead  and  gone, 
and  buried  in  St.  Martin's  " 

"  Exactly.  Now  go  and  get  her  by  all  means,  and  when  she  comes  here  we 
will  speak  to  her,  but  above  all  things  be  careful  what  you  say." 

"I  think  Mrs.  Ragg  is  already  aware,"  said  Colonel  JefFery,  "that  her  son's 
safety,  as  well  as  her  own,  depends  upon  her  discretion  in  keeping  his  where- 
abouts a  profound  secret.  We  will  instruct  this  young  girl  when  she  comes 
here." 

Colonel  JefFery,  when  he  heard  that  the  medical  man  was  of  opinion  that  the 
experiment  of  awakening  the  feelings  of  Tobias,  by  bringing  Minna  Gray,  was 
worth  trying,  at  once  acquiesced,  and  urged  upon  Mrs.  Ragg  to  go  and  see  Minna. 
After  many  more  speeches,  about  as  much  to  the  purpose  as  those  which  we 
have  already  formed,  Mrs.  Ragg  got  herself  dressed  and  went  upon  her  errand. 
She  was  instructed  to  say  that  she  had  found  herself  unequal  to  being  a 
laundress  in  the  Temple,  and  so  had  thought  it  was  better  to  return  to  her  own 
original  occupation  of  cook  in  a  gentleman's  family,  and  that,  as  she  had  the 
liberty  to  do  so,  she  wished  Minna  Gray  to  come  and  take  tea  with  her.  Thus 
forewarned  of  the  part  she  was  to  play,  Mrs.  Ragg  started  upon  her  mission,  in 
which  we  need  not  follow  her,  for  the  result  of  it  is  all  that  we  particularly  care 
about,  and  that  consisted  in  her  bringing  Minna  in  great  triumph  to  the  colonel's 
house.  Colonel  JefFery,  and  Captain  Rathbone,  who  was  staying  to  dine  with 
him,  saw  the  young  girl  as  she  came  up  the  garden  path.  She  was  one  of  those 
small,  delicately  beautiful  young  creatures,  who  seem  specially  made  to  love, 
and  be  loved.  Her  light  auburn  hair  hung  in  dancing  curls  down  her  fair 
cheeks,  and  her  beautifully  shaped  lips  and  pearly  teeth  were  of  themselves 


m  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,   

features  that  imparted  much  loveliness  to  her  countenance.  She  had,  too,  about 
her  face  all  the  charm  of  childish  beauty,  which  bespoke  her  so  young  as  to  have 
lost  little  of  that  springtide  grace,  which,  alas!  is  so  fleeting.  Add  to  all  this 
a  manner  so  timid,  so  gentle,  and  so  retiring,  that  she  seemed  to  be  an  inhabi- 
tant of  some  quieter  world  than  this,  and  you  have  Minna  Gray,  who  had  crept 
into  the  boyish  heart  of  poor  Tobias,  before  your  eyes. 

"  What  a  gentle  quiet  looking  little  creature/  said  the  captain. 

"  She  is  indeed  ;  and  what  a  contrast  ¥' 

"  Between  her  and  Mrs.  Ragg,  you  mean  ?  It  does  indeed  look  like  an 
elephant  escorting  a  fawn.    But  Mrs.  Ragg  has  her  good  qualities." 

"  She  has,  and  they  are  numerous.  She  is  honest  and  candid  as  the  day,  and 
almost  the  only  fault  that  can  be  laid  to  her  charge  is  her  garrulity." 

"  How  do  you  mean  to  proceed  ?,f  s 

"  Why,  Rathbone,  I  mean  to  condescend  to  do  what,  under  any  other  circum- 
stances, would  be  most  unjustifiable — that  is,  listen  to  the  conversation  of  Mrs. 
Ragg  with  Minna  Gray  ;  I  do  so  with  the  concurrence  of  the  old  lady,  who  is  to 
lead  her  to  speak  of  Tobias,  and  it  is  solely  for  the  purpose  of  judging  if  she 
really  loves  the  boy,  and  making  a  proper  report  to  the  surgeon,  that  I  do  so." 

u  You  are  right  enough,  Jeffery ;  the  end  in  this  case,  at  all  events,  sanctifies 
the  means,  however  defective  such  a  system  of  philosophy  may  be  as  a  general 
thing.    May  I  likewise  be  an  auditor  V 

(i  I  was  going  to  ask  you  to  so  far  oblige  me,  for  I  shall  then  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  your  opinion  ;  so  you  will  do  me  a  favour." 

There  was  a  small  pantry  called  a  butler's  pantry  close  to  the  kitchen,  into 
which  Mrs.  Ragg  had  taken  Minna  Gray.  A  door  opened  from  this  pantry  into 
the  kitchen,  and  another  on  to  the  landing  at  the  foot  of  the  kitchen  stairs. 
Now  Mrs.  Ragg  was  to  take  care  that  the  door  opening  to  the  kitchen  should 
be  just  ajar,  and  the  colonel  and  his  friend  could  get  into  the  pantry  by  the  other 
mode  of  entrance.  Colonel  Jeffery  was  a  gentleman  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
term,  and  he  kept  no  useless  bloated  menials  about  him,  so  the  butlers  pantry 
had  no  butler  to  interfere  with  him,  the  colonel,  in  his  own  house.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  minutes  Jeffery  and  Rathbone  were  in  the  pantry,  from 
whence  they  could  both  see  and  hear  what  passed  in  the  kitchen.  To  be  sure 
there  was  a  certain  air  of  restraint  about  Mrs.  Ragg  at  the  thought  that  her 
master  was  listening  to  what  passed,  and  that  lady  had  a  propensity  to  use 
hard  words,  of  the  meaning  of  which  she  was  in  the  most  delightful  state  of 
ignorance;  but  as  it  was  to  Minna  Gray's  conversation  that  the  colonel  wanted 
to  listen,  these  little  peculiarities  of  Mrs.  Ragg  upon  the  occasion  did  not  much 
matter.  Of  course,  Minna  thought  she  had  no  other  auditors  than  her  old 
friend.    Mrs.  Ragg  was  quite  busy  over  the  tea. 

"Well,  mv  dear,"  she  said  to  Minna,  u  this  is  a  world  we  live  in. 

Mrs.  Ragg,  no  doubt,  intended  this  as  a  discursive  sort  of  remark  that  might 
open  any  conversation  very  well,  and  lead  to  anything,  and  she  was  not  disap- 
pointed, for  it  seemed  to  give  to  the  young  girl  courage  to  utter  that  which  was 
struggling  to  her  lips. 

"  Mrs. — Mrs.  Ragg/'  she  began,  hesitatingly, 

"  Yes.    My  dear,  let  me  fill  your  cup.'' 

"  Thank  you ;  but  I  was  going  to  say — — 

u  A  little  more  sugar  VI 

(i  No,  no.  But  I  cannot  place  a  morsel  in  my  lips,  Mrs.  Ragg,  or  think  or 
speak  to  you  of  anything  else,  until  you  have  told  me  if  you  have  heard  any  news 
of  poor — poor  " 

"Tobias?" 

"  Yes— yes-— yes  V9 

Minna  Gray  placed  her  two  little  hands  upon  her  face  and  burst  into  tears. 
Mrs.  Ragg  made  a  snuffling  sort  of  noise  that,  no  doubt,  was  highly  sympa- 
thetic, and  after  a  pause  of  a  few  moments*  duration,  Minna  gathered  courage  to 
speak  again. 


-   THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.   225 

"You  know,  Mrs.  Ragg,  the  last  you  told  me  of  him  was  that— that  Mr. 
Todd  had  said  he  was  mad,  you  know,  and  then  you  went  to  fetch  some- 
body, and  when  you  came  back  he  was  gone ;  and  Mr.  Todd  told  you  the  next 
day  that  poor  Tobias  ran  off  at  great  speed  and  disappeared.  Has  anything  been 
heard  of  him  since  I" 


THE  MURDER  OF  THE  USUKEB. 


94  Ah,  my  dear,  alas  !  alas  I" 

9 '  Why  do  you  cry  alas  ? — Have  you  any  more  sad  news  to  tell  me  V 

*'  He  was  my  only  son — and  all  the  world  and  his  wife,  as  the  saying  is,  can't 
tell  how  much  I  loved  him." 

Minna  Gray  clasped  her  hands,  and,  while  the  tears  coursed  down  her  young 
fair  cheeks,  she  said — 

"  And  I,  too,  loved  him  V* 

'  ■    '  "    '  — W»  «          inn  .niiin.iLBJ.t.^11,!  iir.iii^j ^.aijuiiuijj,!,.!;*  >M'«»l*'r">»Ul»iir'ih<M''  'i  !■'■  i        .i.i. 'i  iiMiill'iBui  _>)  mjii,,  _mi  il.  |Mi.>'  Mm;  UflB'MM"  n  rljm  .n.  iwyw^awWfc 

— —   m~**m***''a***»i*»****mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm  u.»mi  t  tnnmm  miiii  ir  o»  »,  .inMUfc.i  r,,  i  iW  niiniwn  mmmtm. .  w  n  i  im»»iwu.h  .iW  «  Hi 

No.  29. 


226  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  I  always  thought  you  did,  my  dear,  and  Fm  sure,  if  you  had  been  an  ange 
out  of  Heaven,  my  poor  boy  could  not  have  thought  more  of  you  than  he 
did.  There  was  nothing  that  you  said  or  did  that  was  not  excellent.  He  loved 
the  ground  you  walked  on  ;  and  a  little  old  worsted  mitten,  that  you  left  at  our 
place  once,  he  used  to  wear  round  his  neck,  and  kiss  it  when  he  thought  no  one 
was  nigh,  and  say — '  This  was  my  Minna  s  !'  99 

The  young  girl  let  her  head  rest  upon  her  hands,  and  sobbed  convulsively. 

"  Lost — lost!"  she  said,  "  and  poor,  kind,  good  Tobias  is  lost!" 

"  No,  my  dear,  it's  a  long  lane  that  hasn't  a  turning.  Pluck  up  your  courage, 
and  your  courage  will  pluck  up  you.  Keep  sixpence  in  one  pocket,  and  hope  in 
another.  When  things  are  at  the  worst  they  mend,  You  can't  get  further  down 
in  a  well  than  the  bottom." 

Minna  sobbed  on. 

"And  so,  my  dear,"  added  Mrs.  Ragg,  "I  do  know  something  more  of 
Tobias." 

The  young  girl  looked  up. 
"  He"  lives ! — he  lives  f* 

"Lor  a  mussy,  don't  lay  hold  of  a  body  so.    Of  course  he  lives,  and,  what's 
more,  the  doctor  says  that  you  ought  to  see  him — he's  up  stairs.." 
"  Here  ?— here  ?" 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure.    That's  why  I  brought  you  to  tea." 

Minna  Gray  took  a  fit  of  trembling,  and  then,  making  great  efforts  to  compose 
herself,  she  said — 

"  Tell  me  all— tell  me  all  I" 

"Well,  my  dear,  it's  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody  good,  and  so  here  I 
am,  cook  in  as  good  a  place  as  mortal  woman  would  wish  to  have.  I  can't 
tell  you  all  the  rights  of  the  story,  because  I  don't  know  it.  But  certainly 
Tobias  is  up  stairs  in  bed  like  a  gentleman,  only  they  say  as  his  brains  is — 
is  something  or  another  that  makes  him  not  understand  anything  or  anybody, 
and  so  you  see  the  doctor  says  if  you  speak  to  him,  who  knows  but  what  he  may 
come  to  himself?" 

With  an  intuitive  tact  that  belongs  to  some  minds,  and  which  Minna  Gray, 
despite  the  many  disadvantages  of  her  social  position,  possessed  in  an  eminent 
degree,  she  understood  at  once  the  whole  affair.  Tobias  was  suffering  from  some 
aberration  of  intellect,  which  the  voice  and  the  presence  of  one  whom  he  loved 
fondly  might  dissipate.  Would  she  shrink  from  the  trial? — would  her  delicacy 
take  the  alarm  and  overcome  her  great  desire  to  recover  Tobias  ?  Oh,  no  ;  she 
loved  him  with  a  love  that  far  outstripped  all  smaller  feelings,  and,  if  ever  there 
was  a  time  when  that  love  took  complete  possession  of  her  heart,  it  was  at  this 
affecting  moment,  when  she  was  told  that  her  voice  might  have  the  magic  power 
of  calling  back  to  him  the  wandering  reason  that  harshness  and  ill-usage  had  for 
a  time  toppled  from  its  throne. 

"  Take  me  to  him  !"  she  cried— "  tsike  me  to  him!  If  all  that  is  wanted 
to  recover  him  be  the  voice  of  affection,  he  will  soon  be  as  he  was  once 
to  us." 

"Well,  my  dear,  take  your  tea,  and  OLgo  and  speak  to  the  kernel.99 
It  was  now  time  for  ^Colonel  Jeffery  mid  his  friend,  the  captain,  to  retire 
from  the  pantry,  where  we  need  not  say  that  they  had  been  pleased  and 
affected  listeners  to  what  had  passed  between  Mrs.  Ragg  and  the  fair  and 
intelligent  Minna  Gray,  who,  in  beauty  and  intelligence,  far  exceeded  their 
utmost  expectations. 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  227 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

TOBIAS  RECOVERS  HIS  INTELLECT. 

In  the  course  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  surgeon  was  sent  for,  and  then  Mrs. 
Ragg  tapped  at  the  drawing-room  door,  to  give  the  colonel  an  account  of  the 
success  of  her  mission  ;  but  he  at  once  said  to  her — 

"  We  know  all,  Mrs.  Ragg.  We  merely  wish  to  see  Tobias  first,  so  that  the 
medical  gentleman  may  see  exactly  his  condition,  and  thenjf  you  will  bring 
Minna  Gray  here  I  will  speak  to  her,  and,  I  hope,  put  her  quite  at  her  ease  as 
regards  what  she  has  to  do." 

"  Certainly,  sir,  certainly.    Hold  fast,  and  good  comes  at  last/' 
The  surgeon  and  the  two  gentlemen  went  to  Tobias's  chamber,  and  there 
they  found  him  in  the  same  lethargic  condition  that,  with  only  occasional 
interruptions,  he  had  continued  in  since  he  had  been  in  the  colonel's  house. 
These  interruptions  consisted  in  moaning  appeals  for  mercy,  and  at  times 
the  name  of  Todd  would  pass  his  lips,  in  accents  which  showed  what  a  name 
of  terror  it  was  to  him.   The  surgeon  placed  his  hand  upon  Tobias's  head. 
"Tobias  I*  hfc  said,  "  Tobias  !" 
A  deep  sigh  was  his  answer. 
u  Tobias !  Tobias !" 

"Oh,  God!  God!"  cried  Tobias,  feebly.    "  Spare  me— I  will  tell  nothing. 
Oh,  spare  me,  Mr.  Todd.— Repent  now.   There,  there— the  blood!    What  a 
crowd  of  dead  men.    Dead — dead — dead — all  dead  !" 
"  No  better  ?"  said  the  colonel. 

"  Not  a  bit.  On  the  contrary,  the  longer  he  remains  in  this  condition, 
the  less  chance  there  will  be  of  his  recovery.  I  shall  lose  hope,  if  this 
last  experiment  produces  no  good  results.  Let  us  go  and  speak  to  the  young 
girl." 

They  all  descended  to  the  drawing-room,  and  Minna  Gray  was  summoned. 
Colonel  Jeffery  took  her  kindly  by  the  hand  and  led  her  to  a  seat,  and  then  he 

said  to  her —  , 

"Now,  Miss  Gray,  remember  that  all  here  are  friends  to  you  and  to 
Tobias,  and  that  we  all  feel  deeply  for  him  and  for  you.  You  are  very 
young,  both  of  you,  but  that  is  no  reason  on  earth  why  you  should  not  love  each 
other." 

Minna  looked  up  at  him  through  her  tears,  as  she  said— 
i(  Is  he  very — very  ill?"  .  . 

"He  is  indeed.  We  suspect— indeed,  I  may  say  we  know,  that  his  mind  has 
received  so  severe  a  shock  that,  for  a  time,  it  is  deranged;  but  We  hope  that, 
as  that  derangement,  you  understand,  has  not  arisen  from  any  disease,  pleasant 
and  agreeable  impressions  may  restore  him.  What  we  want  you  to  do 
is  to  speak  to  him  as  you,  no  doubt,  have  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  in  happier 

times." 

"Yes,  yes,  sir." 

<€  I  think  you  know  exactly  what  we  mean  ?*  ^  ^ 

"I  do,  sir — indeed  I  do."  .  "  m  , 

M  oh,  bless  you,  sir,  she  understands/'  said  Mrs.  Ragg.  "A  nod  is  as  good 
as  a  wink  to  a  blind  horse,  you  know,  gentlemen.  Handsome  1*  as  handsome 
does— as  I  used  to  say  to  the  late  Mr.  Ragg,  who  is  naturally  dead  and  gone,  and 
accordingly  buried  in  St.  Martin's— — " 

"  You  can  tell  us  that  another  time,  madam,"  said  the  surgeon.  At  present, 
you  see  we  are  rather  busy.  Now,  Miss  Gray,  if  you  will  have  the  goodness  to 
come  with  me,  we  will  see  what  can  be  done  for  our  |young  friend  above 
stairs." 

Poor  Minna  Gray !  How  her  colour  went  and  came  like  the  sunlight  of  an 
•April- day,  as  she  accompanied  the  three  gentlemen  and  Mrs.  Ragg  up  stairs  to^ 

J  „,,.„, -.L  ...  ■■ — ■ '    .. 1  .    ...      li,,.    .        i'.'  ..' i  .       .L..H..-...1    -  -.  .-"iMw -wu,'l  ^::v  -.  •vi^i.,«4p^ 

.-  .  ..    .   ■■     i      n'—J  .    ■  ■■  iiimii   iuw      mTgm  nummim      ...  ■  i  W   ■  '       iimihiiiii  iw^wp..  - 


228  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Tobias's  chamber.  How  she  trembled  when  they  reached  the  landing;  and 
what  a  faintness  came  over  her  when  the  door  was  opened,  and  she  saw  that 
dimly-lighted  room. 

«  Courage,"  whispered  Colonel  Jeffery  to  her.    "  This  is  a  holy  errand  you 


are  upon 
"  Yes,  yes." 

"  Cut  your  coat  according  to  your  cloth/'  said  Mrs.  Ragg,  who,  provided  she 
thought  of  a  proverb,  was  not  very  particular  with  regard  to  its  applicability  to 
the  circumstances  under  which  she  uttered  it,  "  Keep  your  feet  to  the  length  of 
your  sheet/1 

"  Pray,  madam/'  said  the  surgeon,  who  seemed  to  have  quite  a  horror  of 
Mrs.  Ragg.    "  Pray,  madam,  oblige  me  by  being  silent." 
"  A  still  tongue  makes  a  wise  head/' 
"  Good  God,  colonel !  will  you  speak  to  her  ?" 

"Hush,  Mrs.  Ragg!3 '  said  Colonel  Jeffery.  "Hush!  You  will  perhaps  be 
the  means  of  spoiling  this  important  effort  for  the  recovery  of  your  son  if  you  are 
not  perfectly  quiet/' 

Thus  admonished,  Mrs.  Ragg  shrank  into  the  background  a  little,  and  the 
colonel  went  to  the  window  and  let  in  a  little  more  light.  The  surgeon  con- 
ducted Minna  Gray  to  the  bed-side,  and  she  looked  upon  the  boy  who  had  won 
her  childish  heart  through  a  world  of  tears. 

*  It  is— it  is— Tobias  !" 

"  Is  he  much  altered  ?" 

"Oh,  yes;  much— much.  He— he  used  to  look  so  happy.  His— his  face 
was  like  a  piece  of  sunshine  l" 

She  sank  upon  a  chair  that  was  by  the  bed-side,  and  sobbed. 
"  This  will  never  do/'  said  the  surgeon. 

44  Wait — oh,  wait  a  little/'  she  whispered,  44  Only  wait  a  little, — I  shall  be 
better  soon." 

The  surgeon  nodded  ;  and  then  stepping  back  to  the  colonel  and  the  captain, 
he  said— 

"  This  burst  of  grief  must  have  its  way>  or  it  will  mar  all.  We  must  have 
patience/' 

They  all  hid  themselves  behind  the  folds  of  the  bed  furniture,  and  Mrs.  Ragg 
sat  down  in  an  obscure  corner  of  the  room,  working  her  knee  up  and  down,  as 
though  she  were  nursing  an  imaginary  baby.  Gradually  the  sobs  of  Minna 
Gray  subsided,  until  all  was  still.  She  then  gently  took  one  of  the  thin  wasted 
hands  of  poor  Tobias  in  her  own,  and  looked  at  it.  Oh,  how  changed  it  was. 
She  then  bent  over  him,  and  looked  in  his  face.  What  permeative  lines  of  care 
were  there,  battling  with  rounded  muscles  of  early  youth!  Then  she  summoned 
all  her  courage  to  speak.  She  placed  her  lips  close  to  his  ear,  and  in  the  soft 
sweet  accents  that  had  long  before  sank  deep  into  his  heart,  she  said— 

"Tobias!— my  Tobias!" 

The  boy  started. 

"  Dear  Tobias,  it  is  I.    Minna  1" 

He  opened  his  eyes,  which  had  been  closed  and  seemingly  cemented  by 
tears 

"Tobias!    Tobias,  dear  !" 

A  smile — a  heavenly  smile.  It  was  the  first  that  had  played  upon  his  lips 
since  he  set  foot  in  the  shop  of  Sweeney  Todd,  now  broke  like  a  sunbeam  over 
his  face. 

"  I  am  mad — mad  !"  he  said,  gently,  "or  that  is  the  voice  of  my  Minna/* 
4i  It  is  your  Minna.    It  is — it  is,  Tobias  ;  look  at  me/* 

He  rose  up  in  the  bed— he  cast  one  glance  at  the  well-known  a^d  dearly 
remembered  face,  and  then,  with  a  gasping  sob  of  joy,  he  clasped  her  in  his 

arms.  It 
"  It's  done,"  said  the  surgeon.  V 
f4  Thank  God  !"  said  Colonel  Jeffery. 


■  «> 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  229  S 


Mrs.  Ragg  drew  her  breath  so  hard  through  her  nose  that  she  made  a  noise 
like  some  wild  animal  in  the  agonies  of  suffocation* 
i(  You  really  know  me,  Tobias  V* 

"  Know  you,  dear  ?   Oh,  why  should  I  not  know  you,  Minna?   God  bless 

you !"  <  ^* 

"  May  He  bless  you,  Tobias." 

They  wept  together ;  Minna  forgot  that  there  was  anybody  in  the  world  but 
herself  and  Tobias,  and  parting  the  long  straggling  masses  of  his  hair  from  before 
his  face,  she  kissed  him* 

u  For  my  sake,  Tobias,  now  you  will  take  care  of  yourself,  and  recover 
quickly/1 

"  Dear— dear  Minna.* 

He  seemed  never  tired  of  holding  her  hands  and  kissing  them.    Suddenly  the 

surgeon  stepped  forward  with  a  small  vial  in  his  hand. 

"  Now,  Tobias,"  he  said,  <€  you  are  much  better,  but  you  must  take  #iis," 
The  look  of  surprise  and  consternation  with  which  Tobias  regarded  him  was 

beyond  description.   Then  he  glanced  at  the  bedstead  and  the  rich  hangings!  and 

he  said — 

"  Oh,  Minna,  what  is  ail  this  ?    Where  am  I  ?    Is  it  a  dream  ?M 
"  Give  it  to  him,"  said  the  surgeon,  handing  the  vial  to  Minna.   She  placed 
the  neck  of  it  to  his  lips. 
"Drink,  Tobias." 

Had  it  been  deadly  poison  she  had  offered  him,  Tobias  would  have  taken  it. 
The  vial  was  drained.   He  looked  in  her  face  again  with  a  smile. 

"If  this  is  indeed  a  dream,  my  Minna,  may  I  never  awaken— dear— dear- 
one — I — I  " 

He  fell  back  upon  the  pillow.  The  smile  still  lingered  upon  his  face,  but  the 
narcotic  which  the  surgeon  had  had  administered  to  him  had  produced  its  effect, 
and  the  enfeebled  Tobias  fell  into  deep  sleep.  Minna  Gray  looked  rather  alarmed 
at  this  sudden  failing  off  of  Tobias  from  waking  to  sleeping,  hut  the  surgeon 
quieted  her  fears. 

"All  is  right,"  he  said.    "He  will  awaken  in  some  hours  won 
refreshed,  and  I  have  the  pleasure  of  now  predicting  his  perfect  cure." 

u  You  do  not  know,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  "  what  pleasure  that  assurance 
gives  me." 

"  And  me,"  said  the  captain. 

Minna  looked  all  that  she  thought,  but  she  could  not  speak,  and  Mrs.  Ragg: 
still  kept  up  the  mysterious  noise  she  produced  by  hard  breathing  with  her  mbuth- 
close  shut. 

"  Now,  madam,"  said  the  surgeon  to  her,  "  our  young  friend  must  be  left  alone 
for  some  hours.  It  is  now  six  o'clock,  and  I  do  not  expect  he  will  awaken  until 
twelve.  When  he  does  so,  I  am  very  much  mistaken  if  you  do  not  all  of  you 
find  him  perfectly  restored  and  composed,  although  very  weak." 

"  I  will  take  care  to  be  at  hand,"  said  the  colonel.    "Miss  Graj;rp€trhaps^ 
Will  call  and  see  how  he  is  to-morrow,  and  all  I  can  say  is,, that  yoiiwill  be  quite 
welcome  to  my  house  whenever  you  think  proper,  but  let  me  impress  upon  you 
one  thing/ 9 

"What  is  it,  sir?" 

**The  absolute  necessity  of  your  keeping  Tobias's  place  of  abode  and  anything 
concerning  him  a  most  profound  secret." 
"  T  will  do  so." 

u  If  you  do  not,  you  will  not  only  endanger  the  cause  of  justice,  but  in  all 
probability  hi$  life,  for  he  has  an  enemy  with  great  resources,  and  of  the  most 
unscrupulous  disposition  in  the  use  of  them:  I  say  this  much  to  you,  because 
the  least  indiscretion  might  be  fatal/' 

"  I  will  guard  the  secret,  sir,  as  I  would  guard  his  life/'  ^ 

^That  will  do— now  come  down  stairs,  and  let  us  have  a  glass  of  wine  to 


drink  to  the  speedy  restoration  to  perfect  health  of  Tobias*    Come,  Rathbone* 
what  do  you  think  ?    Shall  we  be  one  too  many  yet  for  Todd?" 
"I  begin  to  think  we  shall." 

11  I  feel  certain  of  it.    So  soon  as  we  see  that  Tobias  is  sufficiently  well  to 
make  any  statement,  it  will  be  necessary  to  send  for  Sir  Richard  Blunt." 
"  Certainly." 

"  And  then  I  hope  and  trust  that  we  shall  get  at  something  that  will  elucidate 
the  mystery  that  is  still  attached  to  the  fate  of  poor  Thornhill." 
w  Ah,  I  fear  he  is  gone !" 
"Dead?" 

"  Yes.  That  fatal  string  of  pearls  has  heralded  him  to  death,  I  fear  ;  but, 
perhaps  we  shall  hear  a  something  concerning  that  yet  from  Tobias.' 1 

They  all  sat  down  in  the  drawing-room,  and  with  tearful  pleasure  Mirina 
Gray  drank  a  glass  of  wine  to  the  health  of  Tobias,  after  whieh  Mrs.  Ragg  saw 
her  home  again  to  Milford  Lane,  and  no  doubt  all  the  road  from  the  colonel's 
house  to  there  did  not  want  for  a  prolific  subject  of  conversation.  How  happy 
Minna  felt  when  she  put  up  to  Heaven  her  simple  prayer  that  night,  previous  td 
seeking  repose. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

JOHANNA  MAKES  A  NEW  CONFIDANT. 

We  left  the  spectacle-maker  and  his  family  rather  in  a  state  of  confusion.  Big 
Ben  the  Beef-eater  had  had  his  revenge  upon  both  Mrs.  Oakley  and  the  Saint, 
and  it  was  a  revenge  that  realty  did  them  no  harm,  so  that  in  that  respect  it  had 
turned  out  well.  The  Rev.  Josiah  Lupin  did  not  return  to  the  house,  but 
Mrs.  Oakley,  in  a  terrible  state  of  prostration  from  the  effects  of  the  sickness  that 
had  'come  over  her,  staggered  again  into  the  parlour.  She  looked  at  Mr. 
Oakley,  as  she  said — 

"  If  you  were  half  a  man  you  would  take  the  life  of  that  villain  for  treating 
me  in  the  way  he  has  ;  I  have  no  doubt  but  he  meant  to  take  the  life  of  the 
pious  Mr.  Lupin,  and  so  add  him  to  the  list  of  martyrs." 

"  My  dear,"  said  the  spectacle-maker,  "  if  Mr.  Lupin  intrudes  himself  into 
my  house,  and  any  friend  of  mine  turns  him  out,  I  am  very  much  obliged  to 
him/'  '  v 

%'t  "  Perhaps  you  would  be  equally  obliged  to  this  monster,  whom  you  call  your 
friend,  if  he  would  turn  me  out  ?3' 

Mr.  Oakley  shook  his  head  as  he  said — 

"  My  dear,  there  are  some  burthens  which  can  be  got  rid  of,  and  some  that 
must  be  borne." 

"Come — come,  Mother  Oakley,"  said  Ben.  "Don't  bear  malice.  You 
played  me  a  trick  the  last  time  I  came  here,  and  now  I  have  played  you  one. 
That's  all.    It  wasn't  inhuman  nature  not  to  do  it,  so  don't  bear  malice." 

Mrs.  Oakley,  if  she  had  been  in  a  condition  to  do  so,  no  doubt  would  have 
carried  on  the  war  with  Big  Ben,  but  she  decidedly  was  not,  and  after  a  shudder 
or  two,  which  looked  as  though  she  thought  the  toad  was  beginning  again  to 
oppress  her,  she  rose  to  leave  the  room. 

"  Mother,"  said  Johanna,  "  it  was  not  a  real  toad.'' 

"  But  you  are !"  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  sharply.  €i  You  have  no  more  feeling  for 
your  mother  than  as  if  she  were  a  brickbat. *' 

Feeling  now  tfiat  at  all  events  she  had  had  the  last  word  at  somebody,  Mrs. 
Oakley  made  a  precipitate  retreat,  and  sought  the  consolations  and  solitude  of 
her  own  chamber.  Mr.  Oakley  was  about  to  make  some  speech,  which  he  pre- 
faced .with  a  sigh,  when  some  one  coming  into  the  shop  called  his  attention, 
and  Re  left  Johanna  and  Big  Ben  the  Beef -eater  together  in  the  parlour—  The 


.,  ■  ,rv  --■  ■  ■   — — —   --~-t  ...   ,_,   ..    .    ^       .   .        .     .  lr      ...     ,  „. 

>m..mm»**m«  »—■»«■«■»..  n  m  f  IH..II..H..I..IW   n^n  .■     '  '    m  HM  iiTii  iiiim  —  ill  mm  inuiinii  i'iimh  ■■   n.i'w   i»  i    ii.ii  ■ 


I 


-BP-" 


THE  STRING  OF  .PEARLS:,  231 

moment  they  were  alone,  Ben  began  shaking  his  head  and  making  some  very 
mysterious  signs,  which  completely  mystified  Johanna.  Indeed  she  began  to  be 
afraid  that  Ben's  intellects  were  not  quite  right,  although  an  ordinary  observer 
might  have  very  well  supposed  there  was  something  the  matter  with  his  nether 
garments,  for  he  pointed  to  them  repeatedly;  and  shook  his  head  at  Johanna. 

u  What  is  the  matter,  cousin  V9  she  said. 

"  Oh,  dear  ! — oh,  dear !— oh— oh— oh !" 

"Are  you  ill?" 

g\  No,  but  I  only  wonder  as  you  ain't.  Didn't  I  see  you  in  Fleet-street  with 
these  here  on  ?— oh ! — oh  ! — not  these  here  exactly,  but  another  pair.  These 
would  be  a  trifle  too  large  for  you.  Oh,  dear-a-me !  my  heart  bled  all  for  to  see 
such  a  young  and  delicate  little  puss  as  you  a  taking  to  wear  the  thingamies  so 
soon." 

Johanna  now  began  to  understand  what  Ben  meant,  namely,  that  he  had  seen 
her  in  Fleet-street  disguised  in  male  attire,  with  her  young  friend  Arabella 
Wilmot. 

"Oh,  Ben,*'  she  said,  you  must  not  think  ill  of  me  on  that  account." 

r<  But—but/'  said  Ben,  rather  hesitatingly,  as  if  he  were  only  putting  a  doubt- 
ful proposition,  "  wasn't  it  rather  unusual  Y' 

"Yes,  Ben,  but  there  were  reasons  why  I  put  on  such  garments.  Surely  it 
was  better  to  do  so  than — than — to — — " 

"  Than  to  go  without  any  V9  said  Ben. 

?*  No— no,  I  did  not  say  that— I  mean  it  was  better  for  me  to  forget  a  little  of 

that  maiden  delicacy  which— which— than  to  let  him  99 

She  burst  into  tears. 

"  Holloa!"  cried  Ben,  as  he  immediately  folded  her  in  an  immense  embrace, 
that  went  very  near  to  smothering  her.  "  Don't  you  cry,  and  you  may  wear 
what  you  like,  and  I'll  come  and  help  you  to  put  'em  on.  Come,  come,  there's 
a  nice  little  dear,  don't  you  cry.  Lord  bless  you!  you  know  how  fond  I  am  of 
you,  and  always  was  since  you  was  a  little  tottering  thing,  and  couldn't  say  my 
name  right.  Don't  you  cry.  You  shall  wear  'em  as  often  as  you  like,  and  Til 
go  behind  you  in  the  street,  and  if  anybody  only  so  much  as  says  half  a  word  to 
you,  I'll  be  down  upon  'em.    Fetch  'em  now  and  put  'em  on,  my  dear." 

Johanna  must  have  laughed  if  her  life  had  depended  upon  her  gravity,  for  all 
that  Ben  said  upon  the  subject  was  uttered  in  the  sheer  simplicity  of  a  kind 
heart,  and  well  she  knew  that  in  his  rough  way  he  doated  on  her,  and  thought 
there  was  not  such  another  being  in  the  whole  world  as  she.  And  yet  he  looked 
upon  her  as  a  child,  and  the  imperceptible  flight  of  time  had  made  no  difference 
in  Ben's  ideas  concerning  Johanna.  She  was  still  to  him  the  sweet  little  child 
he  had  so  often  dandled  upon  his  knee,  and  brought  fruit  and  sweetmeats  to, 
when  such  things  were  great  treasures.  After  a  few  moments  he  let  her  go,  and 
Johanna  was  able  to  draw  breath  again. 

" Ben,"  she  said,  "I  will  tell  you  all.'' 

"All  what?" 

€t  How  I  came  to  put  on — the — the——" 

"Oh,  these  here — very  good.    Cut  on,  and  let's  know  all  the  particulars.  I 
suppose  you  felt  cold,  my  dear,  eh  V9 
"No— no." 

"  No  ?  Well  then,  tell  it  quick,  for  I  was  always  a  mortal  bad  hand  at  guess- 
ing. Your  father  is  fitting  an  old  gentleman  with  a  pair  of  spectacles,  and  he 
seems  hard  to  please,  so  we  shall  have  lots  of  time.    Go  on." 

€t  Your  good  opinion  is  of  such  moment  to  me,"  said  Johanna,  "  for  I  have  very 
few  to  love  me  ;  now  that  you  have  seen  me  in  such  a  disguise,  I  should  feel 
unhappy  if  I  did  not  tell  why  I  wore  it." 

Ben  lent  the  most  attentive  ear  to  what  she  said,  and  then  Johanna  briefly  and 
distinctly  told  him  all  the  story  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  and  how  he  had,  as  she 
thought,  mysteriously  disappeared  at  the  barber's  shop  in  Fleet-street.  It  will 
be  seen  that  she  still  clung  to  the  idea  that  the  Thornhill  of  the  arrived  ship 


J 


232  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


was  no  other  than  her  lover.  Ben  heard  her  all  out  with  the  most  fixed  attention. 
His  mouth  and  eyes  gradually  opened  wider  and  wider  as  she  proceeded,  partly 
from  wonder  at  the  whole  affair,  and  partly  from  intense  admiration  at  the  way  in 
which  she  told  it,  which  he  thought  was  better  than  any  book  he  had  ever  read. 
When  she  had  concluded,  Ben  again  folded  her  in  his  arms,  and  she  had  to  strug- 
gle terribly  to  get  away. 

"  My  dear  child/'  he  said,  "you  are  a  prodigy.  Why,  there's  not  an  animal 
as  ever  I  knew  comes  near  you  ;  and  so  the  poor  fellow  had  his  throat  cut  in  the 
barber's  for  his  string  of  pearls  ?' 

"  I  fear  he  was  murdered." 

«  Not  a  doubt  of  it." 

u  You  really  think  so,  Ben  i" 

The  tone  of  agony  with  which  this  question  was  put  to  him,  and  the  look  of 
utter  desolation  which  accompanied  it,  alarmed  Ben,  and  he  hastily  said-*~ 

"Come,  come,  I  didn't  mean  that.  No  doubt  something  has  happened  ; 
but  it  will  be  all  right  some  day  or  another,  you  may  depend.  Oh,  dear! 
—oh,  dear!  The  idea  of  your  going  to  watch  the  barber  with  some  boy's 
clothes  on !" 

"  Tell  me  what  I  can  do,  for  my  heart  and  brain  are  nearly  distractedly  my 
sufferings  ?" 

Ben  looked  all  round  the  room,  and  then  up  at  the  ceiling,  as  though  he  had  a 
hope  and  expectation  of  finding  some  startling  suggestion  written  legibly  before 
his  eyes  somewhere.  At  length  he  spoke,  saying — 

"  1  tell  you  what,  Johanna,  my  dear,  whatever  you  do,  don't  you  put  on  them 
things  again.   You  leave  it  all  to  me." 

4t  But  what  will  you  do  ? — what  can  you  do,  Ben  T* 

"Well,  I  don't  know  exactly;  but  I'll  let  you  know  when  it's  done.1' 

€t  But  do  not  run  into  any  danger  for  my  sake." 

"Danger?  danger  ?  I  should  like  to  see  the  barber  that  would  interfere  with 
me.  No,  my  dear,  no  ;  I'm  too  well  used  to  all  sorts  of  animals  for  that.  =;  I'll 
see  what  I  can  do,  and  let  you  know  all  about  it  to-morrow,  and  in  the  meantime, 
you  stick  to  the  petticoats,  and  don't  be  putting  on  those  thingamies  again.  You 
leave  it  to  me — will  you  now  ?" 

"  Until  to-morrow  V* 

"  Yes,  I'll  be  here  to-morrow  about  this  time,  my  dear,  and  I  hope  I  shall 
have  some  news  for  you.  Well,  I  declare,  it's  just  like  a  book,  it  is.  You  are 
quite  a  prodigy."  *  Jp  < 

Ben  would  have  treated  Johanna  to  another  of  the  suffocating  embraces,  but 
she  contrived  to  elude  him ;  and,  as  by  this  time  the  old  gentleman  in  the  shop 
was  suited  with  a  pair  of  spectacles,  Mr.  Oakley  returned  to  the  parlour. 
Johanna  placed  her  finger  upon  her  lips  as  an  indication  to  Ben  that  he  was  to 
say  nothing  to  her  father  of  what  had  passed  between  them,  for,  although  Mr. 
Oakley  knew  generally  the  story  of  his  daughter's  attachment  to  Mark  Jngestrie, 
as  the  reader  is  aware,  he  knew  nothing  of  the  expedition  to  Fleet-street  in  dis- 
guise. Ben,  feeling  that  he  had  now  an  important  secret  to  keep,  shut  his 
mouth  hard,  for  fear  it  should  escape,  and  looked  so  mysterious,  that  any 
one  more  sharp-sighted  than  the  old  spectacle-maker  must  have  guessed  that 
something  very  unusual  was  the  matter.  Mr,  Oakley,  however,  had  no  sus- 
picions ;  but  as  this  state  of  things  was  very  irksome  to  Ben,  he  soon  rose  to  take 
Lis  leave.  " 

"  1  shall  look  in  again  to-morrow/ '  he  said,  "  Cousin  Oakley.* 

u  We  shall  be  glad  to  see  you,"  said  Mr.  Oakley. 

u  Yes,"  added  Johanna,  who  felt  it  incumbent  upon  her  to  say  something,  "we 
shall  be  very  glad  to  see  you  indeed." 

5f  Ah,"  said  her  father,  "you  and  Ben  were  always  great  friends." 

*'  And  we  always  shall  be/'  said  Ben.  Then  he  thought  that  he  would  add 
something  wonderfully  clever,  so  as  completely  to  ward  off  all  suspicions  of 
Oakley's,  if  he  had  any,  and  he  added — "  She  ain't  like  some  young  creatures 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


233 


that  think  nothing  of  putting  on  what  they  shouldn't*  Oh  dear,  no— not  she. 
Bye,  bye.    Til  come  to-morrow." 

Ben  was  quite  pleased  when  he  got  out  of  the  house,  for  among  the  things  that 
he  (Ben)  found  it  difficult  to  do,  was  to  keep  a  secret. 

"  Well/'  he  said,  when  he  was  fairly  in  the  open  air,  u  if  I  ain't  rather  non- 
plussed at  all  this.   What  shall  I  do?" 


MRS.  LOVETT  JN  A  STATE  OF  SOMNAMBULISM. 

This  was  a  question  much  easier  asked  than  answered,  as  Ben  found  ;  but, 
however,  he  felt  an  irresistible  desire  to  go  and  have  a  look  at  the  shop  or 
Sweeney  Todd.  H  •  .7  '  T 

"i  can  easily/'  he  said,  "go  to  Fleet-street,  and  then,  if  I  find  myself  late,  l 
can  take  a  boat  at  Blackfriars  for  the  Tower-stairs,  and  after  all  get  in  to  dinner 
comfortably  enough." 


No,  30. 


3 


234 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


With  this  conclusion,  Ben  set  off  at  a  good  pace  down  Snow-hill,  and  was 
soon  at  the  beginning  of  Fleet-street.  He  walked  on  until  he  came  to  Sweeney 
Todd's  shop,  and  there  he  paused.  Now  we  have  previously  remarked  that 
there  was  one  great  peculiarity  in  the  shop-window  of  Todd,  and  that  was 
that  the  articles  in  it  were  so  well  arranged  that  some  one  always  was  in  the 
way  of  obtaining  any  view  from  the  outside  into  the  establishment.  Todd  was 
therefore  secure  against  the  dangers  arising  from  peeping  and  prying.  Big  Ben 
placed  himself  close  to  the  window,  and  made  an  attempt,  by  flattening  his  nose 
against  the  panes  of  glass,  to  peep  in;  but  it  was  all  in  vain.  He  could  not 
obtain  the  smallest  glimpse  into  the  inside. 

u  Confound  it,"  he  cried,  "  what  a  cunning  sort  of  animal  this  is  to  be  sure- 
he  won't  let  one  peep  through  the  bars  of  his  cage,  that  he  won't/' 

Now  Sweeney  Todd  became  aware,  by  the  additional  darkness  of  his  shop, 
that  some  one  must  be  quite  close  to  the  window,  and  therefore,  availing  himself 
of  a  peep-hole  that  he  had  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  reconnoitering  the  passing 
world  without,  he  took  a  long  look  at  Big  Ben.  It  was  some  moments  before 
Ben  caught  sight  of  a  great  eye  in  the  window  of  Sweeney  Todd  glancing  at  him. 
This  eye  appeared  as  if  it  were  set  in  the  centre  of  a  placard,  which  announced 
in  glowing  language  the  virtues  of  some  condiment  for  the  hair  or  the  skin,  and 
it  had  a  most  ferocious  aspect.  Big  Ben  looked  fascinated  and  transfixed  to  the 
spot,  and  then  he  muttered  to  himself — 

"  Well,  if  that's  his  eye,  it's  a  rum  'un.  Howsomdever,  it's  no  use  staying 
outside  :  I'll  pop  in  and  get  shaved,  and  then  I  shall  be  able  to  look  about  me. 
Who's  afraid  ?" 

As  Ben  turned  round,  he  saw  a  plainly-attired  man  close  to  his  elbow;  but  he 
took  no  notice  of  him,  although  from  his  close  proximity  to  him  it  was  quite  im- 
possible that  the  plain-looking  man  could  have  failed  to  overhear  what  Ben  said. 
In  another  moment  Big  Ben  was  in  Todd's  shop. 

"  Shaved  or  dressed,  sir  ?"  said  Todd. 

"  Shaved,"  said  Ben,  as  he  cast  his  eyes  round  the  shop. 

"  Looking  for  anything,  sir  ?"  said  Todd. 

u  Oh,  no — nothing  at  all.    Only  a  friend  of  mine,  you  see,  said  this  was  such 
a  nice  shop,  you  understand,  to  be  shaved  in." 
*t  Was  your  friend  finished  off  here,  sir  ?'? 
"  Well,  I  rather  think  he  was." 

"  Pray  sit  down.  Fine  weather,  sir,  for  the  season.  Now,  pussy,  my  dear, 
get  out  of  the  way  of  the  hot  water."  Todd  was  addressing  an  imaginary  cat. 
"  Are  you  fond  of  animals,  sir  ?  Lord  bless  me,  J'm  fond  of  all  the  world.  God 
made  us  all,  sir,  from  a  creeping  beetle  to  a  beaf-eater.5' 

"  Very  likely,"  said  Big  Ben,  as  he  seated  himself  in  the  barber's  chair. 
"  And  so/'  added  Todd,  as  he  mixed  up  a  lather,  and  made  the  most  horrible 
faces,  "  we  ought  to  love  each  other  in  this  world  of  care.    How  is  your  friend; 
sir,  who  was  so  kind  as  to  recommend  my  shop  ?" 
"  I  should  like  to  know." 
"  What,  is  he  in  eternity  ?    Dear  me  !'* 
•|  Well,  I  rather  think  he  is."  IT  f 

"  Was  it  the  gentleman  who  was  hung  last  Monday,  sir  ?" 
Confound  you,  no.  But  there's  somebody  else  who  I  think  will  be  hung  some 
Monday.    I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Mr.  Barber,  my  friend  never  got  further  than 
this  infernal  shop,  so  I'm  come  to  enquire  about  him.'' 

"  What  sort  of  man,  sir  ?"  said  Todd,  with  the  most  imperturbable  coolness. 
"  What  kind  of  man  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir.    If  you  favour  me  with  his  description,  perhaps  I  may  be  able  to 
tell  you  something  about  him.    By  the  bye,  if  you  will  excuse  me  for  one 
moment,  I'll  bring  you  something  that  a  gentleman  left  here  one  day." 
"What  is  it?" 

"I  will  satisfy  you  directly,  sir,  and  I'm  quite  certain  your  mind  will  be 


^  ^  "  "    -— °  r  --  r-n 

THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  235 


rt  rest  about  your  friend,  sir,  whoever  he  was.  Remarkable  weather,  sir,  for  the 
time  of  year.5' 

Todd  had  got  only  half  way  from  the  shop  to  the  parlour,  when  the  shop- 
door  opened,  and  the  plain- looking  man  walked  in— the  very  same  plain  man 
who  had  stood  so  close  to  Big  Ren  at  Todd's  window. 
;     "  Shaved/'  he  said. 
Todd  paused. 

"  If,  sir,  you  will  call  again  in  a  few  minutes,  or  if  you  have  any  call  to  make 
and  can  conveniently  look  in  as  you  come  back — 5> 
"No,  Pll  take  a  seat." 

The  plain-looking  man  sat  down  close  to  the  door,  and  looked  as  calm  and  as 
unconcerned  as  any  one  possibly  could.  The  look  with  which  Todd  regarded 
him  for  a  moment,  and  only  one  moment,  was  truly  horrible.  He  then  quietly 
went  into  his  back  parlour.  In  a  moment  he  entered  with  a  common  kid  glove, 
and  said  to  Ben— 

"  Did  this  belong  to  your  friend  ? — a  gentleman  left  it  here  one  day.3' 

Ben  shook  his  head. 

u  I  really  don't  know/'  he  said.  "  Come,  Mr.  Barber,  finish  the  shaving,  for 
that  gentleman  is  waiting/* 

Ben  was  duly  shaved,  while  the  plain-looking  man  sat  quietly  in  the  chair 
by  the  door,  and  when  the  operation  was  finished,  Ben  looked  in  Todd's  face,  and 
said,  solemnly — 

"  A  string  of  pearls." 

cc  Sir,"  said  Todd,  without  changing  countenance  in  the  least. 
<r  A  string  of  pearls. — Murder  !* 
#  A  what,  sir  }?  • 

Ben  look  staggered.  He  well  knew  that  if  he  had  cut  any  ones  throat  for  a 
string  of  pearls,  that  such  words  said  to  him  would  have  driven  him  frantic,  but 
when  he  saw  no  change  in  Todd's  face,  he  begun  to  think  that,  after  all,  the 
accusation  must  be  unfounded,  and  muttering  to  himself — 

"  It  must  be  nothing  but  the  child's  fancy  after  all,"  he  hastily  threw  down 
twopence  and  left  the  shop. 

B  Now,  sir,"  said  Todd,  to  the  plain-looking  man. 

"Thank  you." 

The  plain-looking  man  rose,  and  as  he  did  so  he  seemed  just  to  glance  through 
the  door  into  the  street  as  it  was  opened  by  Ben.  Immediately  his  face  was  full 
of  smiles,  as  he  cried — 

"Ah,  Jenkins,  is  that  you?  Ha,  ha!  I  missed  you  this  morning. — Excuse 
me,  Mr.  Barber,  I'll  look  in  again.    My  old  friend  Jenkins  has  just  gone  by." 

With  this,  out  he  flew  from  Todd's  shop  like  a  shot,  and  was  gone  towards 
Temple  Bar,  before  the  barber  could  move  or  lay  down  the  shaving  cloth  which 
he  had  in  his  hands  all  ready  to  tuck  under  his  chin.  Todd  stood  for  a  few 
moments  in  an  attitude  of  irresolution.    Then  he  spoke — 

"  What  does  all  this  mean  V*  he  said.    "Is  there  danger?    Curses  on  them 

both,  I  would  have  ;  but  no  matter,  I  must  be  wrong — very  wrong.  That 

string  of  pearls  may  yet  destroy  me. — Destroy  !  no — no — no.  They  must  have 
yet  more  wit  before  they  get  the  better  of  me,  and  yet  how  I  calculated  upon 
the  destruction  of  that  man.    I  must  think — I  must  think. '? 

Todd  sat  down  in  his  own  strong  chair,  and  gave  himself  up  to  what  is  popu- 
larly denominated  a  brown  study. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

THE  VAULTS  OF  ST.  DUNSTAN's. 

A  ponderous  stone  was  raised  in  the  flooring  of  St.  Dunstan's  church.  The 
beadle,  the  churchwarden,  and  the  workmen  shrunk  back — back — back,  until 
they  could  get  no  further. 

-■iiTTtolui  ~         -  -       _r    -r        —  -  "ruv      i    -  ..  ""  " —   " 


236  THE  STRING  OF  PEARL  S. 

"  Ain't  it  a  norrid  smell,"  said  the  beadle. 

Then  the  plain-looking  man  who  had  been  at  Sweeney  Todd's  advanced.  ! 
He  was  no  other  than  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  whispering  to  the  churchwarden, 
he  said*— 

"  If  what  I  expect  be  found  here,  we  cannot  have  too  few  witnesses  to  it.  Let 
the  workmen  be  dismissed. " 

"  As  you  please,  Sir  Richard.  Faugh!  what  an  awful — fuff! — stench  there  is, 
I  have  no  doubt  they  won't  be  sorry  to  get  away.  Here,  my  men,  here's  half- 
a-crown  for  you.    Go  and  get  something  to  drink  and  come  back  in  an  hour." 

^  Thank  yer  honour!"  cried  one  of  the  men,  u  An*  sure,  by  St.  Patrick's 
bones,  we  want  something  to  drink,  for  the  stench  in  the  church  sticks  in  my 
blessed  throat  like  a  marrow  bone,  so  it  does." 

"  Get  out/'  said  the  beadle  ;  "  I  hates  low  people,  and  hirish.  They  thinks 
no  more  of  beetles  than  nothink  in  the  world.*' 

The  workmen  retired,  laughing ;  and  when  the  church  was  clear  of  them,  the 
churchwarden  said  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt — 

uDid  you  ever,  Sir  Richard,  smell  such  a  horrid  charnel-house  sort  of  stench 
as  comes  up  from  that  opening  in  the  floor  of  the  old  church 

Sir  Richard  shook  his  head,  and  was  about  to  say  something,  when  the  sound 
of  a  footstep  upon  the  pavement  of  the  church  made  him  look  round,  and  he  saw 
a  fat,  pursy-looking  individual  approaching. 

"Oh,  it's  Mr.  Vickley,  the  overseer/'  said  the  beadle.  "I  hopes  as  yer  is 
well,  Mr.  Vickley.    Here's  a  horrid  smell.3' 

"  God  bless  me  !*  cried  the  overseer,  as  with  his  fat  finger  and  thumb  he  held 
his  snub  nose.  "  What's  this  ?    It's  worse  and  worse/1 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  beadle ;  "  talking  of  the  smell,  we  have  let  the  cat  out 
of  the  bag,  I  think." 

"  Good  gracious !  put  her  in  again,  then.    It  can't  be  a  cat/5 

"Begging  your  pardon,  Mr.  Vickley,  I  only  spoke  anatomically.  If  you 
comes  here,  sir,  you'll  find  that  all  the  smell  comes  out  of  this  here  opening." 

"  What  !^  An  opening  close  to  my  pew !  My  family  pew,  where  I  every 
Sunday  enjoy  my  repose — I  mean  my^  hopes  of  everlasting  glory  ?  Upon  my 
life,  I  think  it's  a  piece  of— of  d — d  impudence  to  open  the  floor  of  the  church, 
close  to  my  pew.  If  there  was  to  be  anything  of  the  sort  done,  couldn't  it  have 
been  done  somewhere  among  the  free  sittings,  I  should  like  to  know?" 

"  Mr.  Vickley/'  said  Sir  Richard,  V  pray  be  satisfied  that  1  have  sufficient 
authority  for  what  I  do  here  ;  and  if  I  had  thought  it  necessary  to  take  up  the 
flooring  of  your  pew  while  you  had  been  in  it,  I  should  have  done  it." 

"  And  pray,  sir/'  said  Mr.  Vickley,  swelling  himself  out  to  as  large  a  size  as 
possible,  and  glancing  at  his  watch  chain,  to  see  that  all  the  seals  hung  upon 
the  convexity  of  his  paunch  as  usual— M  who  are  you  ?" 

"Oh,  dear— oh,  dear/'  said  the  beadle.  "  Conwulsions  ! — conwulsions  ! 
What  a  thing  it  is  to  see  authorities  a-going  it  at  each  other.  Gentlemen— gentle- 
man. Conwulsions  ! — ain't  there  lots  of  poor  people  in  the  world  ?  Don't  you 
be  a-going  it  at  each  other." 

"lama  magistrate/  said  Sir  Richard. 

€i  And  I  am  an  over — seer.    Ah  !" 

"  You  may  be  an  overseer  or  an  underseer,  if  you  like.    I  am  going  to  search 
the  vaults  of  St .  Dunstan's." 

The  churchwarden  now  took  the  overseer  aside,  and  after  a  while  succeeded 
in  calming  down  his  irascibility.  \ 

"Oh,  well— well,"  said  Mr.  Vickley.  "Authorities  is  authorities;  and  if 
so  be  as  the  horrid  smell  in  the  church  can  be  got  rid  of,  I'm  as  willing  as 
possible.  It  has  often  prevented  me  sleeping— I  mean  listening  to  the  sermon. 
Your  servant,  sir— I  shall,  of  course,  be  very  happy  to  assist  you/' 

The  beadle  wiped  his  face  with  his  large  yellow  handkerchief  as  he  said — 

"  Now  this  here;s  delightful  and  affecting,  to  see  authorities  agreeing  together. 
Lord,  why  should  authorities  snap  each  other's  noses  off,  when  there's  lots  o' 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  237 


poor  people  as  can  be  said  anything  to  and  done  anything  to,  and  they  may  snap 
themselves  ?" 

"Well,  well,"  added  Mr.  Vickley.  "I  am  quite  satisfied.  Of  course,  if 
there's  anything  disagreeable  to  be  done  in  a  church,  and  it  can  be  done  among 
the  free  seats,  it's  all  the  better;  and  indeed,  if  the  smell  in  St.  Dunstan's  could 
have  been  kept  away  from  the  respectable  part  of  the  congregation,  I  don't  know 
that  it  would  have  mattered  much." 

"  Convulsions!"  cried  the  beadle.  14  It  wouldn't  have  mattered  at  all,  gentle- 
men. But  only  think  o'  the  bishop  smelling  it.  Upon  my  life,  gentlemen,  I 
did  think,  when  I  saw  the  Right  Rev.  Father  in  God's  nose  a  looking  up  and 
down,  like  a  cat  when  she  smells  a  bunch  o'  lights,  and  knowed  as  it  was  all 
owing  to  the  smell  in  the  church,  I  did  think  as  I  could  have  gone  down  through 
the  floor,  cocked  hat  and  all,  that  !  did.    Compulsions — that  was  a  moment/' 

"  It  was/  said  the  churchwarden. 

"  Mercy — mercy,"  said  Mr.  Vickley. 

The  beadle  was  so  affected  at  the  remembrance  of  what,  had  happened  at  the 
confirmation,  that  he  was  forced  to  blow  his  nose  with  an  energy  that  produced 
a  trumpet-like  sound  in  the  empty  church,  and  echoed  again  from  nave  to 
gallery.  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  let  all  the  discourse  go  on  without  paying  the 
least  attention  to  it.  He  was  quietly  waiting  for  the  foul  vapours  that  arose 
from  the  vaults  beneath  the  church  to  dissipate  a  little  before  he  ventured  upon 
exploring  them.    Now,  however,  he  advanced  and  spoke. 

?f  Gentlemen,  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  rid  St.  Dunstan's  of  the  ste  nch  which 
for  a  long  time  has  given  it  so  unenviable  a  reputation.'' 

gt  If  you  can  do  that,"  said  the  churchwarden,  "  you  will  delight  the  whole 
parish.    It  has  been  a  puzzle  to  us  all  where  the  stench  could  come  from." 

"  Where  is  the  puzzle  now  ?"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  as  he  pointed  to  the 
opening  in  the  floor  of  the  church,  from  whence  issued  like  a  steamy  vapour  such 
horrible  exhalations." 

"  Why,  certainly  it  must  come  from  the  vaults. ?* 

u  But/'  said  the  overseer,  "  the  parish  books  show  that  there  has  not  been  any 
one  buried  in  any  of  the  vaults  directly  beneath  the  church  for  thirty  years." 

"  Then,"  said  the  beadle,  "  it's  a  very  wrong  thing  of  respectable  parishioners 
— for,  of  course,  them  as  has  waults  is  respectable — to  keep  quiet  for  thirty  years 
and  then  begin  stinking  like  blazes.    It's  uncommon  wrong— conwulsiovs  !  ' 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  took  a  paper  from  his  pocket  and  unfolded  it. 

"From  this  plan,"  he  said,  "that  I  have  procured  of  the  vaults  of  St. 
Dunstan's,  it  appears  that  the  stone  we  have  raised,  and  which  was  numbered 
thirty,  discloses  a  stone  staircase  communicating  with  two  passages,  from  which 
all  the  vaults  can  be  reached.  I  propose  searching  them  ;  and  now,  gentlemen, 
and  you,  Mr.  Beadle,  listen  to  me." 

They  all  three  looked  at  him  with  surprise  as  he  took  another  letter  from  his 
pocket. 

"  Here,"  he  said,  are  a  few  words  from  the  Secretary  of  State.  "  Pray  read 
them,  Mr.  Vickley." 

The  overseer  read  as  follows — • 

"The  Secretary  of  State  presents  his  compliments  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and 
begs  to  say  that  as  regards  the  affair  at  St.  Dunstan's,  Sir  Richard  is  to  consider 
himself  armed  with  any  extraordinary  powers  he  may  consider  necessary." 

u  Now,  gentlemen,"  added  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "  if  you  will  descend  with  me 
into  the  vaults,  all  I  require  of  you  is  the  most  profound  secrecy  with  regard  to 
what  you  may  see  there.    Do  you  fully  understand  ?" 

"Yes,"  stammered  Mr.  Vickley,  "but  I  rather  think  I— I  would  as  soon  not  go." 

f  Then,  sir,  be  silent  regarding  the  going  of  others.  Will  you  go,  sir  ?"  to  the 
churchwarden. 

"  Why  yes,  I— I  think  I  ought." 

"I  shall  be  obliged  to  go,  I  may  feel  the  want  of  a  witness.  We  will  take  you 
with  us,  Mr.  Beadle,  of  course," 


238 


"  Me — me  ?    Conwulsions  Iff 

«  Yes — yes.    You  go,  you  know,  ex  officio." 

"  Ex,  the  deuce,  I  don't  want  to  go.    Oh  conwulsions!  conwulsions  !" 
"  We  cannot  dispense  with  your  services/'  said  the  churchwarden.    "If  you 
refuse  to  go,  it  will  be  my  duty  to  lay  your  conduct  before  the  vestry.* 
"Oh— oh— oh!" 

u  Get  a  torch/"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "  and  I  will  lower  it  down  the  opening 
in  the  floor.  If  the  air  is  not  so  bad  as  to  extinguish  the  light,  it  will  not  be  too 
bad  for  us  to  breathe  for  a  short  space  of  time." 

Most  reluctantly,  and  with  terrible  misgivings  of  what  might  be  the  result  of 
the  frightful  adventure  into  which  he  was  about  to  be  dragged,  the  beadle 
fetched  a  link  from  the  vestry.  It  was  lighted,  and  Sir  Richard  Blunt  tying  a 
string  to  it,  let  it  down  into  the  passage  beneath  the  church.  The  light  was  not 
extinguished,  but  it  burnt  feebly  and  with  but  a  wan  and  sickly  lustre. 

"  It  will  do/'  said  Sir  Richard.  "  We  can  live  in  that  place,  although  a  pro- 
tracted  stay  might  be  fatal.  Follow  me,  I  will  go  first,  and  I  hope  we  shall 
not  have  our  trouble  only  for  our  pains." 


CHAPTER  L  . 

THE  DESCENT  TO  THE  VAULTS. 

Sir  Richard  commenced  the  descent. 
"  Come  on,"  he  said.    "  Come  on." 

He  got  down  about  half  a  dozen  steps,  but  finding  that  no  one  followed  him  hie 
paused,  and  called  out  — 

u  Remember  that  time  is  precious.    Come  on  !" 

"  Why  don't  you  go  ?"  said  the  churchwarden  to  the  beadle. 

u  What !  Me  go  afore  a  blessed  churchwarden  ?  Conwulsions — no  !  I  thinks 
and  I  hopes  as  I  knows  my  place  better." 

"  Well,  but  upon  this  occasion,  if  I  don't  mind  it-  " 

"No — no,  I  could  not.    Conwulsions — no  !° 

"  Ah  V9  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt.  "  J  see  how  it  is,  I  shaU  have  to  do  all  this 
business  alone,  and  a  pretty  report  I  shall  have  to  make  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
about  the  proceedings  of  the  authorities  of  St.  Dunstan's." 

The  churchwarden  groaned. 

"I'm  a  coming,  Sir  Richard — I'm  a  coming.  Oh  dear,  I  tell  you  what  it  is, 
Mr.  Beadle,  if  you  don't  follow  me,  and  close  too,  I'll  have  you  dismissed  as 
sure  as  eggs  is  eggs.'* 

u  Conwulsions!  conwulsions  !  Fm  a  coming." 

The  churchwarden  descen  ded  the  stairs,  and  the  beadle  followed  him.  Down 
— down  they  went,  guided  by  the  dim  light  of  the  torch  carried  by  Sir  Richard, 
who  had  not  waited  for  them  after  the  last  words  he  had  spoken. 

"  Can  you  fetch  your  blessed  breath,  sir  Y9  said  the  beadle. 

"Hardly/'  said  the  churchwarden,  gasping.    "It  is  a  dreadful  place/' 

'*  Oh,  ves — yes." 

*  Stop— Stop.    Sir  Richard— Sir  Richard  0 

There  was  no  reply.  The  light  from  the  torch  grew  more  and  more  indistinct 
as  Sir  Richard  Blunt  increased  his  distance  from  them,  and  at  length  they  were  in 
profound  darkness. 

u  I  can't  stand  this,"  cried  the  churchwarden ;  and  he  faced  about  to  ascend 
to  the  church  again.  In  his  effort  to  do  so  quickly,  he  stretched  out  his  hand, 
and  seized  the  beadle  by  the  ancle,  and  as  that  personage  was  not  quite  so  firm 
upon  his  legs  as  might  be  desired,  the  effort  of  this  sudden  assault  was  to  upset 
him,  and  he  rolled  over  upon  the  churchwarden,  with  a  force  that  brought  them 





THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS;  239 


both  sprawling  to  the  bottom  of  the  little  staircase  together.  Luckily  they  had 
not  to  fall,  for  they  had  not  been  more  than  six  or  eight  steps  from  the  foot  of  the 
little  flight.  Terror  and  consternation  for  a  few  moments  deprived  each  of  them 
of  the  power  of  speech.  The  beadle,  however,  was  the  first  to  recover,  and  he  in 
a  stentorian  voice  called — 
"Murder!  Murder !" 

Then  the  churchwarden  joined  in  the  cries,  and  they  buffeted  each  other  in 
vain  efforts  to  rise,  each  impeding  the  other  to  a  degree  that  rendered  it  a  matter 
of  impossibility  for  either  of  them  to  get  to  their  feet.  Mr.  Vickley,  who  was 
waiting  in  the  church  above,  with  no  small  degree  of  anxiety,  the  report  from 
below,  heard  these  sounds  of  contention  and  calls  for  help  with  mingled  horror. 
He  at  once  made  a  rush  to  the  door  of  the  church,  and,  no  doubt,  would  have 
endangered  the  success  of  all  Sir  Richard  Blunt's  plans,  if  he  had  not  been 
caught  in  the  arms  of  a  tall  stout  man  upon  the  very  threshold  of  the  church 
door. 

"  Help  !  murder !    Who  are  you  ?" 

"  Crotchet  they  calls  me,  and  Crotchet's  my  name.  London  my  birth  place, 
is  yourn  the  same  ?  What's  the  row  ?" 

"  Call  a  constable.    There's  blue  murder  going  on  in  the  vaults  below ." 

"  The  devil  there  is.  Just  you  get  in  there,  will  you,  and  don't  you  stir  for 
your  life,  old  fellow/' 

So  saying,  Mr.  Crotchet,  who  knew  the  importance  of  secrecy  in  the  whole 
transaction,  and  who  had  been  purposely  awaiting  for  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  thrust 
Vickley  into  a  pew,  and  slamm  ed  the  door  of  it  shut.  Down  fell  the  overseer 
to  the  floor,  paralysed  with  terror  ;  and  then  Mr.  Crotchet  at  once  proceeded  to 
the  opening  in  the  floor  of  the  church,  and  descended  without  a  moment's  hesi- 
tation. 

"Hilloa!"  he  cried,  as  he  alighted  at  the  bottom  of  the  stairs  upon  the 
churchwarden's  back.    "  Hilloa,  Sir  Richard,  where  are  you  ?" 

"  Here/'  said  a  voice,  and  with  the  torch  nearly  extinguished,  Sir  Richard 
Blunt  made  his  appearance  from  the  passage.    44  Who  is  there  ?" 

u  Crotchet,  it  is." 

u  Indeed.    Why,  what  brought  you  here  ?" 
"  What  a  row/' 

U  Why — why,  what's  all  thisj?  You  are  standing  upon  somebody.    Why  bless 

my  heart  it's  " 

Out  went  the  torch. 

u  Fire! — help  ! — murder  V9  shouted^ the  beadle,  I'm  being  suffocated.  "  Oh, 
conwulsions!  Here's  a  death  for  a  beadle.  Murder!  robbery.  Fire— oh — oh 
— oh." 

The  churchwarden  groaned  awfully. 

"Ascend,  and  get  a  light,"  said  Sir  Richard.  "  Quick,  Crotchet,  quick  ! 
God  only  knows  what  is  the  matter  with  all  these  people." 

Both  Crotchet  and  Sir  Richard  Blunt  scrambled  over  the  bodies  of  the  church- 
warden and  the  beadle,  and  soon  reached  the  church.  The  churchwarden  made 
a  desperate  effort,  and,  shaking  himself  free  of  the  beadle,  he  ascended  likewise, 
and  rolled  into  a  pew,  upon  the  floor  of  which  he  sat,  looking  a  little  deranged. 

"If  you  don't  come  up,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  directing  his  voice  down  the 
staircase,  IS  we  will  replace  the  stone,  and  you  may  bid  adieu  to  the  world." 

"Conwulsions!"  roared  the  beadle.    "  Oh,  don't — conwulsions!" 

Up  he  tumbled,  with  the  most  marvellous  celerity,  and  rolled  into  the  church, 
never  stopping  until  he  was  brought  up  by  the  steps  in  front  of  the  communion- 
table, and  there  he  lay,  panting  and  glaring  around  him,  having  left  his  cocked 
hat  in  the  regions  below.  Sir  Richard  Blunt  looked  ghastly  pale,  which  Crotchet 
observing,  induced  him  to  take  a  small  flask  from  his  pocket,  filled  with  choice 
brandy,  which  he  handed  to  his  chief. 

u  Thank  you/'  said  Sir  Richard. 


i^-wf_t«_t— w-*w» rrj— -  i  i  inn«ii     i  ■      i  in  in      1 1  [  *  1 


i 


240 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


The  magistrate  took  a  draught,  and  then  he  handed  it  to  the  churchwarden,  as  ! 

he  said — 

"Hi  fill  it  again." 
«  All's  right." 

The  churchwarden  took  a  pull  at  the  brandy,  and  then  the  beadle  was  allowed 
to  finish  it.    They  were  both  wonderfully  recovered. 

"  Oh,  Sir  Richard/'  said  the  churchwarden,  "what  have  you  seen  ?" 
M  Nothing  particular.'1 

"Indeed!"  ^ 
**  No.    You  can  have  the  stone  replaced  as  soon  as  you  like,  over  the  opening 
to  the  vaults." 

"  And  you  have  seen  nothing  ?"  said  the  beadle. 

"  Nothing  to  speak  of.  If  you  have  any  doubts  or  any  curiosity,  you  can 
easily  satisfy  yourself.  There's  the  opening.  Pray  descend.  You  see  I  have 
escaped,  so  it  cannot  be  very  dangerous  to  do  so.  I  will  not  myself  go  again, 
but  I  will  wait  for  either  of  you,  if  you  please.  Now,  gentlemen,  go,  and  you 
will  be  able  to  make  your  own  discoveries." 

"  Me  }n  cried  the  beadle.    "  Me  ?    Oh,  conwulsions !  I  thinks  I  sees  me." 

u  Not  \p  said  the  churchwarden,  "  Cover  it  up — cover  it  up.  I  don't  want 
to  go  clown.    I  would  not  do  so  for  a  thousand  pounds.1' 

A  cov.  rt  smile  was  upon  the  lips  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  as  he  heard  this,  and 
he  added  — 

"  Very  well ;  I  have  no  objection,  of  course,  to  it's  being  at  once  covered 
up  ;  and  I  think  the  least  that  is  said  about  it,  will  be  the  better.5'  J 

V  No  doubt  of  that,"  said  the  churchwarden.  ! 

fj  Convvulsions  !  yes/  said  the  beadle.    "  If  I  was  only  quite  sure  as  all  my  ! 
ribs  was  whole,  I  shouldn't  mind  ;  but  somebody  stood  a-top  of  me  for  a  good 
quarter  of  an  hour,  I'm  sure." 

Some  of  the  workmen  now  began  to  arrive,  and  Sir  Richard  Blunt  pointed  to 
them,  as  he  said  to  the  churchwarden — 

*•  Then  the  stone  can  be  replaced  without  any  difficulty,  now;  and,  sir,  let  j 
me  again  caution  you  to  say  nothing  about  what  has  passed  here  to-day."  - 

"  Not  a  word — not  a  word.  If  you  fancy  somebody  stood  upon  your  ribs,  h 
Mr.  Beadle,  I  am  qui  e  sure  somebody  did  upon  mine.'"  *  j 

The  workmen  were  now  directed  to  replace  the  stone  in  its  former  position  ;  ! 
and  when  that  was  completely  done,  and  some  mortar  pressed  into  the  crevices,  I 
Sir  Richard  Blunt  gave  a  s-gnal  to  Crotchet  to  follow  him,  and  they  both  left 
the  church  together. 

Now,  Crotchet,  understand  me."  I 

u  I'll  try,"  said  Crotchet. 

"  No  one,  for  the  future,  is  to  be  shaved  in  Sweeney  Todd's  shop  alone." 
"  Alone?'  ' 

u  Yes.    You  will  associate  with  King,  Morgan,  and  Godfrey;  I  will  stand  all 
necessary  expenses,  and  one  or  the  other  of  you  will  always  follow  whoever  gees 
iivo  the  shop,  and  there  wait  until  he  comes  out  again.    Make  what  excuses'you  i 
like.    Manage  it  how  y/m  will;  but  only  remember,  Todd  is  never  again  to  have  ' 
a  customer  all  to  himself." 

€i  Humph!"  |f 

"  Whv  do  vou  sav  humph?"  \\ 
Oh,  nothing  partick-er  ;  only  hadn't  we  better  grab  him  at  once  ?"  U 

"  No  ;  he  has  an  accomplice  or  accomplices,  and  their  discovery  is  most  li 
important.  I  don't  like  to  do  things  by  halves,  Crotchet ;  and  so long'as  1  know  ' j 
that  no  mischief  will  result  from  a  little  delay,  and  it  will  not,  if  you  obey  my  | 
instructions,  1  think  it  better  to  wait."  j 

"  Very  good."  J 

"  Go  at  once,  then,  and  get  your  brother  officers,  and  remember  that  nothing  \ 
is  to  withdraw  your  and  their  attention  from  this  piece  of  business." 

"All's  right.    You  know,  Sir  Richard,  you  have  only  to  say  whatVtobe 


\ 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


241 


done,  and  it's  as  good  as  done.  Todd  may  shave  now  as  many  people  as  he 
likes,  but  I  don't  think  he'll  polish  'em  off  in  his  old  way  quite  so  easy." 

"  That's  right.    Good  day." 

u  When  shall  we  see  you,  Sir  Richard?'' 
fs  ;<l  About  sunset/' 


■  i 


THE  CAFTIVB  HEHAKER  CONTEMPLATES  SUICIDB, 


By  the  time  this  little  conversation  was  over,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  and  Crotchet 
had  got  through  Temple  Bar,  and  then  they  parted,  Crotchet  taking 
his  way  back  to  Fleet  Street,  and  Sir  Richard  Blunt  walking  hastily  to  Downing 
Street.  When  he  got  there  he  entered  the  official  residence  of  the  Secretary  of 
§tate  for  the  Home  Department,  and  being  well  known  to  the  clerk,  he  $  as  at 
I  once  conducted  into  a  little  room  carefully  hung  round  with  crimson  cloth,  so  as 


No,  81. 


242  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


to  deaden  the  sound  of  any  voices  that  might  be  raised  in  it.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  minutes  a  small  door  was  opened,  and  a  shabby  looking  man  entered,  with  a 
hesitating  expression  upon  his  face. 

"  Ah,  Sir  Richard  Blunt/'  he  said,  "is  that  you  P 

"Yes,  your  lordship,  and  if  you  are  disengaged  for  a  few  minutes,  I  have 
something  to  communicate/' 

"  Ah,  some  new  plot.    Confound  those  Jacobin  rascals!" 

"No,  my  lord,  the  affair  is  quite  domestic  and  social.  It  has  no  shade  of 
politics  about  it." 

The  look  of  interest  which  the  face  of  the  secretary  had  assumed  was  gone  in 
a  moment,  but  still  he  could  not  very  well  refuse  now  to  hear  what  Sir  Richard 
Blunt  had  to  say,  and  the  conference  lasted  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  At  its  termi- 
nation, as  Sir  Richard  was  leaving  the  room,  the  secretary  said— 

"Oh,  yes,  of  course,  take  full  discretionary  powers,  and  the  Home-office  will 
pay  all  expenses.    I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing  in  all  my  life/' 

"  Nor  I,  my  lord." 

"  It's  really  horrible/' 

"  It  is  even  so  far  as  we  know  already,  and  yet  I  think  there  is  much  to  learn. 
I  shall,  of  course,  communicate  to  your  lordship  anything  that  transpires. M 
"  Certainly — certainly.    Good  day/' 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  left  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  proceeded  to  his  own  resi- 
dence, and  while  he  is  there,  making  some  alteration  in  his  dress,  we  may  as  well 
take  a  glance  at  Crotchet,  and  see  what  that  energetic  but  somewhat  eccentric 
individual  is  about.  After  parting  with  Sir  Richard  Blunt  dt  Temple  Bar,  he 
walked  up  Fleet  Street,  upon  Sweeney  Todd's  side  of  the  way,  until  he  overtook 
a  man  with  a  pair  of  spectacles  on,  and  a  stoop  in  his  gait,  as  though  age  had 
crept  upon  him. 

"  King/'  said  Crotchet. 

"  All  right/'  said  the  spectacled  old  gentleman  in  a  firm  voice.  "  What's 
the  news  Y* 

"  A  long  job,  I  think.   Where's  Morgan  ?" 
"  On  the  other  side  of  the  way." 

"  Well,  just  listen  to  me  as  we  walk  along,  and  if  you  see  him,  beckon  him  over 
to  us." 

As  they  walked  along  Crotchet  told  King  what  were  the  orders  of  Sir  Richard 
Blunt,  and  they  were  soon  joined  by  Morgan.  The  other  officer,  Godfrey,  who 
had  been  mentioned  by  the  magistrate,  was  sent  for. 

"Now,"  said  Crotchet,  "here  we  are,  four  of  us,  and  so  you  see  we  can  take 
it  two  and  two  for  four  hours  at  a  stretch  as  long  as  this  confounded  barber's 
shop  keeps  open." 

"  But/'  said  Morgan,  "he  will  suspect  something." 

"Well,  we  can't  help  that.    It's  quite  clear  he  smugs  the  people,  and  all  we 
have  got  to  do  is  to  prevent  him  smugging  any  more  of  'em  you  see/' 
"  Well,  well,  we  must  do  the  best  we  can." 

€i  Exactly  ;  so  now  keep  a  bright  look  out,  and  hang  it  all,  we  have  been  in 
enough  rum  adventures  to  be  able  to  get  the  better  of  a  rascally  barber,  I  should 
think.    Look  out — look  out ;  there's  somebody  going  in  now." 


CHAPTER  LI.  ' 

JOHANNA  RUSHES  TO    HER  DESTINY. 

Johanna  had  enough  confidants  now.  Her  father—Colonel  JefFery — Big 
Ben— and  Arabella  Wilmot,  all  knew 

"  The  sad  story  of  her  love/* 

It  will  be  a  hard  case  if,  among  so  man/  councillors,  she  hits  upon  the  worst— a 

,.  fm*-*»*  n  n  ■  *i  '   '     i    in  i  »  i  in  in  mm-  —  ■   ■  ■  -   ■  ■■' 

mvf     i  — i— miniiMiiii  i  mmmmmimmmmmmm**~mmmmm~mm»mmmmm*m  it  t     i>  mjmmmmtm^mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 


  ^   >•    THJE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  -  243 

most  truly  hazardous  course  of  proceeding  ;  but  then  it  is  a  fault  of  the  young  to 
mistake  daring  for  ability,  and  to  fancy  that  that  course  of  proceeding  which 
involves  the  most  personal  risk  is  necessarily  the  most  likely  to  be  successful. 

I  Colonel  Jeffery  was,  of  all  Johanna  Oakley's  advisers,  the  one  who  was  most 
3^  to  advise  her  well,  but  unfortunately  he  had  told  her  that  he  loved  her,  and 
from  that  time,  with  an  instinctive  delicacy  of  feeling  which,  no  one  could  have  to 

H  greater  perfection  than  Johanna,  she  had  shunned  him.  And  yet  the  reader, 
who  knows  the  colonel  well,  knows  that,  quite  irrespective  of  the  attachment  that 
had  sprung  up  in  his  bosom  for  the  beautiful  and  heart-stricken  girl,  he  would 
have  played  the  part  of  a  sincere  friend  to  her  and  stood  manfully  between  her 
and  all  danger.  But  it  was  not  to  be.  From  the  moment  that  he  had  breathed 
to  her  the  secret  of  his  attachment,  a  barrier  was,  in  her  imagination,  raised  be- 
tween them.  Her  father  evidently  was  not  one  who  could  or  who  would 
advise  anything  at  all  energetic;  and  as  for  Big  Ben,  the  conversation  she  had 
had  with  him  upon  the  subject  had  quite  been  sufficient  to  convince  her  that  to 
take  him  out  of  the  ordinary  routine  of  his  thoughts  and  habits  was 
thoroughly  to  bewilder  him,  and  that  he  was  as  little  calculated  to  plot  and  to 
plan  in  any  emergency  as  a  child.  She  would  indeed  have  trembled  at  the  re- 
sult of  the  confidential  communication  to  Big  Ben,  if  she  had  been  aware  of  the 
frightfully  imprudent  manner  in  which  he  had  thrown  himself  into  communica- 
tion and  collision  with  Todd,  the  consequences  of  which  glaring  act  of  indiscre- 
tion he  was  only  saved  from  by  Sir  Richard  Blunt  entering  the  shop,  and 
remaining  there  until  he  (Ben)  was  shaved.  Under  all  these  circumstances, 
then,  Johanna  found  herself  thrown  back  upon  her  old  friend  Arabella  Wilmot. 
Now,  Arabella  was  the  worst  adviser  of  all,  for  the  romantic  notions  she  had 
received  from  her  novel  reading,  imparted  so  strong  a  tone  to  her  character, 
that  she  might  be  said  in  imagination  to  live  in  a  world  of  the  mind.  It  was, 
as  the  reader  will  recollect,  to  Arabella  Wilmot  that  Johanna  owed  the  idea  of 
going  to  Todd  in  boy's  apparel — a  measure  fraught  with  frightful  danger,  and 
yet,  to  the  fancy  of  the  young  girl,  fascinating  upon  that  very  account,  because 
it  had  the  appearance  as  though  she  were  doing  something  really  serious 
for  Mark  Ingestre.  To  Arabella,  then,  Johanna  went,  after  Ben  had  left  her, 
and  finding  her  young  friend  within,  she  told  her  all  that  had  occurred  since  they 
last  met. 

"  What  shall  I  do     she  said.    **  1  tell  my  tale  of  woe,  and  people  look  kind 
upon  me,  but  no  one  helps  me." 

"  Oh,  Johanna,  can  you  say  that  of  me  t" 

"No,  no.    Not  of  you,  Arabella,  for  you  see  I  have  come  to  you  again  ;  but 
of  all  others,  I  can  and  may  say  it." 

"  Comfort  yourself,  my  dear  Johanna.     Comfort  yourself,  my  dear  friend. 
Come,  now — you  will  make  me  weep  too,  if  I  see  those  tears.3" 

u  What  shall  I  do  ?— what  shall  I  do  ?"  ^ 
There,  now,  I  am  putting  on  my  things  ;  and  as  you  are  dressed,  we  will 
go  out  for  a  walk,  and  as  we  go  along   we  can  talk  of  the  affair,  and  you 
will  find  your  spirits  improve  by  exercise.    Come,  my  dear  Johanna.  Don't 
you  give  way  so/" 

"  I  cannot  help  it.    Let  us  go." 

"  We  will  walk  round  St.  Paul's  Churchyard." 

"No— no.    To  Fleet  Street— to  Fleet  Street  !" 

u  Why  would  you  wish  to  add  to  your  sorrows,  by  again  looking  upon  that 
shop?" 

u  I  do  not  know,  I  cannot  tell  you  ;  but  a  horrible  species  of  fascination 
draws  me  there,  and  if  I  come  from  home,  I  seem  as  though  I  were  drawn  from 
all  other  places  towards  that  one  by  an  irresistible  attraction.  It  seems  as  though 
!  the  blood  of  Mark  Ingestrie  called  aloud  to  me  to  revenge  his  murder,  by  bring- 
|  ing  the  perpetrators  of  it  to  justice.    Oh,  my  friend— my  Arabella,  I  think  I 
;  shall  £o  mad." 

|      Johanna  sunk  upon  her  knees  bv  a  chair,  and  hid  her  fair  face  in  her  hands, 


244  THE  STRING  OF  PEAKLS. 


as  she  trembled  with  excess  of  emotion.  Arabella  Wiluiot  began  to  be  really 
alarmed  at  the  consequences  of  her  friend's  excited  and  overwrought  feelings. 

"  Oh,  Johanna — Johanna  |"  *he  cried,  "  cheer  up.  You  shall  go  when  you 
please,  so  that  you  will  not  give  way  to  this  sorrow.  You  do  not  know  how 
much  you  terrify  me.  Rise — rise,  I  implore  you.  We  will  go  to  Fleet  Street, 
since  such  is  your  wish." 

Alter  a  time,  Johanna  recovered  from  the  burst  of  emotion  that  had  taken 
such  certain  possession  of  her,  and  she  was  able  to  speak  more  calmly  and  com- 
posedly to  her  friend  than  she  had  yet  done  during  that  visit.  The  tears  she 
had  shed,  and  the  show  of  feeling  that  had  crept  over  her,  had  been  a  great 
relief  in  reality. 

"Can  you  pardon  me  for  thus  tormenting  you  with  my  grief  ?V  said  Johanna. 

"  Do  not  talk  so.  Rather  wonder  how  I  should  pardon  you  if  you  tell  your 
griefs  elsewhere.  To  whom  should  you  bring  them  but  to  the  bosom  of  one 
who,  however  she  may  err  in  judgment  regarding  you,  cannot  err  in  feeling/' 

Johanna  could  only  press  her  friend's  hand  in  her  own,  and  look  the  gratitude 
which  she  had  not  the  language  to  give  utterance  to.  It  being  then  settled  that 
they  were  to  go  to  Fleet  Street,  it  next  became  a  matter  of  rather  grave  debate 
between  them  whether  they  were  to  go  as  they  were,  or  Johanna  was  to  again 
equip  herself  in  the  disguise  of  a  boy. 

"  This  is  merely  a  visit  of  observation,  Johanna  ;  I  will  go  as  I  am." 

"  Very  well,  dear." 

They  accordingly  set  out,  and  as  the  distance  from  the  house  of  Arabella 
Wilmot's  father  was  but  short  to  the  shop  of  Sweeney  Todd,  they  soon  caught 
sight  of  the  projecting  pole  that  was  his  sign. 

c<  Now  be  satisfied,"  said  Arabella,  "by  passing  twice;  once  up  Fleet  Street, 
and  once  down  it.  * 

*'  I  will/'  said  Johanna. 

Todd's  shop  was  closed  as  usual.  There  was  never  an  open  door  to  that 
establishment,  so  that  it  was,  after  all,  but  a  barren  satisfaction  for  poor  Johanna 
to  pass  the  place  where  her  imagination,  strengthened  by  many  circumstantial 
pieces  of  evidence,  told  her  Mark  Ingestre  had  met  with  his  death ;  still,  as  she 
had  said  to  Arabella  before  starting,  a  horrible  sort  of  fascination  drew  her  to 
the  spot,  and  she  could  not  resist  the  fearful  attraction  that  the  outside  of 
Todd's  shop  had  for  her.  They  passed  rather  rapidly,  for  Arabella  Wilmot  did 
not  wish  Johanna  to  pause,  for  fear  she  should  be  unable  to  combat  her  feelings, 
and  make  some  sort  of  exhibition  of  them  in  the  open  street. 

"  Are  you  content,  Johanna?'3  she  said.    is  Must  we  pass  again  }'* 

"  Oh,  yes — yes.  Again  and  again ;  I  can  almost  fancy  that  by  continued 
looking  at  that  place  I  could  see  what  has  been  the  fate  of  Mark/* 

"  But  this  is  imagination  and  folly." 

fC  It  may  be  so,  but  when  the  realities  of  life  have  become  so  hideously  full  of 
horrors,  one  may  be  excused  for  seeking  some  consolation  from  the  fairy  cave. 
Arabella,  let  us  turn  again.'* 

They  had  got  as  far  as  Temple  Bar,  when  they  again  turned,  and  this  time 
Johanna  would  not  pass  the  shop  so  abruptly  as  she  had  done  before,  and  any 
one,  to  see  the  marked  interest  with  which  she  paused  at  the  window,  would  have 
imagined  that  she  must  have  some  lover  there  whom  she  could  see,  notwith- 
standing the  interior  of  the  shop  was  so  completely  impervious  to  all  ordinary 
gazers; 

??  There  is  nothing  to  see,"  said  Arabella. 
"No.    But  yet— ha!— look—  look!" 

Johanna  pointed  to  one  particular  spot  of  the  window,  and  there  was  the  eye 
of  Sweeney  Todd  glaring  upon  them. 

'•We  are  observed/' whispered  Arabella;  "it  will  be  much  better  to  leave 
the  window  at  once.    Come  away — oh,  come  away,  Johanna." 

"  Not  yet — not  yet.  Oh,  if  I  could  look  well  at  that  man's  face,  I  think  I 
ought  to  be  able  to  judge  if  he  were  likely  to  be  the  murderer  of  Mark  Ingestre." 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  245 

w    m.j_.r       ii     nir--  r  -        i.ji      n  miii    -r      -)T-,  -i.Mf.in   

Todd  came  to  his  door. 

"  Good  God,  he  is  here  !"  said  Arabella.    "  Come  away.    Come  !" 
«'  Never.    No  !    Perhaps  this  is  providential.  I  will,  1  must  look  at  this  man, 
happen  what  may." 

Todd  glared  at  the  two  young  girls  like  some  ogre  intent  upon  their  des- 
truction, and  as  Johanna  looked  at  him,  a  painter  who  loved  contrast,  might 
have  indeed  found  a  study,  from  the  wonderful  difference  between  those  two 
human  countenances.  They  neither  spoke  for  some  few  moments,  and  it  was 
reserved  for  Todd  to  break  the  silence. 

What  do  you  want  here?"  he  cried,  in  a  hoarse  rough  voice.  "Be  off 
with  you.  What  do  you  mean  by  knocking  at  the  window  of  an  honest 
tradesman  ?    I  don  t  w7ant  to  have  anything  to  say  to  such  as  you." 

"  He — he  did  it!'1  gasped  Johanna. 

"  Did  what  ?"  said  Todd,  advancing  in  a  menacing  attitude,  while  his  face 
assumed  a  most  diabolical  expression  of  concealed  hatred.    "  Did  what  ?*• 

"  Stop  him !  Stop  him !  '  cried  a  voice  from  the  other  side  of  the  street. 
u  Stop  Pison,  he's  given  me  the  slip,  and  I'm  blessed  if  he  won't  pitch  into 
that  ere  barber.  Stop  him.  Pison  !  Pison  !  Come  here,  boy.  Come  here ! 
Oh,  lor,  he's  nabbed  him.  I  knew'd  he  would,  as  sure  as  a  horse's  hind  leg 
ain't  a  gammon  o'  bacon.  My  eyes,  won't  there  be  a  row — he's  nabbed  the 
barber,  like  ninepence." 

Before  the  ostler  at  the  Bullfinch,  for  it  was  from  his  lips  this  speech  came, 
could  get  one  half  of  it  uttered,  the  dog — who  is  known  to  the  readers  by  the 
name  of  Hector,  as  well  as  his  new  name  of  Pison-—  dashed  over  the  road, 
apparently  infuriated  at  the  sight  of  Todd,  and  rushing  upon  him,  seized  him 
with  his  teeth.  Todd  gave  a  howl  of  rage  and  pain,  and  fell  to  *he  ground. 
The  whole  street  was  in  an  uproar  in  a  moment,  but  the  ostler  rushing  over 
the  way,  seized  the  dog  by  the  throat,  and  made  him  release  Todd,  who  crawled 
upon  alL  fours  into  his  own  shop.  In  another  moment  he  rushed  out  with  a 
razor  in  his  hand. 

"  Where's  the  dog  ? '  he  cried,  "  Where's  the  fiend  in  the  shape  of  a 
dog  g 

"Hold  hard!'5  said  the  ostler,  who  held  Hector  between  his  knees.  "  Hold 
hard.    I  have  got  him,  old  chap/' 

"  Get  out  of  the  way.    I'll  have  his  life.,, 
"  No  you  won  t." 

**  Humph  !"  cried  a  butcher's  boy  who  was  passing.  "  Whyfthat's  the  same 
dog  as  said  the  barber  had  done  for  his  master,  and  collected  never  such  a  lot  of 
halfpence  in  his  hat  to  pay  the  expenses  of  burying  of  him/' 

"  You  villain  !"  cried  Todd. 

n  Go  to  blazes  !"  said  the  boy.    *f  Who  killed  th?,  dog's  master  ?    Ah,  ah  ! 
Who  did  it  ?    Ah,  ah  P 
The  people  began  to  laugh. 
"  I  insist  upon  killing  that  dog  !"  cried  Todd. 

f<  Do  you  ?"  said  the  ostler  ;  "  now,  this  here  dog  is  a  partickler  friend  of 
mine,  so  you  see  I  can't  have  it  done.  What  do  you  say  to  that  now,  old  stick- 
in-the-mud  ?  If  you  walk  into  him,  you  must  walk  through  me  first.  Only 
just  put  down  that  razor,  and  I'll  give  you  such  a  wolloping,  big  as  you  are,  that 
you'll  recollect  for  some  time." 

"  Down  with  the  razor!  Down  with  the  razor  !"  cried  the  mob,  who  was 
now  every  moment  increasing. 

Johanna  stood  like  one  transfixed  for  a  few  moments  in  the  middle  of  all  this 
tumult,  and  then  she  said  with  a  shudder — 

«  What  ought  I  to  dor" 

if  Come  away  at  once,  I  implore  you,"  said  Arabella  Wilmot.  "  Come  away, 
I  implore  you,  Johanna,  for  my  sake  as  well  as  for  your  own.  You  have  already 
done  all  that  can  be  done.    Oh,  Johanna,  are  you  distracted  ?" 

"No — no.    I  will  come — I  will  come." 


24G  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


They  hastily  left  the  spot  and  hurried  away  in  the  direction  of  Ludgate  Hill, 
but  the  confusion  at  the  shop  door  of  the  barber  did  not  terminate  for  some 
time.  The  people  tock  the  part  of  the  dog  and  his  new  master,  and  it  was  in 
vain  that  Sweeney  Todd  exhibited  his  rent  garments  to  show  where  he  had  been 
attacked  by  the  animal.  Shouts  of  laughter  and  various  satirical  allusions  to 
his  beauty  were  the  only  response.  Suddenly,  without  a  word,  Todd  then 
gave  up  the  contest  and  retired  into  his  shop,  upon  which  the  ostler  conveyed 
Pison  over  the  way  and  shut  him  up  in  one  of  the  stables  of  the  Bullfinch.  Todd, 
it  is  true,  retired  to  his  shop  with  an  appearance  of  equanimity,  but  it  was  like 
most  appearances  in  this  world— rather  deceitful.  The  moment  the  door  was 
closed  between  him  and  observation  he  ground  his  teeth  together  and  positively 
howled  with  rage. 

"The  time  will  come— the  time  will  come,"  he  said,  "  when  I  shall  have  the 
joy  of  seeing  Fleet  Street  in  a  blaze,  and  of  hearing  the  shrieks  of  those  who  are 
frying  in  the  flames.  Oh,  that  I  could  with  one  torch  ignite  London,  and 
sweep  it  and  all  its  inhabitants  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  Oh,  that  all  those 
who  are  now  without  my  shop  had  but  one  throat.    Ha !  ha  !   how  1  would 

cut  it."  ,  i  -  !i 

He  caught  up  a  razor  as  he  spoke,  and  threw  himself  into  a  ferocious  attitude 

at  the  moment  that  the  door  opened,  and  a  gentleman  neatly  dressed  looked  in, 

saying— 

"  Do  you  dress  artificial  hair  ? 9 


CHAPTER  LII. 

TOD  D*S  ANNOUNCEMENT. 

11  Yes/'  said  Todd,  as  he  commenced  stropping  the  razor  upon  his  hand  as 
though  nothing  at  all  was  the  matter.  "  I  do  anything  in  an  honest  and  religious 
sort  of  way  for  a  living  in  these  bad  times." 

"  Oh,  very  well.  A  gentleman  is  ill  in  bed  and  wants  his  peruke  properly 
dressed,  as  he  has  an  important  visit  to  make.    Can  you  come  to  his  house  V * 

«  Yes,  of  course.    But  can't  the  peruke  be  brought  here,  sir  ?* 

<*  Yes.  But  he  wants  a  shave  as  well,  and  although  he  can  go  in  a  sedan 
chair  to  pay  his  visit,  he  is  too  ill  to  come  to  your  shop.'"' 

Todd  looked  a  little  suspicious,  but  only  a  little,  and  then  he  said— 

"It's  an  awkward  thing  that  I  have  no  boy  at  present,  but  1  must  get  one— I 
must  get  one,  and  in  the  meantime  when  I  am  called  out  I  have  no  resource  but 
to  shut  up  my  shop." 

At  this"  moment  a  stout  man  came  in,  saying — 

"  Shaved— oh,  you  are  busy.  I  can  wait,  Mr.  Todd— I  can  wait,  and  down 
he  sat." 

Todd  looked  at  the  new-comer  with  a  strange  sort  of  scowl,  as  he  said — 
"My  friend,  have  not  I  seen  you  here  before,  or  somewhere  else  V[ 
"Very  likely/*  said  the  man. 

"Humph,  I  am  busy  and  cannot  shave  you  just  now,  as  I  have  to  go  out  with 
this  gentleman. 99 

"Very  well,  I  can  wait  here  and  amuse  myself  until  you  come  back." 
Todd  fairly  staggered  for  a  moment,  and  then  he  said— 

«  Wait  here — in  my  shop— and  amuse  yourself  until  I  come  back  ?  No,  sir, 
I  don't  suffer  any  one.  But  it  don't  matter.  Ha  !  ha  !  Come  in,  I  am  ready 
to  attend  you.    But  stop,  are  you  in  a  very  great  hurry  for  two  minutes,  sir  ?" 

€i  Oh,  dear  no,  not  for  two  minutes." 

"Then  it  will  only  just  take  me  that  time  to  polish  off  this  gentleman  ;  and  if, 
you  will  give  the  address  I  am  to  come  to,  I  will  be  with  you  almost  a  s  soon, 
sir,  as  you  can  get  home,  I  assure  you." 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  247 

"Oh,  dear  no,"  cried  the  stranger,  who  had  come  in  to  be  shaved,  suddenly 
starting  up,  u  I  really  could  not  think  of  such  a  thing.    I  will  call  again." 

"  It's  only  in  Norfolk  Street,"  said  the  applicant  for  the  dressing  of  the 
artificial  hair,  "  and  two  minutes  can't  make  any  difference  to  my  friend,  at 
all." 

y  Do  you  think/'  said  the  other,  "  that  I  would  really  interrupt  business  in 
this  way  ?  ^  No,  may  1  perish  if  I  would  do  anything  so  unhandsome — not  I. 
1  will  look  in  again,  Mr.  Todd,  you  may  depend,  when  you  are  not  going  out. 
I  shall  be  passing  again,  I  know,  in  the  course  of  the  day.  Pray  attend  to  this 
gentleman's  orders,  I  beg  of  you." 

So  saying,  the  shaving  customer  bounced  out  of  the  shop  without  another 
word  ;  and  as  he  crossed  the;thresho!d,  he  gave  a  wink  to  Crotchet,  who  was 
close  at  hand,  and  when  that  gentleman  followed  him,  he  said — 

u  Crotchet,  Todd  very  nearly  got  me  into  a  line.  He  was  going  out  with  the 
person  we  saw  go  to  the  shop,  but  I  got  away,  or  else,  as  he  said,  he  would  have 
polished  me  off." 

4*  Not  a  doubt  of  it,  in  this  here  world,  Foster,"  said  Crotchet.  "Ah,  he's  a 
rum  'un,  he  is.  We  haven't  come  across  sich  a  one  as  he  for  one  while,  and  it 
will  be  a  jolly  lot  o*  Sundays  afore  we  meets  with  sich  another." 

"  It  will,  indeed.    Is  Fletcher  keeping  an  eye  on  the  shop  ?" 

**  Oh,  yes,  right  as  a  trivet.    He's  there,  and  so  is  Godfrey." 

While  this  brief  conversation  was  going  on  between  the  officers  who  had  been 
left  to  watch  Sweeney  Todd's  shop,  that  individual  himself  accompanied  the 
customer,  whom  he  had  been  conversing  with,  to  Norfolk  Street,  Strand.  The 
well-dressed  personage  stopped  at  a  good-looking  house,  and  said— 

'/Mr.  Mundell  only  lodges  here  for  the  present.  His  state  of  mind,  in  con- 
sequence of  a  heavy  loss  he  has  sustained,  would  not  permit  him  to  stay  in  his 
own  house  at  Kensington." 

"  Mr.  Mundell  r"  said  Todd. 

*(  Yes.   That  is  the  gentleman  you  are  to  shave  and  dress." 
"May  I  presume  to  ask,  sir,  what  he  is  m  1 

"  Oh,  he  is  a — a — kind  of  merchant,  you  understand,  and  makes  what  use  of 
his  money  he  thinks  proper," 
"  The  same  !*'  gasped  Todd. 

The  door  of  the  house  was  opened,  and  there  was  no  retreat,  although,  at  the 
moment,  Todd  felt  as  though  he  would  much  rather  not  shave  and  dress  the 
man  of  whom  he  had  procured  the  ^8,000  upon  the  string  of  pearls ;  but  to 
show  any  hesitation  now'might  beget  enquiry  and  enquiry  might  be  awkward,  so 
summoning  all  his  natural  audacity  to  his  aid,  Todd  followed  his  guide  into  the 
house.  He  was  a  little  puzzled  to  know  who  this  person  could  be,  until  a 
woman  made  her  appearance  from  one  of  the  rooms  upon  the  ground  floor,  and 
cried — 

*?  There  now,  go  out,  do.  We  don't  want  you  any  more  ;  you  have  got  your 
pocket  money,  so  be  off  with  you,  and  don't  let  me  see  your  face  again  till 
night." 

"  No,  my  dear,"  said  the  well-dressed  personage.  «  Certainly  not.  This  is 
the  barber." 

"  Good  God,  Blisset,  do  you  think  I  am  blind,  that  I  can't  see  the  barber. 
Will  you  go  ?  The  captain  is  waiting  for  me  to  pour  out  his  coffee,  and  attend 
to  his  other  concerns,  which  nobody  knows  better  than  you,  and  yet  you  will  be 
perpetually  in  the  way." 

"  No,  my  dear,  I— I  only— •* 

"  Hoity  toity,  are  we  going  to  have  a  disturbance,  Mr.  B  ?    Recollect,  sir, 
that  I  dress  you  well  and  give  you  money,  and  expect  you  to  make  yourself 
agreeable  while  I  attend  to  the  gentlemen  lodgers,  so  be  off  with  you  ;  Fm  sure, 
of  all  the  troublesome  husbands  for  a  woman  to  have,  you  are  about  the  worst, 
for  you  have  neither  the  spirit  to  act  like  a  man,  nor  the  sense  to  keep  out  of  the 
way/' 


w   ■  - 

248 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"Ha!"  said  Todd. 

Both  the  lodging-house  keeper  and  his  wife  started  at  the  odd  sound. 
u  What  was  that  ?"  said  the  woman. 

r<  Only  me,  madam,"  said  Todd,  €i  I  laughed  slightly  at  that  blue-bottle  walk- 
ing on  the  ceiling,  that's  all/' 

94  What  a  laugh/'  said  Blisset,  as  he  left  the  house  ;  and  then  the  lady  of  the 
mansion  turning  to  Todd,  said — 

"  You  are  to  attend  to  Mr,  Mundell,  poor  man.    You  will  find  him  in  the 
front  room  on  the  second  floor,  poor  man/' 
"Is  he  ill,  madam  ?" 

"  Oh,  T  don't  know,  I  rather  think  he's  grizzling  about  some  of  his  money, 
that's  all,  but  it  don't  matter  one  way  or  the  other.    They  say  he  is  as  rich  as  a 
Jew,  and  I'll  lake  good  care  he  pays  enough  here." 
"  Mrs.  B — Mrs.  B,"  cried  a  voice  from  the  parlour. 
"  Yes,  captain,  I'm  coming. — I'm  coming,  captain." 

The  lady  bounced  into  the  breakfast-pai  lour  and  closed  the  door,  leaving  Todd 
to  find  his  way  up  stairs  as  he  best  could.  After  a  hideous  chuckle  at  the 
thought  of  Mr.  Blisset's  singular  position  in  society,  he  commenced  ascending 
the  stairs.  '  He  accomplished  the  first  flight  without  meeting  with  any  one,  but 
upon  the  second  he  encountered  a  servant  girl  with  a  pail,  and  Todd  gave  her 
such  a  hideous  glance,  accompanied  by  such  a  frightful  contortion  of  his  visage, 
that  down  went  the  pail,  and  the  girl  flew  up  stairs  again,  and  locked  herself  in 
one  of  the  attics.  Without  waiting  to  ascertain  what  effect  the  descent  of  the 
pail  might  have  upon  the  nerves  of  the  captain  and  the  landlady,  Todd  pursued  his 
course  to  the  room  whither  he  had  ^)een  directed,  and  tapped  at  the  door. 
"  Come  in/'  said  a  meek,  tremulous  voice.  "  Come  in." 
Todd  opened  the  door,  and  stood  in  the  presence  of  the  man  over  whose  long 
tried  skill  and  habitual  cunning  he  had  obtained  such, a  triumph  in  the  affair  of 
the  pearls  at  Mundell  Villa.  John  Mundell  now,  though,  was  far  from  looking 
like  the  John  Mundell  of  the  villa.  He  sat  by  th3  fire,  wrapped  up  in  a  flannel 
dressing-go vvn,  with  a  beard  of  portentous  length.  His  cheeks  had  fallen  in. 
His  brow  was  corrugated  by  premature  wrinkles,  and  the  corners  of  his  mouth 
were  drawn  down  as  though  a  look  of  mental  distress  had  become  quite  a  thing 
of  habit  with  him  now. 

"Who  are  you?"  he  growled  out,  as  Todd  cane  into  the  room,  and  with  a 
show  of  carefulness  closed  the  door  after  him.    "  Who  are  you,  eh?" 
"  Come  to  shave  you,  sir,  and  dress  your  hair." 

"  Ah  cried  Mundell,  as  he  gave  a  start.  "Where  have  I  heard  that  voice 
before?  Why  does  it  put  me  in  mind  of  my  loss  ?  My  £8000  !  My  money— my 
money.  Am  I  to  lose*  another  £8000?  That  will  make  £16,000.  Oh,  dear. 
Oh,  dear.    Oh  dear  !    Who  are  you  ?    Speak,  friend.    Who  are  you  ? 

"  Only  a  barber,  sir/5  said  Todd,  "  come  to  shave  you,  and  dress  your  hair. 
Ain  t  you  well,  sir  ?    Shall  I  call  again?" 

"  No — no — no  !  My  losses  distracts  me.  Only  the  barber?  Ah,  yes  to  be 
sure — only  the  barber.  I  must  go  to  court,  and  ask  for  the  duke  of  something. 
Good  God,  yes !  I  will  see  all  the  dukes,  until  I  find  out  my  duke.  He  who 
had  my  £8000,  and  has  left  me  so  poor  and  so  wretched.  Oh,  dear  !  Oh,  dear, 
my  money — my  hard-earned  money.  Oh,  gracious,  if  I  were  to  lose  another 
£8000,  I  should  go  mad — mad — mad  !" 
"  Shall  I  begin,  sir  ?  '  said  Todd. 

u  Begin  ?  Begin  what  ?  Oh,  yes,  my  hair  ;  and  I  must  be  shaved  too,  or 
they  won't  let  me  in  at  all.  I  will  have  the  pearls  or  my  money.  I  will  see  all 
the  dukes,  and  pounce  upon  my  duke.  Oh,  yes,  I  will  have  the  pearls  or  the 
money." 

"  Pearls,  sir  ?''  said  Todd,  as  he  began  to  arrange  the  shaving  apparatus  he 
J  had  brought  with  him.    "  Did  you  say  pearls  ?" 

"  Bah!  what  do  you  know  about  pearls,  who,  I  dare  say,  never  saw  one.  Bah  ! 
You— a  poor  beggarlv  barber.    But  I  will  have  them  back,  or  my  money.  I  will 

) 


it 


lit 


II  pre  Jei 

7  vWi(2r 


|f»oiifV-i 

Pit*?" 


be 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


249 


raise  London,  but  I  will  find  them,  I  will  see  the  queen  herself,  and  know 
what  duke  she  gave  the  pearls  to,  and  then  *  will  find  him  and  have  my 
money/* 

u  Now,  sir.    A  little  this  way.*  * 
H  Oh,  dear— oh,  dear  !  What  do  you  charge  Y*  V 


JOHANNA  AND  ARABELLA  MEET  AND  CONSULT  COLONEL  JEFFERY,  IN  TEMPLE  GARDENS. 

u  Anything  you  please,  sin  When  I  come  to  a  gentleman,  I  always  leave 
it  to  his  generosity  to  pay  me  what  he  pleases/' 

"  Ah !  more  expense.  More  expense.  That  means  that  I  am  to  pay  for  the 
service  done  me,  and  something  else  besides  for  the  sake  of  a  compliment  upon 
my  liberality.  But  I  ain't  liberal.  I  won't  be  generous.  Where's  my  money, 
my  pearls  ;  and  now  to  goto  all  sorts  of  expense  to  go  to  court,  and  see  dukes. 
Oh,  the  devil.   Eh?  Eh?* 

1 1     i  ,.         ...  „,  ,  I,.    M^________   „.     ..  [     ■  ,  i     ,        i  -  -  -|  •  i    I   i  t,    ,     i     i       ..ir:  ;  -  1    '   "'  '  "M " "' 

No  32. 


250  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"Sir!" 

"  Stop.    What  an  odd  thing.    Why,  you  are  very — very  99 

"  Very  what,  sir  I"  said  Todd,  making  a  hideous  face. 
:  "Like  the  duke,  or  my  fancy  leads  me  astray.   Wait  a  bit.  Don't  move." 

Mundell  placed  his  hands  over  his  eyes  for  a  moment,  and  then  suddenly 
withdrawing  them  he  looked  at  Todd  again. 

"  Yes,  you  are  like  the  duke.  How  came  you  to  be  like  a  duke,  the  villain. 
Oh,  if  I  could  but  see  my  pearls.5' 

«  What  duke,  sir  ?" 

"  I  would  give  £500— no,  I  mean  £100,  that  is  £50,  to  know  what  duke,3' 
screamed  Mundell  with  vehemence.  Then  suddenly  lapsing  into  quietness,  he 
added — "  Shave  me.  Shave  me,  1  will  go  to  court,  and  St.  James's  shall  ring 
again  with  the  story  of  my  pearls.  Lost  !  lost !  lost !  Did  he  abscond  from 
his  wife  with  them,  or  was  he  murdered?  I  wonder  ?  I  wonder  ? — £8000 
gone  all  at  once.    I  might  have  borne  such  a  loss  by  degrees,  but  d — n  it  " 

u  Really,  sir,  if  you  will  go  on  talking  about  pearls  and  dukes,  the  shaving 
brush  will  go  into  your  mouth,  and  there's  no  such  thing  as  avoiding  it." 

"  Confound  you.  Go  on.  Shave  me  and  have  done  with  it.  Oh,  dear  ! 
Oh,  dear  !" 

John  Mnndell  now  contented  himself  by  uttering  drawn  sighs,  with  now  and 
then  the  accompaniment  of  a  hideous  groan,  while  Todd  lathered  his  face  witft 
great  affected  care.  The  sighs  and  the  groans  both,  however,  ceased  soon,  and 
Todd  became  aware  that  the  eyes  of  John  Mundell  were  fixed  upon  him  with  a 
steady  stare.  No  doubt,  the  usurer  was  recalling  bit  by  bit  to  his  memory  the 
features  of  the  sham  duke,  and  comparing  them  with  Todd's.  To  be  sure,  upon 
the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  Mundell  Villa,  Todd  had  taken  every  precaution  to 
disguise  his  features;  but  then  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  features  of  the  barber 
were  rather  peculiar,  and  that  John  Mundell  was  professionally  a  more  than 
ordinary  keen  observer,  and  thus  it  was  that,  as  Todd  lathered  away,  he  became 
more  and  more  impressed  by  the  fact  that  there  was  a  startling  resemblance 
between  Todd  and  the  nobleman  who  had  borrowed  £8000  upon  the  string  of 
pearls. 

"  What's  your  name  ?"  he  said. 
-"Todd/' 

u  Humph  !  a  well-to-do  man 
"  Poor  as  Job." 

How  very  like  you  are  to  a  great  man.  Do  you  ever  go  to  court  ?  I  think — 
I  am  sure  I  have  seen  you  somewhere/' 

"  Very  likely/'  said  Todd,  "  for  I  often  go  there." 
u  What,  to  court  ?" 

€C  Nay,  sir,  not  to  court,  but  somewhere.  Will  you  have  the  whiskers  left 
just  as  they  are,  or  taken  off  entirely,  sir  ?" 

Tap !  tap  !  came  at  the  chamber  door,  and  a  boy  peeped  in.  saying — 
"  Please,  sir,  the  tailor  has  brought  the  things/' 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

THE  MURDER  OF  THE  USURER. 


"  Come  in  !  Come  in !  More  expense.  More  losses.    As  if  an  honest  man, 
who  only  does  what  he  can  with  his  own,  could  not  come  to  the  court  with  a 
hope  of  meeting  with  a  civil  reception,  unless  he  were  decked  out  like  a  bulfoan 
Come  in.  Weil,  who  are  you  ?" 

"Augustus  Snipes,  sir,  at  your  service.  Brought  home  the  clothes,  sir.  The 
full  dress  suit  you  were  so  good  as  to  order  to  be  ready  to-day,  sir/' 


4 


bo**? 


21 


3% 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


f 


251 


l*  Oh,  you  are  a  tailor  ?" 

M  Oh,  dear  no,  sir.  We  are  not  tailors  now  a  days.  We  are  artists/' 

u  Curse  Y°n>  whatever  you  are.    I  don't  care.    Some  artist  I'm  afraid  has 

done  me  out  of  £8000.    Oh,  dear.    Put  down  the  things.  What  do  they 

come  to?" 

"  Eighteen  pounds  ten  shillings  and  threepence,  sir/' 

John  Mundell  gave  a  deep  groan,  and  the  tailor  brushed  past  Todd  to  place 
the  clothes  upon  a  side  table.  As  he  returned  he  caught  sight  of  Todd's  face, 
and  in  an  instant  his  face  lighting  up,  he  cried— 

"Ah!  how  do?  How  do?1' 

"  Eh  !" said  Todd. 

"  How  did  the  Pompadour  coloured  coat  and  the  velvet  smalls  do,  eh  ?-~ Fit 
well  ?  Lord,  what  a  rum  start  for  a  barber  to  have  a  suit  of  clothes  fit  for  a 
duke." 

«  Duke  !"  cried  Mundell. 

Todd  lifted  one  of  his  huge  feet  and  gave  the  "artist"  a  kick  that  sent  him 
sprawling  to  the  door  of  the  room. 

"That,"  he  said,  "will  teach  you  to  make  game  of  a  poor  man  with  a  large 
family,  you  scoundrel.    What,  you  won't  go,  won't  you  ?    The  *? 

The  artist  shot  out  at  the  door  like  lightning,  and  flew  down  the  stairs  as  though 
the  devil  himself  was  at  his  heels.  Todd  carefully  closed  the  door  again,  and 
fastened  it  bj  a  little  bolt  that  was  upon  it.  A  strange  expression  was  upon  the 
countenance  of  John  Mundell.  His  face  looked  perfectly  convulsed,  and  he 
slowly  rose  from  his  chair.  Todd  placed  one  of  his  huge  hands  upon  his  breast 
and  pushed  him  back  again. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?"  said  Todd. 

"  He — he — knows  you." 

"Well." 

"The  Pompadour  coloured  coat !  Ah,  I  recollect  the  Pompadour  coloured 
coat,  too.  I  thought  I  knew  your  face.  There  was  a  something,  too,  about  your 
voice  that  haunted  me  like  the  remembrance  of  a  dream.    You — you — are  * 

"What?5  ? 

H  Help— help !  Tell  me  if  I  be  mad,  or  if  you  are  a  duke  in  the  disguise  of  a 
barber,  or  a  barber  in  the  likeness  of  a  duke.  Ah,  that  Pompadour  coloured 
coat,  it  sticks — sticks  in  my  throat." 

"  I  wish  it  did,"  growled  Todd.    "  What  do  you  mean,  Mr.  Mundell  ?— Pray 
express  yourself.    What  do  you  mean  by  those  incoherent  expressions  ?" 
Are  you  human  ?" 

Dear  me,  I  hope  so.  Really,  sir,  you  look  quite  wild/' 
Stop — stop—let  me  think — the  face — the  voice — the  Pompadour  coat— the 
costume  fit  for  a  duke.  It  must  be  so. — Man  or  devil,  I  wiil  grapple  with 
you,  for  you  have  got  my  pearls  and  my  money.  My  <£8000— my  gold  that  I 
have  lived,  that  I  have  toiled  for— that  I  have  schemed,  and  cheated  to  keep  up 
— that  I  have  shut  my  eyes  to  all  sights  for — and  my  heart  to  all  tender  emo- 
tions. You  have  my  money,  and  I  will  denounce  you !" 
"Stop,"  said  Todd. 

The  usurer  paused  in  what  he  was  saying,  but  he  still  glared  at  Todd  fiercely, 
and  his  eyes  protruded  from  their  orbits,  while  the  muscles  of  his  mouth  worked 
as  though  he  were  still  trying  to  utter  audible  sounds,  but  by  some  power  was 
denied  the  capacity  to  utter  "hem. 

"  You  aay  you  have  lost  pearls  ?" 

UYes — yes. — Orient  pearls." 

Todd  dived  his  hand  into  the  breast  of  his  apparel  and  produced  the  string  of 
pearls.  He  held  them  before  the  ravished  and  dazzled  eyes  of  John  Mundell,  as 
he  said— 

"  Were  they  like  these  ?" 

With  a  cry  of  joy  Mundell  grasped  at  the  pearls.  Tears  of  gratified  avarice 
gushed  fr&m  his  eyes, 


'#<»- 



252 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"My  own — my  own  pearls — my  beautiful  pearls  I— Oh,  blessed  chance— my 
pearls  back  again.    Ha!  ha!  ha V 

V  Ha !"  echoed  Todd,  as  he  stepped  behind  the  chair  on  which  John  Mundell 
was  sitting. 

With  his  left  hand  he  took  one  vigorous  grasp  of  the  remaining  hair  upon  the 
head  of  the  usurer,  and  forced  his  back  against  the  chair.  In  another  instant 
there  was  a  sickening  gushing  sound.  Todd,  with  the  razor  he  held  in  his  right 
hand,  had  nearly  cut  John  Mundell's  head  off.  Then  he  held  him  still  by  the 
hair.  Gasp — gasp — gasp — bubble — gasp — bubble. — Ah !  ah !  ah ! — Goggle*— 
goggle.  A  slight  convulsive  movement  of  the  lashes,  and  the  eyes  set,  and 
became  opaquely  dim.  The  warm  blood  still  bubbled,  but  John  Mundell  was 
dead.  Todd  picked  up  the  pearls  and  carefully  replaced  them  in  his  bosom 
again. 

*•  How  many  strange  events,"  he  said,  "hang  upon  these  baubles.  Ah,  it's 
only  one  more— a  dirty  job  rather — but  business  is  business  !"  T 

He  stood  in  the  room  as  silent  as  a  statue,  and  listened  intently.  Not  the 
slightest  sound  indicative  of  the  proximity  of  any  one  came  upon  his  ears.  He 
felt  quite  convinced  that  the  deed  of  blood  had  been  done  in  perfect  secrecy.  But 
then  there  he  was.— Who  but  he  could  be  accused  ?  There  he  stood,  the  self- 
convicted  murderer.  Had  he  not  done  the  deed  with  the  weapon  of  his  handi- 
craft that  he  had  brought  to  the  house  ?  How  was  Todd  to  escape  the  seeming 
inevitable  cold-blooded  murder  ?  We  shall  see.  Huddled  up  in  the  chair,  was 
the  dead  body.  Mundell  had  not  fallen  out  of  the  capacious  easy  seat  in  which 
he  sat  when  he  breathed  his  last.  The  blood  rolled  to  the  floor,  where  it  lay  in 
a  steaming  mass.  Todd  was  careful — very  careful  not  to  tread  in  it,  and  he 
looked  down  his  garments  to  see  if  there  were  any  tell-tale  spots  of  gore ;  but 
standing  behind  the  chair  to  do  the  deed,  as  he  had  done,  he  had  been  saved 
from  anything  of  the  sort.  There  he  stood,  externally  spotless,  like  many  a  seem- 
ing and  smirking  sinner  in  this  world — but  oh,  how  black  and  stained  within  ! 

"Humph!"  said  Todd;  "John  Mundell  was  half  distracted  by  a  heavy  loss. 
He  was  ill,  and  his  mind  was  evidently  affected.  He  could  not  even  shave  him- 
self. Oh,  it  is  quite  evident  that  John  Mundell,  unable  to  bear  his  miseries,  real 
or  ideal,  any  longer,  in  a  fit  of  partial  insanity,  cut  his  throat.  Yes,  that  will 
do." 

Todd  still  kept  the  razor  in  his  grasp.  What  is  he  going  to  do  ?— Murder 
again  the  murdered  ?— Is  he  afraid  that  a  man, 

11  With  twenty  murders  on  his  head  \n 

will  jostle  him  from  his  perilous  pinnacle  of  guilty  safety  ? — No.  He  takes  one 
of  the  clammy  dead  hands  in  his  own— he  clasps  the  half  rigid  fingers  over  the 
handle  of  the  razor,  and  then  he  holds  them  until,  in  the  course  of  a  minute  or 
so,  they  have  assumed  the  grasp  he  wishes,  and  the  razor,  with  which  he,  Todd, 
did  the  deed  of  blood,  is  held  listlessly,  but  most  significantly,  in  the  hand  of  the 
dead. 

"  That  will  do/1  said  Todd. 

The  door  is  reached  and  unfastened,  and  the  barber  slips  out  of  the  room*  He 
closes  the  door  again  upon  the  fetid  hot  aroma  of  the  blood  that  is  there,  fresh 
from  the  veins  of  a  human  being  like  himself^no — no — not  like  himself.— No 
one  can  be  like  Sweeney  Todd.  He  is  a  being  of  his  own  species — distinct;  alone, 
an  incarnation  of  evil !  Todd  was  in  no  particular  hurry  to  descend  the  stairs. 
He  gained  the  passage  with  tolerable  deliberation,  and  then  he  heard  voices  in 
the  parlour. 

u  What  a  man  you  are!"  said  Mrs.  Blisset. 

i€  Ah,  my  dear,  I  am  indeed.  Who  would  not  be  a  man  for  your  sake  ?  As 
for  Mr.  Blisset,  I  don't  think  him  worth  attention." 

"  Nor  I,"  said  the  lady,  snapping  her  fingers,  "  I  don't  value  him  that.  The 
poor  mean-spirited  wretch— he's  not  to  be  compared  to  you,  captain/' 

"  I  should  think  not,  my  love.    Have  you  got  any  change  in  your  pocket  ?" 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


253 


"  Yes.    I— I— think  I  have  about  seven  shillings  or  so." 

u  That  will  do.  Much  obliged  to  you^madam — I  mean,  my  dear  Mrs.  B.  Ah, 
if  you  would  but  smother  Blisset,  so  that  I  might  have  the  joy  of  making  you 
Mrs.  Captain  Coggan,  what  a  happy  man  I  should  be/1 

Todd  tapped  at  the  door. 

"  What  was  that  ?"  cried  the  captain  in  evident  alarm;   "  Is  it  Blisset  ?" 

"  No,  captain— oh,  no :  I  should  like  to  see  him  interrupt  me,  indeed.  A 
pretty  thing  that  J  cannot  do  what  I  like  in  the  house  I  keep.    Come  in." 

Todd  just  opened  the  door  far  enough  to  introduce  his  hideous  head ;  and 
having  done  so,  stared  at  the  pair  with  such  a  selection  of  frightful  physiogno- 
mical changes,  that  they  both  sat  transfixed  with  horror.  At  length  Todd  broke 
the  silence  by  saying — 

V  He's  frightfully  nervous." 

€i  What  ? — what  ? — who  ?**  gasped  the  captain. 

11  What  ?"  repeated  Mrs.  Blisset. 

"  What's  his  name,  upstairs,  that  I  was  sent  for  to  shave  just  now." 
**  What,  Mr.  Mundell.    Ah,  poor  man,  he  has  been  in  a  very  nervous  state 
ever  since  he  has  been  here.    He  continually  talks  of  a  heavy  loss  he  has  had.* 
i€  Yes,"  said  Todd, f<  I  suppose  he  means  you  to  pay  me." 

"  Yes,  ma'am.  He  says  he  is  too  nervous  and  excited  for  me  to  shave  him  just 
nowt  but  he  has  borrowed  a  razor  from  me  and  says  he  will  shave  himself  in  the 
course  of  an  hour  or  so,  and  send  it  back  to  me." 

"  Oh,  very  well.  Your  money  will  be  sent  with  the  razor,  no  doubt ;  for  al- 
though Mr.  Mundell  is  so  continually  talking  of  his  losses,  they  tell  me  he  is  as 
rich  as  a  Jew." 

"  Thank  you,  ma'am.    Good  morning ;  good  morning,  sir." 

The  captain  cast  a  supercilious  glance  upon  Todd,  but  did  not  deign  to  make 
the  remotest  reply  to  the  mock  civility  with  which  he  was  bidden  good  morning. 
No  one  stands  so  much  upon  his  dignity,  as  he  whose  title  to  any  at  all  is  ex- 
ceedingly doubtful.  The  female  heart,  however,  is  mollified  by  devotion,  and 
Mrs.  Blisset  returned  the  adieu  of  Todd.  When  he  got  into  the  passage,  he  uttered 
one  of  his  extraordinary  laughs,  and  then  opening  the  street  door,  he  let  him- 
self out.  Todd  by  no  means  hurried  back  to  Fleet  Street,  but  as  he  walked  along 
he  now  and  then  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  shook  his  huge  hands,  which,  to 
those  acquainted  with  his  peculiarities,  would  have  been  sufficient  indications  of 
the  fact  that  he  was  enjoying  himself  greatly.   At  length  he  spoke-— 

u  So — so — what  a  Providence  we  have,  after  all,  watching  over  us.  i  The  mo- 
ment I  am  in  any  real  danger  as  regards  the  string  of  pearls,  up  starts  some  cir- 
cumstance that  enables  me  to  ward  it  off.  Well,  well,  some  day  I  almost  think 
I  shall  turn  religious  and  build  a  church,  and  endow  it.    Ha !" 

Toad  was  so  tickled  at  the  idea  of  his  building  a  church  and  endowing  it,  that 
he  stopped  at  the  corner  of  Milford  Lane,  to  enjoy  an  unusual  amount  of  laughter ; 
as  he  did  so  he  saw  no  other  than  Mrs.  Ragg^  slowly  coming  towards  him. 

"  Ah,"  he  said,  H  Tobias's  mother.  The  mother  of  the  Tobias  that  was  — I 
will  avoid  her." 

He  darted  on,  and  was  through  Temple  Bar  before  Mrs.  Ragg  could  make  up 
her  mind  which  way  to  run,  for  run  she  fully  intended  to  do,  when  she  saw  Todd 
standing  at  the  corner  of  Milford  Lane.  But  she  had  no  occasion  for  hurrying 
j  from  him,  as  he  walked  in  the  direction  of  his  shop  as  speedily  as  possible. 
Although  he  was  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  clever  manner  he  had  ridded  him- 
self of  the  usurer,  who  probably  might  have  been  a  source  of  annoyance  to  him, 
and  who  might  eventually  have  been  the  means  of  bringinghim  to  justice,  he  thought 
that  he  might  be  losing  opportunitie  sof  making  more  victims  tor  the  accumula- 
tion of  his  ill-gottea  wealth. 


254  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


CH  APTER  LIV. 


SIR  RICHARD  BLUNT  S  PROGRESS. 


Wb  will  now  return,  and  see  with  what  zeal  Sir  Richard  Blunt  and  his  active 
co-operators  are  at  work,  and  how  that  persevering  gentleman  has  taken  the 
cause  of  humanity  in  hand,  with  a  determined  will  to  bring  the  atrocious  crimi- 
nals to  a  just  tribunal.  Sir  Richard  and  his  men  continued  to  pass  and  repass 
Todd's  window,  and  one  or  other  had  an  eye  upon  the  door,  so  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  for  any  one  to  go  in  without  the  officers  seeing  them  ;  and  as 
some  one  of  the  officers  followed  each  customer  into  the  shop,  under  some  pre- 
tence, and  did  not  return  till  the  strangers  had  been  shaved,  it  was  impossible 
that  he  could  continue  his  murderous  trade.  Thebaiouet,  however,  could  not 
continue  to  remain  long  in  the  vicinity  of  Todd's  shop' without  exciting  th(S 
suspicions  of  that  crafty  demon  in  human  form.  Todd  seemed  very  ill  at  ease,  and 
his  eye  was  more  frequently  at  the  hole  which  commanded  a  view  of  everything 
within  range  of  his  window,  and  in  spite  of  the  various  guises  the  officers  assumed, 
he  seemed  to  take  a  more  close  survey  of  their  features  than  he  had  done  when 
they  had  first  visited  his  shop.  It  was  rarely  that  his  customers  came  in  pairs, 
otherwise  it  would  have  continually  prevented  his  schemes  ;  but  now  none  came 
alone,  each  one  had  his  companion  or  attendant.  One  morning,  almost  as  so<>n  as 
the  barber  had  opened  his  shutters,  a  seafaring  man  entered  his  shop  in  haste,  and 
throwing  himself  on  a  chair,  requested  to  be  shaved  immediately.  He  appeared 
to  have  but  lately  returned  from  India,  or  some  other  hot  climate,  for  his  features 
were  well  bronzed,  and  from  his  general  aspect  and  conversation,  he  appeared  to 
be  a  man  of  superior  station  in  life.  However,  in  this  manner,  the  barber 
reasoned  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  should  have  a  good  morning's  work 
if  none  of  his  tormentors  came  to  avert  his  intentions. 

u  A  fine  morning,  sir,"  said  Todd. 

66  Very/'  said  the  stranger;  "but  make  haste  and  accomplish  your  task  ;  I 
have  a  payment  to  make  to  a  merchant  in  the  city  this  morning  by  nine  o'clock, 
and  it  is  now  more  than  half-past  eight." 

"  I  will  polish  you  off  in  no  time/'  said  the  barber,  with  a  grin  ;  "  then  you 
can  proceed  and  transact  your  business  in  good  time.  Sit  a  little  nearer  this 
way,  sir,  the  chair  will  only  stand  firmly  in  one  position,  and  it  is  exceed- 
ingly uncomfortable  for  gentlemen  to  remain,  even  for  a  few  moments,  on  an  un- 
steady chair." 

Todd  adjusted  the  chair,  by  dint  of  what  appeared  to  the  stranger  to  be  a  deal 
of  unnecessary  trouble,  and  he  said — 

"  You  seem  remarkably  anxious  to  put  the  chair  in  what  you  call  a  comfortable 
position,  but  we  sailors  are  rather  rough,  therefore  you  need  not  make  so  much 
fuss  about  my  comfort  for  so  short  a  time,  but  proceed  with  the  business/' 

Todd  seemed  rather  disconcerted  at  the  stranger's  remarks,  and  could  not  un- 
derstand whether  his  words  were  uttered  by  chance,  or  imported  more  than  Todd 
liked." 

"  It  is  a  maxim  of  mine,  sir,"  said  Todd,  "to  make  everybody  that  comes  to 
my  shop  as  comforrable  as  possible  during  the  short  time  they  remain  with  me. 
One  half- inch  further  this  way,  sir,  and  you  will  be  in  a  better  position. " 

As  he  spoke  he  drew  the  chair  to  the  spot  he  wished  it,  which  circumstance 
seemed  to  please  him,  for  he  looked  around  him,  and  indulged  in  one  of  those 
hideous  grins  he  executed  just  when  he  was  on  the  point  of  committing  some 
diabolical  act.  The  gurgling  noise  he  made  in  his  throat  caused  the  seaman  to 
give  a  sudden  start,  which  Todd  perceiving,  sai  * — 

I    "  Did  you  hear  the  noise  my  poor  old  cat  made,  sir  ?  she  often  does  so  when 
strangers  come  in,  sir."  , 
5'  It  did  not  sound  much  like  a  cat ;  hut  if  I  had  an  animal  that  made  such  a  } 


V 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  255 

demoniacal  noise,  I  should  soon  send  her  to  rest.  Every  one  to  their  taste,  though  ; 
I  suppose  you  term  the  noise,  that  almost  startled  me,  agreeable \* 

f1  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  barber  ;  u  1  like  to  hear  her,  because  I  think  she  is  enjoy- 
ing herself ;  and  you  know  men  and  beasts  require  a  something  to  stimulate  the 
system/' 

By  this  time  the  lather  was  over  the  seaman's  face.  He  could  not  speak, 
except  at  the  imminent  risk  of  swallowing  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  soap 
that  Todd  had  covered  his  face  with.  The  barber  seemed  dexterously  to  ply  a 
razor  on  the  seaman's  face,  which  caused  him  to  make  wry  faces,  indicating  that 
the  operation  was  painful;  the  grimaces  grew  more  fantastic  to  the  beholder, but 
evidently  less  able  to  be  withstood  by  the  person  operated  upon. 

*  Good  God,  barber,"  he  at  length  ejaculated,  '*  why  the  devil  don't  you  keep 
better  materials  ? — I  cannot  stand  this.  The  razor  you  are  attempting  to  shave 
me  with  has  not  been  ground,  I  should  think,  for  a  twelvemonth.  Get  another 
and  finish  me  off,  as  you  term  it,  in  no  time.'* 

"  Exactly,  sir — I  will  get  one  more  suited  to  your  beard,  and  will  return  in 
one  minute,  when  you  will  be  polished  off  to  my  satisfaction/* 

He  entered  the  little  parlour  at  the  back  of  the  shop,  but  previously  he  took 
the  precaution  of  putting  his  eye  to  the  hole  that  gave  a  sight  into  the  street ; 
turning  round,  apparently  satisfied  with  his  scrutiny,  he  went  in  search  of  the 
superior  razor  he  spoke  of.  A  low  grating  sound,  like  that  of  a  ragged  cord 
commencing  the  moving  of  pullies,  was  to  be  heard,  when  Sir  Richard  Blunt 
threw  the  door  open,  and  took  a  seat  in  the  shop  near  where  the  stranger 
was  sitting.  He  was  so  disguised  that  Todd  could  not  recognise  him  as 
the  same  person  that  had  been  in  his  shop  so  many  times  before.  The 
barber's  face  was  purple  with  rage  and  disappointment ;  but  he  restrained  it 
by  an  immense  effort,  and  spoke  to  Sir  Richard  in  a  tolerably  calm  tone — 

"  Hair  cut,  sir,  or  shaved,  sir  ?  I  shall  not  be  long  before  I  have  finished  this 
gentleman  off — perhaps  you  would  like  to  call  in  again  in  a  few  minutes  V 

"  Thank  you  ;  I  am  not  in  a  particular  hurry,  and  being  rather  tired  I  will 
rest  myself  in  your  shop,  if  you  have  no  objection." 

"  My  shop  is  but  just  open,  and  our  ventilation  being  bad,  it  is  much  more 
pleasant  to  inhale  the  street  air  for  a  few  minutes,  than  the  vitiated  air  of  houses 
in  this  neighbourhood." 

"  I  am  not  much  afraid  of  my  health  for  a  few  minutes,  therefore  would 
rather  take  rest." 

Todd  turned  his  face  away  and  ground  his  teeth,  when  he  found  that  all  his 
arguments  were  unavailing  in  moving  the  will  of  his  new  customer ;  therefore  he 
soon  finished  shaving  the  first  customer. 

i€  At  your  service,  sir,"  said  Todd  to  Sir  Richard,  who  seemed  absorbed  in 
reading  a  newspaper  he  took  from  his  pocket.  He  looked  up,  and  saw  that  the 
stranger  was  nearly  ready  to  leave,  therefore  he  continued  reading  till  the  stran- 
ger was  in  the  act  of  passing  out  of  the  shop,  when  he  said — 

"  What  time  do  the  royal  family  pass  through  Temple-bar  to  the  City  this 
morning?" 

' 4  Half-past  nine,"  said  Todd. 

"  Then  I  have  not  time  to  be  shaved  now — I  will  call  in  again.  Good  morn- 
ing/'   Saying  which  he  also  left  the  shop. 

In  a  few  minutes  after  leaving  the  shop  of  Todd,  Sir  Richard  and  the 
men  employed  by  him  were  in  consultation  ;  and  be  urged  strongly  that 
the  men  should  remain  nearer  to  the  shop  than  they  had  hitherto  done, 
•for  if  Sir  Richard  had  been  two  minutes  later,  most  likely  he  who  had  es- 
caped the  angry  billows,  would  have  been  launched  into  eternity  by  the  villanous 
barber. 

For  the  remainder  of  the  day  Todd  was  more  closely  besieged  than  ever,  and 
when  night  came  on,  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  with  two  of  his  men,  set  watch  upon 
the  house  of  Mrs.  Lovett.  Sir  Richard  had  provided  himself  with  skeleton  keys, 
candles,  and  other  housebreaking  implements,  for  the  purpose  of  entering  Mrs. 


256  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Lovett's  house  after  that  lady  had  retired,  as  he  had  the  full  sanction  of  the  law 
to  use  every  means  he  could  think  of  in  bringing  the  culprits  to  justice*  About 
eleven  o'clock  Mrs.  Lovett  was  seen  in  her  bedroom,  with  a  candle  in  her  hand, 
and  making  every  preparation  for  retiring  ;  in  a  few  minutes  the  light  was  put 
j  out,  and  everything  seemed  still  as  death.  Nothing  was  to  be  heard  in  the 
1  adjoining  streets  but  the  monotonous  tread  of  the  watchmen,  with  an  occasional 
drawling  forth  of  the  hour  of  the  night.  This  was  the  time  Sir  Richard  had 
waited  for— it  was  the  time  for  him  to  act.  He  approached  the  street  door  and 
applied  his  implements  with  success,  for  the  door  yielded  to  the  baronet's  tools, 
and  he  soon  was  in  the  shop  of  the  piemaker.  As  complete  a  silence  reigned 
within  as  was  maintained  without. 

■ 

He  waited  for  some  time  yet,  though,  before  he  moved.  Finding,  at  length, 
that  all  was  profoundly  still,  and  feeling  quite  convinced  that  Mrs.  Lovett  had 
really  retired  for  the  night,  the  magistrate  set  about  procuring  a  light.  By  the 
aid  of  some  chemical  matches  that  he  had  with  him,  this  was  soon  accomplished, 
and  a  faint  blue  light  shone  upon  the  various  articles  in  the  pie-shop  of  Mrs. 
Lovett.  He  then  took  a  small  piece  of  wax  taper  from  his  pocket,  and  lit  it. 
This  gave  him  sufficient  light  to  enable  him  to  distinguish  with  accuracy  any 
object  in  the  place.  Once  again  he  listened,  in  order  to  be  quite  sure  that  Mrs. 
Lovett  was  not  stirring,  and  then,  finding  himself  perfectly  satisfied  upon  that 
head,  he  fearlessly  commenced  an  examination  of  the  shop.  There  was  nothing 
to  excite  any  very  particular  attention,  except  the  apparatus  for  lowering  the 
platform  upon  which  the  pies  were  sent  up  from  the  ovens  below,  and  in  a  few  B 
moments  the  whole  attention  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  concentrated  upon  that  ' 
contrivance.  He  did  not  meddle  with  it  further,  than  looking  at  it  sufficiently  to 
fully  comprehend  it,  for  he  had  other  views  just  then.  After,  then,  making 
himself  quite  master  of  the  details  of  that  piece  of  machinery,  he  turned  his 
whole  attention  to  the  parlour.  By  the  aid  of  a  skeleton-key  which  he  took 
from  his  pocket,  he  opened  the  deor  with  ease,  and  at  once  entered  that  room, 
where  lay  the  remains  of  the  supper  which  Mrs.  Lovett  had  so  liberally  pro- 
vided for  Sweeney  Todd.  This  parlour  was  rather  a  large  rambling-room,  with 
a  number  of  snug,  handy  looking  cupboards  in  various  corners.  It  was  to- 
wards those  cupboards  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  directed  his  attention.  They 
were  all  locked,  but  with  the  means  he  had  with  him,  ordinary  locks  presented 
no  impediment  to  the  prosecution  of  his  research. 


CHAPTER  LV. 
Tobias  is  much  better. 

Suddenly  he  heard,  Or  fancied  he  heard  a  noise  above  in  the  house,  like  the 
sudden  shutting  of  a  door. 

"  Oh,"  thought  Sir  Richard,  "  all  is  safe.  She  is  shutting  herself  in  for 
the  night,  I  suppose.  Well,  Mrs.  Lovett,  we  will  see  what  we  can  find  in 
your  cupboards/* 

The  little  bit  of  wax  light,  which  Sir  Richard  had  lighted,  gave  but  a  weak 
kind  of  twilight  while  he  moved  about  with  it  in  his  hand,  but  when  he  stuck 
it  on  a  corner  of  the  mantel-shelf  it  burnt  much  clearer,  and  was  sufficient  to 
enable  him  just  to  see  what  he  was  about.  So  thoroughly  impressed  was  he 
with  the  idea  that  Mrs.  Lovett  had  retired  to  rest,  that  he  paid  no  sort  of  atten- 
tion to  the  house,  and  may  be  said,  in  a  manner  of  speaking,  to  have  -negligently 
shut  his  ears  to  all  sounds  that  did  not  violently  attack  them.  He  opened  a 
cupboard,  in  which  were  some  books,  and  on  the  top-shelf,  lying  in  a  confused 
kind  of  heap,  were  some  watches,  and  several  sets  of  very  rich  buck]*** for  shoes. 
There  were,  likewise,  several  snuff-boxes  in  the  lot.    Were  these  little  trifles 


—  —  ,.      ■   )  ii   .    ]     ...    i  .  vjui  .    _  .         .1      iUn|  in    --       -      i    ■  i  .    _.     ■  i  .,     gin  ir    ■  -   -  i  -  ■•  -  1  '■  "  '      "      1    '     "     ' ■■■■■■  ■      1        "  nmm  — .  l«i.ii««        -  ■» 

 THE  STRING  OF  PE A RLS.   257 

presented  to  Mrs.  Lovett,  by  Todd,  as  proofs  of  the  thriving  business  he  was 
carrying  on  ?    Sir  Richard  put  two  of  the  watches  in  his  pocket. 

44  These  may  be  identified,"  he  said.  u  And  now,  if  I  can  but  find  the  door 
by  which  she  descends  to  the  oven  below,  I — — 9$ 

At  this  moment  he  was  startled  by  a  sudden  accession  of  light  in  the  room. 
His  first  idea,  and  a  natural  enough  one  too,  was,  that  the  little  wax  light  was 


SWEENEY  TODD  BUTCHERS  THE  TURNKEY, 


playing  some  vagaries  incidental  to  all  lights,  and  he  turned  rapidly  from  the 
cupboard  to  look  at  it.  What  was  his  astonishment  to  see  the  door  that  led  to 
the  upper  part  of  the  house  open,  and  Mrs.  Lovett,  partially  undressed,  standing 
upon  the  threshold  with  a  chamber-candlestick  in  her  hand  in  which  was  a  rush- 
light, the  dim  and  dubious  rays  from  which  had  produced  the  extra  illumination 

that  had  first  startled  Sir  Richard  Blunt.    No  wonder  that,  with  amazement  upon 

t  ii  ,  >  . 


Noj  33, 


REI 


his  countenance,  he  now  glanced  upon  this  vision,  for  such  it  looked  like  at  the 
moment ;  and  yet  he  saw  that  Mrs.  Lovett  it  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  and 
that  he  was  discovered  in  his  exploring  expedition  in  her  parlour  appeared  to 
be  one  of  those  facts  it  would  have  required  no  small  share  of  moral  hardihood  to 
dispute.  Seeing,  however,  should  not  always  be  believing,  despite  the  venerable 
saying  which  asserts  as  much. 

"  1  must  apprehend  her,  now,"  thought  Sir  Richard  Blunt ;  u  I  have  no  resource 
but  to  apprehend  her  at  once." 

With  this  object  he  was  about  to  dart  forward,  when  something  strange  about 
the  appearance  of  Mrs.  Lovett  arrested  his  attention,  and  stayed  his  progress. 
He  paused  and  remained  leaning  partly  upon  the  back  of  a  chair,  while  she 
slowly  advanced  into  the  room,  and  then  as  she  came  nearer  to  him  he  became 
convinced  of  what  he  had  begun  to  suspect,  namely — that  she  was  walking  in 
her  sleep.  There  is  something  awful  in  this  wandering  of  the  mortal  frame  when 
its  senses  seem  to  be  locked  up  in  death.  It  looks  like  a  resurrection  from  the 
grave — as  though  a  corpse  was  again  revisiting 

"The  glimpses  of  the  pale  moon 

and  even  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  with  all  his  constitutional  and  acquired  indifference 
to  what  would  be  expected  to  startle  any  one  else  could  not  help  shrinking  back  a 
little,  and  feeling  an  unusual  sort  of  terror.  This  transient  nervousness  of  his, 
though,  soon  passed  away,  and  then  he  set  himself  to  watch  the  actions  of  Mrs. 
Lovett  with  all  the  keenness  of  intense  interest  and  vividly  awakened  curiosity. 
She  did  not  disappoint  him.  Moving  forward  into  the  room  with  a  slow  and 
stately  action,  so  that  the  little  flame  of  the  rushlighlf  was  by  no  means  disturbed, 
she  reached  the  middle  of  the  parlour  and  then  she  paused.  She  assumed  such 
a  natural  attitude  of  listening,  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  voluntarily  shrunk  down 
behind  the  chair,  for  it  seemed  to  him  at  the  moment  that  she  must  have  heard 
him.    Then,  in  a  low  and  slightly  indistinct  tone,  she  spoke — 

"  Hush  !  hush  !  So  still.  The  poison  !  Where  is  the  poison  ? — Will  he 
take  it  ?  Ah,  that  is  the  question,  and  yet  how  clear  it  is.  But  he  is  fiend-like  in 
his  suspicions.    When  will  become?0 

She  moved  on  towards  the  cupboard,  in  which  the  decanter  of  poisoned  wine 
had  been  placed,  and  opening  it,  she  felt  in  vain  upon  the  shelf  for  it.  It  was 
still  upon  the  table,  and  if  anything  more  than  another  could  have  been  a  con- 
vincing pro  of  of  the  mere  mechanical  actions  of  the  somnambulist,  this  fact,  that 
she  passed  the  wine  where  it  was,  and  only  recollected  where  it  had  been,  would 
have  been  amply  sufficient.  After  finding  that  her  search  was  ineffectual,  she 
turned  from  the  cupboard,  and  stood  for  a  few  moments  in  silence.  Then  a 
horror  shook  her  frame,  and  she  said — 

(i  They  must  all  die.  Bandage  your  eyes,  and  you  will  shut  out  the  death 
shrieks.  Yes,  that  will  be  something,  to  get  rid  of  those  frightful  echoes. 
Ban.dage  after  bandage  will,  and  shall  do  it.93 

S*r  Richard  stood  silently  watching  ;  but  such  was  the  horror  of  the  tones  in 
which  she  spoke,  that  even  his  heart  felt  cold,  as  though  the  blood  flowed  but 
sluggishly  through  its  accustomed  channels. 

u  Who,,T  he  thought  to  himself,  "  for  the  world's  wealth,  would  have  this 
woman's  memory  of  the  past?" 

She  still  held  the  light,  and  it  appeared  to  him  as  though  she  were  about  to 
go  into  the  shop,  but  she  paused  before  she  reached  the  half-glass  door  of  com- 
munication between  it  and  the  parlour,  and  shook  like  one  in  an  ague. 

M  Another! — another  V  she  said.  f<  How  strange  it  is  that  I  always  know. 
The  air  seems  full  of  floating  particles  of  blood,  and  they  all  fall  upon  me !  Off, 
off.  Oh,  horror !  horror !  I  choke  — I  choke.  Off,  I  sav-  How  the  hot  blood 
steams  up  in  a  sickly  vapour.  There — there,  now  !  Why  does  Todd  let  them 
shriek  in  such  a  fashion  V9 

She  now  shook  so,  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  made  sure  she  would  either  drop 
the  light  she  carried,  or ,  at  all  events,  shake  it  out,  but  neither  of  these  con- 


- 


'  '  "  1   ''  '  ■  i         i   ,  -    .1     ii  — iiu  .i      i      m    ii.  m  !.■»-. i  i  ..«.  —  n. i  »  -II.-— ~     u,  urn  f     ,     jk'«P»  .  »»   *™    "*  »   *~   <»*««»-»  ■  *f 

i  —    "  ■    J  I  HI    ^-^^■»WI    ■         ■!■         lllll  — — — »~  11  hi"  —  ......        -   .   ..  ■  i  ^nr»<   -f  .  -  .L*.   *  «r  «^    i  ,r  I 

  _    THE^STRING  OE  PEARLS.  259 

tingencies  took  place ;  and,  after  a  few  moments,  she  got  more  calm.  The 
violent  agitation  of  her  nerves  gradually  subsided.  She  spoke  horrors,  but  it 
was  in  a  different  tone  ;  and  abandoning,  apparently,  the  intention  of  going  into 
the  shop,  she  approached  a  portion  of  the  parlour  which  had  not  yet  been  sub- 
jected to  the  scrutiny  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  although  it  would  not  ultimately 
have  escaped  him.  The  appearance  of  this  part  of  the  room  was  simply  that 
there  was  there  a  cupboard,  but  the  back  of  this  seeming  cupboard  formed,  in 
reality,  the  door  that  led  down  the  flight  of  stairs  to  the  other  strong  iron  door 
that  effectually  shut  in  the  captive  cook  to  his  duties  among  the  ovens.  This 
was  just  the  place  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  wanted  to  find  out ;  and  here 
we  may  as  well  state,  that  Sir  Richard  had  an  erroneous,  but  very  natural  idea, 
under  the  circumstances,  that  the  cook  or  cooks  were  accomplices  of  Mrs. 
Lovett  in  her  nefarious  transactions.  Had  he  been  at  all  aware  of  the  real 
state  of  affairs  below,  our  friend,  who  had  become  so  thoroughly  disgusted  with 
the  pies,  would  not  have  been  left  for  so  long  in  so  precarious  a  situation. 
Mrs.  Lovett  paused,  after  opening  the  lock  of  the  cupboard,  and  in  a  strange, 
sepulchral  sort  of  voice,  she  said — - 

"  Has  he  done  it 

"  Done  what  ?"  Sir  Richard  would  fain  have  asked;  but,  although  he  had  heard 
that  people,  when  walking  in  their  sleep,  will  answer  questions  put  to  them  under 
such  circumstances,  he  was  doubtful  of  the  fact,  and  by  no  means  wished  to 
break  the  trance  of  Mrs.  Lovett. 

"Has  he  done  it?"  she  again  repeated.  £*  Is  he  no  more  ?  How  many  does 
it  make?  One  — two— -three — four — five— six — seven.  Yes,  seven,  it  must  be 
the  seventh,  and  I  have  heard  all.  Hush!  hush  !  Todd — Todd— Todd,  I  say. 
Are  you  dead  ?  No — no.  He  would  not  drink  the  wine.  The  devil,  his  master, 
whispered  to  him  that  it  had  in  it  the  potent  drug  that  would  send  his  spirits 
howling  to  its  Maker,  and  he  would  not  drink.  God  !  he  would  not  drink  ! 
No— no— no!3' 

She  pronounced  these  words  in  such  a  tone  of  agony,  that  her  awakening 
from  the  strange  sleep  she  was  in,  seemed  to  be  a  natural  event  from  such  a 
strong  emotion,  but  it  did  not  take  place.  No  doubt  Mrs.  Lovett  had  been  long 
habituated  to  these  nocturnal  rambles.  She  now  began  slowly  and  carefully 
the  descent  of  the  stairs  leading  to  the  oven ;  but  she  had  not  got  many  paces, 
when  a  current  of  air  from  below,  and  which*  no  doubt,  came  through  the  small 
grating  in  the  iron  door,  extinguished  her  light.  This  circumstance,  however, 
appeared  to  be  perfectly  unnoticed  by  her,  and  she  proceeded  in  the  profound 
darkness  with  the  same  ease  as  though  she  had  had  a  light.  Sir  Richard  would 
have  followed  her  as  he  was,  but  in  the  dark  he  clia  not  feel  sufficient  confidence 
in  her  as  a  guide  to  do  so  ;  and  with  as  noiseless  a  tread  as  possible,  he  went 
back,  and  fetched  from  the  chimney-piece  shelf  his  own  little  wax  light,  which 
was  still  burning,  and  carefully  guarding  its  flame  from  a  similar  catastrophe 
to  what  had  happened  to  Mrs.  Lovett' s  light,  he  descended  the  staircase,  slowly 
and  cautiously,  after  her.  She  went  with  great  deliberation,  and  it  was  not 
until  being  rather  surprised  at  the  total  absence  of  sound  from  her  tread,  that 
upon  loking  down  to  her  feet,  he  found  that  they  were  bare.  After  this,  ha  could 
have  no  doubt  but  that,  almost  immediately  upon  her  lying  down  in  bed,  this 
somnambulistic  trance  had  come  over  her,  and  she  had  risen  to  creep  below,  and 
go  through  the  singular  scene  we  are  describing.  Step  by  step  they  both 
descended,  until  Mrs.  Lovett  came  to  the  iron  door.  She  did  not  attempt  to 
open  it.  If  she  had,  Heaven  only  knows  what  might  have  resulted  from  the 
desperate  risk  the  captive  cook  might  have  made  to  escape.  But  even  in  the 
madness  of  Mrs.  Lovett — for  a  sort  of  madness  the  scene  she  was  enacting 
might  be  caMed — there  was  a  kind  of  method,  and  she  had  no  idea  of  opening 
the  iron  door  that  shut  the  cook  from  the  upper  world.  Pausing,  then,  at  the 
door  leading  to  the  ovens,  she,  with  as  much  facility  as  though  she  had  had 
broad  daylight  to  do  it  in,  unfastened  the  small  square  wicket  in  the  top  part  of 


2G0 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


thfr  ;window.  A  dull  reddish  glare  of  light  came  through  it  from  the  furnaces, 
which  night  nor  day  were  extinguished. 

°  Hist !  hist !"  said  Mrs,  Lovett. 

"  Who  speaks  ?"  said  a  dull  hollow  voice,  which  sounded  as  if  coming  from 
the  tomb.  u  Who  speaks  to  me  V* 

Mrs.  Lovett  shut  the  small  wicket  in  a  moment. 

"  He  has  not  done  it,  yet/'  she  said.  "  He  has  not  done  it  yet.  No — no — 
no.  But  blood  will  flow — yes.  It  must  be  so.  One — two— three — four — five 
— six — seven.  The  seventh,  and  not  the  last.  Horrible!  horrible !— most 
horrible !  If,  now,  I  could  forget  " 

She  began  rapidly  to  ascend  the  stairs,  so  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  to  take 
two  at  a  step,  and  once  three,  in  order  to  be  up  before  her,  and  even  then  she 
reached  the  parlour  so  close  upon  him,  that  it  was  a  wonder  she  did  not  touch 
him  ;  but  he  succeeded  in  evading  her  by  a  hair's  breadth,  and  then  she  stood 
profoundly  still  for  a  few  moments  with  her  hands  clasped.  This  quiescent 
state,  however,  did  not  last  long,  for  suddenly,  with  eagerness,  she  leaned  for- 
ward, and  spoke  again. 

u  No  suspicion  !"  she  said ;  "  all  is  well ! — Dear  me,  heap  up  thousands  more. 
Oh,  Todd,  have  we  not  enough  ? — There,  clean  up  that  blood  ! — Here  is  a  cloth ! 
— Stop  it  up — don't  you  see  where  it  is  running  to,  like  a  live  thing  ? — He  is  not 
dead  yet. — How  clumsy. — Another  blow  with  the  hammer  ! — There — there— on 
the  forehead ! — What  a  crash  ! — Did  the  bone  go  that  time  ? — Why  the  eyes  have 
started  out! — Horror!  horror! — Oh,  God,  no — no — no — I  cannot  come  here 
again.— Oh,  God  !— Oh,  God  l" 

She  sunk  down  upon  the  floor  in  a  huddled  up  mass,  and  Sir  Richard  Blunt, 
who  could  not  forbear  shuddering  at  the  last  words  that  had  come  from  her  lips 
now  he  thought  that  her  trance  was  over,  rapidly  approaching  her,  said— 

"  Wretched  woman,  your  career  is  over." 

She  suddenly  rose,  and  with  the  same  stately  movement  as  before,  she  made 
her  way  from  the  parlour  by  the  door  leading  to  the  staircase.  During  all  the 
strange  scenes  she  had  gone  through,  she  had  not  abandoned  the  light,  and  al- 
though the  air  in  the  narrow  passage  of  the  staircase  had  extinguished  it,  she  still 
continued  to  carry  it  with  the  same  care  as  though  it  lit  heron  her  way.  Seeing 
that  she  still  walked  in  that  strange  and  hideous  sleep,  the  magistrate  let  her  pass 
him,  nor  did  he  make  any  attempt  to  follow  her. 

"  Be  it  so,"  he  said.  iC  Let  her  awaken  once  again  in  the  fancied  security  of 
her  guilt.  1  he  doom  of  the  murderess  is  hanging  over  her,  and  she  shall  not 
escape.    But  there  is  time  yet/' 

He  watched  her  until,  by  the  turn  of  the  stairs,  she  disappeared  from  his  sight, 
and  then  he  sat  down  to  think.  And  there,  for  a  brief  space,  we  leave  Sir  Richard, 
while  we  take  a  peep  at  Tobias. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

TOBIAS  UNBOSOMS  HIMSELF. 

Mrs.  Ragg,  when  she  met  Sweeney  Todd,  after  he  had  so  comfortably  put 
out  of  this  world  of  care,  John  Mundell,  the  usurer,  was  really  upon  a  mission 
to  Minna  Gray,  to  tell  her  that  Tobias  was,  to  use  her  own  expressive  phraseo- 
logy— u  Never  so  much  better."  Together  with  this  news,  Mrs.  Ragg,  at  the 
colonel's  suggestion,  sought  the  company  of  Minna  to  tea  upon  that  afternoon ; 
and  the  consent  of  all  parties  whom  it  might  concern  being  duly  obtained  to  that 
arrangement,  we  will  suppose  Minna  upon  her  way  to  Colonel  Jeffery's.  Timidly, 
and  with  a  bashful  boldness,  if  we  may  use  the  expression,  did  the  fair  young  girl 
ring  the  area  bell  at  the  colonel's.  But  he  and  his  friend.  Captain  Rathbone, 
were  both  in  the  parlour,  and  saw  her  advance,  so  that  she  was  at  once  welcomed 

•**'""'"■  "■"   1   11  w**  1  "" '"  ■■■■»'  ■  miumw.  —  ■    ■  ii     !!■  » i  )|  <■■     ,,   i   ,,.  i. 


V 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  261 

into  that  portion  of  the  house.  The  colonel,  like  most  gentlemen,  had  the  happy 
knack  of  making  those  with  whom  he  spoke  at  their  ease,  so  that  Minna  in  a 
very  short  time  recovered  her  first  agitation — for  if  she  had  gone  a  thousand 
times  to  that  house,  agitated  she  would  have  heen  at  first — and  was  able  to  dis. 
course  with  all  that  gentle  fervour  and  candid  simplicity  which  belongs  to  such 
minds  as  hers. 

"  A  most  favourable  change/'  said  the  colonel,  €t  has  taken  place  in  Tobias — a 
change  which  I  attribute  to  the  strong  influence  which  your  visit  had  upon  him; 
such  an  opinion  is  not  a  meie  fancy  of  mine,  for  the  medical  gentleman  who  is 
in  attendance  upon  him  fully  concurs  in  that  view  of  the  case." 

Minna  had  no  need  to  say  that  she  was  pleased,  for  she  looked  all  the  delight 
that  such  a  communication  was  calculated  to  give  her. 

**  Under  these  circumstances,  then,"  continued  the  colonel,  u  that  which  was 
only  a  faint  hope  of  his  recovery,  has  become  a  certainty." 
Minna's  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

"Yes,"  added  Captain  Rathbone, '*  and  we  expect  that  to  you  he  will  make 
such  revelations  as  shall  bring  proper  punishment  upon  all  those  who  have  in 
any  \ray  been  the  cause  of  this  calamity," 

"  Oh,  forgive  them  all,  now,"  said  Minna.  ri  Since  he  recovers,  we  can  forgive 
them  all,  you  know,  now." 

"That  cannot  be,  for  the  persecution  that  Tobias  has  endured  is  but  part  of  a 
system  which  he  will  be  the  means  of  exposing.  Will  you  come  up  stairs  at  once 
now,  Miss  Gray,  and  see  him  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes — yes/1 

How  her  heart  beat  as  she  ascended  the  staircase,  and  how  quickly  she 
inspired  and  respired  when  she  actually  got  to  the  door  of  Tobias's  room.  But 
then  she  heard  the  kind,  although  not  very  musical  voice  of  Mrs.  Ragg  from 
within,  say — 

"  But,  ray  dear,  you  will  give  her  time  to  come  ?"  MM*I^ 
"  A  long  time,  mother,"  said  Tobias. 

Ah,  how  well  Minna  knew  that  voice.    It  was  the  voice  of  Tobias  as  of  old. 
\  The  same  voice,  injtone  perhaps  only  a  little  weakened,  and  rendered  more  soft  by 
sickness  than  it  had  been,  but  to  her  it  was  like  the  soft  memory  of  some  well 
remembered  tone  that  she  had  heard,  and  wept  with  joy  to  hear  in  happier  days. 
"  I  am  here,  Tobias  !  I  am  here." 
"  Minna— Minna  !" 

She  entered  the  room  radiant  and  beautiful  as  some  fairy  come  to  breathe  joy 
by  the  magic  of  some  spell,  Tobias  stretched  out  his  arms  towards  her.  She 
paused  a  moment,  and  then  with  a  soft  and  gentle  movement,  embraced  him.  It 
was  but  for  an  instant  she  held  him  in  her  arms,  and  then  she  stepped  back  a  pace 
or  two  and  looked  at  him. 

*  Quite  well,"  said  Tobias,  understanding  the  look,  ff$ 

'<  Quite?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  Minna,  and  as  happy— as— as— fifty  kings." 
*■?  Are  kings  happy  ?" 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  that  they  are,  Minna,  but  at  all  events  if  they  are,  they 
can't  possibly  be  happier  than  I  am." 

"  Bless  the  boy,"  said  Mrs.  Ragg,  "  how  he  does  talk,  to  be  sure." 

"  Why,  Tobias,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  u  you  are  wonderfully  improved  within 
this  last  hour." 

a  Yes,  sir,  and  still  more  wonderfully  since  the  best  physician  in  the  world  has 
come  to  see  me." 

The  direction  of  his  eyes  towards  Minna  Gray  let  them  know,  if  they  had  not 
guessed  it  before,  who  Tobias  considered  the  best  physician  in  the  world  to 
him.    Minna  shook  her  head,  and  said — 

H  But,  Tobias,  it  is  to  this  gentleman  that  you  owe  your  life." 

f*  Yes,"  replied  Tobias,  "  and  if  ever  I  forget  to  b§  grateful  to  him  for  all  that 

■    ■     mil  tiu  hi   i  .  i       i  i  i  '  ~    i    •  i     '     ~  '    ■*  —  ■    *  "■  ...i ..  i  ...■«.-.  ■  ■      ■      .....  .    .......        ,    .„      ■    ..    i       i  "i" '  ■"  ■  1   11  ,m'*f*f*,*t  •* 

,   '■"  1   ^L.a   .  .  . .  ,     I,  mm..!  i  imii  in  i-jir.rnm— i  '    ■  *        '  — 

9   ,  nii,_.  i  H.jI    -mi  ■  T-1        .ii-»v*.rTnrrMiinr-iwnir -^-OT^ii«iif«r^  ■■' 


262 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS 


he  has  done  for  me,  I  shall  consider  myself  the  worst  person  in  the  world.  Aye, 
as  bad,  quite  as — as  Sweeney  Todd." 

Tobias  shuddered  perceptibly  as  he  pronounced  Todd's  name,  and  it  was  quite 
evident  that  even  in  safety,  as  he  could  not  but  feel  himself,  and  profoundly  pro- 
tected  from  the  deadly  malice  of  his  late  master,  he  could  not  divest  himself  of  the 
absolute  horror  which  even  a  mere  remembrance  of  him  engendered, 

"  Well,  Tobias,"  said  the  colonel,  as  he  drew  a  chair  close  to  him,  "  since  you 
have  named  Todd,  pray  tell  us  all  about  him." 

"ah?"  ,t  u  ;!.;.[.| 

"Yes,  all,  Tobias." 

"  I  will  tell  all  I  know.  Come  closer  to  me,  Minna  ;  I  feel,  when  you  are  near 
me,  as  though  God  had  sent  one  of  his  angels  to  keep  Todd  from  me.  Oh,  yes, 
I  will  tell  all  I  know.    How  can  he  harm  me  now  r. 

a  How  indeed,  Tobias  ?"  said  Minna. 

Tobias  still  trembled.  What  a  shock  that  bold,  bad,  unscrupulous  man  had 
given  to  the  nerves  of  that  boy.  His  bodily  health  might  be  restored,  and  his 
mind  once  more  be  brought  back  to  sanity,  but  if  Tobias  Ragg  were  to  live  to  the 
age  of  a  patriarch,  the  name  of  Todd  would  be  to  him  a  something  yet  to  shrink 
from,  and  the  tone  of  his  nervous  system  could  never  be  what  it  once  was.  Minna 
looked  up  in  his  face,  and  the  colonel,  too,  gazed  fully  upon  him,  so  that  Tobias 
found  he  was  absolutely  called  upon  to  say  something. 

"  Yes,"  he  began,  "  I  remember  that  people  came  to  the  shop,  and— and  that 
they  never  went  out  of  it  again." 

c>  Can  you  particularise  any  instance  r" 

44  Yes,  the  gentleman  with  the  dog.'* 

Colonel  Jeffery  showed  by  his  countenance  how  much  he  was  interested. 

44  Go  on,"  he  said.    "  What  about  the  gentleman  with  the  dog  V* 
I  don't  know  how  it  was,"  added  Tobias,  "  but  that  circumstance  seemed  to 
tell  more  upon  my  fancy  than  any  other.    I  suppose  it  was  the  conduct  of  the 
dog." 

"  What  sort  of  a  dog  was  it  ?" 

<#  A  large  handsome  dog,  and  Todd  would  not  let  it  remain  in  the  shop,  so  his 
master  made  him  wait  outside." 
"  Did  he  name  the  dog  ?" 

Tobias  passed  his  hand  across  his  brow  several  times,  and  then  his  countenance 
suddenly  brightening  up,  he  said — 
"  Hector  1    Yes,  Hector  V 
Colonel  Jeffery  nodded. 

"  What  then  happened,  Tobias?"  said  Minna. 
Why,  I  think  Todd  sent  me  out  upon  some  message,  and  when  I  came  back 
the  gentleman  was  gone,  but  not  the  dog." 

"  Now,  Tobias,  can  you  tell  us  what  sort  of  a  man  the  man  with  the  dog  was  jff ' 

"Yes,  fresh- coloured,  and  good-looking  rather,  with  hair  that  curled.  I 
should  know  him  again/' 

"  Ah,  Tobias,"  said  the  colonel,  "  I  am  afraid  we  shall  none  of  us  ever  see  him 
again  in  this  world." 

44  Never  IV  said  Tobias.  44  Todd  killed  him.  How  he  did  it,  or  what  he  did 
with  the  body,  I  know  not ;  but  he  did  kill  him,  and  many  more,  I  am  certain 
as  that  I  am  now  here.  Many  people  came  into  the  shop  that  never  left  it 
again." 

"  No  doubt ;  and  now,  Tobias,  how  came  you  in  the  street  by  London  Bridge 
so  utterly  overcome  and  destitute  ?" 
44  The  madhouse." 
4  !  Madhouse  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  shall  recollect  it  all.    Where  are  you,  mother  ?" 
46  Bless  us  and  save  us  ! — here,  to  be  sure,"  said  Mrs.  Ragg. 
"  Did  I  not  come  to  you  at  your  room  and  find  you  ironing,  and  did  I  not  tell 
you  that  I  had  something  to  say  about  Todd,  and  ask  you  to  fetch  somebody  J" 


THE  STRING  OP  PEAELS.    -  263 


"  To  be  sure/' 

"  Well,  when  you  left,  Todd  came,  and  after  once  looking  in  his  face,  I  almost 
forgot  what  happened,  except  that  there  was  a  madhouse  and  a  man  named 
Watson." 

"  Watson  ?"  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  as  he  made  a  note  of  the  name. 
"  Yes,"  added  Tobias,  u  and  Fogg." 

"  Good  !  Fogg,  I  have  it.  Now,  Tobias,  where  did  you  encounter  this  Fogg 
and  Watson  ? ' 

"That  I  cannot  tell.  I  recollect  trees,  and  a  large  house,  and  rooms,  and  a 
kind  of  garden,  and  some  dark  and  dismal  cells,  and  then  my  mind  seems,  when 
I  think  of  all  those  things,  like  some  large  room  full  of  horrors,  and  anything 
comes  before  me  just  like  some  dreadful  dream.  I  recollect  falling,  I 
think,  from  some  wall,  and  then  running  at  my  utmost  speed  until  I  fell,  and  then 
the  next  thing  that  I  remember  was  hearing  the  voice  of  Minna  in  this  house/ ' 

"One  thing,"  said  Captain  Rathbone,  "is  pretty  certain,  and  that  is,  that  this 
madhouse,  if  it  were  one  in  reality,  must  be  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  London, 
or  else  the  strength  of  Tobias  would  not  have  enabled  him  to  run  so  far  as  10 
London  from  it." 

44  Mrs.  Ragg,  I  believe  Todd  told  you  that  he  had  placed  Tobias  in  a  madhouse, 
did  he  not  ?"  said  the  colonel. 

"  Yes,  sir,  he  did,  the  wagabone  !'■ 

€t  Well,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  was  a  madhouse — one  of  those  pri  vate 
dens  of  iniquity  which  are,  and  have  been  for  many  years,  a  disgrace  to  the 
jurisprudence  of  this  country/5 

"  If  so,  then,"  said  the  captain,  «  there  will  be  no  great  difficulty  in  finding  it 
with  the  clue  that  Tobias  has  given  us  respecting  the  names. " 

"  I  will  not  be  satisfied  until  I  have  rooted  out  that  den,"  said  the  colonel, 
cf  but  at  present  all  our  exertions  must  be  directed  to  ascertain  the  fate  of  poor 
Ingestrie.  Every  circumstance  appears  really  to  combine  in  favour  of  the  opinion 
of  Johanna  Oakley,  to  the  effect  that  this  Thornhili  and  Mark  Ingestrie  were  the 


same/' 


"  It  does  look  marvellously  probable/'  said  the  captain. 
iC  Do  you  recollect  any  more,  Tobias  V9  said  Minna, 

"  Not  clearly,  Minna,  and  I  am  afraid  that  what  I  have  recollected  is  not  very  clear, 
but  it  was  the  dog  that  made  an  impression  upon  my  memory.  Many  things  are, 
however,  now  each  moment  crowding  to  my  mind,  and  I  think  that  I  shall  soon  be 
able  to  recollect  much  more." 

**  Not  a  doubt,  Tobias.  Do  not  attempt  to  strain  your  memory  too  far  now; 
Things  will  come  back  to  you  gently,  and  by  degrees/' 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  that,  sir,  but —  but  " 

"  But  what,  Tobias  ?" 

u  Oh,  sir,  you  are  quite  sure  " 

"  Sure  of  what?" 

"  That  when  I  least  expect  it,  round  the  curtains  of  my  bed,  or  from  behind 
some  chair,  or  from  some  cupboard  about  twilight,  I  shall  not  see  the  hideous 
face  of  Sweeney  Tood,  and  feel  his  eyes  glancing  upon  me  ?* 

Poor  Tobias  covered  his  eyes  with  both  his  hands,  as  he  gave  almost  frenzied 
utterance  to  these  words,  and  both  Colonel  Jeffery  and  his  friend,  the  captain, 
looked  on  with  aspects  of  deep  commiseration.  The  former,  after  the  pause  of  a 
few  moments,  to  allow  the  renewed  excitement  of  Tobias  fully  to  subside,  spoke 
to  him  in  a  kind  but  firm  voice. 

"  Tobias,  listen  to  me.    Do  you  hear  me  ?" 

"Yes,  sir — oh,  yes." 

€t  Then  I  have  to  tell  you  that  it  is  impossible  Sweeney  Todd  can  now  come 
upon  you  in  the  way  you  mention,  or  in  any  other  way." 
€€  Impossible,  sir  ?" 

"  Yes,  quite.  He  is  now  watched  by  the  officers  of  justice,  day  and  night. 
His  house  door  is  never  lost  sight  of  for  a  moment  while  he  is  within  it,  and 


264 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS, 


when  he  his  abroad,  he  is  closely  followed  and  carefully  watched  by  men,  any 
one  of  whom  is  more  than  a  match  for  him  ;  so  be  at  peace  upon  that  head, 
for  Sweeney  Todd  is  more  securely  kept  now  than  any  wild  beast  in  his  den." 


v 


CHAPTER  LVIL 

SIR  RICHARD  BLUNl's  ADVENTURES  CONTINUED. 

All  left  Sir  .Richard  Blunt,  not  in  a  critical  situation,  but  in  what  may  be  called 
an  embarrassing  one,  inasmuch  as  he  could  not  very  well  make  up  his  mind  what 
to  do  next.  He  had  heard  much  towards  her  enunciation  from  the  lips  of  Mrs. 
Lovett,  and  he  had  possessed  himself  of  some  property,  which  he  hoped  would 
be  authenticated  as  having  belonged  to  some  of  Todd's  victims.  He  had  like- 
wise  found  out  the  mode  of  secret  communication  with  the  ovens  below,  but 
whether  or  not  to  make  any  further  use  of  that  information  just  then  was  a  ques- 
tion. While  he  was  debating  these  matters  in  his  mind,  he  saw  that  his  little 
wax  light  was  expiring.  He  accordingly  produced  another  from  his  pocket,  and 
lit  it,  and  during  the  process  of  so  doing,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  risk  a  descent 
into  the  regions  below,  so  far  as  the  iron  door.  He  at  first  took  his  light  in  his 
hand  to  take  it  with  him,  but  a  few  moments'  reflection  decided  him  to  go  in  the 
dark,  and  placing  it  upon  a  corner  of  the  shelf,  as  he  had  done  before,  he  opened 
the  cupboard,  at  the  back  of  which  was  the  secret  door,  and  soon  found  himself 
upon  the  little  staircase.  Of  course,  the  object  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  to 
make  what  discovery  he  could,  without  betraying  the  fact  of  his  own  presence ; 
and,  accordantly  with  such  a  design,  hastened  lightly  as  foot  could  fall,  so  that 
he  was  some  few  minutes  in  reaching  the  iron  door,  which  he  felt  with  his  left 
hand,  which  he  kept  during  his  progress  outstretched  before  him.  The  next 
object  was  to  get  the  little  wicket  open  without  noise,  for  he  recolleeted  that  Mrs. 
Lovett  had  made  a  sharp  sound  by  the  sudden  withdrawal  of  a  bolt  that  secured 
it  on  the  side  next  to  the  staircase.  By  carefully  feeling  over  the  door,  he  at  last 
lit  upon  this  bolt,  and  then,  by  taking  his  time  over  it,  he  succeeded  in  drawing 
it  back  without  creating  the  least  sound.  When  this  was  done,  the  wicket 
yielded  easily,  for  it  had  no  other  fastening  than  that  bolt,  and  when  it  opened, 
which  it  did  towards  the  stairs,  the  same  dull  reddish  glare  came  through  the 
small  aperture  that  he  had  noticed  when  Mrs.  Lovett  was  there,  but  he  found 
what  he  had  not  noticed  upon  that  occasion,  namely,  that  when  the  wicket  was 
removed  there  were  iron  bars  further  securing  the  opening,  so  that  it  was  quite 
clear  it  was  intended  to  be  a  thing  of  strength.  When,  however,  the  magistrate 
found  that  there  was  nothing  between  him  and  the  region  of  the  ovens  but  this 
grating,  he  placed  his  ear  close  to  it,  in  order  to  listen  if  any  one  was  stirring. 
After  a  few  moments,  he  heard  a  deep  groan.  Somewhat  startled  at  this  sound — 
for*  it  was  certainly  unexpected — he  tried  to  pierce  with  his  eyes  the  obscurity  of 
th<e  place,  but  the  darkness,  although  not  absolute,  was  of  that  puzzling  character 
that  the  more  he  looked  the  more  all  sorts  of  odd  images  seemed  to  be  conjured 
up  before  his  eyes.  He  began,  too,  to  think  that  the  groan  must  have  been  only 
same  accidental  sound  that  he  had  mistaken,  but  he  was  quickly  relieved  from 
st*ch  an  opinon  by  hearing  it  again,  much  more  distinctly  and  unequivocally 
than  it  had  before  sounded  upon  his  ears.  There  was  no  possibility  of  mistaking 
this  groan  now  ;  but  while  the  certainty  that  a  groan  it  was  came  upon  his  ears, 
he  became  only  the  more  puzzled  to  account  for  it;  and  this  state  of  feeling  in 
him  certainly  arose  from  the  difficulty  he  naturally  had  in  conceiving  the  possi- 
bility of  any  one  being  upon  the  premises,  and  engaged  in  the  service  of  Mrs. 
Lovett,  unless  they  were  accomplices  of  that  lady.  The  idea  of  the  captive  cook 
was  not  at  all  likely  to  cross  the  imagination  of  any  one,  and  in  her  revelations 
upon  that  head,  during  her  somnambulistic  tour,  Mrs.  Lovett  had  not  been 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


265 


sufficiently  explicit  to  enable  Sir  Richard  Blunt  to  come  to  a  different  conclu- 
sion* 

*  I  will  listen  for  it  again/'  he  thought. 

After  a  few  moments  more  he  was  rewarded  for  his  patience  by  not  only  hear- 
ing another  groan,  but  a  voice,  in  accents  of  the  most  woe-begone  character, 
said — 


Johanna's  farewell  of  heii  father  prigr  to  her  encounter  with  todd. 


"  I  cannot  sleep.  It  is  of  no  avail.  Alas  !  who  dare  sleep  here  !  God  help 
me,  for  I  am  past  all  human  aid." 

M  Who  on  earth  can  this  be?''  said  the  magistrate  to  himself. 

fl  It  would  be  better  for  them  to  kill  me  at  once,"  continued  the  voice.  "Any- 
thing would  be  preferable  to  this  continued  horror  ;  but  I  suppose  they  have  not 
-> 1  - 1  ~*. m  "        1    1  .  -  1 


No,  U. 


266 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


suited  themselves  yet  with  some  one  to  take  my  place,  so  I  am  not  to  be  sent 
to  see  my  old  friends.    Oh,  bitter— bitter  fate.  I  would  that  I  were  dead  !" 

There  was  a  heartiness  in  the  pronunciation  of  the  last  word,  that  quite  con- 
vinced Sir  Richard  Blunt  of  their  sincerity  ;   bu^  yet  he  thought  he  ought  to  j 
listen  to  a  little  more  before  he  ran  the  risk  of  falling  into  any  trap  that  might  i 
be  laid  for  him  by  Mrs.  Lovett  or  her  satellites,  if  she  had  any.    He  had  not  to 
wait  long,  for  whoever  it  was  that  was  speaking  had  got  into  a  good  train  of 
groaning,  and  did  not  seem  inclined  to  leave  off  for  some  time. 

u  Is  she  a  woman,  or  the  devil  in  petticoats  ?"  said  the  voice. 

"  Humph  !°  thought  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  u  that  would  be  rather  a  hard  question 
to  answer  upon  oath.,>  '  • 

"  How  much  longer  am  I  to  bear  this  load  of  misery  ?"  continued  the  voice. 
€t  No  sleep — no  food,  but  just  what  will  sustain  nature  in  her  continued  suffer- 
ings.  Oh,  it  is  most  horrible.  Have  I  been  preserved  from  death  under  many 
adventurous  and  fearful  circumstances,  at  last  to  die  here  like  a  rat  in  a  hole  ?" 

"What  on  earth  can  be  the  matter  with  this  man  i    thought  Sir  Richard. 

There  was  a  pause  in  the  lamentations  of  the  man  now  for  a  few  seconds, 
during  which  he  only  groaned  once  or  twice,  just  as  if  by  way  of  letting  any  one  j 
know,  who  might  be  listening,  that  he  was  not  pacified.    At  length,  with  a 
sudden  burst  of  passion,  he  cried— 

"  I  can  bear  it  no  longer.  Death  of  my  own  seeking,  and  by  my  own  choice 
as  to  meihod,  is  far  preferable  to  this  state  of  existence.  Farewell,  all — farewell 
to  you,  fair  and  gentle  girl,  whom  I  loved  and  whose  falseness  first  gave  me  a  pang 
such  as  the  assassin's  dagger  could  not  have  inflicted.  Farewell,  dear  companions 
of  my  youth,  whom  I  had  hoped  to  see  again  !" 

"Stop  V*  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt. 

The  captive  cook  was  still. 

"  Stop  I"  cried  Sir  Richard  Blunt  again. 

"  Good  God !  who  is  that?"  sail  the  voice  from  the  region  of  the  oven. 
u  Your  good  genius,"  if  I  save  you  from  doing  anything  rash;  who  and  what  are 
you?  Tell  me  all/' 

* 4  To  be  betrayed.    Ah,  you  are  some  spy  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  of  course,  and  you 
only  wish  to  draw  me  into  conversation  for  my  destruction/'  ij 
€t  What  were  you  going  to  do  just  now  ?" 
m  l  ake  my  own  life." 

*'  Well,  if  you  find  I  am  an  enemy  instead  of  a  friend,  as  I  profess  to  be,  you 
can  but  carry  out  your  intention." 
" That's  true." 

The  captive  cook  pronounced  these  two  words  in  such  a  solemn  tone,  that  the 
magistrate  was  more  than  ever  convinced  ofiis  sincerity,  and  that  he  was  far 
more  a  victim  of  Mrs.  Lovett  and  her  associate,  the  barber,  than  an  accomplice. 

"  Speak  freely/'  said  Sir  Richard.    "  Who  and  what  are  you?" 

"I  am  the  most  unhappy  wretch  that  ever  breathed.  1  am  cribbed  and 
cabined  and  confined,  1  live  upon  raw  flour  and  water.  I  curse  the  hour  that  I  was 
born,  and  wish  1  had  been  a  blind  kitten  and  drowned,  rather  than  what  I  am." 

"  But  what  do  you  do  here  ?" 

€t  Make  numberless  pies/' 

"Well?" 

"  It's  all  very  fine  for  you  to  say  well,  whoever  you  are,  but  it  is  anything  but 
well  with  me.    Where  are  you?" 

"  Upon  the  staircase,  near  an  iron  door." 

"Ah,  you  are  at  the  aperture  through  which  that  abominable  Mrs.  Lovett 
issues  to  me  her  commands  and  her  threats.  If  you  have  any  compassion  in 
your  nature,  and  the  smallest  desire  to  hear  a  story  that  will  curdle  your  blood, 
you  will  find  out  the  means  of  opening  that  door,  and  then  I  will  climb  up  to  it 
and  make  one  effort  for  freedom." 

"  My  good  friend,  I  am  very  much  afraid  it  would  materially  derange  my  plans 
to  do  so/' 


 ruilTr  r  .wina 


—  V 
<  * 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.     '  267 

"Derange  your  what  ?" 
i      u  My  plans.'' 

"  And  are  any  plans  to  be  placed  in  competition  with  my  life  and  liberty  ?  Oh, 
!  human  nature— human  nature,  what  a  difference  there  is  in  you  when  you  are  j 
|  upon  the  right  side  of  the  door  fr^m  what  you  are  when  you  are  upon  the  wrong."  J 
j       "  My  friend/'  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "  that  is  a  very  philosophical  remark,  j 
: ;  and  I  compliment  you  upon  it.    But  now  answer  me  tra  y  one  question,  and  for 
|j  your  own  sake,  andfo*  the  sake  of  justice,  I  beg  you  to  answer  me  truly.'' 
j      "What  is  it?" 

i€  Are  you  in  present  fear  of  death  ?" 

"  No.    Not  while  I  continue  to  make  the  pies." 

"  Very  good !" 

u  Very  good  ?  Now  by  all  that's  abominable,  I  only  wish  you  had  but  to  mate 
them  here  for  one  week,  and  at  the  same  time  know  as  much  as  1  know— I  rather 
suspect  that  you  would  never  say  very  good  again.'* 

"  One  week  ?" 

"  Yes-  only  a  week.'* 

"  Pray  how  long  have  you  been  here  ?" 

"  I  have  lost  count  of  the  long  weary  days  and  the  anxious  nights.  Oh,  sir, 
be  you  whom  you  may,  do  not  sport  with  me,  for  I  am  very — very  wretched  V? 

Ci  If  I  could  but  be  sure  that  you  are  a  victim  of  the  woman  who  lives  above," 
said  Sir  Richard. 

"  Sure  that  I  am  a  victim  ?  Oh,  God,  you  suspect  me  of  being  her  accom-  j 
1  plice.  Well,  well,  it  is  but  natural,  finding  me  here— I  ought  to  expect  as  much,  j 
i   What  can  I  say — what  can  J  do  to  convince  you  of  the  contrary  ?" 

"  Reveal  all." 

"Do  you  not  know  then  that — that — — ** 
"  That  what  ?  I  may  suspect  much,  but  I  know  nothing.'* 
"Then— then  «" 

The  man's  voice  sunk  to  a  husky  whisper,  and  when  he  had  spoken  a  few  words 
there  was  a  death-like  silence  between  him  and  Sir  Richard  Blunt.  The  latter 
at  length  said — 

"  And  you  affirm  this  ?" 

"  I  am  willing  to  swear  to  it.  Release  me  from  here  and  take  me  to  any  court 
of  justice  you  please,  and' I  will  affirm  it.  If  you  have  any  suspicion  of  my  good 
faith,  manacle  me — bind  me  up  in  iron  until  I  tell  all." 

"  I  am  convinced/' 

"  Oh,  joy,  I  shall  look  upon  the  blessed  sun  agam.  I  shall  see  the  green 
fields— I  shall  hear  the  lark  sing,  and  drink  in  the  odour  of  sweet  flowers.  I— I 
am  not  quite  desolate/' 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  could  hear  him  sobbing  like  a  child.  The  mapriptrate  did 
not  interrupt  this  burst  of  feeling.  He  was,  on  the  contrary,  quite  glad  to  be  a 
witness  of  it,  for  it  convinced  him  of  the  sincerity  of  the  man.  he  could  not 
think  it  possible  he  should  find  attending  upon  Mrs.  Lovett  s  ovens  so  consummate 
an  actor  as  it  would  have  taKen  to  play  that  part.  After  a  few  moments,  how- 
ever, he  spoke,  saying — 

"  Now,  my  friend,  are  you  one  who  will  listen  to  reason  in  preference  to  merely 
acting  upon  the  feelings  and  suggestions  of  the  moment  ?" 
X  hope  so/' 

Pf  Well,  then,  I  think  I  could  set  you  free  to-night,  but  to  do  so  would  materially 
interfere  with  the  course  of  that  justice  which  is  about  speedily  to  overtake  Mrs. 
Lovett.  By  remaining  here  you  will  keep  things  as  they  are  for  the  present,  and 
that,  I  assure  you,  is  a  great  object.  You  say  that  while  you  continue  making 
pies,  your  life  is  not  in  positive  peril ;  I  ask  of  you,  for  the  sake  of  justice,  to  put 
up  with  your  present  position  a  short  time  longer." 

"  Liberty  is  sweet." 

u  It  is,  but  you  would  not  like  such  a  woman  as  Mrs.  Lovett  to  take  the  alarm 
and  escape  the  consequences  of  her  crimes." 

>  —T    III      -     II     "  I  !'■  11'  II    I      I.       I-  '     I-'       'Ml     ■■■!«»  L I  I  —      I.I   »l»1r    'l»IH  —  I    '"      I"     "» "  "  '  "  «"  '  I-—*--—   .1       II    "    '  .-I 


<c  oh !  no— no.    I  will  remain.    For  how  long  will  it  be }" 
« I  cannot  say  exactly,  but  the  time  may  be  counted  by  hours,  and  not  one 
s  hall  be  lost.    Have  but  a  little  patience,  and  I  will  come  to  you  again.  When 
n  ext  you  hear  my  voice  at  the  grating,  it  will  be  to  give  the  signal  of  liberty." 
"  How  can  I  thank  you  V 

« Never  mind  that.  Good  fcight,  and  take  care  of  yourself.  All  will  be 
well." 

"  Good  night.    Good  nights 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

BIG  BEN  MAKES  A  DISCOVERY. 

At  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  following  these  strange  e?ents,  there  were 
early  prayers  at  St.  Dunstan's,  and  the  bells  called  together  the  devout  at  half- 
past  six.  Todd  was  there  !  Is  the  reader  surprised  ?  Has  he  never  yet  in  his 
mundane  experience  met  with  a  case  of  sanctimonious  villany  ?  ^  Does  he  think 
that  going  to  prayer  is  incompatible  with  such  a  life  as  Todd's?  Pho— pho! 
Live  and  learn.    Todd  met  the  beadle  upon  the  steps  of  the  church.  ; 

"  Ah,  Mr.  T.t"  said  that  functionary.  "  It  does  one  good  to  see  you,  that  it 
does— a  deal  of  good.    I  say  that,  of  all  the  tradesmen  in  Fleet  Street,  you  is  the 

«  We  owe  a  duty  to  our  creator/'  said  Todd, "  which  all  the  pomps  and  vanities 
of  this  world  ought  to  make  us  neglect." 

"  Have  you  heard  o'  the  suicide  in  Norfolk  Street  }v 
Todd  shook  his  head. 

"  Why,  the  beetle  of  St.  Clement's  was  asking  of  me  only  last  night,  what  sort 
of  man  you  was." 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure.  It's  a  gentleman  as  you  went  to  shave,  and  as  you  lent  a 
razor  to,  as  has  cut  his  blessed  throat  in  Norfolk  Street." 

"  God  bless  me,"  said  Todd,  "  you  don't  mean  that  ?  Dear  !  dear  !  We  are 
indeed  here  to-day  and  gone  to-morrow.  How  true  it  is  that  flesh  is  grass  -and 
so  the  gentleman  cut  his  throat  with  my  razor,  did  he  ?" 

"  Above  a  bit." 

"  Well,  well,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Lord  will  be  merciful  to  the  little 
frailties  of  his  creatures." 

"  Conwulsions !    Do  you  call  that  a  little  frailty." 

Todd  had  passed  on  into  the  body  of  the  church,  and  any  minute  observer 
might  have  noticed,  that  when  he  got  there,  there  was  a  manifest  and  peculiar 
twitching  of  his  nose,  strongly  resembling  the  evolutions  of  a  certain  ex-chan- 
cellor.   Then,  in  a  low  tone  to  himself,  Todd  muttered— 

"  They  make  a  great  fuss  about  the  smell  in  St.  Dunstan's,  but  I  don't  think  it 

is  so  very  bad  after  all." 

Perhaps  one  of  Todd's  notions  in  going  to  early  morning  prayers  was  to  satisfy 
himself  upon  the  point  of  the  stench  in  the  church.  The  morning  service  was 
very  short,  so  that  Todd  got  back  to  his  shop  in  ample  time  to  open  it  for  the 
business  of  the  day.  He  gave  a  glance  at  the  window,  to  be  quite  sure  that  the 
placard  announcing  the  want  of  a  pious  lad  was  there,  and  then  with  all  the 
calmness  in  the  world  he  set  about  sharpening  his  razors.  Not  many  minutes 
elapsed  ere  a  man  came  in,  leading  by  the  hand  a  boy  of  about  thirteen  years 
pf  age. 

"  Mr.  Todd/'  he  said,  "  you  want  a  lad."  ^M^im 
"Yes/ 

"  You  don't  know  me,  but  I  am  Cork,  the  greengrocer  in  the  market.'*  ..;•>;*.' 
"Oh,"  said  Todd. 

"You  see  this  is  Fred,  by  the  first  Mrs.  C,  and  the  second  Mrs.  C.  thinks  he'd 


,   THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  269 

better  go  out  to  something  now;  if  you  will  take  him  'prentice  we  will  provide 
him,  and  he  can  run  into  our  place  for  his  meals  and  tell  us  all  the  gossip  of  the 
shop,  which  will  amuse  Mrs.  C,  as  she's  in  a  delicate  condition,  and  I  have  no  • 
doubt  you  will  find  him  just  the  lad  for  you/'    ,    ,  , 

"  Dear  !  dear  I*  said  Todd. 

«  What's  the  matter,"  Mr.  T.  ?" 

"  Fm  so  aggravated. — Is  he  pious  Vs  ' 

"Decidedly." 

"  Does  he  know  his  catechism  and  his  belief?'* 

' '  Oh,  yes.    Only  ask  him,  Mr.  Todd.    Only  ask  him." 

"Come  here,  my  dear  boy.  Who  was  Shindrad,  the  great  uncle  of  Joshua, 
and  why  did  Nebuchadnezar  call  him  Zichophobattezer  the  cousin  of  Neozobul- 
coxacride  1" 

"Eh?"  said  the  boy.  "Lor!" 

"What  learning!"  said  the  greengrocer.    "Ah,  Mr.  Todd,  you  are  one  too 
many  for  Fred,  but  he  knows  his  catechiz." 

"Well,"  said  Todd,  "if  the  boy  that  I  have  promised  to  think  about  don't 
suit  me,  I'll  give  you  a  call,  Mr.  Cork.    But,  you  see,  I  am  such  a  slave  to  my 
word,  that  if  I  promise  to  think  about  anything,  I  go  on  thinking  until  it  would  i 
astonish  you  how  I  get  through  it." 

"  Well,  I'm  sure  we  are  very  much  obliged  to  you,  Mr.  Todd.    Come  along, 
Fred." 

"  Indeed  !"  said  Todd,  when  he  was  once  more  alone.    "  That  would  suit  me  , 
certainly.  A  lying,  gossiping  boy,  to  be  running  home  three  or  four  times  a  day 
with  all  the  news  of  the  shop.    Good — very  good  indeed." 

Todd  stropped  away  at  the  razors  with  great  vehemence,  until  he  suddenly 
became  aware  that  some  one  must  be  blocking  up  nearly  the  whole  of  the  window, 
for  a  sudden  darkness,  like  an  eclipse,  had  stolen  over  the  shop.  We  have  before 
had  occasion  to  remark  that  Todd  had  a  kind  of  peephole  amid  the  multifarious 
articles  which  blocked  up  his  windows,  so  that  he  was  enabled  to  look  out  upon  ! 
the  passing  world  when  he  pleased.  Upon  this  occasion  he  availed  himself  of 
this  mode  of  ascertaining  who  it  was  that  had  stopped  the  light  from  making  its 
way  into  the  shop.  It  was  no  other  than  our  old  acquaintance,  Big  Ben  from 
the  Tower,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Mr.  Oakley's.  The  heart  of  Ben  had  been 
sensibly  touched  by  the  distress  of  Johanna,  and  he  was  going  to  give  her  a 
word  or  two  of  comfort  and  encouragement,  which  would  wholly  consist  of 
advising  her  to  11  never  mind."  But  still  Ben's  intention  was  good,  however  weak 
might  be  the  means  by  which  he  carried  it  out.  As  for  passing  Todd's  window 
without  looking  in,  he  could  no  more  help  having  a  good  stare,  than  he  could 
help  doing  justice  to  a  flagon  of  old  ale,  if  it  were  placed  before  him  ;  and  upon 
this  occasion  the  little  placard,  announcing  the  want  of  a  pious  youth,  fixed  the 
whole  of  Ben's  wonder  and  attraction. 

«A  "pious  lad!"  said  Ben.    "  Oh,  the  villain.    Never  mind.    Easy  does 
it— easy  does  it." 

"  Curses  on  that  fellow  V*  muttered  Todd.    " What  is  he  staring  at?" 
"  A  pious  lad  !"  ejaculated  Ben.    "  Pious— oh— oh.    Pious  !" 
"  Shaved  this  morning,  sir  ?"  said  Todd,  appearing  at  his  door  with  a  razor  in 
his  hand.    "  Shaved  or  dressed  ?    Polish  you  off  surprisingly,  in  no  time,  sir." 

"Walk  in,  sir — walk  in.  A  nice  comfortable  shave  makes  a  man  feel  quite 
another  thing.  Pray  walk  in,  sir.  I  think  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you 
before." 

Ben  cast  an  indignant  look  at  Sweeney  Todd  ;  and  then,  as  upon  the  spur  of 
the  moment — for  Ben  was  rather  a  shrewd  thinker — he  could  not  find  anything 
strong  enough  to  say,  he  wisely  held  his  peace,  and  walked  on.  Todd  looked 
after  him  with  a  savage  scowl. 

"Not  much  plunder,"  he  muttered,  "but  suitable  enough  in  another  point  of 

view.    Well — well,  we  shall  see— we  shall  see." 

  ,  -   -  ■  -  -  ■ '  ■— '  ■■-  ■ 


270 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


Ben  continued  his  course  towards  the  city,  ever  and  anon  repeating  as  he 
Went — "  A.  pious  lad !— a  pious  lad.    Oh,  the  rascal." 

When  he  reached  within  a  few  doors  of  the  spectacle-maker's,  he  saw  a  boy 
with  a  letter  in  his  hand  looking  about  him,  and  probably  seeing  that  Ben  had  a 
good-humoured  countenance,  he  sa'd  to  him— • 

u  If  you  please,  sir,  can  you  tell  me  which  is  Mr.  Oakley's  ¥* 
"Yes,  to  be  sure.    Is  that  letter  for  him  f" 
"  No,  sir,  it's  for  Miss  Oakley/' 

Ben  laid  his  finger  upon  the  side  of  his  nose,  and  tried  to  think. 
"Miss  Oakley,"  he  said.  "  A  letter  for  Miss  Oakley;"  and  then,  as  nothing 
U  very  alarming  consequent  upon  that  proposition  presented  itself  to  him,  he  said, 
"  Easy  does  it." 

"  Do  you  know  the  house,  sir  ?"  asked  the  boy. 
"  Yes,  to  be  sure.    Come  along,  boy." 
«  Yes,  sir." 

"  Who's  the  letter  from  ?* 

"  A  gentleman,  sir,  as  is  waiting  at  the  Unicorn,  in  Addle  Street. '? 
"  A  gentleman  as  is  waiting  at  the  Addle  in  Unicorn  Street,"  said  Ben  ;  and 
then,  not  being  able  still  to  hit  upon  anything  very  outrageous  in  all  that,  he 
contented  himself  once  more  with  an  "  Easy  does  it." 

The  boy  accompanied  him  to  the  door  of  Mr.  Oakley's,  and  then  Ben  said  to 
him — 

PYll  give  the  letter  to  Miss  Oakley  if  you  like,  and  if  you  don't  like,  you  can 
wait  till  I  send  her  to  you.    Easy  does  it." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  the  boy,  ki  I'd  rather  give  it  to  th?  young  lady  myself/' 
"Very  good,"  said  Ben.    ''Rise  betimes,  and  hear  early  chimes." 
With  this  effort  of  proverbial  lore,  Ben  marched  into  the  shop,  where  old 
Oakley  was,  with  a  magnifying  glass  fitted  to  his  eyes,  performing  some  extra- 
ordinary operation  upon  a  microscope.    Ben  merely  said  "  How  is  you?"  and 
then  passed  on  to  the  back-room,  having  received  from  the  old  optician  a  slight 
nod  by  way  of  a  return  of  the  friendly  salutation.    Ben  always  esteemed  it  a 
stroke  of  good  fortune  when  he  found  Johanna  alone,  which,  in  the  present 
instance,  he  did.    She  rose  to  receive  him,  and  placed  one  of  her  small  hands 
in  his,  where  for  a  moment  or  two  it  was  completely  hidden. 
"All  right?"  said  Ben, 
"  Yes,  as  usual.  No  news.5' 

"  I  saw  a  boy  at  the  door  with  a  letter  from  a  unicorn/3 
"  From  a  what  ?" 

"No,  an  addle — no.  Let  me  see.  A  unicorn,  waitins  with  a  gentleman  in 
addle  something.    Easy  does  it.    That  ain't  it,  neither.   Where  is  she  ?* 

Guessing  that  it  was  some  one  with  a  communication  from  some  friend  to  her, 
Johanna  had  glided  to  the  door,  and  got  the  letter  from  the  boy.  She  came 
with  it  to  the  parlour  at  once,  and  opened  it.  It  was  from  Colonel  JefFery,  and 
ran  as  follows  : — 

"Dear  Miss  Oakley,— If  you  will  oblige  me  with  another  meeting  in  the 
Temple  Gardens  this  evening,  at  or  about  six,  I  have  something  to  tell  you, 
although  I  am  afraid  nothing  cheering. — Believe  me  to  be  your  sincere  friend, 

"John  Jeffery/' 

She  read  it  aloud  to  Ben,  and  then  said— 

"It  is  from  the  gentleman  who,  I  told  you,  Ben,  had  interested  himself  so 
much  in  the  fate  of  poor  Mark/' 

"  Oh,  ah,"  said  Ben.    4<  Easy  does  it.   Tell  him,  if  he'd  like  to  see  the  beasts 
at  the  Tower  any  time,  only  to  ask  for  me/1 
"  Yes,  Ben." 

"Well,  my  dear,  I  came  by  the  barber's,  and  what  do  you  think?" 
Johanna  shook  her  head. 
"Guess  again/' 


M 

61 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  271 


"  Spare  me,  Ben.  If  yoa  have  any  news  for  me,  pray  tell  me.  Do  not  keep 
me  in  suspense/' 

Ben  considered  a  little  whether  what  he  had  to  say  was  news  or  not ;  and  then 
taking  rather  an  enlarged  view  of  the  word,  he  added— 
"  Yes,  I  have.  Todd  wants  a  pious  boy." 
"  A  what  ?" 

"  A  pious  boy.  He's  got  a  bill  in  his  window  to  say  that  he  wants  a  pious 
boy.  What  do  you  think  of  that,  now  ?  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a  villain  ? 
Easy  does  it.  And  he  came  out,  too,  and  wanted  to  "  polish  me  off." 

"  Oh,  Ben/'  * 

"  Oh,  Johanna.    Take  things  easy/' 

"  I  mean  that  you  should  be  very  careful  indeed  not  to  go  into  that  man's 
shop.    Promise  me  that  you  will  never  do  so/' 

u  All's  right.  Never  be  afeard,  or  you'd  never  tame  the  beastesses.  If  I  was 
only  to  go  into  that  fellow's  shop  and  fix  a  eye  on  him  so— you'd  see !" 

Ben  fixed  one  of  his  eyes  upon  Johanna  in  such  a  manner,  that  she  was  glad 
to  escape  from  its  glare,  which  was  quite  gratifying  to  him  (Ben),  inasmuch  as 
it  was  a  kind  of  tacit  acknowledgment  of  the  extraordinary  powers  of  his 
vision. 

"  Easy  does  it/'  he  said.  "  All's  right.  Do  you  mean  to  meet  this  colonel  V 
«  Yes,  Ben." 

"All's  right.   Only  take  care  of  yourself  down  Fleet  Street,  that's  all/' 
"  I  will,  indeed." 

rC  What  do  you  say  to  taking  me  with  you  ?* 
"Where,  Ben?" 

"Why,  where  you  go  to  meet  the  colonel,  my  dear." 

"  Personally,  I  should  not  entertain  the  smallest  objection ;  but  there  is  no 
danger  in  the  transaction.  I  know  that  Colonel  Jeffery  is  a  man  of  honour,  and 
that  in  meeting  him  upon  such  an  occasion  I  am  perfectly  safe." 

"Good  again,"  said  Ben.  "Easy  does  it.  Hilloa!  what's  that  in  the 
shop  ?" 

"  Only  my  mother  come  home." 

"  Only  ?  The  deuce !  Excuse  me,  my  dear,  I  must  be  off.  Somehow  or 
another  your  mother  and  I  dor/t  agree,  you  see,  and  ever  since  I  had  that  dread- 
ful stomach  ache  one  night  here,  it  gives  me  a  twinge  to  see  her,  so  I'll  be  off. 
But  remember — easy  does  it/' 


CHAPTER  LVIil.I 

THE  GRAND  CONSULTATION  IN   THE  TEMPLE. 

With  this  sage  aphorism,  Ben  effec'ed  a  hasty  retreat  from  the  optician's 
house  by  ihe  private  door,  so  that  he  should  not  run  the  risk  of  encountering 
Mrs.  Oakley,  who  had  made  her  appearance  by  the  shop  way.  When  Johanna 
was  alone,  she  once  again  read  the  little  missive  from  the  colonel ;  and  then, 
burying  her  face  in  her  hands,  she  tried  still  to  think  that  it  was  possible  he 
might  have  some  good  news  to  tell  her.  And  yet,  if  such  had  been  the  case, 
would  he  not  have  written  it  ?  Would  he,  feeling  for  her  as  she  knew  he  did,  have 
kept  her  in  a  state  of  suspense  upon  such  a  subject  ?  Ah,  no.  He  would  rather 
have,  in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  made  his  way  into  the  shop,  and  called  to  her— 
**  Johanna,  Mark  Ingestrie  lives,"  if  he  had  really  been  in  a  position  to  say  so 
much.  As  these  thoughts  chased  each  other  through  the  mind  of  the  young 
girl,  she  shed  abundance  of  tears  ;  and  so  absorbed  was  she  in  her  grief,  that  she 
was  not  aware  that  any  one  was  present,  until  she  felt  a  light  touch  upon  her 
shoulder,  and  upon  starting  round  suddenly,  she  saw  her  friend  Arabella  Wilmot 
standing  close  to  her. 


THE  STRING  OF  H3ARLS. 


"Johanna?" 

«  Yes— yes,  Arabella.    I  am  here." 

"  Yes,  dear  Johanna.    But  you  are  weeping/' 

u  I  am — I  am.  To  you  these  tears  shall  be  no  secret,  Arabella.  Alas !  alas  ! 
You,  who  know  my  heart,  know  how  much  I  have  to  weep  for.  You  can  bear 
with  me.  You  are  the  only  one  in  all  the  world  whom  I  would  willingly  let  see 
these  bitter— bitter  tears." 

At  those  words,  Johanna  wept  afresh,  and  the  heart  of  her  young  friend  was 
melted  ;  but  recovering  sooner  than  Johanna,  Arabella  was  able  to  speak  some- 
what composedly  to  her,  saying — 

'"Have  you  heard  anything,  Johanna,  new?'* 

"No — no.  Except  that  Mr.  Jeffery  wishes  to  see  me  again  to  tell  me  some- 
thing, and  as  he  has  not  said  in  his  letter  what  it  is,  I  can  guess  it  is  no  good 
news." 

"  Nay  ;  is  not  that  assuming  too  much  ?° 

"  No — no.  I  know  he  would,  if  he  had  had  any  joyous  intelligence  for  me, 
have  written  it.  He  would  feel  of  what  a  suspense  even  a  few  hours  would  be 
upon  such  a  subject.  No,  Arabella,  I  feel  that  what  he  has  to  say  is  some  terri- 
ble confirmation  of  my  worst  fears." 

Arabella  found  it  no  easy  task  to  combat  this  course  of  reasoning  upon  the 
part  of  Johanna.  She  felt  its  force,  and  yet  she  felt  at  the  same  time  that  it  was 
somewhat  incumbent  upon  her  to  resist  it,  and  to  make  at  least  the  endeavour  to 
ward  off  the  deep  depression  that  had  seized  upon  Johanna. 

"Now  listen  to  me/*  she  said.  "Perhaps  what  Colonel  Jeffery  has  to  say  to 
you  is,  after  all,  a  something  hopeful ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  being  only  hope- 
ful, and  nothing  positive,  he  may  have  felt  how  difficult  it  was  to  write  it,  with- 
out exciting  undue  effects  in  your  mind,  and  so  prefers  saying  it,  when  he  can 
accompany  it  by  all  the  little  collateral  circumstances  which  alone  can  give  it  its 
proper  value." 

There  was  something  like  a  gleam  of  sunshine  in  this  idea. 
"Do  you  understand  me,  dear  Johanna V* 
"Yes — yes." 

Johanna  spoke  more  firmly  than  before.  The  last  argument  of  her  friend 
had  had  all  its  weight  with  her,  and  had  chased  away  many  of  the  gloomy 
thoughts  that  had  but  a  few  moments  before  possessed  her.  What  a  strange  com- 
pound is  the  human  mind,  and  how  singularly  does  it  take  its  texture,  cameleon- 
like,  from  surrounding  circumstances  ?  But  a  few  moments  since,  and,  to  Jo- 
hanna the  brief  epistle  of  the  colonel  was  suggestive  of  nothing  but  despair.  How 
different  now  was  its  aspect  ?  Arebella  Wilmot  had,  by  a  few  simple  words, 
placed  it  in  a  new  light,  so  that  it  started  to  the  imagination  of  Johanna  symbols 
of  life. 

"  Ah!  you  are  hoping  now/'  said  Arabella. 

r'  I  am — I  am.    Perhaps  it  is  as  you  say,  Arabella.     I  will  think  it  is/1 
Miss  Wilmot  was  now  almost  afraid  that  she  had  gone  too  far,  and  conjured 
up  too  much  hope  ;  but  she  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  dashing  down  again  the 
fairy  fabric  of  expectation  she  had  moved  in  the  bosom  of  Johanna,  and  merely 
added — 

"  Well,  Johanna,  since  you  find  that  the  letter  will,  at  all  events,  bear  two 
interpellations,  I  am  sure  that,  until  you  may  be  convinced  it  owns  to  the  worst, 
vou  will  be  as  composed  as  possible. " 

'  "I  will.  And  now,  Arabella,  will  you,  and  can  you  accompany  me  this 
evening  to  the  Temple  Gardens,  to  meet  Colonel  Jeffery  ?" 

"Yes,  Johanna.    1  both  can  and  will,  if  such  is  your  wish." 

"It  is,  Arabella,  much  my  wish,  for  I  feel  that  if  what  our  friend,  the 
colonel,  has  to  say,  should  not  be  of  a  hopeful  character,  I  should  never  be 
able  to  repeat  it  to  you,  so  as  to  have  your  opinion  of  it." 

"Then  we  will  go  together.  But  we  will  not  pass  that  dreadful  man's 
shop." 


mmm 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


273 


"Todd's?" 
"  Yes/' 

"Why  not,  Arabella?0  I  feel,  the  moment  that  I  leave  this  house,  as 
though  some  irresistible  fascination  dragged  me  there,  and  I  think  I  could  no 
more  pass  down  Fleet  Street  without  directing  my  eyes  to  that  building,  which 
perchance  has  proved  fatal  to  poor  Mark,  than  I  could  fly." 


TODD  ALARMED  AT  STRANGE  SOUNDS  WHILST  PACKING  HIS  PLUNDER. 

ff  But— but,  I  shrink  from  that  man  recognising  us  again. " 

u  We  will  pass  upon  the  other  side  of  the  way,  Arabella ;  but  do  not  say  nay 
to  me,  for  pass  I  must." 

There  was  such  afrantic  sort  of  earnestness  in  the  manner  in  which  Johanna 
urged  this  point,  that  Arabella  no  longer  made  any  sort  of  opposition  to  it,  and 
the  two  young  girls  soon  arranged  a  time  of  meeting,  when  they  would  proceed 


No.  35. 


\     274  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


together  to  the  Temple  Gardens,  to  give  Colonel  Jeffery  the  meeting  he  so  much 
desired.  As  nothing  of  a  very  particular  character  occurred  that  day,  we  will  at 
once  follow  Arabella  and  Johanna  upon  the  mission,  premising  that  the  hours 
have  slipped  away  which  intervened  between  the  time  of  Johanna  receiving  the 
note  from  Colonel  Jeffery,  and  the  time  when,  if  she  kept  the  appointment  with 
him,  it  would  be  necessary  for  her  to  start  from  home  to  do  so.  Both 
the  young  girls  made  as  great  alterations  in  their  attire  as  they  could 
upon  this  occasion,  so  that  they  should  not  be  strikingly  recognisable  again  by 
Todd;  and  then  Arabella  reminding  Johanna  that  the  bargain  between  them 
was  to  pass  upon  the  other  side  of  the  way,  they  both  set  off  from  the  old 
spectacle-maker's.  As  they  neared  Fleet  Street,  the  agitation  of  Johanna  became 
more  and  more  apparent,  and  Arabella  was  compelled  to  counsel  her  to  calm- 
ness, lest  the  passers-by  should  notice  how  much  she  felt,  from  some  cause  to 
them  unknown. 

"  My  dear  Johanna/'  she  said.  "Your  arm  trembles  in  mine.  Oh!  pray 
be  calm/' 

"  I  will — I  will.    Are  we  near  p" 
iC  Yes.    Let  us  cross." 

They  reached  the  other  side  of  the  way  from  that  on  which  Todd's  shop  -was 
situated,  to  the  great  relief  of  Arabella,  who  as  yet  knew  not  of  the  placard 
that  Todd  had  exhibited  in  h»s  window,  announcing  the  want  of  a  pious  youth. 
The  sight  of  the  shop,  however,  seemed  to  bring  that  circumstance  to  the  mind  of 
Johanna,  and  she  told  her  young  friend  of  it  at  once. 

"  Oh  !  Johanna/'  said  Arabella,  "does  it  not  seem  as  though  -§| 

She  paused,  and  Johanna  looked  enquiringly  at  her.  saying— 
"  What  would  you  say,  Arabella?  What  would  you  say  V 
"  Nothing  now,  Johanna.    Nothing  now.  A  thought  struck  me,  and  when  we 
return  from  this  meeting  with  your  friend,  the  colonel,  I  will  communicate  it  to 
you.    Oh  !  do  not  look  opposite.    Do  not.5' 

All  such  injunctions  were  thrown  away  upon  Johanna.  Look  opposite  she 
did,  and  as  she  herself  had  truly  said,  it  would  have  been  quite  impossible  for  her 
to  avoid  the  doing  so,  even  if  the  greatest  personal  risk  had  been  risked  in  the 
action.  But  Todd's  shop,  to  look  at  from  the  other  side  of  the  way,  presented 
no  terrors.  It  simply  presented  the  idea  of  a  little  barber's  shop,  of  no  very 
great  pretensions,  but  of  sufficient  respectability,  as  barber's  shops  were  in  those 
days,  not  to  make  any  decent  person  shrink  from  going  into  it.  No  doubt,  in 
the  crowd  of  Fleet  Street— for  Fleet  Street  was  then  crowded,  although  not  to 
the  extent  it  is  now — Johanna  and  her  friend  passed  quite  unnoticed  by  Todd, 
even  if  he  had  been  looking  out.  At  all  events,  they  reached  Temple  Bar  with- 
out any  obstruction  or  adventure.  Finding,  then,  that  they  had  passed  the  main 
entrance  to  the  Temple,  they  went  down  the  nearest  adjacent  street,  and  pur- 
suing a  circuitous  route  through  some  curious-looking  courts,  they  reached  their 
destination  yet  a  little  before  the  appointed  hour.  Colonel  Jeffery,  however, 
was  not  likely  to  keep  Johanna  Oakley  waiting. 
*fc  There/*  said  Arabella.  "  Is  that  the  colonel  ?" 
Johanna  looked  up  just  as  the  colonel  approached,  and  lifted  his  hat. 
"  Yes,  yes.0 

In  another  moment  he  was  with  them.  There  was  a  look  upon  the  counter 
nance  of  Colonel  Jeffery  of  deep  concern,  and  that  look,  at  one  glance  that  was 
bestowed  upon  it  by  Johanna  Oakley,  was  quite  sufficient  to  banish  all  hidden 
hopes  that  she  might  yet  have  cherished  regarding  the  character  of  the  news 
that  he  had  to  impart  to  her.  Arabella  Wilmot,  too,  was  of  the  same  opinion 
regarding  the  physiognomical  expression  of  the  colonel,  who  bowed  to  her  pro- 
foundly. 

46 1  have  brought  my  dearest  friend  with  me/'  said  Johanna,  "  from  whom  I 
have  no  secrets.' 

"Nor  I,"  said  the  colonel,  "now  that  I  hear  she  stands  in  such  an  enviable 
relation  to  you,  Miss  Oakley." 


3C 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  275 


r  i 


Arabella  slightly  bowed  ;  and  Johanna  fixing  her  eyes,  in  which  tears  were 
glistening,  upon  him,  said— - 

"  You  have  come  to  tell  me  that  I  may  abandon  all  hope  ?" 
"No — no;  Heaven  forbid  !" 

A  bright  flush  came  over  the  face  of  the  young  girl,  and  clasping  her  hands, 
she  said — 

"Oh,  sir,  do  not  play  with  feelings  that  perhaps  you  scarcely  guess  at.  Do 
not  tamper  with  a  heart  so  near  breaking  as  mine.    It  is  cruel — cruel !" 

"  Do  I  deserve  such  a  charge/'  said  the  colonel,  iC  even  by  implication  ?" 

u  No — no/'  said  Arabella.  "  Recollect  yourself,  Johanna.  You  are  unjust 
to  one  who  has  shown  himself  to  be  your  friend,  and  a  friend  to  him  whom  you 
hope  to  see  again.'' 

Johanna  held  out  her  little  child-like  hand  to  the  colonel,  and  looking  appeal- 
ingly  in  his  face,  she  said — 

"  Can  you  forgive  me  ?  It  was  not  I  who  spoke,  but  it  was  the  agony  of  my 
heart  that  fashioned  itself  at  the  moment  into  words  my  better  judgment  and  my 
better  feelings  will  not  own.    Can  you  forgive  me  V' 

€t  Can  I,  Miss  Oakley  !  Oh,  do  not  ask  me.  God  grant  that  I  could  make 
you  happy." 

"  I  thank  you,  sir,  deeply  and  truly  thank  you  ;  and — and — now — now  " 

"Now,  you  would  say,  tell  me  mv  news/' 
«  Yes.    Oh,  yes." 

"Then  let  us  walk  upon  this  broad  path,  by  the  river,  while,  in  the  first 
instance,  I  tell  you  that  it  was  only  from  a  deep  sense  of  duty,  and  a  feeling  that 
I  ought  not,  upon  any  consideration,  to  keep  anything  from  you,  that  I  came 
here  to-day  to  give  you  some  more  information,  and  yet  fresh  information." 

u  You  are  very — very  good  to  me,  sir." 

"  No  -  no,  do  not  say  that,  Miss  Oakley.  Iam  a  friend.  Iam  only  very 
selfish ;  but,  in  brief,  the  lad  who  was  in  the  barber's  service  at  the  time  we  think 
Mark  Ingestrie  called  at  the  shop  with  the  string  of  pearls  in  his  possession,  has 
told  us  ail  he  knows  upon  the  subject,  freely." 

5?  Yes — yes  ;  and—and  " 

"  He  knows  very  little." 

"  But  that  little  ?" 

"  Just  amounts  to  this  : — That  such  a  person  did  come  to  the  shop,  and  that 
he  is  quite  clear  that  he  never  left  it.5' 

"  Quite  clear  that  he  never  left  it !"  repeated  Johanna — u  that  he  never  left  it. 
Quite  clear  that — that  " 

She  burst  into  tears,  and  clung  to  Arabella  Wilmot  for  support.  The  colonel 
looked  inexpressibly  distressed,  but  he  did  not  speak.  He  felt  that  any  common- 
place topics  of  consolation  wTould  have  been  an  insult;  and  he  had  seen  enough 
of  human  feelings  to  know  that  such  bursts  of  passionate  grief  cannot  be 
stemmed,  but  must  have  their  course,  and  that  such  tears  will  flow  like  irresis- 
tible torrents  into  the  ocean  of  eternity.  Arabella^  was  greatly  distressed.  She 
had  not  expected  that  Johanna  would  have  given  way  in  such  a  manner,  and  she 
looked  at  Colonel  JefFery  as  though  she  would  have  said—"  Is  it  possible  that 
you  can  say  nothing  to  calm  this  grief  V*  He  shook  his  head,  but  made  no 
reply  in  words.  In  a  few  moments,  however,  Johanna  was  wonderfully  re- 
covered. She  was  able  to  speak  more  composedly  than  she  had  done  since  the 
commencement  of  the  interview.  | 

u  Tell  me  all,  now/'  she  said.    "  I  can  bear  to  hear  it  all." 

« You  know  all,  Miss  Oakley.  The  poor  boy,  in  whose  fate  I  have  felt 
sufficiently  interested  to  take  him  into  my  care,  says  that  such  a  man  as  Thorn- 
hill  did  come  to  his  master's  shop.  That  he  (the  boy)  was  sent  out  upon  some 
trivial  errand,  merely  to  get  him  out  of  the  way,  and  that,  pending  his  return, 
th$  visitor  disappeared.    He  deposes  to  the  fact  of  the  dog  watching  the  door/' 

"  The  dog }" 

41  Yes.   Thornhill,  it  seems,  had  a  faithful  dog  with  him." 


276  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


"  Ah,  Arabella,  we  must  have  seen  that  dog.' 

€€  Has  not  the  creature,  then,  fallen  a  victim  to  Todd's  malevolence  ?*' 

"We  think  not,  sir/'  said  Arabella. 

"Goon — goon,"  said  Johanna;  "  what  more  ?" 

"  The  boy  states  that  he  is  certain  he  saw  the  hat  of  the  visitor  with  the  dog 
in  Todd's  house,  after  Todd  had  declared  he  had  left,  and  proceeded  to  the  city/' 
"  The  hat — the  dog.    Alas !  alas !" 

"  Nay,  Miss  Oakley,  do  not  forget  one  thing,  and  that  is,  that  neither  you  nor 
any  one  else  have  as  yet  identified  this  Mr.  Thornhill  as  Mr.  Ingestrie." 
"No,  not  positively  ;  but  my  heart  tells  me  

Ci  Ah,  Miss  Oakley,  the  heart  is  the  slave  of  the  feelings  and  of  the  imagina- 
tion.   You  must  not  always  trust  to  its  testimony  or  emotions  upon  cold  fact.5' 

"There  is  yet  hope,  then,  Johanna/'  said  Arabella.  "  A  bright  hope  for  you 
to  cling  to,  for,  as  this  gentleman  says,  there  is  nothing  positive  to  prove  that 
Mr.  Thornhill  was  Mark  Ingestrie.  I  would  not,  were  I  you,  abandon  that 
hope  on  any  account,  while  1  lived,  and  could  still  clutch  it.  Would  it  not  be  a 
great  thing,  sir,  if  any  papers  or  documents  which  this  Thornhill  might  have 
had  about  him,  could  be  recovered  ?" 

"  It  would  indeed." 

Arabella  at  first  seemed  upon  the  point  of  saying  something  contingent  upon 
this  remark  of  the  colonel's,  or  rather  this  acquiescence  of  his  in  her  remark,  but 
she  thought  better  of  it,  and  was  silent,  upon  which  Johanna  spoke,  saying — 

"  And  that  is  really  all,  sir  f  * 

"  It  is,  Miss  Oakley." 

"  But  will  nothing  be  done  ?  Will  no  steps  be  taken  to  bring  this  man,  Todd 
to  justice  V9 

u  Yes,  everything  will  be  done;  and  indeed,  anything  that  can  be  done  con- 
sistently  with  sound  policy  is  actually  now.  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  one  of  the  most 
acute,  active,  and  personally  daring  of  the  magistrates  of  London,  has  the  affair 
in  hand,  and  you  may  be  quite  assured  that  he  will  pursue  it  with  zeal." 

6 €  And  what  is  he  doing  V9 

(<  Collecting  such  evidence  against  Todd,  that  at  a  moment  the  law  will  be 
enabled  to  come  upon  him  with  a  certainty  that  by  no  ingenious  quibble  can  he 
escape." 

Johanna  shuddered. 

"  I  thank  you,  sir,  from  my  heart,"  she  said,  "  for  all  the  kindness  and— and 
—I  need  not  again  trespass  upon  your  time  or  your  patience." 
"Ah,  Miss  Oakley,  will  you  deny  me  your  friendship?" 
«  Oh,  no— no/' 

"  Then  why  deny  me  the  privilege  of  a  friend  to  see  you  sometimes.  If  I 
cannot  say  to  you  anything  positively  of  a  consoling  character  regarding  him 
whom  you  so  much  regret,  1  can  at  least  share  your  sorrows,  and  sympathise 
with  your  feelings.'' 

Johanna  was  silent,  but  after  a  few  moments  she  began  to  feel  that  she  was 
acting  both  with  harshness  and  injustice  towards  one  who  had  been  all  that  the 
kindest  and  most  generous  friend  could  be  to  her.  She  held  out  her  hand  to  the 
colonel,  saying — 

"Yes,  sir,  1  shall  be  always  happy  to  see  you." 

The  colonel  pressed  her  hand  in  his,  and  then  turning  to  Arabella  Wilmbt, 
they  parted  at  the  garden. 


CHAPTER  LIX. 

THE  PROPOSAL  OP  ARABELLA. 

» 

"  Johanna,"  said  Arabella  Wilmot,  as  they  passed  out  of  the  Temple  by  the 
old  gate  at  Whitefriars,  "  Johanna,  if  there  had  been  no  Mark  Ingestrie  in  the 
world,  could  you  not  have  loved  some  one  else  truly?" 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS; 


277 


"No,  no— oh,  no." 

€%  Not  such  a  one  as  Colonel  Jeffery  V- 

"  No,  Arabella,  I  respect  and  admire  Colonel  Jeffery.  He  comes  fully  up  to 
all  my  notions  of  what  a  gentleman  should  be,  but  I  cannot  love  him." 

Arabella  sighed.  The  two  young  girls  passed  Todd's  shop  upon  the  other 
side  of  the  way,  and  Johanna  shuddered  as  she  did  so,  and  repeated  in  a  low 
voice— 

u  He  went  there,  but  he  never  left/' 

"  Nay,  but  you  should  remember  that  was  ThorntoH.5' 

u  Yes,  Thornhill,  alias  Ingestrie." 

"  You  will  cling  to  that  idea/' 

"  I  cannot  help  it,  Arabella.  Oh,  that  I  could  solve  the  dreadful  doubt.  You 
speak  to  me  of  finding  consolation  and  hope  from  the  possibility  that  this  Thorn- 
hill  might  not  have  been  Ingestrie ;  but  I  feel,  Arabella,  that  the  agony  of  that 
constant  doubt,  and  the  pangs  of  never  ending  thought  and  speculation  upon  that 
subject  will  drive  me  mad.  I  cannot  endure  them — I  must  be  resolved  one  way 
or  the  other.  It  is  suspense  that  will  kill  me.  I  might  in  the  course  of  time 
reconcile  myself  to  the  fact  that  poor  Mark  had  gone  before  me  to  that  world 
where  we  shall  assuredly  meet  again  ;  but  the  doubt  as  to  his  fate  is — is  indeed 
madness!5' 

There  was  a  manner  about  Johanna,  as  she  pronounced  these  words,  that  was 
quite  alarming  to  Arabella.  Perhaps  it  was  this  alarm  which  went  a  long  way 
towards  inducing  her,  Arabella,  to  say  what  she  now  said  to  Johanna-—  I 

u  Have  you  forgotten  your  idea  of  going  disguised  to  Todd's,  Johanna  ?  And 
have  you  forgotten  what  Mr.  Ben,  your  friend  from  the  Tower,  told  you  V* 

4<  What?    Oh,  what,  Arabella— what  did  he  tell  me  that  I  should  remember  V* 

€C  Why  that  Todd  had  placed  a  placard  in  his  window,  stating  that  he  wanted 
a  boy  in  bis  shop.  Oh,  Johanna,  it  would  be  so  romantic;  and  to  be  sure,  I  have 
read  of  such  things.  Do  you  think  you  would  have  courage  sufficient  to  dress 
yourself  again  in  my  cousin's  clothes,  and  go  to  Todd's  shop  V 

'*  Yes,  yes — I  understand  you — and  apply  for  the  vacant  situation." 

4i  Yes,  Johanna;  it  might,  you  know,  afford  you  an  opportunity  of  searching 
the  place,  and  then,  if  you  found  nothing  which  could  assure  you  of  the  presence 
at  one  time  there  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  you  would  come  away  with  a  heart  more  at 
ease.5' 

4t  I  should— I  should.    He  could  but  kill  me  ?" 
"Who?  who?" 
4i  Sweeney  Todd." 

u  Oh,  no— no,  Johanna,  your  stay  would  not  exceed  a  few  short  hours."  J 
u  Oh,  what  long  hours  they  would  be."  I 
"  Well,  Johanna,  I  almost  dread  the  counsel  I  am  giving  to  you.    It  is  fraught 
probably  with  a  thousand  mischiefs  and  dangers,  that  neither  you  nor  I  have 
sufficient  experience  to  see ;  and  now  that  I  have  said  what  I  have,/ 1  beg  of  you 
to  think  no  further  of  it,  and  from  my  heart  I  wish  it  all  unsaid.0 

"No,  Arabella,  why  should  you  wish  it  unsaid?    It  is  true  that  the  course 
you  suggest  to  me  is  out  of  the  ordinary  way,  and  most  romantic,  but,  then,  are  j 
not  all  the  circumstances  connected  with  this  sad  affair  far  out  of  the  ordinary 
course  ?"  I 

4t  Yes,  yes — and  yet  " 

"Arabella,  I  will  do  it." 

t€  Oh,  Johanna,  Johanna — if  any  harm  should  come  to  you— V 
14  Then  absolve  yourself,  Arabella,  from  all  reproach  upon  the  subject.  He- 
member  always  that  I  go  upon  my  own  responsibility,  and  against  your  wishes, 
feelings,  and  advice.  All  that  1  now  ask  of  you  is  that  you  will  once  more  lend 
me  that  disguise,  and  assist  me  in  further  making  myself  look  like  that  I  would 
represent  myself,  and  I  shall  then,  perhaps,  ask  no  more  of  your  friendship  in 
this  world.* 

Arabella  was  horrified.    The  plan  she  had  proposed  had,  from  her  course  of  , 


276  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 

romantic  reading,  such  charms  for  her  imagination,  that  she  could  not  have  for- 
home  mentioning  it,  but,  now  that  in  earnest  Johanna  talked  of  carrying  it  out, 
she  became  terrified  at  what  might  be  the  consequences.  In  the  open  streets 
she  was  afraid  of  making  a  scene  by  any  further  opposition  to  Johanna,  whose 
feelings,  she  saw,  were  in  a  great  state  of  exc  tement ;  but  she  hoped  that  she 
would  be  able  yet  to  dissuade  her  from  her  purpose  when  she  got  her  home. 

"  Say  no  more  now  of  it,  Johanna,  and  come  home  with  me,  when  we  will 
talk  it  over  more  at  large.3' 

"I  am  resolved,"  said  Johanna.  u  The  very  resolution  to  do  something  bcld 
and  definite  has  given  me  already  a  world  of  ease.  I  am  different  quite  in  feel- 
ing to  what  I  was.  I  am  sure  that  God  is,  even  now,  giving  me  strength  and 
calmness  to  do  this  much  for  him  who  would  have  risked  anything  for  me." 

To  reason  with  any  one  impressed  with  such  notions  would  have  been  folly 
indeed,  and  Arabella  forbore  doing  so  at  that  juncture.  She  could  not  but  be 
amazed,  however,  at  the  firmness  of  manner  of  Johanna  now,  in  comparison 
with  the  frantic  burst  of  grief  which  she  had  so  recently  been  indulging  in.  Her 
step  was  firm,  her  lips  were  compressed,  and  her  countenance,  although  more 
than  usually  pale,  was  expressive  in  every  feature  of  highly-wrought  determina- 
tion. 

"  She  will  do  it  or  die/7  thought  Arabella,  u  and  if  anything  happens  to  her, 
I  shall  wish  myself  dead  likewise." 

In  this  state  of  feeling — not  a  very  amiable  one — the  two  young  girls  reached 
the  abode  of  Arabella  Wilmot.  The  strongly  marked  feeling  of  composure 
and  determination  by  no  means  left  Johanna,  but,  if  anything,  seemed  to  be 
rather  upon  the  increase,  while  occasionally  she  would  mutter  to  herself— 

u  Yes — yes ;  I  will  know  all— I  will  know  the  worst." 

When  they  were  alone  in  the  little  chamber  of  Arabella — that  little  cham- 
ber which  had  witnessed  so  many  of  the  mutual  confidences  of  those  two 
young  girls — Arabella  at  once  began  to  say  something  that  might  provoke  a 
discussion  about  the  propriety  of  the  hazardous  expedition  to  Todd's,  but 
Johanna  stopped  her  by  saying  as  she  laid  her  hands  gently  upon  her  arm— - 

"  Arabella  will  you  do  me  two  favours  r 

"A  hundred ;  but  " 

"  Nay,  hear  me  out,  dear  friend,  before  you  say  another  word.  The  first  of 
those  favours  is,  that  you  will  not,  by  word  or  look,  try  to  dissuade  me  from  my 
purpose  of  going  in  disguise  to  Todd's.  The  second  is,  that  you  will  keep  my 
secret  when  1  do  go." 

u  Oh !  Johanna !  Johanna !" 

€S  Promise  me." 
"Yes.    1  do— I  do." 

u  I  am  satisfied.  And  now,  my  own  dear  Arabella,  let  me  tell  you  that  I  do 
hot  think  that  there  i$  any  such  danger  as  you  suppose  in  the  expedition.  In 
the  first  place,  I  do  not  think  Todd  will  easily  discover  me  to  be  aught  else  than 
what  I  pretend  to  be,  and  if  I  should  see  that  I  am  in  any  danger,  Fleet  Street, 
with  all  its  living  population,  isreiose  at  hand,  and  such  a  cry  for  aid  as  I,  being, 
as  I  am,  forearmed  by  being  forewarned,  could  raise,  would  soon  bring  me  many 
defenders.  * 

u  Arabella  sobbed. 

"  And  then,  after  all,  I  only  want  to  stay  until,  by  one  absence  of  Todd's  from 
the  house,  I  shall  be  able  to  make  a  search  for  some  memorial  of  the  visit  of  Mark 
Ingestrie  there.  If  I  find  it  not,  I  return  to  you  at  once  better  satisfied,  and  with 
better  hopes  than  I  went  forth.  If  I  do  find  it,  I  will  call  upon  the  tardy  law 
for  justice." 

"  Johanna— Johanna,  you  are  not  the  same  creature  that  you  were !" 
"I  know  it.    I  am  changed.    I  feel  that  I  am" 

Arabella  looked  at  the  sweet  childish  beauty  of  the  face  before  her,  and  her 
^yes  filled  with  tears  again  at  the;  thought  that,  something  near  akin  to  despair 
had  implanted  upon  it  that  look  of  unnatural  calmness  and  determination  it  wore. 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  279 


"  You  doubt  me  ?"  said  Johanna. 

H  Oh  !  no— no.    I  feel  now  that  you  will  do  it,  and  feeling  that,  I  likewise 
feel  that  I  ought  not  to  drive  you  to  seek  assistance  from  another,  in  your  enter- 
prise.   But  something  must  be  arranged  between  us." 
"In  what  respect ? 


ipect 

"  Such  as,  if  I  should  not  hear  of  you  within  a  certain  time,  I— I- 


9f 


You  would  feel  bound  to  find  me  some  help.  Be  it  so,  Arabella,  If  I  do 
not  come  to  you,  or  send  to  ycu,  before  the  midnight  of  to-morrow,  do  what  you 
will,  add  1  shall  not  think  that  you  have  committed  any  breach  of  faith." 

<f  I  am  content,  Johanna,  to  abide  by  those  conditions  ;  and  now  1  will  say 
nothing  to  you  to  bend  you  from  your  purpose,  but  I  will  pray  to  Heaven  that 
you  may  become  successful,  not  in  finding  any  record  of  Mark  Inesgestrie,  but  in 
procuring  peace  to  your  mind  by  the  utter  absence  of  such  record." 
"  I  will  go  now." 

"  No — no,  Johanna.  Bethink  you  what  pain  your  unexplained  absence  would 
give  to  your  father.  Something  must  be  said  or  done  to  make  him  feel  at  ease 
during  the,  perhaps,  many  hours  that  you  will  be  absent." 

"It  is  well  thought  of,  Arabella.  Oh!  how  selfish  we  become  when 
overwhelmed  by  our  own  strange  emotions!  I  had  forgotten  that  I  had  a 
father." 

It  was  now  agreed  between  the  two  young  girls  that  Johanna  should  go  home, 
and  that  Arabella  Wilmot  should  call  for  her,  and  ask  Mr.  Oakley's  permission 
for  her  (Johanna)  to  come  to  her  upon  a  visit  for  two  days.  It  was  no  very 
usual  thing  for  Johanna  to  pass  a  night  with  her  friend,  so  that  it  was  thought 
such  a  course  now  would  have  the  effect  of  quieting  all  anxiety  on  account  of  the 
absence  of  the  young  girl  from  her  parental  home. 


•v,  i 


CHAPTER  LX. 

TODD   FINDS    A,  BOY, 

"  Temporary  insanity,  and  a  dividend  of  one  shilling  upon  the  razor  V9 
Such  was  the  enlightened  verdict  of  twelve  sapient  shopkeepers  in  the  Strand 
upon  John  Mundell— peace  to  his  manes  !    He  is  gone  where  there  are  no  dis- 
counts—no usury  laws—no  unredeemed  pledges,  and  no  strings  of  pearls  !  Good 

day  to  you,  John  Mundell ! 

t<  Ha  1  Ha !  Ha  !"  laughed  Sweeney  Todd.  46  That  affair  is  settled  in  an  un- 
commonly satisfactory  manner.  What  an  odd  thing  it  is,  though,  that  nobody 
now  comes  into  my  shop,  but  somebody  else,  upon  some  shuffling  excuse  or 
another,  comes  in  within  two  minutes  afterwards.    Now,  if  I  were  superstitious, 

which — I — 1  am  not  " 

Here  Todd  looked  first  over  his  right  shoulder  and  then  over  Jrisjeft, \ with 

two  perceptible  shudders.  m  -^Mi^mi^MB 

"  If,  as  i  sav,  I  were  supertitious,  which— Hilloa!  who's  this  ?" 
jjj  Oh,  I  beg'  your  pardon,  Mr.  Todd,"  said  a  woman  in  widow's  weeds,"  as 

she  entered  the  shop,  "but  they  do  say  that— that  '\  j  ; 

screamed  Todd,  "what?"^ 
"  That  you  are  charitable  to  the  poor." 

"  Oh,  that's  all.  I— I.  That's  all.  Very  good.  I  am  charitable  to  the  poor. 
Very— very  charitable  to  the  poor.  What  may  your  business  be,  madam?" 

f*  You  dorjt't  know  me,  Mr.  Todd,  I  dare  say,  but  my  name  is  Slick/ \ 

«  Slick— Slick?  No,  madam,  I  have  not  th<?  pleasure  ofknowing  you  ;  and 
may  I  again  ask  why  I  am  honoured  with  the  visit  ?" 

"  Why,  sir,  I  have  got  up  a  little  humble  petition.  %  You  see,  sir,  my  husband, 
Solomon  Slick,  is  a  watch-mater,  and  one  day,  aboutXmonth  ago,  he  went  out 


£3* 


280 


to  go  to  the  city  with  two  chronometers,  to  take  to  Brown,  Smuggins,  Bugsby, 
and  Podd,  who  employ  him,  and  he  was  never  afterwards  heard  of,  leaving  me 
with  six  children,  and  one  at  the  breast.  Now,  Mr.  Brown  is  a  kind  sort  of 
man,  and  spoke  to  Podd  about  doing  something,  but  Bugsby  and  Smuggins,  they 
will  have  it  that  my  husband  ran  away  with  the  watches,  and  that  we  are  only 
watching  the  best  time  to  go  to  him;  but  my  aunt,  Mrs.  Longfinch,  in  Bedford- 
shire, will  do  something  for  us  if  we  go  there  ;  so  I  am  trying  to  get  up  a  pound 
or  two  to  take  me  and  the  little  ones/' 

Todd  made  a  chuckling  noise,  like  a  hen  in  a  farm-yard,  and  looked  the  pic- 
ture of  compassionate  commiseration. 
46  Dear — dear,  what  a  shocking  thing." 
"It  is  indeed,  sir/' 

"And  have  you  no  idea  of  what  has  become  of  him,  madam  V' 
u  Not  in  the  least,  sir — not  in  the  least.    But  I  said  to  myself — 4 1  dare  say 
Mr.  Todd  will  be  so  good  as  to  assist  us  in  our  necessities." 

"  Certainly,  madam — certainly.  Do  you  know  what  is  the  most  nourishing 
thing  you  can  give  to  your  children  ?" 

"  Alas !  sir,  the  poor  things,  since  their  poor  father  went,  have  had  little 
choice  of  one  thing  or  another.  It  was  he  who  supported  them.  But  what 
is  it,  sir  ?" 

«  Mrs.  Lovett's  pies." 

"Ah,  sir,  they  had  one  a-piece,  poor  things/ the  very  day  after  poor  Solomon 
Slick  disappeared.  A  compassionate  neighbour  brought  them,  and  all  the  while 
they  ate  them,  they  thought  of  their  father  that  was  gone." 

"  Very  natural,  that,"  said  Todd.  "  Now,  Mrs.  Slick,  I  am  but  a  poor  man, 
but  I  will  give  you  my  advice,  and  something  more  substantial.  The  advice  is, 
that  if  anybody  is  moved  to  compassion,  and  bestows  upon  you  a  few  pence  for 
your  children,  you  go  and  lay  it  out  in  pies  at  Mrs.  Lovett's  ;  and  as  for  the  more 
substantial  something,  take  that,  and  read  it  at  your  leisure/' 

Todd,  as  he  spoke,  took  from  a  drawer  a  religious  tract.,  entitled  "The 
Spiritual  Quartern  Loaf  for  the  Hungry  Sinner/'  and  handed  it  to  Mrs.  Slick. 
The  poor  woman  received  it  with  a  look  of  blank  disappointmnt,  and  said,  with 
a  slight  shudder — 

"  And  is  this  all  you  can  do,  Mr.  Todd  ?" 

"All!"  cried  Todd.  "All?  Good  gracious,  what  more  do  you  want? 
Recollect,  my  good  woman,  that  there  is  another  world  where  the  poor  will  have 
their  reward,  provided  that  in  this  they  are  not  too  annoying  to  the  rich  and 
the  comfortable.  Go  away.  Dear— dear,  and  this  is  gratitude.  I  must  go  and 
pray  for  the  hardness  of  heart  and  the  Egyptian  darkness  of  the  common  and 
the  lower  orders  in  general,  and  you  in  particular,  Mrs.  Slick." 

The  woman  was  terrified  at  the  extraordinary  faces  that  Todd  made  during  the 
delivery  of  this  harangue,  and  hastily  left  the  shop,  having  dropped  the  44  Spiritual 
Quartern  Loaf  tor  Hungry  Sinners"  in  the  doorway. 

■  f  Ha  !  ha  !"  said  Todd,  when  she  was  gone.  *•  They  thought  of  their  father, 
did  they,  while  they  ate  Lovett's  pies.    Ha!  ha  !" 

At  this  moment  a  man  made  his  appearance  in  the  shop,  and  looked  with  a 
sly  twinkle  at  Sweeney  Todd.  The  latter  started,  for  in  that  man  he  imagined 
no  other  than  an  under  attendant  at  the  establishment  of  Mr.  Fogg,  &t  Peckham. 
That  this  man  came  with  some  message  from  Fogg,  he  did  not  for  a  moment 
doubt,  but  what  could  it  possibly  be,  since  he  (Todd)  fully  believed  that  Tobias 
Ragg  was  no  more. 
"  Do  you  know  me  ?"  said  the  man. 

As  a  general  proposition,  ,Todd  did  not  like  to  say  yes  to  anything,  so  he 
looked  dubious,  add  remarked  that  he  thought  it  might  rain  soon,  but  if  he  (the 
man)  wanted  a  clean  shave,  he  (Todd)  would  soon  do  for  him. 
"  But,  really,  Mr.  Todd,  don't  you  know  me  ?* 
44 1  know  nobody,"  said  Todd. 

The  man  chuckled  with  a  hideous  grimace,  that  seemed  habitual  to  him,  for 


Ik'  I L. 


Bof  whs 


atMed  "Ik 

to  MfS.  9l 

b4  nidi  trili 
jot  wint?- 

5S? 


i 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


1 281 


he  at  times  indulged  in  it,  when,  to  all  appearance,  no  subject  whatever  of 
hilarity  was  on  the  topic,  and  then  he  said — 

"  J  come  from  Fogg." 

"  Fogg'g,  not  Fogg  ?') 

The  man  did  not  at  first  seem  to  understand  this  nice  distinction  that  Todd 


; 


TODD'S  victims  in  the  vaults  of  OLD  ST.  dunstan's  church, 

drew  between  coming  from  Fogg's  establishment  and  coming  from  Fogg  him- 
self; but  after  knitting  his  brows,  and  considering  a  little,  he  said — 

<f  Oh — ah — 1  see.  No,  I  don't  come  from  Fogg,  confound  him,  he  don't  use 
me  well,  so  I  thought  I 'd  come  to  tell  you— " 

The  shop  door  opened,  and  a  stout  burly-looking  man  made  his  appearance* 
Todd  turned  upon  him,  with  a  face  livid  with  passion,  as  he  said— 

-"  ■  1  *"    *"*' "  ■  '    ■■  1  1  *  A*'  '■  1  ■■  —j   ■'  ■■  ii"  rr-  ~t  "    i  '"  . 

No,  36., 


282 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Well,  sir,  what  now  r  _    /;  _    .  „ 

*'  Eh  f *  said  the  stout  burly  man.   "  Ain't  this  a  barber's  shop  ? 

"  To  be  sure  it  is  ;  and,  once  for  all,  do  you  want  to  be  shaved,  or  do  you 

not?" 

"  Why,  what  else  could  I  come  in  for 

4i  I  don't  know  ;  but  you  have  been  here  more  than  once — more  than  twice— 
more  than  thrice,  and  yet  you  have  never  been  shaved  yet." 
11  Well,  that  is  a  good  one." 

"A  good  what?"  , 

"  Mistake,  for  I  have  only  just  come  to  London  to-day ;  but  1 11  wait  while 
you  shave  this  gentleman.    I  am  in  no  hurry*" 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Todd ;  fl  this  gentleman  is  a  private  friend  of  mine,  and  don't 
come  to  be  shaved  at  all." 

The  stout  burly -looking  man  seemed  rather  confused  for  a  moment,  and  then 

he  turned  to  the  stranger,  and  said— 
41  Are  you  really  a  private  friend  of  Mr.  Todd's  ?" 
"  Very/'  said  the  other. 

"Then  I  scorn  to  interrupt  any  one  in  their  confidential  discourse,  just  be- 
cause my  beard  happens  to  be  a  day  old.  No  ;  I  trust  that  time,  and  old  English 
politeness,  will  ever  prevent  me  from  doing  such  a  thing ;  so,  Mr.  Todd,  I  will 
look  in  upon  some  other  occasion,  if  you  please/' 

"No— no/'  said  Todd,  44  sit  down:  business  is  business.  Pray  ait  down. 
You  don't  know  how  disappointed  I  shall  feel  if  I  don't  polish  you  off,  now  that 
you  are  here,  sir." 

"  Could  not  think  of  it,"  said  the  other,  in  whom  the  reader  has,  no  doubt, 
recognised  one  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt's  officers.  u  Could  not  for  a  moment 
think  of  it.    Good  day.* 

Before  Todd  could  utter  another  remonstrance,  he  was  out  of  the  shop,  and 
when  he  got  about  twelve  paces  off,  he  met  Crotchet,  who  said— 

u  Weil,  what  do  yer  bring  it  in  now  ?" 

"I  must  cut  it.  Todd  is  beginning  to  recollect  me,  and  to  think  there  is 
something  odd  going  on/* 

Mr.  Crotchet  gave  a  slight  whistle,  and  then  said — 

««  Wery  good ;  but  did  you  leave  a  hindevidel  in  the  shaving  crib,  to  be  done 
fori". 

"  Yes ;  but  he  said  he  was  a  private  friend  of  Todd's." 

t*  Good  agin,  that  will  do.    He'b  safe  enough,  I  dare  say,  and  if  he  isn  t,  why 
he  ought  to  be  more  petikler  in  a-dressing  of  his  acquaintance**   Do  you  know 
where  the  governor  is  I"  , 
«'  No.   1  have  not  seen  him  ;  but  will  you  tell  him,  Crotchet,  why  1  think  it's 

better  for  me  to  be  scarce  for  a  day  or  two  ?" 
f'To  be  sure,  old  fellow.  You  can  go  on  some  other  day." 
**  Surely—surely." 


CHAPTER  LXI. 


tfOBD  RECEIVES  SOME  STARTLING  INTELLIGENCE. 

It  took  Todd,  master  as  he  was,  or  used  to  be,  in  the  art  of  dissimulation,  some 
few  minutes  to  recover  his  composure,  after  the  officer  had  left  the  shop,  and 
during  that  time,  the  gentleman  from  Fogg's  looked  at  him  with  the  quiet 
sniggering  kind  of  laugh  so  peculiar  to  him.  Todd  was  evidently,  day  by  day, 
losing  that  amount  of  nerve  which  had  at  one  time  formed  his  principal  charac 
teristic.  It  was  getting,  in  fact,  clear  to  himself  that  he  was  not  near  so  well 
fitted  for  the  business  he  was  carrying  on  as  he  had  been.  Turniag  to  the 
man  from  f  ogg%  he  said,  while  he  put  on  as  bland  a  smile  as  he  could— 


UMffUJtUJ* 


>ti'i 


in 


» if  lis 


£3 

If 


you  are  pro 


"  Well,  my  friend,  I  suppose  you  have  sought  me  with  some  motive?  Prav 
speak  out,  and  tell  me  what  it  is." 
The  man  laughed. 

"  I  have  had  a  row  with  Fogg/'  he  said,  "and  we  parted  in  anger.  I  told 
him  I  would  split  upon  the  den,  but  he  is  a  deep  one,  and  he  only  coughed. 
Fogg,  though,  somehow  don't  laugh  as  he  used.  However,  as  well  as  he  eould 
laugh,  he  did,  and,  says  he,  *  Peter,  my  lad,*  says  he,  f  if  you  do  split  upon  the 
old  den,  1 11  get  you  transported,  as  safe  as  you  think  yourself.' " 
Well  ?' 

"Well.    I— I— didn't  like  that." 

"  Then  you  are  probably,"  said  Todd  in  a  bland  manner—" 
bably  aware  that  you  may  be  obnoxious  to  the  law/' 
u  A  fewF'  said  the  fellow. 
"  And  what  followed  ?" 

" 6  Why,  Peter/  added  Fogg,  4  you  may  leave  me  if  you  like,  and  once  a 
month  there  will  be  a  couple  of  guineas  here  for  you.  There's  the  door,  so 
away,  I  insist and  it  has  struck  me,  that  if  Fogg  gives  me  a  couple  of  shiners 
a  month  to  hold  my  tongue,  other  gentlemen  might  do  as  much,  and  through  one 
and  another,  I  might  pick  up  a  crust  and  something  to  moisten  it  with/' 

The  man  laughed  again.  Todd  nodded  his  head,  as  much  as  to  say— U  You 
could  not  have  explained  yourself  clearer,"  and  then  he  said — 

u  Peter,  in  your  way  you  have  a  certain  sort  of  genius.    I  might  just  remark, 
however,  that  after  paying  Fogg  handsomely  for  what  he  has  done,  it  is  rather 
hard  that  Fogg's  cast-off  officials  should  come  upon  Fogg's  best  customers,  and 
threaten  them  out  of  any  more." 
u  I  know  it's  hard/'  said  the  man. 
"Then  why  do  you  do  it  ?" 

u  Because,  to  my  thinking,  it  would  be  a  deuced  sight  harder  for  me  to  want 
anything ;  and  besides,  I  might  get  into  trouble,  and  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
police,  when  who  knows  but  that  in  some  soft  moment  some  one  might  get 
hold  of  me,  and  get  it  all  out  of  me.    Wouldn't  that  be  harder  still  for  all  ?" 

44  It  would." 

"Ah  !  Mr.  Todd,  I  always  thought  you  were  a  man  of  judgment,  that  I  did." 
*'  You  do  me  infinite  honour." 

€t  Not  at  all.  I  say  what  I  think,  you  may  take  your  oath  of  that.  But 
when  I  saw  you  come  about  that  last  boy,  I  said  to  myself—*  Mr.  Todd  is 
carrying  on  some  nice  game,  but  what  it  is  I  don't  know.  Howsomdever  ht 
is  a  man  with  something  more  than  would  go  into  a  small  tea-spoon  here- 
abouts.'" 

Mr.  Peter  tapped  his  forehead  with  his  finger  as  he  spoke,  to  intimate  that 
he  alluded  to  the  intellectual  capacity  of  Todd. 

4i  You  are  very  obliging/'  said  Todd." 

"  Not  at  all.    Not  at  all.    How  much  will  you  stand,  now  V9 

" 1  suppose,  if  I  say  the  same  as  Mr.  Fogg,  you  will  be  satisfied,  Mr.  Peter. 
Times  are  very  bad,  you  know." 

Peter  laughed  again. 

"  No,  no !  Mr.  Todd,  times  are  not  very  bad,  but  I  do  think  what  you  say 
is  very  fair,  and  that  if  you  stand  the  same  as  Fogg,  I  ought  not  to  say  one 
word  against  it." 

44  How  charming  it  is/'  said  Todd,  casting  his  eyes  up  to  the  ceiling,  ©a 
though  communing  with  himself  or  some  higher  intelligence  supposed  to  be  i  \ 
that  direction.    4i  How  charming  it  is  to  feel  that  you  are  at  any  time  trans 
acting*  business  with  one  who  is  so  very  obliging  and  so  very  reasonable/' 

Somehow  Peter  winced  a  little  before  the  look  of  Todd.  The  barber  had 
come  into  his  proposal  a  little  too  readily.  It  almost  looked  as  though  he  saw 
his  way  too  clearly  out  of  it  again.  If  he  had  declaimed  loudly,  and  made  a 
great  fuss  about  the  matter,  Mr.  Peter  would  have  been  better  pleased,  but  as 
it  was  he  felt,  he  scarcely  knew  why,  wonderfully  fidgetty. 


IWWW 


mm 


mm 


mm 


m*mmm 


3 


284  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  

"  That  boy,"  he  said,  "  to  change  the  conversation.  That  boy,  used  to  say 
some  odd  things  of  you,  Mr.  Todd." 

"  Insanity/'  said  Todd,  "  is  a  great  calamity/' 
u  Oh,  very." 

«  And  so  clouds  the  faculties,  that  the  poor  boy  no  doubt  said  things  of  me, 
his  best  friend,  that,  if  he  had  been  restored  to  reason,  he  would  have  heard 
spoken  of  with  a  smile  of  incredulity/' 
Ha !  ha !    By  the  bye— Ha  !  ha !" 

"  Well,  sir  ?"  said  Todd,  who  did  not  in  the  smallest  degree  join  in  the  odd 
laugh  of  Peter.    Well,  sir 

<c  I  was  merely  going  to  say.  Have  you,  by  any  chance,  heard  anything 
more  of  him  ?" 

Todd  walked  close  to  Peter,  and  placed  his  two  brawny  hands  upon  his 
shoulders,  as  he  slowly  repeated — 

i€  Have  I  by  any  chance  heard  anything  more  of  him  ?  What  do  you  mean  ? 
Speak  out,  or  by  all  that's  powerful,  this  is  the  last  moment  of  your  existence. 
Speak  out,  I  say." 

"  Murder  !" 

<{  Fool !  Be  more  explicit,  and  you  are  safe.  Be  open  and  candid  with  me, 
and  not  a  hair  of  your  head  shall  suffer  injury,,  What  do  you  mean  by  asking 
me  if  I  have  heard  anything  more  of  him  ?* 

"  Don't  throttle  me/' 

"  Speak/' 

i€  I — I  can't  while  you  hold  me  so  tight.  L — I — can — hardly — breathe/' 
Todd  took  his  hands  off  him,  and  crossing  his  arms  over  his  breast,  he  said 
in  tones  of  most  unnatural  calmness— 
«f  Now  speak." 

«  Well,  Mr.  Todd-xl—  I— only  /' 

"  You  only  what  ?"  \ 

"  Asked  you  naturally  enough,  if  you  had  heard  anything  of  the  boy  Tobias 
Kagg*  y°u  know,  since  he  ran  away  from  Fogg's.    That's  all." 
« '  Since  he  what }" 
"  Ran  away  from  Fogg's  one  night." 

u  Then  he — he  is  not  dead  ?  The  villain  Fogg  sent  word  to  me  that  he  was 
dead/' 

«'  Did  he  though  P  Well  I  never.  That  was  so  like  Fogg.  Only  to  think 
now.  Lord  bless  you,  Mr.  Todd,  he  made  his  escape  and  ran  away,  and  we 
never  heard  anything  more  of  him  from  that  time  to  this.  The  idea  now  of 
Fogg  telling  you  he  was  dead.  Well,  I  did  wonder  at  your  taking  the  thing 
so  easy,  and  never  coming  down  to  enquire  about  it." 

"Not  dead?    Not  dead?" 

4i  Not  as  I  know  on/' 

"  Curses !" 

i€  Ah  !  that  will  do  you  good,  Mr.  Todd.  Whenever  I  am  put  out,  I  set  to 
swearing  like  a  good  one,  and  that's  the  way  I  come  round  again.  Don't  mind 
me.  You  swear  as  long  as  you  like.  It  was  a  shame  for  Fogg  not  to  tell  you 
he  had  bolted,  but  I  suppose  he  thought  he'd  take  his  chance." 

«  The  villain  IV 

"  Worser  J  worser!  nor  a  willain!"  said  Peter.  "  Who  knows  now  what 
mischief  may  be  done,  all  through  that  boy.  Why,  he  may  be  now  being 
gammoned  by  the  police  and  a  parson  to  tell  all  he  knows.  Oh,  dear !  Oh, 
dear !" 

Todd  sunk  upon  a  chair — not  the  shaving  one — and  resting  his  hand  upon 
his  head,  he  uttered  a  sepulchral  groan. 
Peter  shook  himself. 

"  You  don't  seem  well,  Mr.  Todd.  I  didn't  think  you  was  the  sort  of  man  to 
be  down  on  your  blessed  luck  in  this  sort  of  way.  Cheer  up.  What's  the  use 
of  grieving  ?  u  as  the  old  song  says." 


Todd  groaned  again, 

"  And  if  so  be  as  the  kid,°  continued  Peter,  u  did  run  away,  my  opinion  is 
as  he'd  seen  enough  and  feit  enough,  while  he  was  at  Fogg's,  to  make  him  as, 
mad  as  a  March  hare, 

There  was  hope  in  that  suggestion,  and  Todd  looked  up. 

"  You  really  think,  then,  Mr.  Peter,  that— that  his  intellects— 53 

"  His  what?" 

"  His  mind,  I  mean,  has  not  withstood  the  shock  of  what  he  went  through 
while  he  was  in  Fogg's  establishment  Vs 

44  How  could  it  ?  Once  or  twice  things  very  nigh  infected  me,  and  how 
should  he  stand  up  agin  'em  ?  But  arter  all,  Mr.  Fogg,  what  was  it  all  about  ? 
That's  wrhat  used  to  bother  me.  Was  there  anything  in  what  he  said,  or  wasn't 
there  ?" 

u  My  good  fellow,"  said  Todd,  u  I  have  only  one  question  to  ask  you— — " 
€t  Fire  away." 

"  And  that  is,  if  you  would  prefer  to  have  a  sum  of  money  down,  and  not 
trouble  me  any  more  ?" 
44  Down!" 
«  Yes,  down." 

*€  On  the  nail  ?  Well,  its  temptations,  I  own.  Let  me  see.  Thus  Fogg's 
riglar  annuity,  as  a  fellow  may  call  it,  and  a  good  round  sum  down  from 
you,  Mr.  T,  I  think  you  said  a  good  round  sum  down  on  the  nail,  didn't 
you  ?' 

"Yes — yes.    Any  sum  in  reason." 

"  Done,  then.  I'll  do  it.  Honour  bright  and  shining.  Mr.  T,  When 
I  says  a  thing,  it's  said,  and  no  mistake,  and  if  I  takes  something  down,  you 
won't  hear  no  more  of  me  ;  whatever  you  may  think,  Mr.  T.,  I  ain't  one  of  them 
fellows  as  will  spend  their  tin,  and  then  come  asking  for  more — not  I.  Oh, 
dear  no  !    Only  give  me  what's  reasonable  down,  and  the  thing's  settled." 

44  Very  good,"  said  Todd,  in  a  voice  which  was  calm  and  composed.  Just 
step  this  way,  into  the  back  parlour,  and  I'll  satisfy  you.  As  for  troubling  me 
any  more,  I  am,  I  assure  you,  as  perfectly  easy  upon  that  point  as  it  is  at  ail 
possible  to  be." 


CHAPTER  XL  1 1. 

TODD  CLEARS  OFF  CIRCUMSTANCES. 

The  arrangement  come  to  between  Todd  and  his  visitor  seemed  to  give  equal 
satisfaction  to  both,  and  Mr.  Peter,  if  he  had  what  the  phrenologists  call  an  organ 
of  caution  at  ail  developed,  must  have  had  acquisitiveness  so  large  as  completely 
to  overpower  its  action  at  the  present  time.  The  idea  of  getting  from  Todd's  fears 
a  sum  of  money  at  once,  and  from  Fogg's  fears  a  regular  small  annuity,  was  to 
him  a  most  felicitous  combination  of  circumstances,  and  his  reflections  upon  the 
pleasant  consequences  resulting  therefrom  had  such  full  possession  of  him,  that 
his  scruples  vanished,  and  as  he  followed  Todd  into  the  back  parlour  from  the 
shop,  he  muttered  to  himself— 

u  I'll  try  and  get  enough  out  of  him  to  open  a  public-house." 
Todd  heard  the  wish,  and  turning  quickly  with  what  he  intended  should  be  an 
engaging  smile,  he  said — 

"  And  why  not,  Peter — and  why  not  ?    Nothing  would  give  me  more  sincere 
gratification  than  seeing  you  in  a  public-house,  for  although  a  man  may  be  a 
publican,  he  need  not  be  a  sinner,  you  know." 
"  Eh  V 

gt  1  say  he  need  not  be  a  sinner ;  and  there  would  be  nothing  in  the  world,  Peter, 
to  prevent  you  from  having  prayers  night  and  morning,  and  I  am  sure  I  should 
be  most  happy  to  come  now  and  then,  if  it  were  only  to  say  •  Amen  !' " 


V. 


286  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"Humphl!"  said  Peter.    You  are  too  good,  you  are.     Much  too  good, 

re^&ot  at  all,  Peter.  Let  us  be  as  good  as  we  may,  we  cannot  be  too  good. 
Human  nature  is  a  strange  compound,  you  know,  mixed  up  of  several  things 
opposite  to  each  other,  like  a  lather  in  a  shaving  dish." 

With  this  sentiment  Todd  held  open  the  door  of  the  sanctum  behind  his 
shop,  and  by  a  cautious  wave  of  his  hand  invited  Mr.  Peter  to  enter.  That 
gentleman  did  so. 

"  Now/'  said  Todd,  in  quite  a  confidential  tone,  f '  what  is  your  peculiar  affec- 
tion in  the — — " 

Here  Mr.  Todd  went*  through  the  pantomimic  action  of  draining  a  glasg. 
Peter  laughed,  and  then  shaking  bis  head  waggishly,  he  said— 

"  What  a  rum  'un  you  are  !  Fogg  had  his  funny  ways,  but  I  do  think  you 
beat  him,  that  you  do.  Well,  if  I  must  say  I  have  a  partiality,  it's  to  brandy.  Do 
you  know,  I  think,  between  you  and  me  and  the  post,  that  a  drop  of  good  brandy 
is  rather  one  of  them  things  that  makes  human  nature  what  it  is/' 

"  What  a  just  remark/'  said  Todd." 

Peter  looked  as  sage  as  possible.  He  was  getting  upon  wonderfully  good 
terms  with  his  own  sagacity— a  certain  sign  that  he  was  losing  his  ordinary  dis- 
cretion. Todd  opened  a  small  cupboard  in  the  wall — what  a  number  of  small 
cupboards  in  the  wall  Todd  had— and  produced  a  long-necked  bottle  and  a 
couple  of  glasses.    He  held  the  bottle  up  to  the  dim  light,  saying—* 

"  That's  the  thing,  rather.' ' 

"  It  looks  like  it,"  said  Peter. 

14  And  it  is/'  said  Todd,  "what  it  looks.  This  bottle  and  the  liquor  within 
it  have  basked  in  the  sun  of  a  fairer  clime  than  ours,  Peter,  and  the  laughing 
glades  of  the  sweet  south  have  capped  it  in  beauty/* 

Peter  looked  puzzled. 

t€  What  a  learned  man  you  are,  Mr.  T.,"  he  said.  11  You  seem  to  know  some- 
thing of  everything,  and  I  dare  say  the  brandy  is  to  the  full  as  good  as  it 
looks/' 

This  was  decidedly  a  quiet  sort  of  hint  to  decant  some  of  it  without  further 
loss  of  time,  and  Todd  at  once  complied.  |  He  filled  Peter's  glass  to  the  brim, 
and  his  own  more  moderately ;  and  as  the  golden  liquor  came  out  with  a  plea- 
sant bubble  from  the  bottle,  Peter's  eyes  glistened,  and  he  sniffed  up  the  aroma  of 
that  pure  champaign  brandy  with  the  utmost  complaisance. 

"Beautiful!  beautiful !"  he  exclaimed. 

cl  Pretty  well,"  said  Todd. 

€i  Pretty  well  ?    It's  glorious  !" 

Mr.  Peter  raised  the  glass  to  his  lips,  and  giving  a  nod  to  Todd  over  the  rim 
of  it,  he  said— 

4 9 1  looks  towards  you.5' 

Todd  nodded,  and  then,  in  another  moment  Peter  put  down  his  empty  glass. 
'•Out  and  out!"  he  gasped.    M  Out  and  out !    Ah,  that  is  the  stuff." 
Todd  tossed  off  the  glass,  with  the  toast  of  "A  long  life,  and  a  merry  one  V3 
which  was  duly  acknowledged  by  Peter,  who  replied— 
"  The  same  to  you,  Mr.  T.,  and  lots  of  'em." 

u  It's  like  milk/'  said  Todd,  as  he  filled  Peters  glass  again.    "It's  for  all  the 
world  like  milk,  and  never  can  do  any  one  any  harm.* 
"  No— no.    Enough.    There— stop." 

Todd  did  stop,  when  the  glass  was  within  a  hair's  breadth  of  running  over, 
but  not  before ;  and  then  again  he  helped  himself,  and  when  he  set  the  bottle 
upon  the  table,  he  said— 

u  A  biscuit?" 

"Not for mo.  No." 

"  Nay.   You  will  find  it  pleasant  with  the  brandy.    I  have  one  or  two  here. 
Rather  hard,  perhaps,  but  good/' 
«'  Well,  I  will,  then.   I  was  afraid  you  would  have  to  go  out  for  them,  that 





T" 


H 


t 


i— mi 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


287 


was  all,  Mr.  T.,  and  I  wouldn't  give  you  any  trouble  for  the  world.  I  only 
hope  we  shall  often  meet  in  this  quiet  comfortable  way,  Mr.  T.  I  always  did 
respect  you,  for,  as  I  often  said  to  Fogg,  of  all  the  customers  that  come  here, 
Mr.  Todd  for  me.  He  takes  things  in  an  easy  way,  and  if  he  is  a  thundering 
rogue,  he  is  at  all  events  a  clever  one  " 
"  How  kind!" 

"  No  offence,  I  hope,  Mr.  Todd  ?" 

"Offence,  my  dear  fellow  ?  Oh,  dear  mil !  How  could  you  think  of  such  a 
thing  ?  Offence,  indeed !  You  cannot  possibly  offend  me 1" 

"  I'm  rejoiced  to  hear  you  say  so,  Mr.  T.,  I  am  really ;  and  this  is— this  is— 
the— very  best— ah— brandy  that  ever  I — where  are  you  going,  Mr.  T.  ?" 

y  Only  to  get  the  biscuits.   They  are  in  the  cupboard  behind  you ;  but  don't 
stir,  I  beg.  You  are  not  at  all  in  the  way." 
u  Are  you  sure  V* 
"Quite." 

Todd  stepped  easily  between  Peter's  chair  and  the  wall,  and  opening  another 
of  the  mysterious  small  cupboards,  he  laid  his  hand  upon  a  hammer,  with  a  long 
handle,  that  was  upon  the  shelf. 

u  If  this/'  said  Peter,  u  was  the  last  word  I  had  to  say  in  the  world,  I  would 
swear  to  the  goodness  of  the  brandy." 

As  he  uttered  the  words  he  turned  his  head  sharply,  and  faced  Todd.  The 
hammer  was  upraised,  and  would,  if  he  had  not  so  turned,  have  descended  with 
fatal  effect  upon  the  top  of  his  head.  As  it  was,  Peter  had  only  time  to  utter 
one  shriek,  when  down  it  came  upon  the  lower  part  of  his  face.  The  crush  was 
hideous.  The  lower  jaw  fell  crushed  and  mangled,  and,  with  a  frightful  oath, 
Todd  again  raised  the  hammer :  but  the  victim  closed  with  him,  and  face  to  face 
they  grappled.  The  hammer  was  useless,  and  Todd  cast  it  from  him  as  he  felt 
that  he  required  all  his  strength  to  grapple  with  the  man  who,  at  that  moment, 
fastened  on  him  with  the  strength  of  madness.  Over  chair — over  the  table,  to 
the  destruction  of  all  that  was  on  it,  they  went,  coiled  up  in  each  others  embrace 
— dashing  here  and  there  with  a  vehemence  that  threatened  destruction  to  them 
both,  and  yet  not  a  word  spoken.  The  frightful  injury  that  Peter  had  received 
effectually  prevented  him  from  articulating,  and  Todd  had  nothing  to  say.  Down ! 
down  they  both  come ;  but  Todd  is  uppermost.  Yes ;  he  has  got  his  victim  upon 
the  floor,  and  his  knee  is  upon  his  chest !  He  drags  him  a  few  inches  further 
towards  the  fire-place — inches  were  sufficient,  and  then  grappling  him  by  the 
throat,  he  lifts  his  head  and  dashes  it  against  the  sharp  edge  of  an  iron  fender! 
Crash! — crash  I — crash!  The  man  is  dead!  Crash  again!  That  last  crash 
was  only  an  injury  to  a  corpse !  Once  more  Todd  raised  the  now  lax  and 
smashed  skull,  but  he  let  it  go  again.  It  fell  with  a  heavy  blow  upon  the 
floor ! 

"  That  will  do,"  said  Todd. 

He  slowly  rose,  and  left  his  cravat  in  the  hands  of  the  dead  man.  He  shook 
himself,  and  again  that  awful  oath,  which  cannot  be  transcribed,  came  from  his 
lips.  Rap  !  rap !  rap !  Todd  listened.  What's  that  ?  Somebody  in  theshop  ? 
Yes,  it  must  be— or  some  one  wanting  to  come  in,  rather,  fos  he  nad  taken  the 
precaution  to  make  the  outer  door  fast.   Rap !  rap !  rap ! 

"  I  must  go,"  said  Todd.   Stop.— Let  me  see.1' 

He  snatched  a  glass  from  the  wall,  and  looked  at  himself.  There  was  blood 
upon  his  face.  With  his  hand,  he  hastily  wiped  it  off,  and  then,  walking  as 
composedly  as  he  could  into  the  shop,  he  opened  the  door.  A  man  stood  upon 
the  threshold  with  quite  a  smile  upon  his  face,  as  he  said— 

*c  Busy,  I  suppose  V* 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Todd.  "  I  was  just  finishing  off  a  gentleman.  Shaved  or 
dressed,  sir  %'* 

n  Shaved,  if  you  please.  But  don't  let  me  hurry  you,  by  any  means,  I  can 
wait  a  little." 


I 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Thank  you,  sir,  if  you  will  oblige  me  for  a  moment  or  two.  You  will  find 
some  amusements,  sir,  from  the  Evening  Courant,  I  dare  say/' 

"  As  he  spoke,  he  handed  the  then  popular  newspaper  to  his  customer,  and 
left  him.  Todd  took  good  care  to  close  the  door  leading  into  the  parlour,  and 
then  proceeding  up  to  the  body  of  the  murdered  Peter,  he,  with  his  foot,  turned 
it  over  and  over,  until  it  was  under  the  table,  where  it  was  most  completely 
hidden  by  a  cover  that  hung  down  to  within  an  inch  of  the  floor.  Before  Todd 
had  got  this  operation  well  completed,  he  heard  his  shop  door  open.  That  door 
creaked  most  villanously  ;  by  so  doing,  while  he  was  otherwise  engaged,  he 
could  always  hear  if  it  was  opened  or  attempted  to  be  opened.  Todd  was  in 
the  shop  in  a  moment,  and  saw  a  respectable-looking  personage,  dressed  in  rather 
clerical  costume,  who  said — 

"  You  keep  powder  V9  i% 
*  "  Certainly,  sir." 

"  Then  I  wish  my  hair  powdered ;  but  do  not  let  me  interrupt  this  gentleman. 
I  can  wait" 

'*  Perhaps,  sir,  if  you  could  make  it  convenient  to  look  in  again/*  said  Todd, 
H  you  will  probably  be  more  amused  by  looking  at  the  shops,  than  by  waiting 
here  while  this  gentleman  is  shaved." 

"  Thank  ,you,  you  are  very  kind ;  but  I  am  rather  tired,  and  glad  of  the 
opportunity  of  having  a  rest." 

"  Certainly,  sir.    As  you  please.    The  Courant,  sir,  at  your  service." 

"  Thank  you— thank  you/' 

The  clerical  looking  old  gentleman  sat  down  to  read  the  Courant,  while  Todd 
commenced  the  operation  of  shaving  his  first  customer.  When  that  operation 
was  half  completed,  he  said*— 

"They  report,  sir,  that  St.  Dunstans  is  giving  way.1* 

"  Giving  way,"  said  the  clercal  looking  gentleman.  "  How  do  you  mean  about 
giving  way  V* 

"  Why,  sir,"  said  Todd,  with  an  air  quite  of  reverential  respect,  "  they  say 
that  the  old  church  has  a  leaning  towards  Temple  Bar,  and  that,  if  you  stand  at 
the  opposite  side  of  the  way,  you  may  just  see  it.    I  can't,  but  they  do  say  so." 

"  Bless  me,"  said  tie  clerical  looking  gentleman.  "That  is  a  very  sad  things 
indeed,  and  nobody  can  be  more  sorry  than  I  am  to  hear  such  a  tale  of  the  old 
church." 

"  Well  sir,  it  may  not  be  true/' 

"  I  hope  not,  indeed.  Nothing  would  give  me  greater  pain  than  to  be  assured 
it  was  true.  The  stench  in  the  body  of  the  church  that  so  much  has  been  said 
about  in  the  parish  is  nothing  to  what  you  say,  for  who  ought  to  put  his  nose 
into  competition  with  his  eternal  welfare  V* 

"Who,  indeed,  sir !  What  is  your  opinion  of  that  alarming  stench  in  old  St. 
Dunstan's?* 

"Iam  quite  at  a  loss  to  make  it  out." 

"And  so  am  I,  sir — so  am  1.  But  begging  your  pardon,  sir,  if  lam  not  making 
too  free,  I  thought  as  you  were  probably  a  clergyman,  sir,  you  might  have  heard 
something  more  about  it  than  we  common  folks." 

"No— no.  Not  a  word.  But  what  you  say  of  the  church  having  a  leaning 
to  Temple  Bar  is  grievous." 

"  Well,  sir,  if  you  were  to  go  and  look,  you  might  find  out  that  it  was  no 
such  thing,  and  by  the  time  you  return  I  shall  have  completely  finished  off  this 
gentleman." 

"  No — no.  I  make  no  sort  of  doubt  in  the  world  but  that  you  would  by  that 
time  have  finished  off  the  gentleman,  but  as  for  my  going  to  look  at  the  old  church 
with  any  idea  that  it  had  a  leaning  to  anything  but  itself,  I  can  only  say  that 
my  feelings  as  a  man  and  a  member  of  the  glorious  establishment,wiil  not  permit 
me." 

"  But,  my  dear  sir,  you  might  satisfy  yourself  that  such  was  really  not  the 
case.* 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


2S9 


•  "„No~no*  Imagination  would  make  me  think  that  the  c  hurch  had  a  leaning 
m  all  sorts  of  directions,  until  at  last  fancy  might  cheat  me  into  a  belief  that  it 
actually  tottered." 

The  clerical-looking  gentleman  pronounced  these  words  with  so  much  feeling, 
that  the  person  who  was  being  shaved  nearly  got  cut  by  twisting  his  head  round 
m  order  to  see  him. 


JOHANNA  APPLIES  TO  TODD  TO  BECOME  HIS  ERKAND  BOY. 

"  True,  sir,"  said  Todd.  «  Very  true-very  true  indeed,  and  very  just :  imagi- 
nation does  indeed  play  strange  freaks  with  us  at  times,  I  well  know  ' 

The  horrible  face  that  Todd  made  as  he  spoke  ought  to  have  opened  the  eyes 
of  any  one  to  the  fact  that  he  was  saying  anything  but  what  he  thought,  but  no 
one  saw  it.  When  he  pleased,  Todd  generally  took  care  to  keep  his  faces  to 
himself. 


No.  37. 


290  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  I  don't  wonder.  Rev.  sir,"  he  said,  "that  your  feelings  prompt  you  to  say 
what  you  do.    I'm  afraid  I  have  taken  off  a  little  too  much  whisker,  sir." 

<c  Oh,  never  mind.  It  will  grow-  again/'  said  the  person  who  was  being 
shaved/' 

i|     Todd  suddenly  struck  his  own  head  with  the  flat  of  his  hand,  as  a  man  will  do 
|j  to  whose  mind  some  sudden  thought  has  made  itself  apparent,  and  in  a  voice  of 
doubt  and  some  alarm,  he  pronounced  the  one  word — 
"Powder!" 

«   "  What's  the  matter?   You  are  a  long  time  shaving  me." 
"  Powder  V9  said  Todd  again. 

"  Gunpowder/'  said  the  three-quarter  shaved  man,  while  the  clerical-looking 
personage  entirely  hid  his  face,  with  the  Courant" 

"  No/  said  Todd.  "  Hair  powder.  I  told  this  gentleman,  whose  feelings  re- 
garding  the  church  do  him  so  much  honour,  that  I  had  hair  powder  in  the  house, 
and  it  has  just  come  over  me  like  a  wet  blanket  that  I  have  not  a  particle/' 

The  clerical-looking  gentleman  quickly  laid  down  the  Courant,  and  said 
wildly — 
"  Are  you  sure  you  have  none  ?" 
u  Quite  sure,  sir." 

"  Then  I  won't  occupy  your  shop  and  read  your  Courant  for  nothing,  and  as  I 
am  here  I  will  have  a  shave." 

"  That's  very  kind  of  you,  sir/'  said  Todd.   " Very  kind." 
"Not  at  all/'  said  the  gentleman,  taking  up  the  paper  again  with  all  the 
coolness  in  the  world.    "  Not  at  all.    Don't  mention  it,  I  always  like  to  carry 
out  the  moral  maxim  of — Do  unto  others  as  you  would  that  others  should  do 
unto  you/'  - 

"  How  charming!"  exclaimed  Todd,  lifting  up  his  hands,  in  one  of  which  was 
the  razor.  How  charming  it  is  in  this  indifferent  and  selfish  age  to  meet  with 
any  one  who  is  so  charitable  as  to  do  more  than  merely  speak  of  such  a  sentiment 
as  a  curiosity  in  morals.3' 

"  You  are  above  your  condition  as  regards  education/'  said  the  clerical -look- 
ing gentleman. 

"  Why,  to  tell  the  truth,  sir  " 

"  Psha  !"  said  he  who  was  being  or  rather  not  being  shaved—"  psha !  And 
all  this  while  the  very  soap  is  drying  upon  my  face.'1 
"  A  thousand  pardons,"  said  Todd. 

"Many  apologies,"  said  the  clerical  gentleman,  hastily  resuming  the  perasal 
of  the  Courant. 

"  Sir,"  added  Todd,  as  he  finished  the  shaving  and  whipped  off  the  cloth  from 
the  patient.  Sir,  fl  should  have  finished  you  five  minutes  ago,  so  that  I  am  sure 
no  one  would  have  heard  the  slightest  complaint  from  you,  but  for  the  truly  en- 
gaging conversation  of  this  gentleman  here,  whom  I  shall  have  great  pleasure 
now  in  polishing  off." 

"Oh,  don't  name  it,"  said  the  shaved  customer,  laying  down  a  penny. 
"  Don't  name  it,  I  said  I  was  in  no  hurry,  so  I  can  hardly  blame  you  for  taking 
your  time." 

He  went  through  the  usual  operation  of  a  partial  sloush  of  cold  water  from  a 
pewter  basin,  and  then  dried  himself  upon  a  jack  towel,  and  left  the  shop. 
"  Now,  sir,"  said  Todd. 

The  clerical-looking  gentleman  waved  his  hand  as  though  he  would  have 
said — 

"  For  goodness  sake  don't  interrupt]me  until  I  have  finished  this  paragraph.0 
Todd  fixed  his  eyes  upon  him,  and  began  slowly  stropping  the  razor  he  had 
been  recently  using. 
*    •?  Now,  sir,  if  you  please." 

"One  moment— -one — mo— ment,  I  shall  get  through  the  deaths  in  an 
in — stant."  " 
Todd  continued  stropping  the  razor,  when  suddenly  the  Gonrant  dropped 


from  the  hands  of  the  clerical-lookin*  gentleman,  and  he  uttered  a  groan  that 
made  Todd  start* 

"  Hopkins— Hopkins— Gabriel  Hopkins  I" 
"Sir." 

*'  Hop — kins !  my  friend — my  councillor — my  fellow  student — my  companion 
— my  Mentor— my — my  Hopkins/' 

The  clerical-looking  gentleman  shut  up  his  face  in  his  hands,  and  rocked  to 
and  fro  in  an  agony  of  grief. 

M  Good  God,  sir,"  cried  Todd,  advancing.    "  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  ?" 

f  In  that  paper  you  will  find  the  death  of  Hopkins  inserted,  sir.  Yes,  in  the 
obituary  of  that  paper.  Gabriel  Hopkins — the  true— the  gentle — the  affectionate 
— the  christian — Hop— kins  V9 

**  How  sorry  I  am,  sir,"  said  Todd.  4t  But,  pray  sit  in  this  chair,  sir,  a  shave 
will  compose  your  feelings." 

"A  shave!  You  barbarian.  Do  you  think  I  could  think  of  being  shaved 
within  two  minutes  of  hearing  of  the  death  of  the  oldest  and  best  friend  I  ever 
had  in  the  world.    No — no.    Oh,  Hopkins — Hop — kins  V 

The  Rev.  gentleman  in  a  paroxysm  of  grief  rushed  from  the  house,  and  Todd 
himself  sunk  upon  the  shaving  chair. 

"It  is,  it  must  be  so,"  cried  Todd,  as  his  face  became  livid  with  rage  and 
apprehension.  u  There  is  more  in  these  coincidences  than  mere  chance  will 
suffice  to  account  for.  Why  is  it  that,  if  I  have  a  customer  here,  some  one  else 
will  be  sure  to  come  in,  and  then  after  waiting  until  he  is^gone  himself,  leave 
upon  some  frivolous  excuse?  Do  I  stand  upon  a  mine?  Am  I  suspected? — 
am  I  watched  ?  or— or  more  terribb,  ten  times  more  terrible  question  still,  am— 
am  I  at  length,  with  all  my  care,  discovered  ?" 


CHAPTER  LXIII; 

JOHANNA  STARTS    FOR  TODD'S, 

We  Will  leave  Todd  to  the  indulgence  of  some  of  the  most  uncomfortable 
reflections  that  ever  passed  through  his  mind,  while  we  once  again  seek  the 
sweet  companionship  of  the  fair  Johanna,  and  her  dear  romantic  friend,  Arabella 
Wilmot.  The  project  which  these  two  young  and  inexperienced  girls  were,  bent 
upon,  was  one  that  might  well  appal  the  stoutest  heart  that  ever  beat  in 
human  bosom.  It  was  one  which,  with  a  more  enlarged  experience  of  the  world, 
they  would  not  for  one  moment  have  entertained,  but  by  long  thought  and  much 
grief  upon  the  subject  of  her  hopeless  love,  Johanna  had  much  observed  that 
clearness  of  perception  that  otherwise  would  have  saved  her  from  what  to  all 
appearance  is  a  piece  of  extravagance.  As  for  Arabella,  she  had  originally  con- 
ceived the  idea  from  her  love  for  the  romantic,  and  it  was  only  when  it  came  near 
to  the  execution  of  it  that  she  started  at  the  possible  and  indeed  highly  probable 
danger  of  the  loss  to  one  whom  she  loved  so  sincerely  as  she  loved  Johanna.  But 
all  that  has  passed  away.  The  remonstrances  have  been  made,  and  made  in  vain  ; 
Arabella  is  silenced,  and  nothing  remains  but  to  detail  to  the  reader  the  steps 
by  which  the  courageous  girl  sought  to  carry  out  a  plan  so  fraught  with  a  thou- 
sand dangers.  Both  Arabella  and  Johanna  sought  the  abode  of  the  latte*'s 
father,  for  the  first  step  in  the  affair  was  to  say  something  there  which  was  to 
account  seemingly  satisfactorily  for  any  lengthened  stay  of  Johanna  from  home. 
This  was  by  no  manner  of  means  a  task  of  any  difficulty,  for  in  addition  to  the 
old  spectacle  maker  being  innocence  itself  as  regarded  the  secreting  anything  in 
the  shape  of  a  plot,  Arabella  Wilmot  was  the  very  last  person  in  all  the  world 
he  would  have  thought  capable  of  joining  in  one.  As  for  Mrs.  Oakley,  she  was 
by  far  too  intent,  as  she  said  herself  frequently,  upon  things  which  are  eternal, 

.      w>|  mr^i  i  L'W  -  .  i  -Jiiui    i   «ii  Iiii   1    '  "  '"  ~  — — |-    i  W*  i  i  ii    mmm\  n     mi  miiwi  i  —    i  if— 1|  il  II    HWlKMI  .  l    '  MMH  I^WWMI»*Wi'*l1*«WW>MMaiMWM[jl>LWTMM"  iM— IWWwraifll  >!W~^IT''*MMJ*^'**^M"*MM",^'*aMM1riT^ilByHi'TT1 

   ,  _  •  *— —        ■**  .  .  a^.^ ''J"* '  "'      ~  t~"    i'  mm+.^^^ 


292  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 

to  trouble  herself  much  about  terrestrial  affairs,  always  except  they  came  to  her 
)  in  the  shape  of  something  enticing  to  the  appetites.  What  a  state  of  things,  that 
a  mother  should  forget  the  trust  that  is  placed  in  her  when  she  is  given  a  child, 
and  fancy  she  is  really  propitiating  the  Almighty  by  neglecting  a  stewardship 
which  He  has  imposed  upon  her !  But  so  it  is.  There  are,  we  fear,  in  different 
ways,  a  great  many  Mrs.  Oakleys  in  the  world. 

"  Ah,  my  dear  Miss  Wilmot,"  said  the  old  spectacle- maker  to  Arabella,  when 
he  saw  her.    "  How  glad  I  am  to  see  you.    How  fresh  you  look." 

Arabella's  face  was  flushed  with  excitement,  and  some  shame  that  the  errand 
she  came  upon  was  to  deceive.    She  had  not  heard  yet  of  the  spurious  phi- 
losophy that  the  end  sanctifies  the  means. 
"  I  have  come  to — to — to  " 

u  Yes,  my  dear.  To  stay  awhile,  and  let  us  look  at  your  pretty  face.  Come, 
my  dear  Johanna,  your  mother  is  out.  What  can  you  get  for  your  friend,  Miss 
Wilmot?  Here,  my  dear,  take  this  half-crown  and  get  some  sweetmeats,  and 
1  will  open  for  you  a  bottle  of  the  old  Malaga  wine/' 

Johanna's  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  she  was  compelled  to  turn  aside  to 
conceal  those  tell-tale  traces  of  emotion  from  her  father.  Arabella  saw  that 
if  anything  was  to  be  said  or  done  in  furtherance  of  the  affair  upon  which 
Johanna  had  now  set  her  heart,  she  must  do  it  or  say  it.  Summoning  all  her 
courage,  she  said— 
"  My  dear  sir  * 

"  Sir? — sir  ?  Bless  me,  my  child,  when  did  you  begin  to  call  your  old  kind 
friend  sir  ?" 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Oakley  " 

"  Ah,  that's  nearer  the  old  way.  Well,  my  dear  Arabella,  what  would  you 
say  to  me  ?" 

"  Will  you  trust  Johanna  with  me  to-night,  and  perhaps  to-morrow  night?" 
"I  don't  think  Johanna  can  come  to  much  harm  with  you,  my  dear/'  said 
Mr.  Oakley.    *  You  are  older  than  she  a  little,  and  at  your  age  a  little  goes  a 
long  way,  so  take  her,  Arabella,  and  bring  her  back  to  me  when  you  like.*' 

With  what  a  shrill  of  agony  did  Arabella  hear  Johanna  thus  committed  to 
her  care.  She  was^compelled  to  grasp  the  back  of  the  old  spectacle-maker's 
chair  for  support. 

"  Yes,  yes,  sir,"  she  said.    "  Oh,  yes,  Mr.  Oakley/* 
u  Well,  my  dears,  go,  and  God  bless  you  both/ 

To  both  Arabella  and  Johanna's  perception  there  was  something  ominous 
about  this  blessing,  at  such  a  time,  and  yet  it  had  really  about  it  nothing  at  al 
unusual,  for  Mr.  Oakley  was  very  much  in  the  habit  of  saying  to  them  "  God 
bless  you,'\ when  they  left  him ;  but  feeling,  as  they,  did,  the  hazard  that  she 
(Johanna)  might  encounter  ^before  again  she  heard  that  voice  say  "  God  bless 
you,"  if,  indeed,  she  ever  again  heard  it,  no  wonder  the  words  sank  deep  into 
their  hearts,  and  called  up  the  most  painful  emotions.  Johanna  certainly  could 
not  speak.  Arabella  tried  to  laugh,  to  hide  an  emotion  that  would  not  be  hid- 
den, and  only  succeeded  in  producing  an  hysterical  sound,  that  surprised  Mr. 
Oakley. 

"  What's  the  matter,  my  dear  ?"  he  said. 
"  Oh,  nothing— nothing,  dear  Mr.  Oakley,  nothing." 

"  Well,  I'm  glad  to  hear  it.  Perhaps  I  only  fancy  it ;  but  you  both  seem — 
seem  " 

"  What  do  we  seem,  father  ?'*  said  Johanna,  looking  very  pale,  and  speaking 
with  a  great  effort. 

"  Not  quite  as  usual,  my  darling.'* 

"  That — that,0  gasped  Johanna,  u  can  only  be — be  fancy." 
"  Of  course  not,,;  said  Oakley.    "  Fancy,  I  think  I  said  it  was,  or  if  I  did  not, 
I  meant  to  say  so,  my  love." 
"  Come,"  said  Arabella. 
"  Yes — yes.    Father — father.    Good  day/5 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


293 


She  kissed  his  cheek ;  and  then,  before  the  old  man  could  say  another  word, 
she  rushed  to  the  door. 

"Farewell!"  said  Arabella.  "Good  day,  Mr,  Oakley.  I— I  thank  you, 
sir.    Good  day,  sir." 

"  Dear,  dear/'  said  the  old  man,  "  what  is  the  matter  with  the  girls  ?  How 
odd  they  both  seem  to-day.  What  can  be  the  cause  of  it  ?  I  never  before  saw 
them  so  strange  in  their  manner.  Ah  !  I  have  it.  My  wife  has  met  them,  I 
daresay,  and  has  said  some  unkind  things  to  them  about  hats  or  ribbons,  or  some 
harmless  little  piece  of  girlish  pride.  Well— well.  All  that  will  pass  away. 
I'm  glad  I  hit  upon  it,  for  " 

At  this  moment  old  Oakley  was  astounded  by  the  sudden  entrance  of  Jo- 
hanna, who,  clasping  him  in  her  arms,  cried  in  a  voice,  half  choked  with  tears  — 

"  Good  bye,  father— good  bye.    God  help  me  I" 

Without,  then,  waiting  for  a  word  from  the  spectacle-maker,  she  again  rushed 
from  the  shop,  and  joining  Arabella  a  few  doors  off,  they  both  hurried  to  the 
house  of  the  latter.  Old  Oakley  tottered  back  until  he  came  to  a  seat,  upon 
which  he  sank,  with  an  air  of  abstraction  and  confusion,  that  threatened  to  last 
him  for  some  time ;  and  in  that,  for  the  present,  we  must  leave  him,  while  we 
look  narrowly  at  the  conduct  of  the  two  young  creatures,  who  have,  in 
the  pride  of  their  virtue  and  their  nobleness  of  purpose,  presumed  to  set  up  their 
innocence  against  the  deep  craft  of  such  a  man  as  Sweeney  Todd.  Well  might 
Johanna  say  u  God  help  me  Yy 

"  It  is  done  t*  said  Johanna,  as  she  clutched  her  friend  by  the  arm  "  It  is 
done  now.    The  worst  is  over/' 

**  Oh,  Johanna— Johanna  V 

"  Well,  Arabella,  why  do  you  pause  ?    What  would  you  say  ?w 

u  I  scarcely  know,  and  yet  I  feel  that  it  ought  to  be  something  that  I  have 

promised  you.  I  would  not  say." 

"Let  your  lips  be  sealed,  then,  dear  friend  ;  and  be  assured  that  now  nothing 

but  the  visible  interposition  of  God  shall  turn  me  from  my  purpose.    I  am  calm 

and  resolved. " 

These  words,  few  as  they  were,  were  too  significant,  and  spoken  with  too 
evident  sincerity  to  permit  a  doubt  of  their  deep  intensity  and  truth,  and  from 
that  moment  Arabella  VVilmot  looked  upon  the  scheme  of  Johanna  going  in  dis- 
guise to  Todd's  as  quite  settled  so  far  as  regarded  the  attempt.  It  was  the  result 
now  only  that  had  to  be  looked  to. 

"1  will  say  no  more,  Johanna,  except  as  regards  detail.  In  that  I  may  offer 
you  advice.'* 

"  Oh,  yes — yes,  Arabella.  Thankfully  received  advice,  as  well  you  know. 
What  is  it  you  would  say?'5 

**  That  you  ought  to  wait  unt  1  the  morning/' 

"  And  so  perhaps  lose  precious  hours.  Oh,  no — no.  Do  not  ask  me  now  to 
submit  ^o  any  delays,  Arabella.5' 

But  if  there  be  reason,  Johanna  ?" 

"  Wi  11.  the  reason,  then— the  reason  ?" 

"I  think  that,  if  possible,  it  would  be  well  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  remaining 
a  night  at  Todd's ;  and  so  if  you  go  in  the  morning,  you  see,  Johanna,  you  may 
have  an  opportunity  before  nightfall  of  making  all  the  discoveries  you  wish,  or 
of  satisfying  yourself  that  they  are  not  to  be  made  at  all." 

"  It  might  be  so,  and  yet  - vet  I  almost  think  night  will  be  the  best  time  of 
all." 

**  But  by  waiting  until  to-morrow  morning,  Johanna,  you  will  have  both  day 
and  night." 

*c  Yes,  ves.  I  wish  I  knew  what  would  be  the  best,  Arabella.  My  feelings 
are  wound  up  to  this  enterprise,  and  I  am  altogether  in  such  a  fiightful  state  of 
excitement  concerning  it,  that—that  I  know  not  how  I  should  be  able  to  support 
myself  under  the  delay  of  the  remainder  of  to-day  and  the  whole  of  the  ensuing 

night." 


it  **i  in 


.hi—  nun  i  ii 


294 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


"  In  the  night  you  will  have  repose,  and  to-morrow  morning,  with  much  more 
calmness  and  effect,  you  will  be  able  to  start  upon  your  errand.  Believe  me, 
Johanna,  I  don't  counsel  this  delay  with  any  hope,  or  wish,  or  expectation,  that 
it  will  turn  you  from  your  purpose,  but  simply  because  I  think  it  will  the  better 
ensure  its  successful  termination." 

"  Successful !    What  will  you  call  successful,  Arabella  V9 

u  Your  coming  back  to  me  uninjured,  Johanna/' 

"  Ah,  that  speaks  your  love  for  me,  while  I — I  love  him  for  whose  sake  I  am 
about  to  undergo  so  much,  sufficiently  to  feel  that  were  I  sure  he  was  no  more, 
my  own  death  at  the  hands  of  Sweeney  Todd  would  be  success/ 9 

"  Johanna — Johanna,  don't  speak  in  such  a  strain.  Have  you  no  thought  for 
me  ?  have  you  no  thought  for  your  poor  father,  to  whom,  as  ygu  well  know,  you 
are  the  dearest  tie  that  he  has  in  the  world  ?  Oh,  Johanna,  do  not  be  so 
selfish." 

"  Selfish ?' 

$  Yes,  it  is  selfish,  when  you  know  what  others  must  suffer  because  they  love 
you,  to  speak  as  though  it  were  a  thing  to  be  desired  that  you  should  die  by 
violence.0 

"  Arabella,  can  you  forgive  me  ?  can  you  make  sufficient  allowances  for  this 
poor  distracted  heart,  to  forgive  its  ravings  ?" 

«  J  can — I  do,  Johanna,  and  in  the  words  of  your  father,  I  am  ever  ready  to 
say  '  God  bless  you  V    You  will  not  go  till  to-morrow  V9 

After  the  pause  of  a  few  moments,  Johanna  said  faintly — 

"  I  will  not— I  will  not/' 

"Oh  that  is  much.  Then  at  least  for  another  night  we  shall  enjoy  our  old 
sweet  companionship/* 

They  by  this  time  had  reached  the  home  of  Arabella,  and  as  it  was  an  under- 
stood thing  that  Johanna  was  not  expected  home,  the  twc  young  girls  retired  to 
converse  in  unrestrained  freedom  upon  all  their  hopes  and  fears. 


CHAPTER  LX1V. 

TODD  COMMENCES  PACKING  UP. 

"  Yes,"  said  Todd,  as  he  suddenly  with  a  spring  rose  from  the  shaving-chair, 
upon  which  we  left  him  enjoying  reflections  of  no  very  pleasant  character. 
u  Yes,  the  game  is  up/' 

He  stood  for  a  few  moments  now  in  silence,  confronting  a  small  piece  of  look- 
ing glass  that  hung  upon  the  wall  exactly  opposite  to  him,  and  it  would  appear 
that  he  was  struck  very  much  by  the  appearance  of  . his  own  face,  for  he  suddenly 
said — 

"  How  old  and  worn  I  look/' 

No  one  could  have  looked  upon  the  countenance  of  Todd  for  one  moment 
without  fully  concurring  in  this  opinion.  In  truth,  he  did  look  old  and  worn. 
But  a  comparatively  short  time  has  elapsed  since  we  first  presented  him  to  the 
rejaders  of  this  most  veracious  narrative.  Then  he  was  a  man  whose  hideous 
ugliness  was  combined  with  such  a  look  of  cool  triumphant  villany,  that  one  dd 
not  know  which  most  to  ponder  upon.  Now  his  face  had  lost  its  colour;  a 
yellowish  whiteness  was  the  predominating  tint,  and  his  cheeks  h^d  fallen. 
There  was  a  wild  and  an  earnest  restlessness  about  his  eyes  that  maae  him  look 
very  much  like  some  famished  wolf,  with  a  touch  of  hydrophobia  to  set  him  off; 
and  certainly,  take  him  for  all  in  all,  one  would  not  be  over  anxious 

"  To  see  his  like  again  V* 

u  Old  and  worn/'  he  repeated,  "  and  the  game  is  up  ;  I  am  decided.  Off  aM 
away  I  is  my  game-— off  and  away ! — I  have  enough  to  be  a  prince  anywhere  wherf 


««    ■  '■>.  _- 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  295 


\  money  is  worshipped,  and  that  of  course  must  be  the  case  in  all  civilised 
and  religious  communities.  1  must  keep  in  some  such.  In  the  more  savage 
wilds  of  nature  man  is  prized  for  what  he  is.,  but,  thank  God,  in  highly  cultivated 
and  educated  states  he  is  only  prized  for  what  he  has  been.  Ha !  ha !  If  man- 
kind had  worshipped  virtue,  1  would  have  been  virtuous,  for  I  love  power." 

A  thought  seemed  suddenly  to  strike  Todd;  and  he  went  into  the  parlour 
*  muttering  to  himself—- 

tfl  My  friend  Peter  must  be  effectually  disposed  of." 

He  raised  the  cover  which  was  upon  the  table,  and  with  a  grunt  of  satisfaction, 
added— 

49  Gone  !— that  will  do." 

There  was  no  trace  of  the  body  that  he  had  kicked  under  the  table.  By 
some  strange  mysterious  agency  it  had  entirely  disappeared,  and  then  Todd  went 
somehow  to  the  back  of  the  house  and  got  a  wet  mop,  by  the  aid  of  which  he 
got  rid  of  some  stains  of  blood  upon  the  floor  and  the  fender. 

"  All's  right/'  he  said,  **  I  have  done  some  service  to  Fogg,  and  I  will,  when 
I  am  far  enough  off  for  any  sting  not  to  recoil  upon  myself,  take  good  care  that 
the  law  pays  him  a  visit.  The  villain  as  well  as  the  fool,  to  deceive  me  regarding 
the  boy  Tobias.    What  can  have  become  of  him  ?" 

This  was  a  question  that  gave  Todd  some  uneasiness,  but  at  lenth  he  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  dreadful  treatment  he,  Tobias,  had  received  at  the  asylum 
had  really  driven  him  mad,  and  that  in  all  human  probability  he  had  fallen  or 
cast  himself  into  the  river,  or  gone  into  some  field  to  die. 

u  Were  it  otherwise/'  he  said,  "  I  should  and  must  have  heard  something  of 
him  before  now."  * 

Todd  then  fairly  began  packing  mp.  From  beneath  several  tables  in  the  room 
he  dragged  out  large  trunks,  and  opening  then  some  of  the  drawers  and  cup- 
boards that  abounded  in  his  parlour,  he  began  placing  their  valuable  contents  in 
the  boxes. 

"  My  course  is  simple  enough/'  he  said— "very  simple  ;  I  must  and  will,  by 
violence — for  she  is  by  far  too  wilv  and  artful  to  allow  me  to  do  so  by  any  other 
means — get  rid  of  Mrs.  Lovett.  Then  I  must  and  will  possess  myself  of  all  that 
she  calls  her  share  of  the  proceeds  of  business.  Then,  at  night — the  dead  hour 
of  the  night— after  having  previously  sent  all  my  boxes  full  of  such  valuables  as 
from  their  likelihood  to  be  identified  I  dare  not  attempt  to  dispose  of  in  England, 
to  Hamburgh,  I  will  set  the  whole  house  in  a  flame/' 

The  idea  of  burning  down  his  house,  and  if  possible  involving  a  great  portion 
of  Fleet  Street  in  the  conflagration,  always  seemed  to  be  delightful  enough  to 
Todd  to  raise  his  spirits  a  little. 

"  Yes/'  he  added,  with  a  demoniac  grin.  "  There  is  no  knowing  what 
amount  of  mischief  1  may  do  to  society  at  large  upon  that  one  night,  besides 
destroying  amid  the  roar  of  the  flames  a  mass  of  accumulated  evidence  against 
myself  that  would  brand  my  memory  with  horrors,  and,  .for  aught  I  know, 
cause  a  European  search  after  me/' 

As  he  spoke,  watches — rings — shoe  buckles — brooches— silver  heads  of  walk- 
ing canes — snuff  boxes,  and  various  articles  of  bijouterie  were  placed  row  upon 
row  in  the  box  he  was  packing. 

"Yes,"  he  added,  "  I  know— I  feel  that  there  is  danger;!  know  now  that 
I  have  spies  upon  me — that  I  am  watched  ;  but  it  is  from  that  very  circumstance 
that  I  ground  my  bdief  that  as  yet  I  am  safe.  They  fancy  there  is  something 
to  find  out,  and  they  are  trying  to  find  it  out.  If  they  really  knew  anything,  of 
course  it  would  be — Todd,  you  are  wanted." 

Having  placed  in  one  of  the  boxes  as  many  articles  of  gold  and  silver  as  made 
up  a  considerable  weight,  Todd  lifted  it  at  one  end,  and  feeling  satisfied  that  if 
he  were  to  place  any  more  metal  in  the  box  it  would  be  too  heavy  for  carriage, 
he  opened  a  cupboard  which  was  full  of  hats,  and  filled  up  the  box  with  them. 
By  this  means  he  filled  up  the  box,  so  that  the  really  valuable  articles  within  it 
would  not  shake  about,  ana  then  he  securely  locked  it.  I 


m 
*  - 


290        :  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


r<  One/'  he  said.  -f  Some  half-dozen  of  such  will  be  sufficient  to  carry  all 
that  I  shall  think  worth  the  taking.  As  for  my  money,  that  will  be  safest  about 
me.  Ah,  I  will  outwit  them  yet,  I  will  be  off  and  away — only  just  in  time. 
Suspicion  will  take  along  time  to  ripen  into  certainty,  and  before  it  does,  the 
flaming  embers  of  this  house  will  be  making  the  night- sky  as  fair  and  magnifi- 
cent as  the  most  golden  sunset  of  summer.  Another  box  was  now  opened,  and 
in  that,  as  it  was  of  considerable  length,  be  began  to  pack  swords  of  a  valuable 
character.  He  went  to  the  rooms  above  stairs,  which,  as  the  reader  is  already 
aware,  contained  much  valuable  property,  and  brought  down  troops  of  things, 
which  with  complacent  looks  he  carefully  placed  in  the  chest.  Ever  and  anon, 
as  he  went  through  this  process,  he  kept  muttering  to  himself  his  hopes  and 
fears.  What  is  to  hinder  mef  in  some  principality  of  Germany,  from  purchasing 
a  title  which  shall  smother  all  remembrance  of  what  I  now  am,  and  as  the  Baron 
Something,  I  shall  commence  a  new  life,  for  I  am  not  old  ;  no — no,  I  am  not 
old — far  from  old,  although  late  anxieties  have  made  me  look  so.  I  am  not  so 
nervous  and  fearful  of  slight  things  as  I  was,  although  my  imagination  has  played 
me  some  tricks  of  late.  Some  slight  noise,  that  sounded  as  if  in  the  house, 
although  it  was  in  all  probability  in  the  next  one,  came  upon  his  ears,  and  with  a 
howl  of  terror  he  shrunk  down  by  the  side  of  the  box  he  had  been  packing. 

"  Help  !    mercy !    What  is  that  VI 

The  noise  was  not  repeated,  but  for  the  space  of  about  ten  minutes  or  so, 
Todd  was  perfectly  incapable  of  moving  except  a  violent  attack  of  trembling, 
which  kept  every  limb  in  motion,  and  terribly  distorted  his  countenance,  if  it 
might  be  called  so, 

u  What — what  was  it  ?"  he  at  length  psped.  U  I  thought  I  heard  something, 
nay,  I  am  sure  I  heard  something— a  slight  noise,  but  yet  slight  noises  are  to  me 
awfully  suggestive  of  something  that  may  follow.  Am  I  really  getting  supersti- 
tious now  ?" 

He  slowly  rose  and  looked  fearfully  round  him.  All  was  still.  True,  4ie 
had  heard  a  voice,  but  that  was  all.  No  consequences  had  resulted  from  it,  and 
the  fit  of  trembling  that  had  seized  him  was  passing  away.  He  went  to  the 
cupboard  where  he  kept  that  strong  stimulant  that  had  so  much  excited  the 
admiration  of  Peter.  He  did  not  go  through  the  ceremony  of  procuring  a 
glass,  but  placing  the  neck  of  the  bottle  to  his  throat,  he  took  a  draught  of  the 
contents  which  would  have  been  amply  sufficient  to  confound  the  faculties  of 
any  ordinary  person.  Upon  Todd,  however;  it  had  only  a  sort  of  sedative 
effect,  and  he  gradually  recovered  his  former  diabolical  coolness. 

"  It  was  nothing,"  he  said.  "  It  was  nothing.  My  fears  and  my  imaginations 
are  beginning  now  to  play  the  fool  with  me.  If  there  were  none  others,  such 
would  be  sufficient  warnings  to  me  to  be  off  and  away." 

He  continued  the  packing  of  the  box  which  had  been  temporarily  suspended, 
but  ever  and  anon  he  would  pause,  and  lifting  up  one  of  his  huge  hands,  placed 
it  at  his  ear  to  listen  more  acutely,  and  when  nothing  in  the  shape  of  alarm 
reached  him  he  would  say  with  atone  of  greater  calmness  and  contentment — 

"  All  is  still — all  is  still.    I  shall  be  off  aud  away  soon — off  and  away  I" 

The  dusky  twilight  had  crept  on  while  Todd  was  thus  engaged,  and  he  was 
thinking  of  going  out,  when  he  heard  the  creaking  noise  of  his  shop  door  open- 
ing. As  he  was  but  in  the  parlour,  he  made  his  way  to  the  shop  at  once,  and 
saw  a  young  man,  who  spoke  with  an  affected  lisp,  as  he  said— 

"  Mr.  Todd,  can  you  give  my  locks  a  little  twirl  ?  Pm  going  to  a  party  to- 
night, and  want  to  look  fascinating." 

"Allow  me,"  said  Todd,  as  he  rapidly  passed  him  and  bolted  the  door.  I  am 
annoyed  by  a  drunken  man,  so,  while  1  am  dressing  your  hair,  I  wish  to  shut  him 
out,  or  else  I  might  scorch  you  with  the  tongs. " 

"  Oh,  certainly.  If  there's  anything,  do  you  know,  Mr.  Todd,  that  I  really 
dislike  more  than  another,  it's  a  drunken  man." 

*?  There's  only  one  thing  in  society,"  said  Todd,  "  can  come  near  it.— Sit  here, 


sir." 


L»  •  Hi 

■  *  BJh 

SJCB 

Ail  Tne|{ 

He  rat  to  i 
k:  excited  6 

yiorir  of  the 
it  (icaltiej  oi 

ottofeeiiw 
«  ofotn.  * 


— — u 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


297 


"  What's  that  ?' 

"  Why,  a  drunken  woman,  sir." 
Werry  good — Werry  good.'' 

Some  one  made  an  effort  to  enter  the  shop,  but  the  bolt  which  Todd  had  shot 
into  its  place  effectually  resisted  anything  short  of  violence  sufficient  to  break  the 
door  co  mpleteky  down. 


JOHANNA  RECEIVES  A  MYSTERIOUS  LETTER  IN  TODD's  SHOP. 

"  Mr.  Todd — Mr.  Todd/'  cried  a  voice. 

11  In  a  moment,  sir,"  said  Todd.    €i  In  a  moment." 

He  darted  into  the  parlour.  There  was  a  loud  bang  in  the  shop  as  though 
something  had  fallen,  and  then  a  half-stifled  shriek.  Todd  reappeared  The 
shaving  chair  in  which  the  young  man  had  been  sitting  was  empty.  Todd  took 
up  his  hat,  and  threw  it  into  the  parlour.    He  then  unbolted  the  door,  and 


No.  3S. 


29S 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


admitted  a  man  who  glanced  around  him,  and  then,  without  a  word,  backed  out 
again,  looking  rather  pale.  Todd  did  not  hear  him  mutter  to  himself,  as  he 
reached  the  street — 

"  Sir  Richard  will  be  frantic  at  this.  I  must  post  off  to  him  at  once,  and  ' 
let  him  know  that  it  was  none  of  our  faults*  What  an  awkward  affair  to  be  ! 
sure. 


CHAPTER  LXV. 

A  MOONLIGHT  VISIT  TO  ST.  DUNSTAN's  VAULTS. 

For  the  remainder  of  that  day  Todd  was  scarcely  visible,  so  we  will  leave 
him  to  his  occupation,  which  was  that  of  packing  up  valuables,  while  we  take  a  I 
peep  at  a  very  solemn  hour  indeed  at  old  St.  Dunstan's  Church.  The  two  figures  I 
on  the  outside  of  the  ancient  edifice  had  struck  with  their  clubs  the  sonorous 
metal,  and  the  hour  of  two  had  been  proclaimed  to  such  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
vicinity  who  had  the  misfortune  to  be  awake  to  hear  it.    The  watchman  at  the 
gate  of  the  Temple  woke  up  and  said  "  past  six/'  while  another  watchman,  who 
was  snugly  ensconced  in  a  box  at  the  corner  of  Chancery  Lane,  answered  that  it 
was  "  four  o'clock  and  a  rainy  morning/1   Now  it  was  neither  four  o'clock  nor 
a  rainy  morning— for  the  sky,  although  by  no  means  entirely  destitute  of  clouds, 
was  of  that  speckled  clearness  which  allows  the  little  stars  to  pass  out  at  all  sorts  I 
of  odd  crevices,  like  young  beauties  through  the  jalousies  of  some  Spanish  Castle. 
Thempon,  too,  had,  considering  all  things,  a  pretty  good  time  of  it,  for  the  clouds 
were  not  dense  enough  to  hide  her  face,  and  when  behind  them,  she  onlv  looked 
like  some  young  bride,  with  the  faint  covering  of  bashful  blonde  before  her  radiant 
countenance.    And  at  times,  too,  she  would  peep  out  at  some  break  in  that  veil  I 
with  such  a  blaze  of  silvery  beauty  as  was  dazzling  to  behold,  and  quite  stopped 
the  few  passengers  who  were  in  the  streets  at  that  lone  hour. 

"Look,"  said  one  of  four  gentlemen,  who  were  walking  towards  Temple  Bar 
from  the  Strand.    "Look  !  Is  not  that  lovely  V9 

"Yes,"  said  another.  "A  million  fires  are  out  in  London  now,  and  one  can 
see  the  blue  sky  as  it  was  seen  when  " 

"  Wild  in  the  woods  the  painted  savage  ran." 

"But,  after  all,"  said  another,  "I  prefer  good  broad  cloth  to  red  ochre. 
What  say  you,  Sir  Richard  P 

"  I  am  of  your  lordship's  opinion,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  who  was  one  of  the 
party  of  four  :  I  certainly  think  we  have  gained  something  by  not  being  Ancient 
Britons  any  longer  than  was  absolutely  necessary.     This  is,  in  truth,  a  most  ! 
splendid  night." 

"It  is— it  is,"  they  all  said. 

By  this  time,  strolling  along  in  an  independent  sort  of  fashion,  they  had 
reached  Temple  Bar,  and  then  Sir  Richard,  bowing  to  the  one  who  had  not  yet 
made  any  sort  of  remark,  said— 

"  Mr.  Villimay,  you  have  not  forgotten  the  keys  V 

"  Oh  no,  Sir  Richard  ;  oh  no." 

"  Then,  gentlemen,  we  are  very  near  our  place  of  destination.  It  will  be  advi- 
sable that  we  look  about  us,  and  use  the  utmost  precaution,  to  be  sure  that  we 
are  not  watched  by  any  one/' 

«  Yes— yes,"  saidt  he  other.  "  You  will.'be  the  best  judge  of  that  Sir  Richard ; 
with  your  tact,  you  will  be  able  to  come  to  a  conclusion  upon  that  subject  much 
better  than  we  can." 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  made  a  slight  kind  of  bow  in  acknowledgment  of  the  com-  j 
pliment  to  his  tact,  and  then,  while  what  we  may  call  the  main  body  waited 
under  the  arch  of  Temple  Bar,  he  advanced  alone  into  Fleet  Street.  After  advan- 
cing for  a  short  distance,  he  took  from  his  pocket  a  small  silver  whistle,  and  pro- 
duced upon  it  a  peculiar  thrilling  note.    In  a  moment  a  tall  man,  with  a 

*r  ^"^'■nunflroucannwiB^^  ""  '    %  ..hi     .  ..        ,  ,    i    —       '    ■■  *** 


1 


k 

Ha 

•  « 
ft 


V 

m 
t 

tk 


v.,, 


■Bsc 
nit 


OEI- 


ocl 


great  coat  on  him,  merged  from  behind  a  column  that  lent  its  support  to  a  door» 
way. 

4 1  Here  you  is/  said  the  man. 

"  Is  all  right,  Crotchet  ?"  said  Sir  Richard. 

"Yes;  everything  is  quiet  enough.  Not  a  blessed  mouse  hasn't  wagged  his 
tail  or  smoothened  his  whiskers  for  the  last  half  hour  or  so/' 

"  Very  good,  Crotchet*  I'm  afraid,  though,  I  cannot  dismiss  you  just  yet,  as 
the  business  is  very  important." 

"  What's  the  odds,"  said  Crotchet,  "as  long  as  you  are  happy  ?** 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  smiled,  as  he  added — 

"  Well,  Crotchet,  you  deserve,  and  you  shall  have  an  ample  reward  for  the 
services  you  are  doing  and  have  done,  in  this  affair.  I  and  some  gentlemen  will 
go  into  the  church,  and  I  wish  you  to  remain  at  the  porch,  and  if  you  find  occa- 
sion to  give  any  warning,  I  think  your  whistle  will  be  quite  shrill  enough  to 
reach  my  ears/ 

"  Not  a  doubt  on  it,  Sir  Richard.  If  what  they  calls  the  last  trumpet  is 
only  half  as  loud  as  my  last  whistle,  it  will  wake  up  the  coves,  and  no  mis- 
take." 

"  Very  good,  Crotchet.  Only  don't  make  any  profane  allusions  in  the  hear- 
ing of  the  gentlemen  with  me,  for  one  of  them  is  the  Under  Secretary  of  State, 
and  the  other  two  are  men  of  account.  We  have  to  meet  some  one  else  in  the 
church/' 

"  Then  he  hasn't  come." 

"That's  awkward.    The  Lord  Mayor  wai  to  meet  us.   Ah  !  who  is  this?" 

A  private  carriage  stopped  on  the  other  side  of  the  way,  and  some  one  alighted, 
and  a  voice  cried — 

"  Go  home  now,  Samuel,  and  put  up  the  horses.  I  shall  not  want  you  any 
more  to-night.    Go  home/' 

"  Shan't  we  call  anywhere  for  you,  my  lord  V9  said  Samuel,  the  coach- 
man. 

*i  No — no,  I  say.    Go  away  at  once/ 

"  That's  the  Lord  Mayor,"  said  Sir  Richard.  "  He  ia  pretty  true  to  his 
time." 

As  he  spoke,  Sir  Richard  crossed  the  road,  and  addressed  the  chief  magistrate 
of  the  city,  saying— 

u  A  fine  night,  my  lord/ 

<<  Oh,  Sir  Richard,  is  that  you  ?  Well,  I  am  very  glad  to  meet  with  you  so 
soon.  If  I  were  to  tell  you  the  difficulty  I  have  had  to  get  here,  you  would  not 
believe  me.    Indeed  you  could  not/' 

"  Really,  my  lord." 

"Yes.  "You  must  know,  Sir  Richard,  between  you  and  I,  and— and— ' 
Here  the  Lord  Mayor,  who  did  not  like  to  say  post,  looked  about  him,  and  his 
eyes  falling  upon  Temple  Bar,  added— M  Bar,  I  say ;  between  you  and  me  and 
the  Bar,  the  Lady  Mayoress,  although  a  most  excellent  woman — indeed  I  may 
say  an  admirable  woman— has  at  times  her  little  faults  of  temper.  You  under- 
stand ?" 

"  Who  is  without  ?"  said  Sir  Richard. 

"  Ah,  who  indeed— who  indeed,  Sir  Richard.  That  is  a  very  sensible  remark 
of  yours.    Who  is  without  ?  as  you  justly  enough  say." 

" The  Lord  Mayor!"  said  Sir  Richard,  who  had  been  gradually  leading  his 
lordship  to  Temple  Bar,  and  now  announced  his  arrival  to  the  three  gentlemen 
who  were  there  in  waiting. 

The  three  gentlemen  professed  themselves  to  be  quite  delighted  to  see  the 
Lord  Mayor,  and;  he  Lord  Mayor  professed  to  be  quite  in  raptures  to  see  the 
three  gentlemen,  so  that  a  pleasanter  party  than  they  all  made,  could  not  have 
been  imagined. 

"  Now,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "I  think,  with  all  deference,  gentlemen^ 
that  the  sooner  we  proceed  to  business  the  better/ 


300 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


u  Yes,  yes/'  said  Mr.  Villimay,  who  was  the  senior  churchwarden.   "  Oh 
yes— certainly/' 

49  And  yet/'  said  the  Lord  Mayor,  u  we  must  be  very  cautious/' 
"  Oh,  very — very  cautious/'  cried  Villimay. 
"  But  a  bold  front  is  the  best/'  remarked  Sir  Richard. 

"  Yes*    As  you  say,  sir,  there's  nothing  like  a  bold  front,"  cried  Villimay. 
l     Sir  Richard,  with  a  quiet  smile,  said  to  the  under  secretary — 
j     "  A  very  obliging  person,  you  perceive,  Mr.  Villimay  is/ 
"  Oh,  very,"  laughed  the  secretary. 

Preceded  now  by  the  churchwarden,  they  all  made  their  way  towards  the 
Church,  but  the  watchman  at  the  corner  of  Chancery  Lane  must  have  had  some- 
thing upon  his  mind,  he  was  so  very  wakeful,  for  after  they  had  all  passed  but 
Crotchet,  he  looked  out  of  his  box,  and  said — (i  Thieves  V 

"  What's  that  to  you?"  said  Crotchet,  facing  him  with  a  look  of  defiance, 
u  eh  ?    Can't  you  be  quiet  when  you  is  told  ?2  \ 
"  Murder  l"  said  the  watchman,  as  he  began  to  fumble  for  his  rattle. 
<f  Hark  ye,  old  pump/  said  Crotchet.    "  I've  settled  eight  watchmen  atween 

this  here  and  Charing  Cross,  and  you'll  make  nine,  if  you  opens  your  mouth 
again/' 

The  appalled  watchman  shrank  back  into  his  box. 
i/< Eight,  did  you  say?" 
"Yes." 

Crotchet  took  the  lantern  off  its  hook  in  front  of  the  box,  and  smashed  it  upon 
the  head  of  the  guardian  of  the  night,  whereupon  the  aforesaid  guardian  shrank 
completely  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  box,  with  the  fragments  of  the  lantern 
hanging  about  him,  and  said  not  another  word. 

"  i  rather  think/'  said  Mr.  Crotchet  to  himself,  "  as  I've  settled  that  old 
fellow  comfortable/' 

With  this  conviction  upon  his  mind—the  amiability  or  the  non-amiability  of 
I  which  we  shall  not  stop  to  discuss—Mr.  Crotchet  ran  hastily  after  the  rest  of 
the  party,  and  stationed  himself  by  the  church  porch,  according  to  orders.  By 
this  time,  Mr.  Villimay,  the  churchwarden,  had  produced  a  little  gothic-looking 
key,  and  proceeding  to  a  small  side  door,  he,  after  some  rattling,  partly  conse- 
quent upon  the  lock  being  in  a  state  of  desuetude,  and  partly  from  personal 
nervousness,  he  did  succeed  in  turning  the  rusty  wards,  and  then,  with  an 
ominous  groan,  the  door  yielded.  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  quite  satisfied  himself 
that  there  were  no  eaves-droppers  at  hand,  so  he  was  anxious  to  get  the  party 
housed— perhaps  in  this  instance  churched  would  be  a  more  appropriate  ex- 
pression. 

"  Gentlemen/1  he  said,  "  the  night  is  stealing  past,  and  we  have  much  to  do/' 
"That  is  true,  Sir  Richard,"  said  the  secretary.    "Come  on,  Donkin,  and 
let  us  get  through  it." 

The  Lord  Mayor  shook  a  little  as  he  passed  through  the  little  door,  last, 
having,  although  king  of  the  city,  given  the  pas  to  every  one  of  his  companions, 
upon  that  most  mysterious  mission  to  old  St.  Dunstan's  church  at  such  an  hour. 
Perhaps  he  had  a  faint  hope  that  they  might  leave  him  entirely  behind,  and  shut 
the  door  precipitately,  so  that  he  could  not  get  in.  If  he  had  any  such  hope, 
however,  it  was  doomed,  like  too  many  human  hopes,  to  bitter  disappointment, 
for  Sir  Richard  Blunt  held  the  door  open  for  him,  saying  blandly— 
u  Now,  my  lord.  We  could  not  get  on  without  you/' 
V  Oh,  thank  you— thank  you.    You  are  very  good/' 

The  Lord  Mayor  crossed  the  threshold,  and  then  Mr.  Villimay,  who  had  oc- 
cupied a  remote  and  mysterious  position  at  the  back  of  the  door,  closed  it,  and 
locked  it  on  the  inside. 

«  If— if  you  were  to  lose  the  key,  Mr.  Villimav  W  said  the  Lord  Mayor. 
"  Why,  then,  '  interposed  Sir  Richard  Blunt/  "I'm  afraid  we  should  have  to 
stay  th«re  until  Sunday,  unless  some  couple  kindly  got  married  in  the  mean- 
time/* 


iWtJMJKltUI 


The  Lord  Mayor  gave  a  very  odd  kind  of  cough,  as  he  said- 
"  What  would  the  Lady  Mayoress  say  t" 

The  air  without  had  been  cold,  but  what  was  that  compared  with  the  coldness 
jj  within?  At  least,  the  street  breeze  had  been  dry,  but  in  the  church  there  was 
jj  such  a  fearful  dampness  pervading  the  narrow  passage  in  which  the  party  found 
itself,  that  every  one  felt  as  though  his  very  marrow  was  cold. 

"This  passage/'  said  Mr.  Villimay,  u  hasn't  been  opened  for  many  along 
day/' 

"  Indeed  !"  said  the  secretary. 

*€  No,  my  lord,  it  has  not:  and  it's  only  a  wonder  that,  after  a  good  hunt  in 
the  vestry  cupboard,  I  at  all  found  the  key  of  it/1 

"  Fortunate  that  you  did/1  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  who  was  all  this  time 
making  exertions  to  procure  a  light,  which  were  as  often  defeated  by  the  damp- 
ness of  the  air»  At  length  he  was  successful  in  igniting  a  piece  of  wax  candle, 
and  he  said — 

"  Gentlemen,  this  will  show  us  our  way  through  the  church  to  the  vestry, 
where  we  can  get  lanthorns." 

"  Yes/'  said  the  Lord  Mayor,  who  was  getting  so  nervous  that  he  thought 
himself  called  upon  to  make  some  reply  to  anything  and  anybody.  "  Yes,  lan* 
thorns  in  the  vestry.3' 

"Well/'  said  the  secretary,  c'my  Lord  Mayor,  your  mayoralty  will  be  dis- 
tinguished by  this  dreadful  affair  for  all  time  to  come.*' 
"  Many  thanks  to  your  lordship,  it  will." 
The  secretary  smiled  as  he  whispered  to  his  friend  Donkin— 
"  The  city  magistrate  don't  seem  happy,  Donkin." 
u  Far  from  it." 

At  the  end  of  the  little  narrow,  damp,  gloomy,  cobwebby  passage  in  which 
they  were,  was  another  little  door,  the  upper  half  of  which  was  of  highly  orna- 
mented iron  fret  work,  the  side  of  which  next  to  the  church  interior  being  gilt. 
This  door  likewise  yielded  to  a  key  which  Mr.  Villimay  produced,  and  then  they 
found  themselves  at  once  in  the  western  aisle  of  the  church. 
"The  stench  don't  seem  so  bad,"  said  Sir  Richard. 

"No,  sir,"  said  Villimay.  u  We  have  got  all  the  windows  open  far  up  above 
there,  and  there's  quite  a  current  of  air,  too,  right  up  the  belfry." 


CHAPTER  LXVI. 


THE  COOK'S  VISITORS. 


Sir  Richard  shaded  with  his  hand  the  little  light  that  he  carried  as  he 
walked  solemnly  across  the  nave  towards  the  chancel,  where  the  vestry  room  was 
j  situated.    He  was  followed  closely  by  the  whole  party,  and  the  audible  breath- 
ing of  the  Lord  Mayor  sufficiently  proclaimed  the  uneasy  state  of  his  lordship's 
nerves. 

"How  strange  it  is,"  said  th©  secretary,  "that  men  will  pile  up  stones  and 
/  timber  until  they  make  something  to  enter,  which  then  terrifies  their  weak  na- 
1  tures,  and  they  become  the  slaves  of  the  very  materials  that  they  have  made  to 
enclose  and  roof  in  a  certain  space  upon  which  otherwise  they  would  stand 
unmoved." 

"  It  is  so,"  said  Donkin. 

"Why  the  fact  is,  I  suppose,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "  that  it  is  what  is 
called  original  sin  that  sticks  to  us,  and  so — 

•Conscience  doth  make  cowards  of  us  all  ! 

whether  we  are  personally  or  not  obnoxious  to  the  pangs  of  the  still  small 
voice." 


\ 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"Upon  my  word,  Sir  Richard/'  said  the  secretary,  "you  are  quite  a  free, 
thinker— indeed  you  are/' 

Suddenly  the  whole  party  paused,  for  something  resembling  a  moan  was  heard 
from  among  the  pews  in  the  centre  of  the  church,  and  every  one  was  anxious  to 
listen  for  a  repetition  of  the  sound. 

u  Did  you  hear  it?"  whispered  the  secretary. 

u  In  faith,  I  did,"  said  Mr.  Donkin. 

u  And  1,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt. 

a  And  we,"  said  the  Lord  Mayor,  in  defiance  of  grammar.    4*  I— I— feel 
rather  unwell,  gentlemen,  do  you  know." 
44  Hush  !  let  us  listen/'  said  the  secretary. 

"They  all  stood  profoundly  still  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then,  just  as  they  were 
one  and  all  beginning  to  think  that  after  all  it  must  be  a  mere  thing  of  fancy,  the 
same  mournful  moan  came  once  more  upon  their  ears. 

"There  can  be  no  mistake, '  said  Sir  Richard.  "We  all  hear  that;  is  it  not 
so,  gentlemen  ?" 

44  Yes — yes  !"  said  everybody. 

44  Pm  getting  worser/'  said  the  Lord  Mayor. 

"  This  mystery  must  be  cleared  up,"  said  the  secretary.    44  Is  it  a  trick  upon 
us,  do  you  think,  Sir  Richard  ?" 
44  No,  my  lord,  certainly  not." 

"Then  we  cannot  go  on  until  this  is  cleared  up.  You  are  armed,  of  course, 
Sir  Richard  ?" 

«  Yes,  my  lord."  % 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  took  from  his  pocket  a  double-barrelled  pistol.  There  was 
now  a  sort  of  pause,  as  though  each  of  those  present  expected  the  others  to  say 
or  to  do  something  which  should  have  the  effect  of  discovering  what  the  singular 
noise  portended.  Of  course,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  felt  that  in  such  an  emergency 
he  wyouid  be  the  man  naturally  looked  to. 

"  It  is  absolutely  necessary,"  he  said,  "  that  we  should  find  out  what  this 
means  before  proceeding  farther." 

u-  Yes,  yes,"  said  the  Lord  Mayor,  "  no  doubt  of  it;  and  in  the  meantime  I'll 
run  to  the  Mansion  House  and  get  some  assistance,  gentlemen." 

"  Oh,  no,  my  lord — oh,  no,"  said  the  secretary  to  the  chief  magistrate  of  the 
city.    "We  cannot  think  of  sparing  you." 
"But -but  " 

"  Certainly  not,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  who  was  keenly  alive  to  the  tone  of 
irony  in  which  the  secretary  spoke.  44  Certainly  not ;  and  as  1  fancy  the  sound 
which  has  excited  our  curiosity  comes  from  about  the  centre  of  the  pews,  you  and 
I,  my  lord,  will  go  and  find  out  who  it  is.    Come,  if  you  please,  at  once." 

M  I— I — "  stammered  the  Lord  Mayor,  "  I  really — humph!  If  I  felt  quite  well, 
do  you  know,  Sir  Richard,  I  should  not  hesitate  a  moment." 

u  Pho!  pho  !"  said  Sir  Richard,  taking  his  arm,  and  leading  him  unwillingly 
forward.  "Remember  that  the  eyes  of  those  are  upon  you  whose  opinions  are  to 
you  of  importance." 

With  a  groan  the  unfortunate  Lord  Mayor,  who  from  the  first  had  shrunk 
from  the  enterprise  altogether,  being  fearful  that  it  might  possibly  involve  dan- 
gerous consequences,  allowed  himself  to  be  dragged  by  Sir  liichard  Blunt  in  the 
direction  of  the  pews. 

4-  If  you  have  a  pistol,"  said  the  magistrate,  "  you  had  better  keep  it  in  your 
hand  ready  for  service." 

44  Lord  bless  you,"  said  the  Lord  Mayor,  in  a  nervous  whisper,  "  I  never  fired 
off  a  pistol  in  all  my  life." 

V  Is  that  possible  ?" 

"  I  don't  know  about  being  possible,  but  it's  true." 
"  Well,  you  do  surprise  me." 

u  So — so  you  see,  Sir  Richard,"  added  his  temporary  lordship,  suddenly 

fltiwaMMMMM— — — mi1  ■  ■  'mm*  >     '  "  1111 ""  — — — i— — — — «a— « — — "i    1        mi     »    »m  n  i    i    miiamm      n    i,    *-mm~-~ — "      1  1     ■  ' 

i  ■'«.»!  »»■  «'■'  i  ■  .i  I  Win  1 1      nil  iiU'Wii  nin«.i»w.wi.4Wl^.""»»W"l'i'l<»"i'">'.  ■Hminni' ■nwwi—Wiii.iiill  Win  i    i  ■  J"  ■■  Jl  i  .11 II  I  i   ■  ■  1  wl^Wimin  '  iWWt  "' 


  I  Ml—  I  uW 


-  ■  ■  ■  iiM  ■  m—    I  I   III        I        i  n  ■■    m  m.   n   .  i  ,   ,  .       i  ii  .   m->  ■  ■  ..i.  ■      —      "  "     .     i,     i  •x.tWL? 

"   1  

W  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.    ^   -  303  If 


popping  into  the  churchwarden's  pew,  which  they  had  just  reached— so  Til 
stay  here  and  keep  an  eye  upon  you/* 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  not  at  all  sorry  to  get  rid  of  such  a  companion  as  the 
Lord  Mayor,  so  with  a  cough,  he  left  him  in  the  pew,  and  went  forward  alone> 
determined  to  find  out  what  it  was  that  made  the  extraordinary  noise.  As  he 
went  forward,  towards  the  spot  from  whence  it  had  come,  he  heard  it  once  again, 
and  in  such  close  proximity  to  him,  that  albeit,  unaccustomed  to  allow  anything 
to  affect  his  nerves,  he  started  back  a  pace.  Shading,  then,  the  little  bit  of  wax 
candle  that  he  had  in  his  hand,  he  looked  steadily  in  the  direction  of  the  low 
moaning  sound.  In  an  instant  he  found  a  solution  of  the  mystery.  A  couple 
of  pigeons  stood  upon  the  hand  rail  of  one  of  the  pews,  and  it  was  the  peculiar 
sound  made  by  these  birds,  that,  by  the  aid  of  echo  in  the  silent  empty  church, 
had  seemed  to  be  of  a  very  different  eharacter  from  its  ordinary  one . 

*' And  from  such  simple  causes,"  said  Sir  Richard,  ''arise  all  the  well- 
authenticated  stories  of  superstition  which  fancy  and  cowardice  give  credence 
to." 

He  looked  up,  and  saw  that  in  the  wish  to  ventilate  the  church,  the  windows 
had  been  liberally  opened,  which  had  afforded  the  means  of  ingress  to  the 
pigeons,  who,  no  doubt,  would  have  slumbered  soundly  enough  until  morning, 
if  not  disturbed  by  the  arrival  of  the  party  at  the  church.  As  Sir  Richard  Blunt 
retraced  his  steps,  he  passed  the  pew  where  the  Lord  Mayor  was ;  and  willing 
to  punish  that  functionary  for  his  cowardice,  he  said,  in  a  well-affected  voice  of 
alarm — 

u  Gracious  Heaven  !  what  will  become  of  us  ?" 

With  a  groan,  the  Lord  Mayor  flopped  down  to  the  floor  of  the  pew,  and 
there  he  lay,  crouching  under  one  of  the  seats  in  such  an  agony  of  terror,  that 
Sir  Richard  felt  certain  he  and  the  others  would  be  able  to  transact  all  the 
business  they  came  about,  before  he  would  venture  to  move  from  that  place  of 
concealment.  The  magistrate  speedily  informed  the  reat  of  the  party  what  was 
the  cause  of  the  alarm,  and  likewise  hinted  the  position  of  the  Lord  Mayor, 
upon  which  the  secretary  said — 

"  Let  him  be.  Of  course,  as  a  matter  of  courtesy,  I  was  obliged  to  write 
to  him  upon  the  subject ;  but  we  are  as  well,  and  perhaps  better  without  him.'1 

u  I  am  of  the  same  opinion,5 \  said  Sir  Richard. 

They  now  went  at  once  to  the  vestry,  and  ttt  o  good  lanterns  were  then  pro- 
cured, and  lit.  The  magistrate  at  once  led  the  way  to  the  stone  that  had  been 
raised  by  the  workmen,  in  the  floor  of  the  church,  and  which  had  never  been 
effectually  fastened  down  again.  In  a  corner,  where  no  one  was  likely  to  look, 
Sir  Richard  placed  his  hand  for  a  crow-bar  which  he  knew  to  be  there,  and, 
having  found  it,  he  quickly  raised  the  stone  on  one  side.  The  other  gentlemen 
lent  their  assistance,  and  it  was  turned  fairly  over,  having  exposed  the  steps 
that  led  down  to  the  vaults  of  old  St  Dunstan's  church. 

"  Let  us  descend  at  once/'  said  the  secretary,  who,  to  tell  the  truth,  in  the 
whole  affair,  showed  no  lack  of  personal  courage. 

"Allow me  to  precede  you,  gentlemen/'  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt;  "and  you, 
Mr*  Villimay,  will,  perhaps,  bring  up  the  rear/' 

"  Yes,  oh,  yes,"  said  the  churchwarden,  with  some  degree  of  nervousness, 
but  he  was  quite  a  hero  compared  to  the  Lord  Mayor* 

Sir  Richard  handed  one  of  the  lanterns,  then,  to  Mr.  Villimay,  and  took  the 
other  himself.  Without  another  moment's  delay,  then,  he  began  the  descent. 
They  could  all,  as  they  went,  feel  conscious  that  there  was  certainly  a  most 
unearthly  smell  in  the  vaults — a  smell  which,  considering  the  number  of  years 
that  had  elapsed  since  any  interments  had  taken  place  in  them,  was  perfectly 
unaccountable.  As  they  proceeded,  this  stench  became  more  and  more  sicken- 
ing, and  the  secretary  said,  as  he  held  a  handekerchief  to  his  mouth  and  nose— 

"The  Bishop  of  London  spoke  to  me  of  this,  but  I  really  thought  he  was 
exaggerating.'' 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  do  that,"  said  Sir  Richard.    "  It  is  as  bad  almost 


mm 


mm 


I 


as  it  can  very  well  be,  and  the  measures  taken  for  the  purpose  of  ventilation, 
have  not  as  yet  had  a  very  great  effect  upon  it." 
"  I  should  say  not." 

With  tolerable  speed  the  magistrate  led  the  party  on  through  a  vast  number 
of  vaults,  and  through  several  narrow  and  rather  tortuous  passages,  after  which 
he  came  to  an  iron  door.  It  was  locked,  but  placing  the  lantern  for  a  few 
moments  upon  the  floor,  he  soon  succeeded  in  opening  it  with  a  skeleton  key. 
The  moment  he  had  done  so,  the  secretary  exclaimed — 

"  Hey  day !    This  is  something  different." 

"  In  what  respect,  my  lord  ?" 

"Why,  if  my  senses  don't  deceive  me,  the  horrible  charnel-house  smell, 
which  we  have  been  enduring  for  some  time  past,  has  given  way  to  one  much 
more  grateful." 

"  What  is  it  like,  my  lord  }" 

€i  Well,  I  should  say  some  delicious  cooking  was  going  on." 
"  You  are  right.   There  is  cooking  going  on.    We  are  not  very  fat  from 
Mrs.  Lovett's  pie  manufactory," 
"Indeed!" 

"Yes;  and  the  smell,  or  rather  I  ought  to  say  the  odour  of  which  the  air 
is  full,  comes  from  the  bakehouse." 

The  secretary  gave  a  perceptible  shudder,  and  Mr.  Villimay  tittered  a  groan. 
The  gentleman  who  was  with  the  secretary  was  about  to  say  something,  but  the 
magistrate,  in  a  low  voice,  interrupted  him,  saying — 

"  Pardon  me,  but  now  we  are  in  close  proximity  to  the  place  of  our  destina- 
tion, I  woufd  recommend  the  profoundest  caution  and  silence." 

u  Certainly— certainly.    We  will  only  be  silent  spectators." 

u  It  is  better,  I  think,"  added  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  « to  allow  me  to  carry  on  the 
whole  of  the  conversation  that  is  to  ensue ;  and  at  the  same  time,  any  of  you 
gentlemen  can  suggest  to  me  a  question  to  ask,  and  I  will  at  once  put  it  to  the 
man  we  come  to  speak  to.*' 

"  That  will  do,  Sir  Richard,  that  will  do  " 

The  magistrate  now  hurried  on  as  though  those  savoury  steams  that  scented 
the  air  from  the  bakehouse  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  pies  were  to  him  more  disagreeable 
than  the  horrible  smell  in  the  vaults  that  made  everybody  shake  again.  In  a 
few  minutes  he  arrived  at  a  room,  for  it  could  not  be  called  a  vault.  It  had  a 
floor  of  rough  stone  flags,  which  seemed  as  though  they  had  originally  belonged 
to  some  of  the  vaults,  and  had  been  pulled  up  and  carried  to  this  place  to  make  a 
rude  flooring.  There  was  nothing  very  remarkable  about  the  walls  of  this  place, 
save  at  one  part,  and  there  there  was  evidently  a  door,  across  which  was  placed  a 
heavy  iron  bar. 

"  It  is  through  there,"  said  Sir  Richard. 
f*  But—but  you  do  not  intend  to  open  it  V9 

"  Certainly  not.  There  is  a  small  crevice  through  which  there  will  be  no  diffi- 
culty in  maintaining  a  conversation  with  the  imprisoned  cook,  if  I  can  only  make 
him  hear  me  from  this  spot. 


CHAPTER  LXVII. 

THE  REVELATIONS  IN  THE  VAULTS. 

The  object  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  was,  of  course,  to  make  the  cook  hear  him, 
but  no  one  else.  With  this  aim  he  took  a  crown-piece  from  his  pocket  and 
tapped  with  the  edge  of  it  upon  the  stone-work  which  at  that  place  protruded 
trom  the  wall  to  the  extent  of  nearly  a  foot.  The  stone  shelves  u  pon  the  other 
side  were  let  into  the  wall  in  that  fashion.  The  monotonous  rineing  sound  of 
J the  coin  against  the  stone  was  likely  enough  to  reverberate  througkthe  wall,  and 


A 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


305 


that  the  cook  was  rather  a  light  sleeper,  or  did  not  sleep  at  all,  was  soon  suffi- 
ciently manifest,  for  a  voice,  which  the  magistrate  recognised  as  his,  cried  from 
the  other  side  — 

"  Who  is  there  ?  If  a  friend,  speak  quickly,  for  God  knows  I  have  need  of 
such.    If  an  enemy,  your  utmost  malice  cannot  make  my  situation  worse  than 

it  IS. 


l^fctelliiiiiS 


:  r  >1 

'!i  1 

Mi,  ! 


JOHANNA  DISGUISED  AS  A  BOY,  IS  FOUND  WEEPING  B¥  ARABELLA,  NEAR  ST.  DUNSTAN'S. 


Sir  Richard  placed  his  mouth  close  to  a  crevice,  and  said — 
"  A  friend,  and  the  same  who  has  spoken  to  you  before." 
"  Ah  !  I  know  that  voice.    Do  you  bring  me  freedom  ?° 
u  Soon.    But  I  have  much  to  ask  of  you." 

"  Let  me  look  at  the  daylight,  and  then  ask  what  you  will,  I  shall  not  tire  of 
answering/' 


No,  39, 


» 


306 


THE  STRING  01?  PEARLS. 


"Nay,  the  principal  thing  I  have  to  ask  of  you  is  yet  a  little  more  patience  " 
**  Patience !  patience  !    It  seems  that  I  have  been  years  in  this  place,  and  vet 
you  ask  me  to  have  more  patience.    Oh,  blessed  liberty,  am  I  not  to  hail  you 
yet?"  v  * 

"Can  you  forget  that  you  have  another  object— namely,  to  bring  to  the  just 
punishment  of  the  law  those  who  have  placed  you  and  others  in  this  awful  posi- 
tion?" v 
"Yes— yes.    But  -M 

"  But  you  would  forego  all  that  to  be  free,  a  few  short  hours  before  you 
would  be  free  with  the  accomplishment  of  all  that  justice  and  society  required  ?" 

"No-no.  God  help  me!  I  will  have  patience.  What  is 'it  that  vou 
demand  of  me  now?    Speak."  '  3 

"Your  name?'' 
"Alas  !— alas 

"  Surel>T  y°u  cann°t  hesitate  to  tell  one,  who  has  run  some  rislcs  to  befriend 
you,  who  you  are  ?" 

"If,  by  my  telling  that,  I  saw  that  those  risks  were  made  less,  I  would  not 
hesitate;  but,  as  it  is,  London,  and  all  that  it  contains  now,  is  so  hateful  to 
me,  that  I  shall  leave  it  the  instant  I  can.  Falsehood,  where  I  most  expected 
truth,  has  sunk  deeply,  like  a  barbed  arrow,  into  my  heart." 

"  Well,  I  ceritanly  had  hoped  you  would  have  placed  in  me  that  amount  of 
confidence. 

*'  No.  I  dare  not." 

*'  Dare  not  ?" 

"  Yes,  that  is  the  word,  The  knowledge  of  my  name  spread  abroad -that 
is  to  say,  my  real  name,  would  inflict  much  misery  for  all,  I  can  just  now  say 
to  the  contrary,  upon  one  whom  I  yet  wish  all  the  happiness  that  God  can  give 
his  creatures  in  this  world.  Let  it  be  thought  that  I  and  the  world  have  parted 
company.  r 

"  You  are  a  strange  man." 

"  I  am.  But  the  story  I  have  to  tell  of  the  doings  in  this  den  of  infamy,  will 
come  as  well  from  a  Mr.  Smith  as  from  any  one  else." 

freet  "  ^  Y°U  *  ^  W°ldS'  *0  relSt6  t0  m6  What  y°U  kn0W>  fulIy  and 

"Anticipating  that  a  statement  would  be  wanted,  I  have,  with  no  small 
amount  of  trouble,  manufactured  for  myself  pens  and  ink,  and  have  written  all 
that  I  have  to  say.    How  can  I  give  you  the  document  ?" 

"  There  is  a  chink  here  in  the  wall,  through  which  I  am  addressing  you.  Can 
you  pass  it  through  r , 

".}  will  try.  1  see  the  chink  now  for  the  first  time  since  my  long  and  painful 
residence  here.  Your  light  upon  the  other  side  has  made  it  quite  apparent  to 
me;f  T*  j^", '  by  foldlnS  my  PaPer  cI°se,  1  can  pass  it  through  to  you/ 

In  about  half  a  minute  Sir  Richard  Blunt  got  hold  of  a  piece  of  folded  paper, 
which  was  pushed  partly  through  the  chink.  He  pulled  it  quite  through,  and 
handed  it  to  the  secretary,  who,  with  a  nod,  at  once  put  it  in  his  pocket 

«  And  now  for  how  loop-  sud .the  cook,  "am  1  to  pine  for  freedom  from  this 
dreadful  place  ?  Recollect  that  each  hour  here  has  upon  its  passing  wings  a 
load  of  anxieties  and  miseries,  such  as  I  only  can  appreciate  '» 

«  I  have  brought  a  letter  for  you,"  said  Sir  Richard,  «  which  will  contain  all 
the  intelligence  you  wish,  and  give  you  such  instructions  as  shall  not  only  ensure 
your  safety  but  enable  you  to  aid  materially  in  bringing  your  persecutors  to 
justice.    Place  your  hand  to  the  crevice  and  take  it  " 

«  I  have  it." 

"  Well,  read  it  at  your  leisure.    Have  you  any  means  of  knowing  the  time  of 
day  in  your  prison  ?'  ° 

,  "£h  &         !  I8  a  Cl°Ck  irhthe  bakeh™se,  by  which  I  am  forced  to  regu- 
late the  different  batches  of  pies."  e 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  307 


u  That  will  do.    Have  you  had  any  more  threats  from  Mrs.  Lovett  ?" 
"  None.    As  long  as  I  perform  my  ioathsome  duty  here,  I  see  no  one  and  hear 
of  no  one." 

€€  Be  of  good  cheer,  your  desolate  condition  will  not  last  long.  It  is  not  easy 
under  present  circumstances  to  enter  at  large  into  matters  which  might  induce 
you  to  declare  who  you  really  are,  but  when  you  and  I  meet  in  the  bright  sun- 
shine from  which  you  have  been  debarred  for  so  long,  you  will  think  very  differ- 
ently from  what  you  do  now  upon  many  things/' 

€i  Well,  sir,  perhaps  I  shall." 

"  Good  night  to  you.  Take  what  rest  and  refreshment  you  can,  my  good  ( 
friend,  and  believe  that  there  are  better  days  in  store  for  you/5 

"  I  will  strive  to  think  so. — Good  night/' 

There  was  such  a  mournful  cadence  in  the  voice  of  the  imprisoned  young 
man,  as  he  said  "  Good  night/'  that  the  secretary  remarked  in  a  low  voice  to  Sir 
Richard — 


r<  Would  it  not  be  a  mercy  now  to  let  him  free,  and  take  him  away  with  us  ?" 
"  I  don't  like  his  concealing  his  name,  my  lord/' 
"  Well,  it  is  not  the  thing  exactly/' 

u  His  imprisonment  now  will  be  of  very  short  duration  indeed,  and  his  libera- 
tion is  certain,  unless  by  some  glaring  act  of  imprudence  he  mars  his  own 
fortune.  But  now,  gentlemen,  I  have  a  sight  to  show  you  in  these  vaults  that 
you  have  come  to  see,  and  yet,  that  I  think  it  would  have  been  wise  if  you  had 
left  unseen." 

"  Indeed!35 

u  Yes.    You  will  soon  agree  with  me  in  opinion." 

Sir  Richard,  bearing  the  lantern  in  his  hand,  led  the  way  for  a  considerable 
distance  back  again,  until  they  were  fairly  under  the  church,  and  then  he 

said —  ... 

61  A  large  vault  belonging  to  a  family  named  Weston,  which  is  extinct  I  fancy, 
for  we  can  find  no  one  to  claim  it,  has  been  opened  near  this  spot/' 

u  By  whom  ?" 

"That  you  will  have  no  difficulty  in  guessing.  It  is  that  vault  that  I  wish  to 
show  vou.  There  am  others  in  the  same  condition,  but  one  will  be  enough  to 
satiate*  your  appetites  for  such  sights.    This  way,  gentlemen,  if  you  please/' 

As  the  light  from  the  two  lanterns  fell  upon  the  faces  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt's 
companions,  curiosity  and  excitement  could  be  seen  paramount  upon  their 
features.  They  followed  him  as  their  guide  without  a  word,  but  they  could 
not  but  see  that  he  trod  slowly,  and  that  now  and  then  a  shudder  crossed  his 
frame. 

u  Even  vou  are  affected/'  said  the  secretary,  when  the  silence  had  lasted  some 
■ 

minutes. 

"  I  were  something  more  or  less  than  human,"  replied  Sir  Richard  Blunt  "  if 
I  could  go  unmoved  into  the  presence  of  that  sight ,  that  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to 

show  to  you/' 

*r  It  must  be  horrible  indeed/' 

u  It  is  more  horrible  than  all  the  horrors  your  imagination  can  suggest.  Let 
us  go  quicker." 

Apparently  with  a  desperate  feeling  of  resolution,  such  as  might  actuate  a 
man  who  had  some  great  danger  to  encounter,  and  who  after  shrinking  from  it 
for  a  time,  should  cry  46  Well,  the  sooner  it  is  over  the  better/'  did  the  magis- 
trate now  quicken  his  steps,  nor  paused  he  until  he  arrived  at  the  door  of  the 
vault  of  which  he  had  spoken. 

"Now,  Mr.  Villimay/'  he  said.  "Be  so  good  as  to  hold  up  your  lantern  as 
high  as  you  can,  at  the  same  time  not  to  get  it  above  the  doorway,  and  I  will  do 
the  same  by  mine.    All  that  we  want  is  a  brief  but  clear  view/' 

"  Yes,  yes.    Quite  brief,"  said  the  secretary.  t 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  laid  his  hand  upon  the  door  of.the  vault,  which  was  unfas* 
tened,  and  flung  it  open. 


/ 


"  Behold  !*  he  said,  "  one  of  the  vaults  of  old  St.  Dunstan's." 
For  the  space  of  about  a  minute  and  a  half  no  one  uttered  a  wod,  so  it  behoves 
us  to  state  what  that  vault  contained,  to  strike  such  horror  into  the  hearts  of 
bold  educated  men.    Piled  one  upon  each  other  on  the  floor,  and  reaching  half 
way  up  to  the  ceiling  lay,  a  decomposing  mass  of  human  remains.    Heaped  up 
1  one  upon  another,  heedlessly  tossed  into  the  disgusting  heap  any  way,  lay  the 
gaunt  skeletons  with  pieces  of  flesh  here  and  there  only  adhering  to  the  bones. 
A  steam — a  foetid  steam  rose  up  from  the  dead,  and  upon  the  floor  was  a  pool  of 
corruption,  creeping  along  as  the  declivities  warranted.    Eyes,  teeth,  hands  half 
denuded  of  flesh— glistening  vermin,  shiny  and  sleek  with  the  luxurious  feeding 
they  there  got,  slipped  glibly  in  and  out  of  the  heaped-up  horror. 
■€  No  more — no  more  !"  cried  the  secretary. 
gi  I  sicken, M  said  his  friend,  H  I  am  faint/' 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  let  go  the  door,  and  it  slammed  shut  with  a  hollow  sound 

"  Thank  God  !"  he  said. 

"  For— for  what  ?"  gasped  Mr,  Villimay. 

"  That  you  and  I,  my  friend,  need  not  look  upon  this  sight  again.    We  are 
all  sufficient  evidence  upon  our  oaths  that  it  is  here  to  see/' 
"  Yes— yes." 

"Come  away/  said  the  secretary.    "You  told  me  something  of  what  was  to 
see,  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  but  my  imagination  did  not  picture  it  to  be  what  it  is." 
"  I  told  you  that  likewise,  my  lord." 
"  You  did-you  did." 

With  hurried  steps  they  now  followed  the  magistrate  ;  and  it  was  with  a  feel- 
ing of  exquisite  relief  that  they  all  found  themselves,  after  a  few  minutes,  fairly 
in  the  body  of  the  church,  and  some  distance  from  that  frightful  spectacle  they 
had  each  thought  it  to  be  their  duty  to  look  upon. 

9  "  Let  us  go  to  the  vestry/'  said  the  secretary,  "  and  take  something.  I  am 
sick  at  heart  and  stomach  both/' 

"And  I  am  everything,  and  hungry  too,"  cried  a  voice,  and  the  Lord  Mayor 
popped  his  head  up  from  the  churchwardens'  pew. 

No  one  could  help  laughing  at  this,  although,  to  tell  the  truth,  those  men, 
after  what  they  had  seen,  were  in  no  laughing  mood,  as  the  reader  may  well 


imagine. 


"  Is  that  our  friend,  the  King  of  the  City  V*  said  the  secretary. 
"  It  is,"  said  Sir  Richard. 

"  Well,  I  must  say  that  he  has  set  a  good  example  of  bravery  in  his  do- 
minions/' 

"  He  has  indeed. " 

"  Gentlemen— gentlemen/'  added  the  Lord  Mayor,  as  he  rolled  out  of  the 
churchwardens'  pew,  "don't  think  of  going  into  the  vestry  without  me,  for  it 
was  I  who  gave  a  hint  to  have  refreshments  put  there,  and  I  have  been  dying  for 
some  of  them  for  this  last  half-hour,  I  assure  you." 


CHAPTER  LXVIil. 

RETURNS   TO  JOHANNA. 

We  return  to  Johanna  Oakley. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  # 

« What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  as  he  sat  in 
his  shop  about  the  hour  of  twelve  on  the  morning  following  that  upon  which 
Johanna  Oakley  and  her  friend  Arabella  had  concerted  so  romantic  a  plan 
of  operations  regarding  him.  { "  What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?  Am  I  going 
mad  ?* 


Hi 


4  Mi 


tatot1 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


309 


Now  Todd's  question  was  no  doubt  a  result  of  some  peculiar  sensations  that 
had  come  over  him  ;  but,  propounded  as  it  was  to  silence  and  to  vacancy,  it  of 
course  got  no  answer.  A  cold  perspiration  had  suddenly  broke  out  upon 
his  brow,  and,  for  the  space  of  about  ten  minutes,  he  was  subject  to  one 
of  those  strange  foreshadowings  of  coming  ills  to  him,  which  of  late  had 
begun  to  make  his  waking  hours  anything  but  joyous,  and  his  dreams 
hideous. 

11  What  can  it  mean  ?"  he  said.    "What  can  it  mean  V9 
He  wiped  his  face  with  a  miserable  looking  handkerchief,  and  then,  with  a 
deep  sigh,  he  said — 

gi  It  is  that  fiend  in  the  shape  of  a  woman  V 

No  doubt  he  meant  his  dear  friend,  Mrs.  Lovett.  Alas  !  what  a  thorn  she 
was  in  the  side  of  Sweeney  Todd.  How  poor  a  thing,  by  way  of  recompense 
for  the  dark  and  terrible  suspicions  he  had  of  her,  was  his  heaped  up  wealth? 
Todd— yes,  Sweeney  Todd,  who  had  waded  kne^-deep — knee-deep  do  we  say? 
— lip-deep  in  blood  for  gold,  had  begun  to  find  that  there  was  something  more 
precious  still  which  he  had  bartered  for  it — peace  !  That  peace  of  mind — that 
sweet  serenity  of  soul,  which,  like  the  love  of  God,  is  beautiful,  and  yet  passeth 
understanding.  Yes,  Todd  was  beginning  to  find  out  that  he  had  bartered  the 
jewel  for  the  setting !  What  a  common  mistake.  Does  not  all  the  world  do  it  ? 
They  do  ;  but  the  difference  between  Todd  and  common  people  merely  was  that 
he  played  the  game  with  high  stakes. 

"  Yes/'  added  Todd,  after  a  pause,  u  curses  on  her,  it  is  that  fiend  in  the 
shape  of  a  woman,  who 

'  Cows  my  better  pari  of  man/ 

and  she  or  I  must  fall.  That  is  settled  ;  yes—she  or  I.  There  was  a  time  when 
I  used  to  say  she  and  I  could  not  live  in  the  same  country ;  but  now  I  feel  that 
we  cannot  both  live  in  the  same  world.  She  must  go  — she  must  lapse  into  the 
sleep  of  death/1 

Todd  rose,  and  stalked  to  and  fro  in  his  shop.  He  felt  as  if  something 
was  going  to  happen  :  that  undefinable  fidgetty  feeling  which  will  attack  all 
persons  at  times,  came  over  him,  and  yet  it  was  not  a  feeling  of  deep  apprehen- 
sion that  was  at  his  heart. 

"  Oh,"  he  muttered,  "  it  is  the  recollection  of  that  dreadful  woman — that 
fiend,  who,  with  a  seeming  prescience,  knows  when  there  is  poison  in  her  glass, 
and  baffles  me.  It  is  the  dim  and  shadowy  thought  of  what  I  must  do  with 
her  that  shatters  me.  If  poison  will  not  do  the  deed,  steel  or  a  bullet  must. 
Ah!" 

Some  one  was  trying  the  handle  of  the  shop  door,  and  so  timidly  was  it  tried, 
that  Todd  stood  still  to  listen,  without  saying  "  Come  in,"  or  otherwise  encou- 
raging the  visitor. 

"  Who  is  it?"  he  gasped. 

Still  the  handle  of  the  door-lock  only  shook.  To  be  sure,  it  was  a  difficult 
door  to  open  to  all  who  did  not  know  it  well.  Todd  had  taken  care  of  that,  for 
if  there  was  anything  more  than  another  which  such  a  man  as  he  might  be  fairly 
enough  presumed  to  dislike,  it  would  be  to  be  glided  in  upon  by  the  sudden 
opening  of  an  easy-going  door. 
u  Come  in,"  he  now  cried. 

The  person  without  was  evidently  anxious  to  obey  the  invitation,  and  a  more 
strenuous  effort  was  made  to  unfasten  the  door.  ,  It  yielded  at  length.  A  young 
and  pretty  looking  lad,  apparently  of  about  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of  age, 
stood  upon  the  threshold.  He  and  Sweeney  Todd  looked  at  each  other  in 
silence  for  a  few  moments.  If  a  painter  or  a  sculptor  could  have  caught  them 
as  they  stood,  and  transferred  them  to  canvas  or  to  marble,  he  might  have  called 
them  an  idea  of  Guilt  and  Innocence.  There  was  Todd,  with  evil  passions 
and  wickedness  written  upon  every  feature  of  his  face.  There  was  the 
boy,  with  the  rosy  gentleness  and  innocence  of  Heaven  upon  his  brow. 


musm 


mm 


11 


310  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


God  made  both  these  creatures  !    It  was  Todd  who  broke  the  silence.    A  1 
gathering  flush  was  upon  the  face  of  the  boy,  and  he  could  not  speak. 
€t  What  do  you  want  ?"  said  Todd. 

He  rattled  his  chair  as  he  spoke,  as  though  he  would  have  said,  u  It  is  not  to 
be  shaved."  The  boy  was  too  much  engaged  with  his  own  thoughts  to  pay 
much  attention  to  Todd's  pantomime.  He  evidently,  though,  wished  to  say 
something,  which  he  could  not  command  breath  to  give  utterance  to.  Like  the 
"  Amen"  of  Macbeth,  something  he  would  fain  have  uttered,  seemed  to  stick  in 
his  throat. 

"  What  is  it  ?"  again  demanded  Todd,  eagerly. 

This  roused  the  boy.    The  boy,  do  we  say.    Ah,  our  readers  have  already 
recognised  in  that  boy  the  beautiful  and  enthusiastic  Johanna  Oakley. 
"  There  is  a  bill  in  your  window— — " 
"A  what?" 

Todd  had  forgotten  the  announcement  regarding  the  youth  he  wanted,  with  a 
taste  for  piety. 
€t  A  bill.    You  want  a  boy,  sir." 

"  Oh/'  said  Todd,  as  the  object  of  the  visit  at  once  thus  became  clear  and 
apparent  to  him.    u  Oh,  that's  it." 
"  Yes,  sir." 

Todd  held  up  his  hand  to  his  eyes,  as  though  he  were  shading  them  from 
sunlight,  as  he  gazed  upon  Johanna,  and  then,  fn  an  abrupt  tone  of  voice,  he 

said—  .  .  •.  .  .  "     ."'  M: f  ; 

"  You  won't  do." 
**  Thank  you,  sir." 

She  moved  towards  the  door.    Her  hand  touched  the  handle.    It  was  not 
fast.    The  door  opened.    Another  momen1,  and  she  would  have  been  srone. 

"Stop!"  cried  Todd. 

She  returned  at  once. 
.    "You  don't  look  like  a  lad  in  want  of  a  situation.    Your  clothes  are  good— 
your  whole  appearance  is  that  of  a  young  gentleman.    What  do  you  rr;ean  by 
coming  here  to  ask  to  be  an  errand  boy  in  a  barber's  shop  ?    I  don't  understand 
it.    You  had  different  expectations." 

"  Yes,  sir.    But  Mrs.  Green  " 

"  Mrs.  who  ?" 

u  Green,  sir,  my  mother-in-law,  don't  use  me  well,  and  I  would  rather  go  to 
sea,  or  seek  my  living  in  any  way,  than  go  back  again  to  her;  and  if  1  were 
to  come  into  your  service,  all  I  would  ask  would  be,  that  you  did  not  let  her 
know  where  I  was." 

€i  Humph  !    Your  mother-in  law,  you  say  ?" 

*  Yes,  sir.    1  have  been  far  happier  since  I  ran  away  from  her,  than  I  have 
been  for  a  long  time  past." 

"  Ah,  you  ran  away  ?    Where  lives  she  ?" 

i€  At  Oxford.    I  came  to  London  in  the  waggon,  and  at  every  step  the  lazy 
horses  took,  I  felt  a  degree  of   pleasure  that  I  was  placing  a  greater  distance 
between  me  and  oppression." 
Your  own  name  ?" 

"  Charley  Green.  It  was  all  very  well  as  long  as  my  father  lived  ;  but  when 
he  was  no  more,  my  mother-in-law  began  her  ill-usage  of  me.  I  bore  it  as 
long  as  I  could,  and  then  I  ran  away.  If  you  can  take  me,  sir,  I  hope  you 
will."  •  "  , 

"Go  along  with  you.    Yo  j  won't  suit  me  at  all.    I  wonder  at  your  impu- 
dence in  coming. ' 

"  No  harm  done,  sir.    I  will  try  my  fortune  elsewhere." 

Todd  began  sharpening  a  razor,  as  the  boy  went  to  the  door  again. 

"  Shall  I  take  him  ?"  he  said  to  himself.  '  "  I  do  want  some  one  for  the  short 
time  1  shall  be  here.  Humph  !  An  orphan— strange-  in  London.  No  one  to 
care  for  him.   The  very  thing  for  me.    No  prying  friends— nowhere  to  run,  the 


mmamamammm 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  311 


s  and  that  has 


moment  he  is  sent  of  an  errand,  with  open  mouth,  proclaiming  thi: 
happened  in  the  shop.    I  will  have  him." 

He  darted  to  the  door. 

M  Hoi!—  hoi!" 

Johanna  turned  round,  and  came  back  in  a  minute.  Todd  had  caught  at  the 
bait  at  last.    She  got  close  to  the  door. 

"  Upon  consideration/'  said  Todd,  "I  will  speak  to  you  again.  But  just  run 
and  see  what  the  time  is  by  St.  Dunstan's  Church." 

"St. — St.  who?"  said  Johanna,  looking  around  her  with  a  bewildered,  confused 
sort  of  air.    "  St.  who  ?*' 

t:  St.  Dunstan's,  in  Fleet  Street." 

9t  Fleet  Street  ?  If  you  will  direct  me,  sir,  I  dare  say  I  shall  find  it — oh,  yes. 
I  am  good  at  finding  places." 

"  He  is  strange  in  London/'  muttered  Todd.  "  I  am  satisfied  of  that.  He  is 
strange.    Come  in — come  in,  and  shut  the  door  after  you." 

With  a  heart  beating  with  violence,  that  wras  positively  fearful,  Johanna 
followed  Todd  into  the  shop,  carefully  closing  the  door  behind  her,  as  she  had 
been  ordered  to  do. 

"  Now,"  said  Todd,  91  nothing  in  the  world  but  my  consideration  for  your 
orphan  and  desolate  condition,  could  possibly  induce  me  to  think  of  taking  you 
in  ;  but  the  fact  is,  being  an  orphan  myself — (here  Todd  made  a  hideous 
grimace) — I  say,  being  an  orphan  myself,  with  little  to  distress  me  amid  the 
oceans  and  quicksands  of  this  wicked  world.,  some  very  strong  sense  of  re- 
ligion—(another  hideous  grimace)— I  naturally  feel  for  you." 

u  Thank  you,  sir." 

"  Are  you  decidedly  pious  ?" 

"  I  hope  so,  sir." 

"  Humph !    Well,  we  will  say  more  upon  that  all-important  subject  another 

time,  and  if  I  consent  to  be  your  master,  a — a — a  " 

"  Charley  Green,  sir." 

"Ay,  Charley  Green.   If  I  consent  to  take  you  for  a  week  upon  trial,  you 
must  wholly  attribute  it  to  my  feelings.3' 
99  Certainly,  sir/' 

'?  Have  you  any  idea  yourself  as  to  terms  V* 
iC  None  in  the  least,  sir." 

"  Very  good.  Then  you  will  not  be  disappointed.  I  shall  give  you  sixpence 
a  week,  and  your  board  wages  of  threepence  a  day,  besides  perquisites.  The 
threepence  I  advise  you  to  spend  ia  three  penny  pies,  at  Mrs.  Lovett's,  in  Bell 
Yard.  They  are  the  most  nutritious  and  appetizing  things  you  can  buy  ;  and 
in  the  Temple  you  w  11  find  an  excellent  pump,  so  that  the  half  hour  you  will  be 
allowed  for  dinner  will  be  admirably  consumed  in  your  walk  to  the  pie  shop, 
and  from  thence  to  the  pump,  and  then  home  here  again. " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

9i  You  will  sleep  under  the  counter,  here,  of  a  night,  and  the  perquisites  I 
mention  will  consist  of  the  use  of  the  pewter  wash-hand  basin,  the  soap,  and  the 
end  of  a  towel." 

"Yes,  sir." 

u  You  will  hear  and  see  much  in  this  place.  Perhaps  now  and  then  you  will 
be  surprised  at  something ;  but — but,  master  Charley,  if  you  go  and  gossip 
about  me  or  my  affairs,  or  what  you  see,  or  what  you  hear,  or  what  you  think 
you  would  like  to  see  or  hear,  Pll  cut  your  throat I 

u  Charley  started." 

u  Oh !  sir,"  he  said,  9i  you  may  rely  upon  me.  I  will  be  quite  discreet 
I  am  a  fortunate  lad  to  get  so  soon  into  the  employment  of  such  an  exemplary 
master." 

«Ha!"  * 

Todd,  for  a  space  of  two  minutes  made  the  most  hideous  and  extraordinary 
grimaces* 


-■'JJ  ■  ■■  \   —  ■  w  »< w^j— -iwi  £k  i  .    iSt^n  mTm.  Swi  -Iff-   r.  t.nmm  ,         y«jr"£,*», ,  .  i  ■  ■■   1  ~"  "  '[  .  Jj  %, 

H  '     I  .III  Ill-I.  ■   ■  r  *     11      I  >   I    II     III  m  ,  i    ,i  i     -    r    r    •    ^  ,r~——-~ 


312 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


**  Fortunate  lad/'  he  said.  u  Exemplary  master  !  How  true.  Ha  P— Poor 
Johanna  shuddered  at  that  dreadful  charnel-house  sort  of  laugh. 

u  My  God."  she  thought,  "  was  that  the  last  sound  that  rung  in  the  ears  of 
my  poor  Mark,  ere  he  bade  adieu  to  this  world  for  ever  ?"  Then  she  could  not 
but  utter  a  sort  of  groan. 

"  What's  that?"  said  Todd. 

"  What,  sir  ?" 

"  I — I  thought  some  one  groaned,  or — or  sighed.  Was  it  you  ?  No. — Well, 
it  was  nothing.  See  if  that  water  on  the  fire  is  hot.  Do  you  hear  me  ?  Well— . 
well  don't  be  alarmed.  Is  it  hot  V 

"I  think  " 

"  Think !  Put  your  hand  in  it." 
"  Quite  hot,  sir." 

u  Well,  then,  master  Charley — Ah  !  A  customer  !  Come  in,  sir ;  come  in,  if 
you  please,  sir.  A  remarkably  fine  day,  sir.  Cloudy,  though.  Pray  be 
seated,  sir.  A-hem!  Now,  Charley,  bustle— bustle.  Shaved,  sir,  I  presume? 
D— n  the  door  !" 

Todd  was  making  exertions  to  shut  the  door  after  the  entrance  of  a  stout-built 
man,  in  an  ample  white  coat  and  a  broad  brimmed  farmer  looking  hat ;  but  he 
could  not  get  it  close,  and  then  the  stout-built  man  cried  out — 

"  Why  don't  you  come  in,  Bob — leave  off  your  tricks.  Why  you  is  old  enough 
to  know  better.'* 

"It's  only  me,"  said  another  stout-built  man,  in  another  white  coat,  as  he 
came  in  with  a  broad  grin  upon  his  face.  "  It's  only  me,  Mr.  Barber— ha  !  ha! 
ha!"  . 

Todd  looked  quite  bland,  as  he  said — 

u  Well,  it  was  a  good  joke.  I  could  not  for  the  moment  think  what  it  was 
kept  the  door  from  shutting,  and  I  always  close  it,  because  there's  a  mad  dog  in 
the  neighbourhood,  you  see,  gentlemen  " 

Crack  went  something  to  the  floor. 

"  It's  this  mug,  sir/'  said  Charley.    "  I  dropped  it." 

r  Well— well,  my  dear,  don't  mind  that.  Accidents,  you  know,  will  happen; 
bless  vou.* 

Todd,  as  he  said  this,  caught  up  a  small  piece  of  Charley's  hair  in  his  finger 
and  t  humb,  and  gave  it  a  terrific  pinch.  Poor  Johanna  with  difficulty  controlled 
her  tear&.  v  \ 

"  Now,  sir,  be  seated  if  you  please.    From  the  country,  I  suppose,  sir?" 
"  Yes.   A  clean  shave,  if  you  please.    We  corned  up  from  Barkshire,  both  on 
us,  with  beasts.0 

'f  You  and  your  brother,  sir  V 

"  My  cousin,  tother'un  is  ;  ain't  you  Bill  V 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure." 

"  Now,  Charley,  the  soap  dish.  Look  alive— look  alive,  my  little  man,  will 
you  V 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"You  must  excuse  him  being  rather  slow,  gentlemen,  but  he's  not  used  to 
the  business  yet,  poor  boy— on  father,  no  mother,  no  friend  in  all  the  woild  but 
me,  sir." 

"  Really  !" 

"  Yes,  poor  lad/'  but  thank  God  I  have  a  heart— Leave  the  whiskers  as  ihey 
are,  sir  ?— "  Yes*  and  I  can  feel  for  the  distresses  of  a  fellow  creature.  Many's 
the— Your  brother— I  beg  pardon,  cousin,  will  be  shaved  likewise,  sir?— pound  I 
have  given  away  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Charley,  will  you  look  alive  with  that 
soap  dish.    A  pretty  boy,  sir;  is  he  not?* 

"Very.   His  complexion  is  like— like  a  ■pearl." 

Johanna  dropped  the  soap  dish,  and  clasped  her  hands  over  her  eyes.  That 
-word  <' pearl"  had  for  the  moment  got  the  better  of  her. 


as- 


*2 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


313 


CHAPTER  LX1X. 

TAKES  A  PEEP  AT  ARABELLA. 

We  regret  to  leave  Johanna  in  such  a  predicament,  but  the  progress  and  due 
understanding  of  our  tale  compel  us  briefly  to  revert  to  some  proceedings  of 
Arabella  Wilmot,  a  short  detail  of  which  can  nowhere  come  in  so  well  as  at 


MRS.  LOVETT  ALARMED  AT  THE  STRANGE  PACES  AT  HER  WINDOW  IN  THE  PIE-SHOP, 

this  juncture.  Up  to  the  moment  of  parting  with  Johanna,  when  the  latter 
went  upon  her  perilous  interprise,  Arabella  had  kept  up  pretty  well,  but ;  irom 
that  moment  her  spirits  began  to  fail.  All  the  romantic  feelings  which  haa  at 
first  prompted  the  advice  that  concentrated  Johanna's  expedition  to  iodas, 
evaporated  before  the  hard  truthful  fact  that  she,  Arabella,  had  [led  her  young 


No,  40. 


SU  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS,  J 

friend  into  a  situation  of  the  greatest  peril.  Each  moment  added  to  the  mental 
agony  of  the  young  girl;  and  at  length  her  sufferings  became  too  acute  for  further 
dallying  with,  and  wringing  her  hands,  all  she  could  ask  herself  was — 

"  What  shall  1  do  to  save  her  ? — What  shall  I  do  to  save  her  1" 

Arabella  felt  that  it  would  kill  her  to  endure  the  suspense  of  one  hour  instead 
of  four-and-twenty  ;  but  to  whom  was  she  to  turn  in  this  sad  condition  of  her 
feelings?  If  she  went  to  old  Mr.  Oakley,  what  could  she  expect  but  the  greatest 
reproaches  for  leading  one  so  dear  to  him  into  such  a  path  of  danger  ;  and  those 
reproaches  would  not  be  the  less  stinging  on  account,  probably,  of  their  being 
only  implied,  and  not  spoken.  If  she  appealed  to  her  own  friends,  it  would 
only  be  a  kind  of  second-hand  mode  of  appealing  to  Mr.  Oakley,  for  they,  of 
courses,  would  go  to  him. 

"Oh,  wretched  girl  that  I  am,"  she  cried,  as  she  wrung  her  hands.  "  What 
shall  I  do  ?— What  ought  I  to  do  ?" 

It  was  very  improbable  that,  in  the  midst  of  such  a  state  of  feeling  as  this, 
Arabella  Wilmot'should  think  of  the  wisest  and  best  thing  to  do  ;  and  yet  strange 
to  say,  she  did.  By  mere  accident  the  name  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  came  to  her 
mind.  She  had  heard  Colonel  Jeffery  speak  of  him  ;  and  from  common  report,  too, 
she  knew  he  was  a  man  who,  of  all  others,  was  likely,  from  inclination  as  well  as 
power  and  duty,  to  aid  her.  The  idea  of  going  to  him  gained  strength  and  con- 
sistency each  moment  in  her  mind,  as  good  ideas  will. 

"  Yes — yes  |V  she  exclaimed,  as  with  frantic  eagerness  she  arrayed  herself  for 
the  event,  for  she  had  gone  home  after  seeing  Johanna  on  her  way ;  u  yes — yes! 
I  will  go  to  him — I  will  tell  him  all.  He  shall  know  what  a  silly,  foolish, 
wicked  girl  I  have  been,  and  how  by  my  mad-— mad  council,  I  have  perhaps  de- 
stroyed Johanna.  But  he  will  save  her — oh,  yes,  he  will  save  her  from  the  con- 
sequences of  the  visit  to  Todd,  and  save  me  from  madness." 

Now,  a  more  decidedly  prudent  resolve  than  this  could  not  possibly  have  been 
aimed  at  by  Arabella,  had  she  been  as  cool  and  collected  ;  as,  on  the  contrary,  she 
was  nervous  and  excited,  and  it  had  all  the  effect  upon  her  mind ;  for  it  was 
astonishing  how  the  mere  feeling  that  she  was  about  to  take  a  good  course 
calmed  her  down.  She  had  the  prudence  to  interpose  no  delays  by  speaking  to 
any  one  of  her  intention  ;  but  hastily  getting  into  the  street,  she  ran  on  for  some 
time  without  reflecting  that  she  had  but  a  very  vague  idea  of  where  Sir  Richard 
Blunt  was  to  be  found.  It  is  astonishing  how,  under  the  passions  of  extraordi- 
nary circumstances,  people  will  boldly  do  things  which  ordinarily  they  would 
shrink  from.  It  was  so  with  Arabella  Wilmot.  She  walked  into  a  shop,  and  at 
once  asked  if  they  could  tell  her  the  exact  address  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  the 
magistrate. 

M  Yes,  it  is  at  No.  6,  Essex  Street,  Strand." 

Off  she  went  again.  Fleet  Street  was  passed.  True,  she  lingered  a  little 
opposite  to  Todd's  shop,  and  the  idea  came  across  her  of  rushing  in,  and  saying, 
u  Johanna,  come  away."  But  she  controlled  that  feeling,  from  a  conviction  that 
she  was  doing  better  by  going  to  the  magistrate,  who,  if  it  were  necessary  to 
take  that  course,  could  take  it  much  more  effectually  than  she  could.  Essex 
Street  was  gained,  and  Arabellas  trembling  hand  sounded  an  alarm  upon  the 
knocker. 

"Is  Sir  Richard  within  ?" 

"  No.  But  if  you  particularly  want  him,  he  is  at  his  private  office  in  Craven 
Street." 

To  Craven  Street  then  she  sped.  The  number  she  had  been  told  was  10,  and 
upon  the  door  of  that  house  being  opened,  she  asked  a  man  who  was  big  enough 
to  block  up  all  the  passage,  and  who  did  so,  for  the  magistrate. 

u  Yes,  but  you  can't  see  him.    He's  busy.* 

«'  I  must/' 

u  But  you  can't,  mv  dear.5' 
"I  will." 

The  man  whistled.  ~ 


"  Will  is  a  short  word,  my  dear,  for  you  to  use.  How  do  you  mean  to  do 
it,  eh  ?" 

A  door  opened,  and  with  his  hat  on,  ready  to  go  out,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  him- 
self appeared.  Another  minute  and  Arabella  would  have  missed  him,  and  then 
God  knows  where,  for  the  next  twelve  hours,  he  would  be. 

**  What  is  this,  Davis?"  he  said. 

"  Here's  a  little  'un,  says  she  will  see  you,  Sir  Richard." 

"  Ah,  thank  God!"  cried  Arabella,  rushing  forward  and  catching  a  tight  hold 
of  the  magistrate  by  the  arm.  "  Yes,  I  will  see  you,  sir  ;  I  have  a  matter  of  life 
and  death  to  speak  to  you  of." 

"  Walk  in,"  said  Sir  Richard.  <€  Don't  hurry  yourself  in  the  least,  Miss.  Pray 
be  composed  ;  I  am  quite  at  your  disposal." 

Arabella  followed  him  into  a  small  room.  She  still  kept  dose  to  him,  and  in 
her  eagerness  she  placed  her  hand  upon  her  breast,  as  she  said — 

«  Sir— sir.  You— and  you  only.  Todd,  Todd— oh,  God  !  he  will  kill  her, 
and  I  am  more  her  murderer  than  he.    Johanna — Johanna,  my  poor  Johanna  !* 

Sir  Richard  slightly  changed  colour  at  the  sound  of  those  names ;  and  then  he 

said,  calmly  and  slowly— 

"  I  don't  think,  unless  you  can  assume  a  .  greater  command  of  your  feelings, 
that  you  will  ever  be  able  to  tell  me  what  you  came  about/' 

"  Oh,  yes — yes." 

"  Be  seated,  I  pray  you." 

"  Yes — yes.  In  a  moment.  Oh,  how  calm  and  unimpassioned  you  are,  sir." 
"  It  would  not  do  for  us  both  to  lose  our  judgment." 

Arabella  began  to  feel  a  little  piqued,  and  that  feeling  restored  her  powers  to 
her,  probably  quicker  than  any  other  could  have  possibly  done.    She  spoke 

rapidly,  but  distinctly. 

"  Sir,  Miss  Johanna  Oakley  has  gone  to  Sweeney  Todd's  to  find  out  what  has 
become  of  Mr.  Mark  Ingistrie,  and  I  advised  her  to  do  so  ;  but  now  the  know- 
ledge that  I  did  so  advise  her  has  driven  me  nearly  mad.  It  will  drive  me  quite 
mad!" 

Sir  Richard  rose  from  the  arm  chair  into  which  he  had  thrown  himself,  and 
said — 

"  Miss  Oakley  ?"  said  you.  44  Why— why— what  folly.  But  she  has  gone 
home  again." 

"  No,  she  is  disguised  as  a  boy,  and  has  taken  the  situation  that  Todd  put  a 
placard  in  his  window  about,  and  she  will  be  found  out  of  course,  and  mur- 
dered." 

"  No  doubt  of  it" 

f<  Oh,  God !    Oh,  God !    Is  there  no  lightning  to  strike  me  dead  ?" 
"  I  hope  not,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt ;  u  I  don't  want  a  thunder  storm  in  my 
parlour."  ^ 
"  But,  sir  " 

4t  But,  Miss  Wilmot.    Is  she  there  now  ?' 
"  She  is— she  is." 
4i  When  did  she  go  ?" 

«  About  two  hours  since.  Oh,  sir— you  must  do  something— you  shall  do 
something  to  save  her,  or  I  will  run  into  the  streets,  and  call  upon  any  passen- 
ger I  meet,  that  has  the  form  of  a  man,  to  aid  me;  I  will  raise  the  town,  sir,  but 
I  will  sav*  her." 

"  That  course  would  be  about  as  wise  as  the  original  advice  to  Miss  Oakley 
to  go  upon  the  expedition  at  all.  Now  answer  me  calmly  what  I  shall  ask  oi 
you."    -  V.  .       ^  "  .<:  ^ 

« 1  will— I  will." 

"  What  is  the  prime  cause  of  action  that  Miss  Oakley  projects  as  the  result  ol 
this  disguised  entrance  into  Todd's  shop,  provided  he  be  deceived  by  it  V 

«  To  search  the  place  upon  the  first  opportunity  for  some  relic  of^Mark  In- 
gestrie,  and  so  put  an  end  to  the  torturing  suspense  regarding  his  fate."  


316 


Sir  Richard  Blunt  shiaok  his  head. 

"  Do  you  think  that  Sweeney  Todd  would  leave  such  relics  within  such  easy 
acquisition  and  inspection  ?  Is  he  the  sort  of  man,  think  you,  to  expose  himself 
to  such  danger?    Ob,  Miss  Wilmot,  this  is  indeed  a  hair-brained  scheme/* 

u  it  is— it  is,  and  I  have  come  to  you  for  aid,  and  '* 

"  Hush !  Is  the  secret  of  this  expedition  entirely  confined  to  you  and  to  Miss 
Oakley  ?" 

"  It  is— it  is." 

t%  Will  her  friends  not  miss  her }" 

€t  No — no.  Ail  has  been  arranged  with  what  now  I  cannot  help  calling  a 
horrible  ingenuity.  She  is  like  one  led  to  slaughter,  and  she  will  pass  away  from! 
the  world,  leaving  the  secret  of  her  disappearance  to  you  and  to  me  only.  Sir,  I 
am  young,  and  there  are  those  in  this  great  city  who  love  me,  but  if  Johanna 
be  not  saved,  I  will  no  longer  live  to  be  the  most  wretched  of  beings.  If  there 
can  be  found  a  poison  that  will  let  me  leave  the  world,  to  cast  myself  at  the  feet 
of  God,  and  of  Johanna  in  another,  I  will  take  it.-1 

Sir  Richard  looked  at  his  watch. 

"  An  hour  and  a  half,  you  say  Y9 

u  More  than  that.  Let  me  think.  It  was  twelve— yes,  it  was  twelve.  More 
you  see,  sir,  than  that. 

«  Tell  me,  sir.  Tell  me  at  once  what  can  be  done.  Speak — oh  speak  to  me. 
What  will  you  do  Y' 

"  I  don't  know,  Miss  Wilmot." 

With  a  deep  sigh  Arabella  fainted. 

*  *  *  $  *  * 

It  was  seldom  indeed  that,  even  amid  his  adventurous  'life,  the  magistrate 
found  a  circumstance  that]afFected  him  so  strongly  as  that  which  Arabella  Wilmot 
had  related  to  him.  For  a  short  time,  even  he,  with  all  his  powers  of  rapid, 
thought,  and  with  all  the  means  and  appliances  which  natural  skill  and  practice 
had  given  him  to  meet  any  emergency,  could  not  think  of  any  mode  of  escape 
from  the  peculiarly  awkward  position  into  which  this  frightfully  imprudent  step 
of  Johanna  had  plunged  him. 

"  My  good  girl/'  he  said.    €i  Oh,  she  has  fainted." 

He  rung  a  hand-bell,  and,  when  a  man  appeared  in  answer  to  the  summons, 
he  said — 

4t  Is  Mrs.  Long  within  V9 
«  Yes,  Sir  Richard.'1 

1  Then  bring  her  here,  and  tell  her  to  pay  every  attention  to  this  young  lady, 
who  is  a  friend  of  mine  ;  and  when  she  recovers,  say  to  her  that  I  shall  return1 
in  an  hour." 

u  Certainly,  Sir  Richard." 

In  a  few  moments  a  matronly-looking  woman;  who  acted  in  that  house  as  a 
sort  of  general  manager,  made  her  appearance,  and  had  Arabella  removed  to  a 
chamber.  Before  that,  the  magistrate  had  hastily  put  on  his  hat,  and  at  a  quick 
pace  was  walking  towards  Fleet  Street.  What  he  intended  to  do  in  the  emer-j 
gency — for  emergency  he  evidently  thought  it  was — we  shall  see  quickly.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that,  even  by  that  time,  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  some  plan  of 
proceeding,  and  our  readers  have  sufficient  knowledge  of  him  to  feel  that  it  is 
likely  to  be  the  very  best  that  could  be  adopted  under  the  circumstances.  Cer-| 
tainly  Johanna  had,  by  the  bold  step  she  had  taken,  brought  affairs  to  something 
like  a  crisis,  much  earlier  than  he,  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  expected.  What  the  result 
will  be  remains  to  be  eeen. 


■ii     ■  ■    i  mm  —  I —  -  -  ■  —    -  ■  i    -   ■  ■■  ■    -  1  —  ■— — — —  -  —  -   ■  —  ■  —  ....  ■      ■  ■         •■-  —  m  — ■  — —  

 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  317 

»       '.  ■-)..   — '    -  1   '  1  .  mm    .    .     .  j     m  i  ■  ■>.  ««■  ■„!  '   |— —      ii  .ii...  in 

CHAPTER  LXX. 

RETURNS  TO  JOHANNA. 

Wb  left  Johanna  in  rather  an  awkward  situation.  The  two  graziers  were  in 
Todd's  shop,  and  she — at  the  pronunciation  of  the  word  "pearl/'  which  had 
'too  forcibly  at  the  moment  reminded  her  of  the  String  of  Pearls,  which  no  doubt 
had  been  fatal  to  Mark  Ingestrie — had  dropped  the  soap-dish,  and  covered  her 
!  face  with  her  hands. 

"  What  is  this  ?"  cried  Todd. 

«  What,  sir  ?" 

"  What  is  that,  I  say  ?  What  do  you  mean  by  that,  you  stupid  hound  ?  If  I 
only  " 

He  advanced  in  a  threatening  attitude  with  a  razor  in  his  hand  ;  but  Johanna 
quickly  saw  what  a  fault  she  had  committed,  and  felt  that,  if  she  were  to  hope 
to  do  any  good  by  her  visit  to  Todd's  shop,  she  must  leave  all  such  manifestations 
of  feelings  outside  the  thresholds 

"  I  have  broken  it,"  she  said. 

"  To  be  sure  you  have ;  but— — " 

"And  then,  you  see,  sir,  I  was  overcome  at  the  moment  by  the  thought 
that  as  this  was  my  first  day  here,  how  stupid  you  would  think  me." 
"Stupid,  indeed." 

"  Poor  little  chap/'  said  one  of  the  graziers.  ri  Let  him  off  this  once,  Mr. 
Barber — he  seems  a  delicate  little  lad." 

|  Todd  smiled.  Yes,  Todd  admirably  got  up  a  smile,  or  a  something  that  looked 
like  a  smile.    It  was  a  contortion  of  feature  which  did  duty  for  a  piece  of  amia- 

j  bility  upon  his  face  ;  and,  in  a  voice  that  he  no  doubt  fully  intended  should  be 
dulcet  and  delightful,  he  spoke — 

|  41  I'm  quite  a  fool  to  my  feelings  and  to  my  good  nature,"  he  said.  "Lord 
bless  you,  gentlemen,  I  could  not  hurt  a  fly — not  I.  I  used  at  school  to  be 
called  Affectionate  Todd." 

**■  In  joke  ?"  said  one  of  the  graziers. 

u  No,  gentlemen,  no ;  in  earnest." 

«  You  don't  say  so  !  Well,  my  boy,  you  see  no  harm  will  come  to  you, 
as  your  master  forgives  you  about  the  soap-dish,  and  we  are  in  no  sort  of 
hurry." 

"Well,"  said  Todd,  as  he  bustled  about  for  another  article  in  which  to 
mix  the  lather.  "  Well,  do  you  know,  sir,  I'm  so  glad  to  hear  that  you  are  in 
no  hurry." 

"Indeed?" 

"Yes,  sir ;  because,  if  you  are  strangers  in  London  Loth  of  you,  it  will  give 
you  an  opportunity  of  seeing  some  of  the  curiosities,  which  will  do  for  you  to 
talk  of  when  you  get  home,  you  know." 

u  Why,  that  would  take  too  much  time." 

u  Not  at  all,  sir.  Now,  for  example— Charley,  my  dear,  whip  up  that  lather 
— there's  the  church  of  St.  Dunstan's,  which,  although  I  say  it— Now,  Charley, 
look  sharp — is  one  of  the  greatest  of  London  curiosities.  The  figures  at  the 
'  clock  I  allude  to  more  particularly.  I  think  you  said  the  whiskers  were  to  be 
!  left  just  as  they  are,  sir  ?" 

"Yes." 

?' Well  then,  gentlemen,  if  you  have  never  seen  the  figures  in  the  front 
of  old  St.  Dunstan's  strike  the  chimes,  it's  one  of  those  things  that  it's 
'quite  a  pity  to  leave  London  without  watching  narrowly.  They  may  talk 
of  the  Tower,  sir,  or  of  the  wild  beasts  at  Exeter  Change ;  but  give  me 
for  a  sight  where  there  is  real  ingenuity,  the  figures  striking  the  chimes  at  old 
St.  Dunstan's.'' 

"Indeed?" 


318  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"Yes.  Let  me  see.  Ah,  it's  just  a  half  hour  nearly  now,  and  your  friend 
can  go,  although  you  are  being  shaved,  and  then  by  the  time  you  are  comfortably 
finished  off,  the  next  quarter  will  be  getting  on.  Charley  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Put  on  your  cap,  and  go  with  that  gentleman  to  St.  Dunstan's.    You  must 
cross  over  the  way3  and  then  you  will  soon  see  the  old  church  and  the  two  figures 
as  large  as  life,  and  five  times  as  natural.5* 

Johanna  took  up  the  cap  she  had  worn  in  her  disguise,  and  stood  by  the 
door. 

"  Why  don't  you  go,  Bill  ?   said  the  grazier  who  was  being  shaved. 

'*  Why,  the  fact  is,"  said  the  other,  4i  I  would  not  give  a  pin's  head  to 
see  it  without  you.  Do  you  know,  Mr.  Barber,  he  makes  such  comical  remarks 
at  anything,  that  it's  worth  one  half  the  fun  to  hear  him  ?  Oh,  no,  I  can't  go 
without  him." 

"Very  good/'  said  Todd,  u  then  I'll  finish  him  off,  and  you  shall  both  go  to- 
gether  in  a  few  moments,  though  I  am  afraid  you  will  miss  this  time  of  the 
chimes  striking." 

There  was  now  a  silence  of  a  few  moments'  duration  in  the  shop  ;  but  nothing 
in  the  shape  of  rage  or  disappointment  was  visible  in  the  manner  of  Todd, 
although  both  of  those  passions  were  struggling  at  his  heart. 

"  Now,  sir,"  he  said  at  length,  and  with  a  whisk  he  took  the  cloth  from 
under  the  grazier's  chair.  "That  will  do  ;  I  thank  you,  sir.  Towel  and  plenty 
of  water  in  that  corner,  sir." 

"  Thank  you/ 1 

"  No,  I  shall  do,"  said  the  other  grazier,  in  reply  to  a  mute  imitation  from 
Todd  to  sit  down  in  the  shaving  chair,  "  I  shall  do  pretty  well,  I  thank  you, 
till  to-morrow.* 

"Very  good,  sir.  Hope  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  your  patronage  another 
time,  as  well  as  your  recommendation,  gentlemen." 

u  You  may  depend."  said  the  grazier,  who  had  been  shaved,  "  that  we  shall 
do  all  we  can  for  you,  and  shall  not  lose  sight  of  you." 

Todd  bowed  like  a  Frenchman,  and  the  graziers  left  the  shop.  No  sooner  was 
the  door  closed  upon  them,  than  his  countenance  altered,  as  if  by  magic,  and 
the  most  wofully  diabolical  expression  came  over  it,  as  with  eyes  flashing  with 
rage,  he  cried— 

Curses  on  you  both  !  But  I  will  have  one  of  you,  yet.  May  the  bitterest 
curse  of — but,  no  matter,  I  " 

"  What,  sir  V*  said  Johanna.    "  What  do  you  say,  sir  ?" 

"Hell's  fury !  what  is  that  to  you  ?  Do  dare  you,  you  devil's  cub,  to  ask  me 
what  I  said  ?  By  all  that's  furious,  I'll  tear  out  your  teeth  with  red-hot  pincers, 
and  scoop  your  eyes  from  their  gorv  sockets  with  an  old  oyster  knife,  n 
you,  Til— I'll  flay  you  !" 

Johanna  shrank  back  aghast.  The  pure  spirit  of  the  }  oung  girl,  that  had 
been  used  to  little  else  but  words  of  love  and  kindness,  started  at  the  furious  and 
brutal  abuse  that  was  launched  at  it  by  Todd. 

"Did  I  not  tell  you,"  he  continued,  "that  I  would  have  no  prying — no 
peeping — no  remarking  about  this  or  the  other?  I'll  crush  the  life  out  of  you, 
as  I  would  that  from  a  mad  dog!" 

A  strange  howling  cry  at  the  door  at  this  moment  came  upon  the  ears  of  Todd. 
His  countenance  changed,  and  his  lips  moved  as  though  he  was  still  saying 
something,  but  he  had  not  power  to  give  it  audibly.  At  length,  somewhat 
mastering  his  emotion,  he  said— 

"  What—  what  s  that?" 

"  A  dog,  sir." 

(€  A  dog  !    Confound  all  dogs." 

Another  howl,  and  a  violent  scratching  at  the  door,  was  further  and  most  con- 
clusive evidence  of  the  canine  character  of  the  visitor. 
u  Charley,"  said  Todd,  in  quite  a  soft  tone — H  Charley." 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


319 


"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Take  the  poor  dog  something  to  eat — or— or  to  drink,  rather  I  should  say. 
You  will  find  a  saucer  in  yon  cupboard,  with  some  milk  in  it.  If — if  he  only, 
bless  him,  takes  one  lick  at  it,  I  shall  be  satisfied.  You  know,  Charley,  God 
made  all  things,  and  we  should  be  good  to  his  creatures." 

"  Yes,  sir/'  said  Johanna,  with  a  shudder. 

She  went  to  the  cupboard,  and  found  the  saucer,  in  which  there  seemed  to  be 
a  drop  of  fresh  milk.  She  walked  to  the  door,  while  Todd,  as  though  he  did  not 
feel  by  any  means  sure  of  the  pacific  intentions  of  the  dog,  at  once  rushed  into 
his  back  parlour,  and  locked  himself  in.  Todd  had  a  peep-hole  from  the  back 
pari  cur  into  the  shop,  but  he  could  not  see  further  than  the  shop  door.  More- 
over, Johanna's  back  was  towards  him,  so  he  could  only  guess  at  what  was  going 
on  if  the  dog  did  not  actually  come  across  the  threshold.  That  the  milk  which 
Todd  was  so  solicitous  should  be  given  to  the  dog  was  poisoned,  occurred  to 
Johanna  in  a  moment;  and  just  before  opening  the  door,  she  threw  it  into  a 
corner,  upon  some  loose  shavings,  and  odds  and  ends  of  waste  paper,  that  were 
there.  Johanna  then  opened  the  door.  In  an  instant  Hector,  the  large  dog  of 
the  unfortunate  Thornhill,  whose  identity  with  Mark  Ingestrie  appeared  to  be 
so  established  in  the  mind  of  Johanna,  sprang  upon  her  with  an  angry  growl. 
It  was  only  for  oue  brief  moment,  however,  that  Hector  made  any  such  mistake 
as  fancying  Johanna  to  be  Sweeney  Todd;  and  then  he,  with  an  affectionate 
whine,  licked  the  hands  of  the  young  girl. 

u  Pison !  Pison  V'  cried  a  loud  voice,  and  in  another  moment,  the  ostler, 
from  the  coach -office  opposite,  rushed  to  the  door,  and  caught  the  dog  around  the 
neck. 

*t  Ah,  there  ye  is  agin.  Why,  what  a  goose  of  a  feller  you  is,  to  be  sure, 
Pison.  Don't  you  know,  now,  as  well  as  1  do,  that  that  barber  will  do  you  a 
mischief  yet,  you  great  blockhead  you  ?  Come  home,  will  yer  ?  Come  home, 
now.    Come  along  wi'  yer  !" 

u  Yes — yes,"  said  Johanna.    "  Take  him  away — take  him  away." 

a  Won't  J,  that's  all.  I  suppose  you  are  a  young  shaver  ?  Only  let  me  catch 
you  a-interfering  with  Pison,  that's  all,  and  won't  I  let  you  know  what's  what, 
young  feller." 

The  ostler  having  uttered  this  most  uncalled-for  threat  to  poor  Johanna,  took 
Pison  in  triumph  over  the  way.    Johanna  closed  the  door. 
"  Is  he  gone?0  said  Todd. 
"Yes,  sir." 

"  And  the  milk  ?   Is  that  gone,  likewise  V9 
"  Every  drop  of  it." 

"Ha!  ha!  ha!  Well— well.  Only  to  think,  now.  Ha!  ha!  I  hope  that 
milk  won't  disagree  with  the  noble  animal.  How  fond  I  am  of  him  !  How 
often  he  has  been  over  here,  in  his  little  pretty  playful  way,  to  try  and  bite 
pieces  out  of  my  legs.  Bless  him.  If  now  that  milk  |should  give  him  a  stomach 
ache,  what  a  pity  it  would  be.   Did  1  hear  a  man's  voice  I" 

"  Yes,  sir ;  some  man  came  and  called  the  dog  away." 

"  How  good  of  him,  and  what  a  pity  it  would  have  been  if  he  had  called  the 
noble  animal  away  before  the  milk  was  all  consumed.  Dear  me,  some  people 
would  grudge  a  creature  a  drop  of  milk.    A-hem— Charley  f* 

«  Yes,  sir." 

i€  I  am  going  out." 

Johanna's  heart  beat  rapidly. 

"  If  any  one  should  come,  you  can  say  it  is  of  no  use  their  waiting,  for  I  am 
gone  to  shave  and  dress  a  whole  family,  at  some  distance  off,  and  may  not  be 
back  for  some  hours  ;  but,  Charley,  for  your  own  private  information  let  me 
tell  you  that  I  may  look  in  at  any  moment,  and  that,  although  I  shall  be  busy, 
I  shall  be  able  to  come  in  for  a  minute  or  so,  when  I  am  least  expected." 

Todd  gave  an  awful  leer  at  Johanna  as  he  spoke. 

fi  Yes,  sir,"  she  said. 


it 

tt 


Todd  carefully  locked  the  parlour  door. 
"  Charley.    How  do  you  like  your  place  ?" 
"  Very  well,  sir ;  and  I  think  in  a  little  time  I  shall  like  it  better." 
"  Good  lad !   Good  lad  !    Well,  well.    Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  say  too  much 
so  soon,  but  if  you  merit  my  esteem,  Charley,  I  shall  do  as  much  for  you  as  I 
did  for  the  last  lad  I  had.   After  some  term  of  service  with  me,  I  provided  him 
with  an  independant  home.   A  large  house,  and  a  garden.    Ha  !" 
c<  How  very  kind." 
"  Yes.  Very/' 
And  is  he  happy  ?" 

Quite,  in  a  manner  of  speaking,  notwithstanding  human  nature  is  prone  to 
be  discontented,  and  there  are  persons,  who  would  sigh,  if  in  Paradise,  for  some 
change,  even  if  it  were  to  a  region  supposed  to  be  its  opposite  zone.  Charley, 
however,  I  think  will  be  of  a  different  mind ;  and  when  your  time  comes— 
which  it  certainly  will— Ha  ! — to  reap  the  fruits  of  your  service  with  me,  I  am 
sure  that  no  one  will  hear  you  complain." 
€i  I  will  not  be  ungrateful  sir." 

"Well,  well,  we  shall  see  ;  and  now  while  I  am  gone  let  there  be  no  peeping 
or  prying  about.  No  attempts  to  open  doors  or  force  locks.  No  scrambling 
to  look  upon  shelves  or  raking  in  odd  corners.  If  you  do— I — Ha  !  ha !  I  will 
cut  your  throat,  Charley,  with  the  bluntest  razor  I  have.    Ha  V* 

Todd  had  got  on  his  gloves  by  this  time,  and  then  he  left  the  shop.  Johanna 
was  alone  !  Yes,  there  she  was,  at  last,  alone  in  that  dreadful  place,  which  now 
for  days  upon  days  had  been  food  for  her  young  imagination.  There  she  was 
in  that  place,  which  her  waking  thoughts  and  her  dreams  had  alike  peopled  with 
horrors.  There  she  was  between  those  walls,  which  had  perchance  echoed  to 
the  last  despairing  death  cry  of  him  whom  she  had  loved  better  than  life  itself. 
There  she  was  in  the  very  atmosphere  of  murders.  His  blood  might  form  part 
of  the  stains  that  were  upon  the  dingy  walls  and  the  begrimed  floor.  Oh,  if 
was  horrible ! 

u  God  help  me  now !  God  help  me  now  V?  said  Johanna,  as  she  covered  her 
face  with  her  hands  and  wept  convulsively. 

She  heard  a  faint  sound.  It  was  the  chiming  of  St.  Dunstan's  clock,  and  she 
started.    It  put  her  in  mind  that  time,  her  great  ally,  now  was  fleeting. 

u  Away  tears  l"  she  cried  as  she  dashed  the  heavy  moisture  from  her  long 
eye-lashes.  t€  Away  tears,  I  have  been  strong  in  purpose.  I  have  already 
waded  through  a  sea  of  horrors,  and  I  must  be  firm  now.  The  time  has  come. 
The  time  that  I  looked  forward  to  when  I  thus  attired  myself,  and  thought  it 
possible  to  deceive  this  dreadful  man.  Courage  !  Courage  !  I  have  now  much 
to  do.*' 

First  she  crept  to  the  door  and  looked  ©ut  into  the  street.  A  vague  sus- 
picion that  Todd,  after  all,  might  only  be  watching  near  at  hand,  somewhere, 
took  possession  of  her.  She  looked  long  and  anxiously  to  the  right  and  to  the 
left,  but  she  saw  nothing  of  him.    Then  she  fastened  the  door  upon  the  inside. 

u  If  he  should  return  very  suddenly/'  she  said,  u  I  shall  have  notice  of  it  by 
his  efforts  to  open  the  door.  That  will  give  me  a  moment  for  preparation 
possibly." 

Then  with  such  an  anxious  look  as  no  language  could  do  justice  to  in  its 
delineation,  Johanna  looked  round  the  shop.  Where  was  she  to  begin  her 
investigation  ?  There  were  drawers,  cupboards,  chests,  shelves.  What  was 
she  to  look  at  first  ?  or  was  she  in  dread  of  some  contrivances  of  Todd's  to  find 
out  that  she  had  looked  at  all,  yet  at  this  the  last  moment,  forego  the  risk  and 
rush  into  the  street  and  so  home  ? 

"  No,  no !  I  am  in  God's  hands,"  she  said,  <f  and  I  will  not  flinch." 

And  yet,  although  she  felt  that  she  was  quite  alone  in  that  place,  how 
cautiously  she  trod.  How  gently  she  touched  one  thing  and  then  another,  and 
with  what  a  shudder  she  laid  her  hand  for  a  moment  to  steady  herself,  upon 
the  arm  of  the  shaving  chair.   By  so  leaning  upon  it  she  found  that  it  was  a 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


321 


fixture  ;  and  upon  a  further  examination  of  it,  she  found  that  it)  was  nailed  or 
screwed  to  the  floor  firmly.  It  was  an  old  fashioned  massive  chair,  with  a  wide 
deep  reclining  seat.  A  strange  feeling  of  horror  came  over  her  as  she  regarded  it. 


COLONEL  JEFFERYS  DECLARES  HIS  LOVE  FOR  ARABELLA. 

CHAPTER  LXXI. 

THE  MYSTERIOUS  (LETTER. 

What  was  there  in  the  chair  that  Johanna  should  for  some  few  moments* 
now  that  she  had  began  to  look  at  it,  not  be  able  to  take  her  eyes  off  it  ?  She 
tried  to  shake  it,  but  it  was  as  fast  as  a  rock,  and  for  all  she  knew  it  was 
quite  usual  to  have  a  shaving  chair  fixed  to  the  floor.  In  all  likelihood  it  was 
in  the  best  position  for  light  which  the  dingy  shop  afforded.  She  left  the  chair 
at  last,  and  then  a  large  cupboard  in  one  corner  of  the  room  attracted  her 
attention.    It  was  locked*    In  vain  did  she  try  to  force  it  open.    It  would  not 

No,  iU 


I 


yield.  She  tried,  too,  the  parlour  door  without  effect.  That  was  quite  fast ;  but  as 
she  turned  the  handle  of  the  lock,  she  fancied  she  heard,  or  she  really  did  hear 
something  move  in  the  room.  A  faint  feeling  came  over  her  for  a  moment,  and 
she  was  glad  to  hold  by  the  wall,  close  at  hand,  to  support  herself. 

"  It  must  have  been  fancy/*  she  said  faintly.  "  I  am  learning  nothing,  and 
the  time  is  flying  fast/' 

A  kind  of  counter  ran  parallel  to  the  window,  and  beneath  it  was  a  space 
covered  in  by  doors.  Todd  surely  had  forgotten  that,  for  one  of  the  doors  was 
open.  Johanna  looked  in  and  beheld  quite  a  collection  of  sticks  and  umbrellas. 
Some  clothing  too  lay  upon  the  lowest  shelf.  With  trembling  hands,  Johanna 
pulled  at  the  sleeve  of  some  article  and  found  it  to  be  a  jacket,  such  as  a  sailor 
of  the  better  sort  might  wear,  for  it  was  exquisitively  fine,  and  had  no  end  of 
silver  buttons  upon  it.  Her  sight  was  dimned  by  taars,  as  she  said  to 
herself— 

"Oh,  God!  was  this  his?" 

She  held  the  jacket  ud  to  the  light,  and  she  found'the  breast  portion  of  it  stained, 
and  all  the  buttons  there  tarnished.  What  was  it  but  blood  ?  The  blood  of  the 
hapless  wearer  of  that  article  of  dress,  that  produced  such  an  effect ;  but  yet 
how  was  she  to  prove  to  herself  that  it  had  been  Mark  Ingestrie  ?  Then  it  was 
that  the  thought  struck  her  of  how  ill  conceived  had  been  that  undertaking, 
which  might,  in  the  midst  of  all  its  frightful  dangers,  only  end  in  furnishing  her 
with  more  food  for  the  most  horrible  surmises,  without  banishing  one  sad  image 
of  her  imagination,  or  confirming  one  dreadful  dream  of  the  fate  of  her  lover. 

"  'Tis  all  in  vain !"  she  gasped.  **  All  in  vain  !  I  shall  know  nothing,  and 
only  feel  more  desolate.  It  would  be  a  mercy  if  that  were  to  kill  me  !  Ah  !  no. 
Not  yet— not  yet!" 

Some  one  was  trying  the  handle  of  the  shop  door.  With  frightful  energy 
Johanna  hid  the  jacket,  but  not  in  its  proper  place,  for  she  only  thurst  it  beneath 
the  cushion  of  a  chair  close  at  hand,  and  then  shutting  the  door  of  the  receptacle 
beneath  the  counter,  she  rose  to  her  feet,  and  with  a  face  pale  as  monumental 
marble,  and  her  hands  clasped  rigidly,  she  said — 

"  Who— who  is  there  ?* 

"Hilloa!  Open  the  door!"  said  a  voice. 

Some  one  again  tried  the  handle,  aud  then  kicked  vigorously  at  the  lower 
panel* 

"  Patience,"  said  Johanna,  "  patience.'* 

She  opened  the  door. 

"Is  Mr.  Todd  at  hand  ?"  said  a  lad. 

"No-no." 

"  You  are  his  boy,  are  you  not  ?" 
"Iam." 

"  Then  take  this." 

The  lad  handed  a  sealed  letter  to  Johanna,  and  in  a  moment  left  the  door.  She 
held  the  letter  in  her  hand  scarcely  looking  at  it.  Of  course  she  thought  it  was 
for  Todd,  but  after  a  few  moments  her  eyes  fell  upon  the  superscription,  and 
there,  to  her  surprise,  she  read  as  follow — 

"To  Miss  Oakley,  who  is  requested  to  read  the  enclosed  quickly,  and  secretly, 
and  then  to  destroy  it." 

To  tear  open  the  letter  was  the  work  of  a  moment.  The  sheet  of  paper 
tumbled  in  Johanna's  hands  as  she  read  as  follows — 

"From  Sir  Richard  Blunt  to  Miss  Oakley. 

"  Miss  Oakley,  the  expedition  upon  which  you  are  at  present  says  much  more 
for  your  courage  and  chivalrous  spirit  than  it  can  ever  say  for  your  discretion  or 
the  discretion  of  her  who  permitted  you  so  far  to  commit  your  life  to  such  chances. 
You  should,  considering  your  youth  and  sex,  have  left  it  to  others  to  carry  out 
such  schemes ;  and  it  is  well  that  those  others  are  aware  of  your  position, 
and  so,  in  a  great  measure,  enabled  to  shield  you  from,  perhaps,  the  worst 
consequences  of  your  great  indescretion,  for  it  cannot  be  called  anything  else. 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


323 


"  Your  young  friend,  Miss  Wilmot,  herself  awakened,  when,  thank  God,  it  was 
not  too  late,  to  the  utter  romantic  character  of  the  office,  and  communicated  all 
to  me.  I  blame  both  you  and  her  very  much  indeed,  and  cannot  speak  in  too 
strong  language  ot  the  reprehensible  character  of  your  expedition  ;  and  now,  my 
dear  girl,  do  not  be  under  any  kind  of  apprehension,  for  you  are  well  looked 
after,  and  Sweeney  Todd  shall  not  hurt  a  hair  of  your  head." 

"  If  you  should  find  yourself  in  any  danger,  seize  the  first  small  heavy  article 
at  hand  and  throw  it,  with  all  the  strength  you  can,  through  the  shop  window. 
Assistance  will  immediately  come  to  you. 

"  And  now,  as  you  are  where  you  ar  e,  I  pray  you  to  have  confidence 
in  me,  and  to  remain  until  some  one  shall  come  to  you  and  say  '  St.  Dunstan/ 
upon  which  you  will  know  that  he  is  a  friend,  and  you  will  follow  his  direc- 
tions. 

"  God  bless  you. —  "  Richard  Blunt/' 

Every  word  of  this  letter  fell  like  sunshine  upon  the  heart  of  Johanna,  and 
she  could  not  help  mentally  ejaculating — 

"  I  am  saved — I  am  saved!  Yes — yes?  Iam  not  deserted.  Strong,  bold, 
good  men  will  look  to  me.  Oh!  what  kindness  breathes  in  ever  sentence  of  this 
letter!    Yes — yes  ;  I  am  not  forsaken — not  forsaken  !" 

Tears  came  into  the  eyes  of  the  young  girl,  and  she  wept  abundantly.  Her 
overchanged  heart  was  relieving  itself.  After  a  few  moments  she  began  to  be 
more  composed,  and  had  just  crumpled  up  the  letter  and  cast  it  into  the  fire  for 
fear  of  accidents,  when  a  shadow  darkened  the  door-way,  she  saw  Todd  looking 
in  above  the  curtain  that  was  over  the  upper  half  of  the  door,  and  partially  con- 
cealed some  pains  of  glass  that  were  let  into  it.  As  soon  as  Todd  saw  Johanna's 
eyes  upon  him,  he  entered  the  shop. 

"  What's  that  I"  he  said,  pointing  to  the  burning  letter. 

11  Paper,  sir." 

"  What  paper  ?" 

u  A  bill  that  a  boy  left.    Something  about  Churchwardens,  sir,  and  the  parish 
of  St.  Brides,  Fleet  Street,  and  how  things  mean  to—1' 
u  Bah  !  any  one  else  been  ?" 
"No,  sir." 

Todd  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  shop,  and  cast  his  eyes  slowly  round 
him,  to  see  that  all  was  as  he  had  left.  Then  in  a  low  growling  tone,  he 
added-— 

u  No  peeping  and  prying,  eh  ?    No  rummaging  in  odd  corners,  and  looking  at 
things  that  don't  concern  you,  eh  V 
i€  Certainly  not,  sir/' 

Johanna  crept  close  to  the  counter  upon  which  lay  a  tolerably  large  piece  of 
stone  used  for  grinding  razors  upon.  She  thought  that  would  do  very  well  to 
throw  through  the  window,  and  she  kept  an  eye  upon  it  with  that  intent,  if  such 
an  act  should  by  an  trick  of  Todd's  appear  to  be  necessary.  Todd  look  the  key 
of  the  parlour-door  from  his  pocket,  and  placed  it  in  the  lock.  Before  he  opened 
the  door,  though,  he  turned  the  handle,  and  as  he  did  so  Johanna  thought  that 
he  inclined  his  head  and  listened  attentively.  She  threw  down  a  chair,  which 
made  a  lumbering  noise. 

"  Confound  you,"  roared  Todd. 

He  passed  into  the  parlour;  but  in  a  moment,  with  a  glance  of  fury,  he  looked 
out,  saying — 

"  You  tried  this  door  V 

a  J,  sir  ¥'  said  Johanna,  creeping  closer  still  to  the  sharpening  stone, 

€i  Yes,  villain,  you.  At  least,  I  think  so— I  am  pretty  sure ;  but  mark  me,  if 
I  were  quite  sure,  you  should  suffer  for  it." 

He  closed  the  door  again;  and  then  when  he  was  alone,  he  placed  his  two 
hands  upon  his  head  for  a  few  moments,  and  said— 

u  What  does  it  mean  ?  A  boy  brought  him  a  letter  ;  I  saw  him  come  and  go. 
At  least  it  looked  like  a  letter.    Could  it  be  the  bill  he  spoke  of,  and  then  the 


sudden  upset  of  that  chair,  which  prevented  me  from  hearing  if  the  piece  of  cat- 
gut I  had  fastened  to  the  handle  of  the  door  had  been  moved,  before  I  touched  it 
or  not.  I  will  kill  him  him.  That  is  safe.  It  is  the  only  plan  ;  I  will  kill  all 
who  is  now  in  my  way.  All — all.  Yes,  I  will,  if  needs  be,  wade  up  to  my  neck 
in  blood  to  the  accomplishment  of  my  wishes/' 

Todd  went  to  a  cupboard  and  got  out  a  large  knife,  such  as  is  used  by  slaugh- 
termen in  the  shambles,  and  hid  it  under  the  table  cover,  but  in  such  a  place  that 
he  could  lay  hold  of  it  and  draw  it  out  in  a  moment. 

"  Charley/'  he  cried,  "  Charley." 

"  Yes,  sir." 

99  Step  in  here  a  moment;  I  want  you,  my  boy/ 

99  Shall  I  or  shall  I  not,"  thought  Johanna.  "Is  this  danger,  or  only  the 
appearance  of  it  ?  Heaven  direct  me  now!  Oh,  what  shall  I  do  ?  What  shall 
I  do?" 

"  Charley  ?    Are  you  coming,  my  boy  ?" 
"Yes,  sir,  I — I  am  coming.    God  protect  me!5' 

"  The  barber  at  home  ?"  cried  a  voice  at  the  door ;  a$d  in  another  moment  a 
man  with  a  ruddy,  jolly-looking  countenance,  made  his  appearance  in  the  shop. 
"Barber  at  home,  eh?  my  little  lad?" 

"  Yes — yes." 

Johanna  heard  a  bitter  execration  come  from  the  lips  of  Todd ;  and  then  with 
quite  a  serene  smile  upon  his  face,  as  though  he  were  in  the  most  unruffled  mood 
possible,  he  made  his  appearance. 

"Could  you  make  me  a  wig?"  said  the  man,  taking  off  his  hat,  and  showing 
that  his  hair  was  closely  cropped. 

"  Certainly,  sir.  If  you  will  sit  down  and  aUow  me  to  measure  you  head,  I 
shall  have  great  pleasure — Charley!" 

"Yes,  Sir/* 

"  You  can  go  to  Lovett's,  in  Bell-yard,  and  get  your  dinner  now.  There's  two- 
pence for  you,  my  lad,  and  if  you  have  not  yet  tasted  Mrs.  Lovett's  pies,  you 
will  say  when  you  do,  that  they  are  the  most  delicious  things  in  the  whole  world 
of  cookery.* 

"Shaved,  if  you  please,"  said  another  man,  walking  into  the  shop,  and  pounc- 
ing down  upon  a  chair  as  thought  it  were  his  own  property.  "  Ah  dear  me,  I'm 
tired  rather.  Don't  hurry  yourself,  Mr.  Todd,  I  can  wait  while  you  are  doing 
what  you  have  to  do  for  that  gentleman." 

"  Charley,"  said  Todd,  with  quit?  a  sweet  expression  of  face.  u  You  need  not 
go  just  yet,  I  want  the  hot  water.    See  to  it." 
"  Yes,  sir." 

Todd  then,  in  the  most  careful  and  business-like  manner,  proceeded  to  take 
the  measure  of  the  gentleman's  head  for  a  u  real  head  of  hair,"  and  when  he  had 
finished,  he  said — 

"  Now,  sir,  if  you  will  leave  it  all  to  me,  I  will  match  your  hair  to  a  shade." 
"  Match  it  V* 
"Yes,  sir." 

"  But  that's  just  what  I  don't  want.  I  have  had  my  hair  all  cut  off,  and  am 
going  to  wear  a  wig,  for  the  sole  reason  that  I  have  got  tired  of  the  old  colour/' 
"  Well  then,  sir,  what  colour  do  you  propose  now  ?" 

"  A  few  shades  lighter  than  my  own.  But  pray  shave  this  gentleman,  and  I 
will  tell  ycu  how  I  wish  it  to  look  at  my  leisure." 

The  man  took  a  seat  and  crossed  one  leg  over  the  other  with  the  most  home 
sort  of  look  in  the  world  ;  and  the  one  who  had  come  in  to  be  shaved  plumped 
into  the  shaving  chair,  and  gave  his  chin  a  rub  as  though  he  would  say  "  I  don't 
care  how  soon  you  begin." 
Todd  smiled. 
"  Charleyt  the  lather. 
"  Yes,  sir.    Here  it  is. 


9> 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  325 

"  Here,  my  little  man/'  said  the  gentleman  in  want  of  a  wig*    "  If  you  can 
tie  a  bow,  just  make  one  in  front  of  my  cravat. — A  small  one/* 
The  gentleman  slipped  a  mail  piece  of  paper  into  Johanna's  jacket  pocket. 


CHAPTER  LXXL 

ANOTHER  VICTIM. 

Johanna  started. 

"St.  Dunstan's,"  said  the  stranger. 
«•  What?"  said  Todd. 

u  St.  Dunstan's  last  Sunday,  I  don't  think  was  so  highly-scented  with  the 
flavour  of  the  grave  as  usual.* 
"Oh/'  said  Todd. 

Johanna  trembled,  for  certainly  Todd  looked  suspicious,  and  yet  what  could 
he  have  seen?  Literally  nothing,  for  he  was  so  situated  that  the  slight  action 
of  the  stranger,  in  putting  the  slip  of  paper  into  her  jacket-pocket,  must  have 
escaped  him  with  all  his  watchfulness.  She  gathered  courage.  Todd  glanced  at 
her,  saying — 

"  What  is  the  matter,  Charley  ?  you  don't  look  well  at  all,  my  lad/* 
€i  I  am  not  very  well,  sir." 

11  How  sorry  I  am  ;  I  think,  do  you  know,  Charley' ' — Todd  was  lathering  the; 
man's  face  as  he  spoke — "  that  one  of  Mrs.  Lovett  s  hot  pies  would  be  the  thing 
for  you." 

u  Very  likely,  sir." 

"Then,  I  think  I  can  manage  now  to  spare  you." 

As  he  said  this,  Todd  bent  an  eagle  glance  "upon  the  gentleman  who  had 
ordered  the  wig,  and  it  seemed  as  if  he  doled  out  his  words  to  Johanna  with  a 
kind  of  reference  to  the  movements  of  that  personage.  The  gentleman  had  found 
a  hat-brush,  and  was  carefully  rubbing  up  his  hat. 

'*  I  do  hope,"  he  said,  4i  that  the  wig  will  be  as  natural  as  possible." 

u  Depend  upon  it,  sir,"  said  Todd.  "  I'll  warrant  if  you  look  in  here,  and 
try  it  on  some  day  when  there  's  no  one  here  but  you  and  I  to  set  you  against 
it,  you  will  never  complain  of  it." 

€*  No  doubt.    Good  morning." 

Todd  made  his  best  bow,  accompanied  by  the  flourish  of  his  razor,  that  made 
the  man  who  was  being  shaved  shrink  again,  as  the  reflected  light  from  its 
highly- polished  blade  flashed  again  in  his  eyes. 

j  9i  Ntw,  Charley,  I  think  you  may  go  for  your  pie,"  added  Todd,  "  and  cfon't 
hurry,  for  if  anything  is  wrong  with  your  stomach,  that  will  only  make  it  worse,  j 

you  know."  j 
"You  are  a  good  master  to  the  lad/'  said  the  man  who  was  lathered  ready  for 

shaving. 

• '  I  hope  so,  sir,"  said  Todd.  "  With  the  help  of  Providence  we  all  ought  to 
do  our  best  in  this  world,  and  yet  what  a  deal  of  wickedness  and  suffering  there 
is  in  it  too." 

u  Ah,  there  is." 

"  I  am  sure,  sir,  it  makes  my  heart  bleed  sometimes  to  think  of  the  amount  of 
suffering  that  only  twenty- four  hours  of  this  sad  work-a-day  world  sees.  But 
I  v>  as  always  of  a  tender  and  sympathetic  turn  from  my  cradle— yes  from  my 

cradle."  #  j 

Todd  made  here  one  of  his  specially  horrible  grimaces,  which  the  man  hap- j 
pened  to  see  in  a  glass  opposite  to  him,  the  reflective  focus  of  which  Todd  had 
not  calculated  upon  ;  and  then  as  the  sympathetic  barber  stopped  his  razor,  the 
man  looked  at  him  as  though  he  would  have  speculated  upon  how  could  such  an 
article  looked  in  a  cradle.  v> 

"  Now,  sir,  a  little  to  this  side.   Are  you  going,  Charley  ?"   


"Yes,  sir/' 

u That  will  do,  sir.  I'll  polish  you  off  very  shortly,  indeed,  sir.  Are  you 
going,  Charley  ?" 

Johanna  darted  from  the  shop,  and  the  moment  she  got  clear  of  it,  she  by 
natural  impulse  drew  the  little  slip  of  paper  from  her  pocket,  and  read  upon  it-** 

"  Miss  O.  do  not  if  you  can  help  it.  leave  any  one  alone  in  Todd's  shop,  as 
circumstances  may  prevent  us  from  always  following  his  customers  in ;  but  if 
you  should  be  forced  to  leave  while  any  one  is  there,  knock  at  No.  133  Fleet 
Street.    This  is  from  your  friend  R.  B." 

"  133  V  said  Johanna,  as  she  glanced  around  her,  u  133  ?  Ah,  it  is  close  at 
hand.    Here — here/' 

The  number  was  only  a  short  distance  from  Todd's,  and  Johanna  was  making 
her  way  to  it,  when  some  one  stopped  her. 

u  From  Todd  s,"  said  a  voice. 

f<  Yes — yes.    A  man  is  there/' 

"Alone?"  « 

"  Yes,  and  " 

Before  she  could  say  another  word  the  stranger  drated  from  her,  and  made 
his  way  into  Todd's  shop.  Johanna  paused,  and  shrinking  into  a  doorway, 
stood  trembling  like  an  aspen  leaf. 

"  Oh,  Heaven  !"  she  ejaculated,  "  into  what  a  sea  of  troubles  have  I  plunged. 
Murder  and  [  will  become  familiar,  and  I  shall  learn  to  breathe  an  atmosphere 
of  blood.    Oh,  horror!  horror!  horror!" 

The  crowd  in  that  dense  thoroughfare  passed  on,  and  no  one  took  heed  of 
the  seeming  boy,  as  he  wept  and  sobbed  in  that  doorway.  Some  had  no  time 
to  waste  upon  the  sorrows  of  other  people  ; — some  buttoned  up  their  pockets  as 
though  they  feared  that  the  tears  that  stood  upon  that  pale  f  ice  were  but  the 
preludes  to  some  pecuniary  demand  ; — others  again  passed  on  rapidly,  for  they 
were  so  comfortable  and  cosy  that  they  really  could  not  have  their  feelings 
lacerated  by  any  tale  of  misery,  not  they.    And  so  Johanna  wept  alone. 

Ding  dong  !  ding  dong  ! 

What  is  that  ?  Oh,  St.  Dunstan's  chimes.  How  long  has  she  been  from  the 
the  shop  ?  Shall  she  return  to  it,  or  fly  at  once  and  seek  for  refuge  from  all  the 
sorrows  and  from  all  the  horrors  that  surround  her,  in  the  arms  of  her  father? 

"Direct  me,  oh  God!"  she  cried. 

Some  one  suddenly  clasps  her  arm. 

"Johanna!  Johanna!" 

It  was  Arabella  Wilmot. 

"  Johanna  —  dear,  dear  Johanna,  you  are  safe— quite  safe.    Come  home  now 
— oh,  come  — oh,  come — come." 
"  You  here,  Arabella?" 

"  Yes,  I  am  mad— mad! — at  least,  I  was  going  mad,  Johanna;  in  my  agony 
to  know  what  had  become  of  you,  and  notwithstanding  I  have  told  Sir  Richard 
Blunt,  I  had  no  faith  in  the  love  and  the  courage  of  any  one  but  myself.  I  was 
coming  to  Todd's." 

"•'To  Todd's?' 

"Yes,  dear,  to  Todds.  I  could  not  longer  exist  unless  I  saw  with  my  own 
eyes  that  you  were  safe." 

"What  a  fatal  step  that  might  have  been." 

"  It  might.  Perhaps  it  would ;  but  God,  in  his  goodness,  has  again,  my  dear 
Johanna,  averted  it  by  enabling  me  to  meet  you  here.  Come  home  now— come 
at  once." 

u  Yes,  I— 1  think  * 

"  Come— come;— you  have  done  already  much.  Let,  for  the  future,  vour 
feelings  be,  that  for  Mark  Ingestrie  you  have  adventured  what  not  one  girl  in  a 
million  would  adventuie."  j 

At  this  mention  of  the  name  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  a  sharp  cry  of  mental  agony 
burst  from  the  lips  of  Johanna.  ! 


 THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS,  SffiT 

u  Oh,  I  thank  you,  Arabella.''  ~~ 
*  Thank  me  ?" 

"Yes,  you  have  recalled  me  to  myself.    You  have,  by  the  mention  of  that 
name,  recalled  me  to  my  duty,  from  which  I  was  shrinking  and  falling  away 
You  have  told  me  in  the  most  eloquent  language  th^t  co  ald  be  used  that  as  yet 
I  have  done  nothing  for  him  who  is,  dead  or  alive,  my  heart  s  best  treasure.1' 

u  Oh,  Johanna,  you  will  kill  me." 

"  No,  Arabella — no.  Good  bye.  Go  home,  love — go  home,  and — and  pray 
for  me — pray  for  me  !" 

"  Johanna,  for  mercy's  sake !  what  are  you  about  to  do  ?  Speak  to  me.  Do 
not  look  upon  me  in  that  way.   What  are  you  about  to  to  do,  Johanna?" 

"  Go  to  the  shop." 

"  To  Todds  r 

"  Yes.  It  is  my  place — I  am  in  search  of  Mark  Ingestrie.  If  he  be  living,  it 
is  I  who  must  clear  that  man  who  is  suspected  of  his  murder.  If  he  be  no  more, 
it  is  I,  who  weak  and  fragile  as  I  am,  must  drag  him  to  justice." 

"  No — no— no." 

u  I  say  yes.    Do  not  stay  me  if  you  love  me." 

Arabella  clasped  the  arm  of  Johanna,  but  with  a  strength  that  only  the  im- 
mense amount  of  mental  excitement  she  was  suffering  from  could  have  given  her. 
Johanna  freed  herself  from  the  hold  of  her  friend,  and  dashing  from  the  door- 
way, was  in  another  moment  lost  to  the  sight  of  Arabella  in  the  barber's  shop. 

u  What  now  ?"  oried  Todd,  fiercely,  as  Johanna  bounded  into  the  shop  so 
hurriedly. 

"  Nothing,  sir — only  the  dog." 

"  Bolt  the^ door —bolt  the  door." 

"Yes,  sir.'' 

Todd  wiped  his  brow. 

"That  infernal  dog,"  he  muttered,  "will  be  the  death  of  me  yet;  and  so, 
Charley,  the  malignant  beast  flew  at  you,  did  he  ?  the  savage  will  attack  you, 
will  he  ?"  <# 

**  Yes,  sir,  so  it  seems." 

"  We  will  kill  it.  I  should  like  to  cut  its  throat.  It  would  be  a  pleasure, 
Charley.  How  strange  that  strong  poisons  have  no  effect  upon  that  dog. 
Curses  on  it!" 

"  Indeed,  sir." 

u  None  whatever.    It  is  very  odd.' 1 

Todd  remained  in  a  musing  attitude  for  some  time,  and  then  suddenly  starting, 
he  said — 

"  Charley,  if  that  man  come  again  after  his  wig,  get  him  into  talk,  will  you, 
and  learn  all  you  can  about  him.  I  have  to  go  a  little  way  into  the  city  just 
now,  and  shall  speedily  return.    1  hoped  you  liked  the  pie  ?" 

"Pie,  sir?" 

"  Yes,  Lovett's  pie." 

"  Oh,  yes — delicious." 

"Ha!  ha!  he!  he!  ho!" 

Drawing  on  a  pair  of  huge  worsted  gloves,  Todd  walked  out  of  the  shop 
without  saying  another  word.  The  moment  he  was  gone,  Johanna  passed  both 
her  hands  upon  her  breast,  as  if  to  stay  the  wild  beating  of  her  heart,  as  she 
whispered  to  herself— 

"  Alone — alone  once  more." 

It  was  well  that  she  had  only  whispered  that  much,  for  in  the  next  moment 
Todd  gently  put  his  head  into  the  shop.    She  started, 
"  Oh,  sir— oh,  sir,  you  frightened  me.'' 
46  Beware  !"  was  all  he  said.  "Beware  !" 

The  frightful  head,  more  terrifying  to  Johanna  than  would  have  been  the 
fabled  Medusa's,  was  withdrawn  again,  and  this  time  Johanna  resolved  to  be 
certain  that  he  was  gone  before  she  gave  the  smallest  outbreak  to  her  fe  slings, 


323  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  ~ 

or  permitted  herself  to  glance  around  her  in  any  way  that  could  be  construed 
into  prying  curiosity.     She  made  a  feint  of  clearing  up  the  place  a  little, 
J  and,  with  a  broom  that  had  about  six  hairs  only  left  in  it,  she  swept  thej 
hobs  of  the  little  miserable  grate  in  which  a  fire  was  kept  for  the  shaving.  I 
water.    This  occupied  some  little  time  ;  but  still  not  feeling  sure  that  Todd 
was  really  gone,  she  then  went  to  the  door,  and  looked  right  and  left.    He  was 
not  to  be  seen ;  and  so,  when  she  went  back,  she  bolted  the  shop-door  upon 
jthe  inside  again,  and  really  felt  that  she  was  alone  once  more  in  that 
dreadful  place.    That  poor  Johanna  was  now  in  a  great  state  of  mental 
excitement  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise,  for  the  events  that  had  recently 
I  taken  place  were  decidedly  of  a  character  to  produce  such  a  mental  con- 
dition.   The  interview  with  Arabella  had,  no  doubt,  materially  aided  in  I 
such  an  effect.    With  trembling  eagerness  she  now  began  again  to  look 
about  her,  and  her  great  aim  was  by  some  means  to  get  into  the  parlour,  for  if 
j  anywhere,  she  thought  that  surely  there  she  should  find  some  traces  of  that 
lost  one  who  occupied,  since  the  suspicions  of  the  foul  usage  he  had  met  with, 
ja  larger  place  in  her  affections  than  before.     Feeling  how  surrounded  she 
iwas  by  friends,  probably  Johanna  was  a  little  more  reckless  as  regarded 
the  means  she  adopted  of  carrying  out  her  intention.     The  parlour-door 
|  was  quite  fast ;  but  surely  in  the  shop  she  thought  she  might  find  some 
weapon,  by  the  aid  of  which  it  could  be  burst  open  ;  and  even  if  Todd 
should  suddenly  return,  it  was  but  a  rush,  and  she  would  reach  the  street; 
and  if  he  intercepted  her  in  that,  as  God  knew  he  might,  she  could  take  the 
means  of  summoning  assistance  pointed  out  to  her  by  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and 
( cast  something  through  the  window  into  the  street.    Full  of  these  thoughts 
and  feelings,  then,  and  only  alive  to  the  mad  wish  she  had  of  discovering  some 
j  traces  of  her  lover,  Johanna  hunted  the  shop  over  for  some  weapon  with  which 
j  to  attack  the  parlour-door.    She  opened  a  cupboard.    A  hat  fell  from  within  at 
her  feet !  uOne  glance  at  that  hat  was  sufficient ;  it  was  of  a  peculiar  colour— she 
remembered  it.    It  was  the  hat  of  the  man  whom  she  had  left  being  shaved 
when  she  was  sent  ostensibly  to  purchase  a  pie  at  Mrs.  Lovett's,  in  Bell- 
yard.    Johanna's  hurry  was  over.     A  sickening  feeling  came  over  her 
as  she  asked  herself  what  was  the  probable  fate  of  the  owner  of  the  hat. 
u  Another  victim  ! — another  victim !°  she  gasped. 

She  tottered  back  overpowered  by  the  thought  that  there  had  been  a  time 
when,  opening  that  cupboard  door,  the  carelessly  cast-in  hat  of  Mark  Ingestrie 
would  have  fallen  to  her  feet,  even  as  did  that  of  the  stranger,  who,  no  doubt, 
now  was  numbered  with  the  dead.    She  sank  almost  in  a  state  of  fainting  into 
j  the  shaving-chair. 

!  H  Oh,  yes,  yes/  she  said.  u  This  is  horribly,  frightfully  condusive.  My 
!  i  poor  Mark.    You  have  gone  before  me  to  that  home  where  alone  we  may  hope 

to  meet  again.    Alas !  alas  !  that  I  should  live  to  feel  such  a  truth." 
i    She  burst  into  tears,  and  sobbed  so  bitterly,  that  any  one  who  had  seen  her 
|  would  have  truly  thought  her  heart  was  breaking  in -that  wild  paroxysm  of 

grief.  What  a  mercy  it  was  that  Todd  did  not  come  in  at  such  a  moment  as 
|  that,  was  it  not  ?    The  sobs  subsided  into  sighs.    The  tears  no  longer  flowed 

in  abundance ;  and  after  about  five  minutes  Johanna  arose,  tottering  and  pale. 
!  She  drenched  her  eyes  and  face  with  cold  water,  until  the  traces  of  the  storm  of 

emotion  were  no  longer  visible  upon  her  face  ;  and  then  she  knelt  by  the  shaving 
|  chair,  and  clasping  her  hands,  she  said— 
j    u  Great  God,  I  ask  for  justice  upon  the  murderer  \n 

j  She  rose,  and  felt  calmer  than  before  ;  and  theft,  sitting  down  by  the  little 
miserable  fire,  she  buried  her  face  in  her  hands,  and  tried  to  think — to  think 
|  how  she  should  bring  to  justice  the  man  who  had  been  the  blight  of  her  young 
j  existence — the  canker  in  the  rose-bud  of  her  youth.  You  would  have  been 
shocked  if  you  could  just  for  a  moment  have  looked  into  Sweeney  Todd's  shop, 
and  seen  that  girl  in  such  an  attitude,  without  a  sigh  and  without  a  tear,  while 
all  her  dearest  hopes  lay  about  her  heart  in  the  very  chaos  of  a  frightful  wreck. 


Si 

if 

u  ^ 

'Kg 
;  * 

Noun 

it  find  I 
flea  if  1| 
the  stT£ 
could  takei 
aid  Blunt 

:  Iqfiy 
■e  orer  is 


lilr  '  n  i 


a  tii 
irk  fngestrie 
)t  10  dealt 


'Oils"1 


!  moment 

the  store » 
v  thesis 


I* 


4Si 

lit? 


<QBt 


THE  STRING  OF  PEAIILS. 


329 


CHAPTER  LXXIII* 

STARTLING  EVENTS. 

Business  at  Mrs.  Lovett's  was  brisk.  During  the  whole  of  that  day— that 
most  eventful  day  upon  which  the  fair  Johanna  Oakley  had  gone  upon  her 
desperate  errand  to  Sweeney  Todd's— the  shop  in  Bell  Yard  had  been  besieged 


MRS.  LOVETT  AND  TODD  QUARREL. 


by  customers.  .  Truly  it  was  a  pity  to  give  up  such  an  excellent  business.  The 
tills  groaned  with  money,  and  Mrs.  Lovett's  smiles  a»d  pies  never  appeared  so 
perfect  as  upon  that  day.  At  about  half-past  twelve  o'clock,  when  the  Lord 
Chancellor  suddenly  got  up  from  his  chair,  in  the  great  hall  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  and 
put  on  his  furry-looking  hat,  and  when  the  curtain  which  shuts  in  his  lordship 


No,  42# 


3S0 


from  invidious  blasts  was  withdrawn  with  a  screaming  jerk,  and  a  gentleman  was 
stopped  in  the  middle  of  an  argument,  what  a  rush  of  lawyer's  clerks  there  was 
to  the  pie-shop  in  Bell  Yard.  Then  was  it  that  the  anxious  solicitor's  fag,  who 
must  know  something*,  and  have  some  brains,  smiled  at  the  prospect  of  the 
luxurious  repast  he  was  about  to  have,  and  jingled  the  twopence  he  had  kept  in 
a  side  pocket  for  only  one  pie,  and  grudged  it  not  out  of  his  hard-earned 
pittance.  Then  was  it  that  the  bloated  barrister's  clerk,  who  had  grown 
shining  and  obese  upon  fares,  and  who  is  not  required  to  know  any* 
thing  but  the  complete  art  of  insolence  to  his  brothers,  nor  to  have  any 
more  brains  than  will  suffice  him  to  make  up  his  book  in  the  long 
vacation,  smacks  his  lips  at  the  thought  of  Lovett's  pies,  and  sends  the 
expectant  boy  of  the  chamber— the  snob  of  a  snob — for  three  twopennies.  Lean 
and  hungry-looking  young  men  start  into  Bell  Yard  from  the  Strand, 
producing  crumbled  pieces  of  paper,  bag  their  twopenny,  and  retire  to  eat  it  in 
some  corner  of  the  old  Temple.  All  is  bustle— all  is  animation,  and  the  side 
counter — that  one,  you  know,  which  ran  parallel  to  the  window — was  lined  by 
clerks,  who  sat  eating  and  driving  their  heels  against  the  boarding,  and  joking, 
and  laughing  "Ha!  ha  !"  how  they  did  laugh!  And  then  what  stories  they 
told  of  their  c<  Governors  ;"  and  how  such  an  one  was  going  out  of  practice : 
and  how  such  another  one  was  a  screw,  arid  so  on,  to  the  great  delight  of  the 
mere  boys,  who  hoped  one  day  to  wear  their  hair  long  and  grey,  and  to  dress  in 
an  outrageous  caricature  of  the  mode!  As  the  machine  that  let  down  at  the 
back  of  the  counter,  to  bring  up  the  pies,  went  down  for  the  one  o'clock  batch, 
it  was  noticed  that  Mrs.  Lovett  looked  a  little  anxious.  The  fact  was,  that  the 
cook  had  been  so  prompt  upon  that  day  in  his  movements,  that  she  began  to 
think  there  must  be,  as  folks  say,  M  Something  in  it,"  and  she  was  beginning  to 
terrify  herself  with  the  idea  that  he  had  some  scheme  of  redemption  for  himself 
in  view,  that  might  most  unseasonably  develope  itself  before  the  customers. 

"  Ah,  Mrs.  Lovett/'  said  one  young  gent,  while  the  gravy  ran  down  the 
sides  of  his  mouth  from  the  pie  he  was  consuming.  "  You  don't  seem  at  all 
yourself  to-day.    Indeed  you  don't." 

u  Who  do  I  seem,  then  ?" 

u  Ha  !  ha !    Upon  my  life  that's  good !"  roared  another. 

A  small  amount  of  wit  did  for  Lovett's  pie  shop.  It  was  like  the  House  of. 
Commons  in  that  particular,  and  "loud  laughter'  was  sure  to  welcome  the 
smallest  joke*  Mrs.  Lovett's  eyes  were  bent  upon  the  abyss,  down  which  the 
trap  had  descended  but  a  moment  before. 

u  Ain't  they  a-coming,  mum  ?"  said  one. 

"  Oh,  don't  I  sniff  'em/'  said  another,  working  his  nose  like  an  ex -chancellor. 
«  Don't  1  sniff  'em/ 

"De — licious!"  cried  another. 

A  feeling  of  relief  was  visible  upon  the  face  of  Mrs.  Lovett  as  the  trap  slowly 
ascended,  bringing  with  it  the  one  o'clock  batch,  in  all  their  steaming  glory. 
The  whole  shop  was  in  a  moment  filled  with  the  fresh  appetite-giving  aroma 
of  those  bubbling  hot  pies  ;  and  as  the  French  newspapers  say,  when  a  member 
of  the  extreme  right,  or  half  way  to  the  left,  or  two  degrees  from  the  centre,1 
swerves,  there  was  a  a  sensation/'  Five  minutes— only  five  minutes— and  the 
whole  batch  was  cleared  off,  not  one  was  left ! 

"Another  batch  of  one  hundred,  gentlemen,  at  two,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  with 
a  bland  look. 

"  At  two,  mum?"  cried  a  customer.  i%  Why,  what's  to  become  of  the  half- 
past  one  batch  ?" 

"  We  are  rather  short  of— of  meat,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  with  one  of  her  strange 
metallic  smiles. 

"  The  devil  you  are !    Ain't  there  butchers  enough  ?" 

u  Oh,  dear,  yes ;  but  we  could  not  get  such  meat  as  we  put  in  our  pies,  at  the 
butcher's/' 

H  You  kill  your  own,  mum,  then,  I  suppose  ?"   

^CjH^^amlfaa^mmmmmtm^m^mmmmmmmBmmmmm*+i**m~m^mmmm~**~'***mi  i  i   i       ■  nn     in    i    ■»■»  '  .     i         ..n.n  »  i  iiihi  i  ■■ '  '.        "        '  " 

— w^— fmrarrjrai.i -■•    1   .-"  .in mmw mmrwirannrrr— niri~ni — ~ — (a*"*"*"""-— - — — — ,    i  i  n»)Mnrnnii    i  ■■  ■  i.ht  h  |_^_T—_. — „  ,  rg  — r— .       -m   —  "~ 


/ 


 THE  STRINGTOE  PEARLS,  331 

u  We  do,"  replied  Mrs.  Lovett,  with  another  smile,  more  metallic  than  the 
former. 

a  And  where  is  your  farm,  mum  V9 

"  Really,  sir,  you  want  to  know  too  much.  I  appeal  to  those  gentlemen  if 
any  of  them  know  where  my  farm  is." 

"No — no.  D — n  it,  no,  nor  don't  care,"  said  all  the  lawyer's  clerks. 
"  Don't  know  anything  about  it." 

"And  don't  care,"  said  another.    u  Sufficient  for  the  day  is  the  pie  thereof." 

**  Very  good — Ha !  ha  ! — Very  good.5' 

The  crowd  gradually  dispersed.  Mrs.  Lovett  put  a  placard  in  the  window, 
announcing — 

"A  hot  batch  at  two  o'clock." 

She  then  closed  the  shop  door,  and  retired  to  the  parlour.  She  cast  herself 
upon  a  sofa,  and  hiding  the  light  from  her  eyes  with  one  of  her  arms,  she  gave 
herself  up  to  thought.  Yes,  that  bold  bad  woman  was  beginning  to  have  her 
moments  of  thought,  during  which  it  appeared  to  be  as  though  a  thousand 
mocking  fiends  were  thronging  around  her.  No  holy  thoughts  or  impulses 
crossed  her  mind.  Solitude,  that  best  of  company  to  the  good  and  just,  was  to 
her  peopled  with  countless  horrors;  and  yet  there  must  have  been  a  timej 
when  that  woman  was  pure,  and  her  soul  spotless— a  time  when  it  was  free 
from 

"  The  black  engiaved  spots" 

which  now  deformed  it.  And  yet  who,  to  look  upon  her  now,  could  fancy  that 
she  was  ever  other  than  what  she  seemed  ?  Who  could  bring  themselves  to 
think  that  she  had  not  been  placed  at  once  by  the  arch-fiend  as  she  was  upon 
the  beautiful  world,  to  make  in  the  small  circle  around  her  a  pestilence,  a  blight,  j 
and  a  desolation?  There  are  persons  in  the  world  that  it  would  be  the  greatest 
violence  to  our  feelings  ever  to  attempt  to  picture  to  our  imaginations  as 
children  ;  and  as  such,  surely  were  Sweeney  Todd  and  Mrs.  Lovett.  Was  she 
ever  some  gentle  little  girl,  fondly  clinging  to  a  mother's  arms  ?  Was  he  ever 
a  smiling  infant,  with  pretty  dimples  ?  Was  there  at  his  or  her  birth  much  joy  ? 
Did  a  mothers  tears  ever  fall  upon  his  or  her  cheek,  in  sweet  gratitude  to  God 
for  such  a  glorious  gift  ?  No — no.  We  cannot — we  will  not  believe  that  such 
persons  as  Sweeney  Todd  and  Mrs.  Lovett  ever  came  into  this  world  otherwise 
than  ready-made  man  and  woman  !  Any  other  belief,  concerning  such  fiends  in 
human  shape  is  too  repugnant.  But  we  are  forgetting  that  Mrs.  Lovett  is  upon 
the  sofa  all  this  while,  and  that  her  metallic  smile  has  quite  vanished,  giving 
way  to  such  a  look  of  utter  abandonment  of  spirit,  that  you  would  have 
shuddered  to  have  cast  but  one  glance  upon  heiv  She  could  bear  the  quietude 
of  the  attitude  she  had  assumed  but  for  a  very  short  time,  and  then  she  sprang 
to  her  feet.  ; 
"  Yes,"  she  said,  "  it  must,  and  it  shall  come  to  an  end  Y* 
She  stood  for  some  few  moments  trembling,  as  though  the  dim  echo  of  that 
word  end,  as  she  fhad  jerked  it  forth,  had  awakened  in  her  mind  a  world  of 
horrifying  thoughts.  Again  she  sank  upon  the  couch,  and  speaking  in  a  low, 
plaintive  voice,  she  said — 

u  Yes.  I  have  need  of  the  waters  of  oblivion,  one  draught  of  which  shuts  out 
for  ever  all  memory  of  the  past.  Oh,  that  I  had  but  a  cup  of  such  nectar  at  my 
lips  !" 

Not  a  doubt  of  it,  Mrs.  Lovett.  It  is  the  memory  of  the  wicked  that  con- 
stitutes that  retribution,  which  is  assuredly  to  be  found  in  this  world  as  day 
follows  night. 

"  I — I  must  have  this/9  she  muttered.  N  Let  Todd  be  dead  or  alive,  I  must 
have  it.  I  am  going  mad — I  feel  certain.  That  I  am  going  mad,  and  the  only 
way  to  save  myself,  is  to  flee.  I  must  collect  as  much  money  as  1  can  and  then 
flee  far  away.  '  If  I  cannot  quite  obliterate  the  past  from  my  memory,  I  can  at 
least  leave  it  as  it  is,  and  add  nothing  to  it.  Yes,  that  man  may  live.  He  seems 
to  bear  a  charmed  life.  But  I  musUtee." 


332 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


She  rested  her  head  upon  her  hands,  and  in  a  softer  voice,  said — 
"Let  me  think— let  me  think  of  the  means,  now  that  I  have  yet  a  little  time. 
What  do  I  dread  most?    The  man  below?    Yes.    He  is  at  work  for  his 
deliverance.  I  feel  that  he  is,  and  if  he  succeed  before  I  flee  from  here,  all  is  lost 
—all  is  lost !  1  must  speak  to  him/' 

Filled  with  this  idea,  and  with  an  unknown  dread  of  what  the  discontented 
cook  might  do,  Mrs.  Lovett  stepped  into  the  shop  first,  and  made  the  door  fast 
by  slipping  a  bolt  at  the  back  of  it.  It  was  not  very  often  that  immediately 
after  the  disposal  of  a  batch  of  pies  any  customers  came  in,  and  if  they  should 
attempt  to  do  so  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  any  stale  pies,  she  was  by  far 
too  intent  upon  what  she  was  come  about,  and  considered  it  by  far  too  impor- 
tant to  heed  what  they  might  think  or  say  upon  finding  the  door  fast.  She  then 
opened  the  seeming  cupboard  in  the  parlour,  which  conducted  to  the  strong 
iron  door,  with  the  small  grating  at  the  top  of  it.  She  reached  that  point  of 
observation  with  great  rapidity,  and  peered  into  the  cavernous  dungeon-like 
bakehouse.  At  first  she  could  see  nothing  by  the  uncertain  light  that  was  there, 
but  as  her  eyes  got  accustomed  to  the  absence  of  daylight,  she  could  just  see 
the  figure  of  the  cook  sitting  upon  a  stool,  and  apparently  watching  one  of  the 

fires.  x 
^  It  is  a  long— long  time/' 
"  What  is  a  long  time?"  cried  Mrs.  Lovett. 

The  captive  cook  sprang  to  his  feet  in  a  moment,  and  in  a  voice  of  alarm,  he 
said — 

"  Who  spoke  ?  Who  is  that  ?" 

"  J/'  replied  Mrs.  Lovett  ?    "  Do  you  not  know  me  } 

"Ah,"  said  the  cook,  directing  his  eyes  to  the  grating  above  the  door,  "I 
know  you  too  well.  What  do  you  want  with  me  ?  Have  I  failed  in  doing  your 
bidding  here  ?  Have  I  disappointed  you  of  a  single  batch  of  those  execrable 
pies  I 

u  Certainly  not,  but  I  have  come  to  see— if—if  you  are  quite  comforta- 
ble." 

66  Comfortable !    What  an  insult  I" 
i€  Nay,  you  wrong  me." 

<r  That  is  impossible.  This  is  the  commencemet  only  of  some  new  misery. 
Speak  on,  madam.  Speak  on.   I  am  helpless  here,  and  condemned  to  suffer." 

Notwithstanding  these  words  of  the  cook  there  was  a  certain  tone  of  hilarity 
about  him,  that  Mrs.  Lovett  might  well  be  surprised  at,  and  she  asked  herself 
what  does  he  hope.  The  fact  is  that  much  as  he  wished  still  to  enact  the 
character  of  a  man  full  of  despair,  the  cook  could  not  get  out  of  his  head%nd 
heart  the  promises  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt— promises  which  still  rung  in  his  ears, 

like  a  peal  of  joy  bells. 

«  Come,  come,3'  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  "  you  are  getting  reconciled  to  your  fate. 

Confess  as  much." 

"  I  reconciled  ?  Never."  ,  . 

u  But  you  are  not  so  unhappy  ?* 

«  Worse  worse.     This  apathetic  condition  that  I  am  now  in,  and  which  to 

you  may  look  like  the  composure  of  resignation,  will  end,  in  all  likelihood,  in 

raging  madness.* 
"  Indeed  ?" 

"  Yes,  madam,  I  feel  already  the  fire  in  my  brain.3' 
u  Be  calm." 

"Calm — calm!  Ha!— ha!  Calm.  It  is  all  very  well  for  you  upon  that 
side  of  the  iron  door  to  talk  of  calmness,  madam,  but  upon  this  side  the  words 
sound  strange." 

It  will  not  sound  so  strange  when  I  tell  you  that  I  have  absolute  compassion 
upon  you,  and  that  the  cause  of  my  present  visit  was  to  talk  to  you  of  some 
means  by  which  the  worst  portion  of  your  fate  here  might  be  in  some  measure 
ameliorated,  and  your  existence  rendered  tolerable. 

fcaa  ...   „  .  i       _  .  1  h* — t  ,  -,         ,,,   - — — 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


333 


CHAPTER  LXXIV. 

BIG  BEN  CREATES  A  SENSATION. 

The  cook  was  so  surprised  at  these  words  from  Mrs.  Lovett  that  for  some 
moments  he  made  no  answered  to  them.  j 

€i  Pray,  speak  again/'  he  said  at  length,  when  he  could  find  words  in  which 
to  express  himself.  | 

u  I  repeal/'  she  said,  "that  I  am  desirous,  as  far  as  lies  in  my  power,  to 
ameliorate  your  condition,  of  which  you  so  much  complain." 

"  Indeed!0 

u  Ah,  you  are  too  suspicious." 

"  Humph  I  I  think,  madam,  when  you  come  to  consider  all  things,  you  will 
hardly  think  it  possible  for  me  to  be  too  suspicious/5  I 

**  You  are  wrong  again.  I  dare  say  now,  in  your  mind,  you  attribute  most  of 
your  evils  to  me/' 

"  Well,  madam,  candidly  speaking,  should  I  be  far  wrong  by  so  doing  ?" 

ff  You  would  be  quite  wrong.    Alas  !  alas !  I  " 

**  You  what,  madam  ?    Pray,  speak  up." 

"  I  am  the  victim  of  another.    You  cannot  suppose  that,  of  my  own  free  will, 
I  should  shut  up  in  these  gloomy  places  a  person  of  your  age,  and  by  no  means  j 
ill-looking.    I  have  him  there, "  thought  Mrs.  Lovett;  "what  human  heart  is 
proof  against  the  seductions  of  flattery  ?    Oh,  1  have  him  there." 

The  cook  was  silent  for  some  few  moments,  and  then  he  said,  quite  calmly,  as 
though  the  tribute  to  his  personal  appearance  had  not  had  the  smallest  effect — 

"  Pray  go  on,  madam,  I  am  quite  anxious  to  hear  all  that  you  may  have  to 
say  to  me." 

This  composed  manner  of  meeting  her  compliments  rather  discomposed  Mrsf^ 
Lovett ;  but  after  all,  she  thought; — "  He  is  only  acting  an  indifference  he  is  far 
from  feeling. 99  With  this  impression  she  resolved  to  persevere,  and  she  added, 
in  a  kind  and  conciliating  tone  of  voice — 

"  I  grant  that  circumstances  are  such  that  you  may  well  be  excused  for  any 
amount  of  doubt  that  you  may  feel  regarding  the  honesty  of  my  words  and  in- 
tentions towards  you/' 

"  I  quite  agree  with  you  there,  madam/'  said  the  cook. 

u  Then  all  I  have  to  do  is,  by  deeds,  to  convinve  you  that  I  am  sincere  in  my 
feelings  towards  you.  As  I  have  before  said,  I  am  in  the  power  of  another,  and 
there'ore  is  it  that,  contrary  to  my  nature,  I  may  seem  to  do  cruel  things  at  which 
my  heart  revolts/1 

u  I  cannot  conceive  anything  so  distressing,"  said  the  cook,  u  except  being 
the  unfortunate  victim  as  I  am  of  such  a  train  of  circumstances/' 
"That  is  what  I  am  coming  to." 
"  Are  you  ?    I  wish  you  were." 

There  was  a  tone  of  irony  about  the  enforced  cook  which  Mrs.  Lovett  did  not 
at  all  like ;  but  she  had  an  object  to  gain,  and  thatawas  to  fully  persuade  him 
that  the  shortest  way  to  his  freedom  would  be  to  remain  profoundly  quiet  fori 
a  day  or  two,  and  then  she  would  be  able  to  make  her  own  arrangements  andj 
be  off  without  troubling  either  him  or  Todd  with  any  news  of  her  departure  or 
her  whereabouts. 

ft  You  still  doubt  me/*  she  said.  "  But  listen,  and  I  think  you  will  soon  be  j 
of  opinion  that  although  I  have  wronged  you  as  yet,  I  can  do  something  to 
repair  that  wrong/' 

'*  I  am  all  attention,  madam/' 

"Then,  in  the  first  place,  you  are  quite  tired  of  eating  pies,  and  mus*  have 
some  other  kind  of  food." 

"  You  never  said  a  truer  thing  in  all  your  life,  madam/' 

u  That  other  food,  then,  I  will  provide  for  you.    You  shall,  within  an  hoijr 


from  now,  have  anything  to  eat  or  to  drink  that  you  may  please  to  name. 
Speak,  wMt  is  it  to  be  P" 

"Well,"  he  said,  "that  is  kind  indeed.  But  I  can  do  without  food  further 
than  I  have  here,  fori  have  hit  upon  a  mode  of  making  cakes  that  please  me. 
Nevertheless,  if  you  can  bring  me  a  bottle  of  brandy,  in  order  that  I  may  slightly 
qualify  the  water  that  I  drink,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  you/' 

"  You  shall  have  it ;  and  now  I  hope  you  will  be  convinced  of  the  sincerity 
of  my  desire  to  be  of  service  to  you." 

a  But  my  liberty,  madam,  my  liberty.  That  is  the  grand  thing  after  all  that 
I  must  ever  pant  for.3' 

"  True,  and  that  is  what  you  shall  have  at  my  hands.  In  the  course  of  two, 
or  it  may  be  three  days,  I  shall  have  perfected  some  arrangements  which  will 
enable  me  to  throw  open  your  prison  for  you,  and  then  " 

"Then  what?" 

"  May  I  hope  that  you  will  not  think  so  harshly  of  me  as  you  have  done  1'* 
"Certainly  not" 

"  Then  I  shall  be  repaid  for  all  I  do.  You  must  believe  me  to  be  the  victim 
of  the  most  cruel  circumstances,  of  which  some  day  you  may  be  informed.  At 
present,  to  do  so,  would  only  be  to  involve  both  you  and  myself  in  one  common 
destruction.0 

"  Then  don't  mention  it." 

11 1  will  not.    But  beware  of  one  thing. 

u  What  is  that  !* 

"Simply  this,  that  any  attempts  upon  your  own  part  to  escape  from  here  pre- 
vious to  the  time  when  I  shall  have  completed  my  arrangements  to  set  you  free, 
will  not  only  derange  ail  that  I  am  planning  for  you,  but  end  in  your  utter  de- 
struction ;  for  he  who  has  forced  me  into  my  present  cruel  situation  will  not  for 
one  moment  hesitate  at  the  murder  of  us  both  ;  so  if  you  wish  to  be  free  in 
a  few  days  you  will  try  nothing,  but  if  on  the  contrary  you  wish  to  destroy 
both  yourself  and  me,  you  will  make  some  attempts  to  rescue  yourself  from 
here." 

Mrs.  Lovett  waited  rather  anxiously  for  his  answer  to  this  speech. 
u  I  dare  say  you  are  right,"  he  said  at  length. 
u  You  may  be  assured  1  am." 
u  Then  I  consent." 

Mrs.  Lovett  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief,  as  she  muttered  to  herself — 
u  It  will  do — I  have  him  in  the  toils  ;  and  come  what  may,  I  am  free  from 
the  torturing  thought  that  he  may  achieve  something  that  may  have  the  effect 
of  delivering  me  up  to  the  hands  of  justice.  When  I  am  gone,  he  may  remain 
where  he  is,  and  rot  for  all  I  care. — You  have  done  wisely,"  she  said  aloud, 
"  and  if  anything  could  more  powerfully  than  another  incite  me  to  the  greatest 
exertions  to  liberate  you,  it  would  be  the  handsome  manner  in  which  you  have 
placed  confidence  in  me." 
"  Oh,  don't  mention  it." 

Again  there  was  that  tone  of  sarcasm  about  the  cook's  voice,  which  created 
a  doubt  in  the  mind  of  Mrs.  Lovett  if,  after  all,  he  was  not  merely  playing 
with  her,  and  in  his  heart  utterly  disregarding  all  that  she  said  to  him.  It  is 
quite  questionable  if  this  doubt  was  not  in  its  bitterness  worse  than  the  former 
anxieties  that  had  preyed  upon  the  mind  of  the  lady  ;  but  she  found  she  could 
do  nothing  to  put  an  end  to  it,  so  she  merely  said — 

"  Well,  I  feel  much  happier  now;  so  1  will  go  at  once  and  get  you  the  brandy 
that  you  ask  for.  I  hope  he  will  drink  it  freely — it  will  aid  him  in  drowning 
reflection." 

u  Thank  you,"  said  the  cook,  "  1  shall  expect  it  with  impatience.  Confound 
her,  she  can't  very  well  put  anything  queer  in  the  brandy.  I  will  take  care  to 
taste  a  very  small  portion  of  it  first ;  for  Sir  Richard  Blunt  has  cautioned  me 
particularly  to  be  careful  of  poison."  ^ 

"  I  am  going,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett* 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


335 


"  Good-bye,  madam  ;  I  only  hope  you  will  be  able  to  carry  your  benevolent 
intentions  into  effect — and/'  added  the  cook  to  himself,  "  that  I  may  some 
fine  morning  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  hanged.5' 

•'Farewell,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett ;  and  she,  too,  had  her  aside  as  she  ascended 
the  stairs,  for  she  muttered — u  If  I  were  only  a  little  better  assured  than  I  am 
that  you  meditated  something  dangerous,  I  would  steal  upon  you  while  you 
slept,  and  with  a  knife  soon  put  an  end  to  all  trouble  regarding  you.'* 

Now,  it  happened  that  when  Mrs.  Lovett  reached  her  shop,  she  saw  three 
people  outside  the  window.  The  actions  of  these  people  attracted  her  obser- 
vation. One  was  a  big  stout  man,  of  such  a  size  as  was  rarely  seen  in  the 
streets  of  London.  The  other  was  a  young  girl,  nicely  attired,  but  with  a  look 
of  great  grief  and  agitation  upon  her  countenance.  The  third  person  of  the 
group  was  a  gentlemanly-looking  man,  attired  in  a  great  coat  which  was  but- 
toned up  to  his  chin.  The  big  stout  man  was  making  a  kind  of  movement 
towards  the  door  of  the  pie-shop,  and  the  gentleman  with  the  great-coat  was 
holding  up  his  hand  and  shaking  his  head,  as  though  forbidding  him.  The 
big  stout  man  then  looked  angry ;  and  then  Mrs.  Lovett  saw  the  young  girl 
cling  to  him,  and  heard  her  say — 

"  Oh,  no — no  ;  I  said  I  wanted  nothing. — Come  away.'1 

Then  the  gentleman  with  the  great-coat  pulled  his  collar  down  a  little ;  upon 
which  the  young  girl  sprang  towards  him,  and,  clasping  his  arm,  cried  in  tones 
of  intense  interest — 

<ff  Ah,  sir,  is  it  indeed  you  ?    Tell  me  is  she  saved — oh,  is  she  saved  ?" 

"  She  will  be,"  was  the  reply  of  the  gentleman  in  the  great-coat.  ' '  Come 
away.'' 

The  big  stout  man  appeared  to  be  getting  rather  furious  at  the  idea 
of  the  gentleman  with  the  great-coat  dictating  what  he  and  the  young  girl 
should  do  ;  but  she  by  a  few  words  pacified  him  ;  and  then,  as  if  they  were 
the  best  friends  in  the  world,  they  all  walked  away  towards  the  Strand,  con- 
versing  very  seriously  and  rapidly. 

(i  What  does  this  mean  ?"  said  Mrs.  Lovett. 

Terror  overspread  her  countenance.  Oh,  conscience!  conscience  !  how  truly 
dost  thou  make 

a  Cowards  of  us  all !" 

What  could  compensate  Mrs.  Lovett  for  the  abject  terrors  that  came  over 
her  now?  What  could  recompense  her  for  the  pang  that  shot  across  her 
heart,  at  the  thought  that  something  was  amiss  in  the  fine-drawn  web  of  sub- 
tlety that  she  and  Sweeney  Todd  had  drawn?  Alas!  was  the  money  in 
the  Bank  of  England,  upon  which  she  expected  to  enjoy  herself  in  a  foreign 
land,  now  any  set-off  against  that  shuddering  agony  of  soul  with  which  she  said 
to  herself— 

••Is  all  discovered P" 

Her  strength  forsook  her.  She  quite  forgot  all  about  the  cook,  and  the 
brandy  she  had  promised  him — she  forgot  even  how  necessary  it  was,  in  case 
any  one  should  come,  for  her  to  keep  up  the  appearance  of  composure ;  and. 
tottering  into  the  back-parlour,  she  sunk  upon  her  knees  on  the  floor,  and  shook 
as  though  the  spirit  of  twenty  agues  possessed  her.  So  it  will  be  seen  that 
Todd  was  not  quite  alone  in  his  sufferings  from  those  compunctious  visitations, 
whieh  we  have  seen  at  times  come  over  hrm  in  his  shop.  But  we  will  leave 
Mrs.  Lovett  to  her  reflections,  hoping  that  even  she  may  be  made  a  little  wiser 
and  a  little  better  by  those  soft 

"  Whisperings  of  awakened  sense 

and  that  she  may  find  some  one  among  the  invisible  hosts  of  spirits  of  another 
world  who  may  whisper  to  her— 

**  Repent!  repent!— it  is  not  yet  too  late." 

Let  us  look  at  those  three  persons  whose  mysterious  conduct  at  the  shop 
windows  had,  like  a  match  applied  to  gunpowder,  at  once  awakened  a  fever 


336 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


^-T^TZ^TM^Lovett,  which  she  was  scarcely  aware  slumbered  ther! 
Th«e  fo ks  made  their  way,  then,  into  Fleet  Street ;  and  as  the  reader  has 
Jnhlh  v  euessed  already  who  they  are,  we  may  as  well  make  a  merit  of  saying 
&  at  the  big  one  was  our  old  Mend  Ben  the  beef-eater-the  gen  le manly- 
ooking  man  was  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  the  young  lady  was  no  other  than 
ArabeUa  Wilmot.  Poor  Arabella !  Of  all  the  personages  concerned  m  our 
fr^wtis  Zrsonce  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  your  sufferings  are  the 
teTJl'Trom  The  moment  that  Johanna  had  started  upon  that  desperate 
SpedU km  to  Sweeney  Todd's,  peace  left  the  bosom  of  her  young  friend.  We 
have  already  traced  the  progress  of  Arabella  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt  s  office  and 
we  Lve  seen  what  was  the  result  of  that  decidedly  judicious  movement;  hut 
rnf^bstandinff  she  was  assured  over  and  over  again  suosequently  by  Sir 

'S5SM^h£i™now  well  V«^.^^h^y^^^ 
ST  sn  or  to  leave  the  street.  It  was  by  her  lingering  about  in  this  way  that 
sh beca'm in  the  company  of  our  friend  Ben.  The  fact  was,  that  the  land  of 
s^temenTor  confession  that  Johanna  had  made  to  Ben  on  that  occasion  of  his 
vskTo  her  father's  house,  when  she  found  herself  alone ^with th.m  in  the .parlour 
had  made  such  an  impression  upon  the  poor  fellow,  that  he  described  it  himself 
in  the  most  forcible  possible  language,  by  saying— 
"It  interferes  with  my  meals." 

Now,  everything  that  had  such  an  effect  as  that,  must  to  Ben  be  a  matter  for 
the  most  serious  consideration  indeed.   He  accordingly,  finding  that 

"The peace  of  the  Tower  was  fled," 
so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  had  come  into  the  City  upon  a  sort  of  voyage  of 
discovery,  to  see  how  matters  were  going  on.  As  he  was  proceeding  along 
Fleet  Street,  he  chanced  to  cast  his  eyes  into  the  entrance  of  a  court,  nearly 
opposite  Sweeney  Todd's,  and  there  he  saw  a  female  form  crouching.  There 
was  something  about  this  female  form  which  Ben  thought  was  familiar  to  him, 
Td  upon  a  close  look,  he  felt  certain  it  was  Johanna's  friend  Arabella  Wilmot 
Full  of  surprise  at  finding  her  there,  Ben  paused,  and  stared  at  her  so  long  that 
she  at  last  looked  at  him,  and  recognising  him,  immediately  flew  to  his  side,  and 

grasping  his  arm,  cried —  ,„    -  '•  ■• 

"  Oh,  pity  me,  Mr.  Ben.  Pity  me!  ...^ 
"  Hold !"  said  Ben,  who  was  not,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  the  fastest  thinker 

in  the  world.    "  Hold.   Easy  does  it." 
Ben  tried  to  look  very  wise  then. 
"  Oh,  you  will  hate  me,  Ben." 
"  Eh?" 

"I  say  you  will  hate  me,  Ben,  when  you  know  all. ' 

Ben  shook  his  head.  T  w 

"  Shan't  do  any  such  thing,"  he  said.    "  Lord  bless  your  pretty  eyes,  1  hate 

you?    I  couldn't."  . 

"  Come,  con^e?  added  Ben,  «  iust  take  your  little  bit  of  an  arm  under 
mine.  Easy  does  it,  you  know.  Always  think  of  that,  if  anything  goes  amiss. 
Easy  does  it ;  and  then  you  will  find  things  come  right  in  the  long  run.  xuu 
may  take  my  word  for  it." 


i  i 


CHAPTER  LXXV. 

COLONEL  JEFFERYS  OPENS  HIS  EVES. 


Arabella  was  weeping,  so  that  for  some  little  time  she  could  say  nothing 
more  to  Ben  ;  and  he  did  not,  in  the  profundity  of  his  imagination,  very _w 
know  what  to  say  to  her,  except  now  and  then  muttering  the  maxim  or  * <  j 
does  it,"  which  Ben  thought  singularly  applicable  to  all  human > 
this  was  a  state  of  things  which  could  not  last ;  and  Arabella  Wilmot,  nerves 


— ■     '  — ■»  ■  r~i  1  ■  wnmmmmmmmmHmwi    ,   m'  _  .  ,j  _im   UH-U  ■--  '  i     i  il  -imJUmi    .       _      ......  _JL  

THE  STRING  OF  PEA.KLS.  337 

*   '  '        l    .  in      i    i     n  i  i 

herself  sufficiently  to  speak  in  a  few  minutes,  said  to  Ben  in  a  low  self-depreca- 
tory tone — 

§l  Oh,  sir,  I — I— have  done  something  very  wrong.'* 
"  Eh  V*  said  Ben,  opening  his  eyes  to  their  utmost, 
"Yes/'  added  Arabella,  H  very  wrong,  indeed/' 


TODD  LISTENS  AND  LEARNS  A  DANGEROUS  SECRET. 

"  Humph !" 

"  You  would  not  probably  have  expected  it  of  me,  Mr.  Ben,  would  vou 
now?" 

*<  Well,  a-hem  !"  said  Ben.    "  Easy  does  it." 
u  I  am  a  wicked — wicked  girl/' 
*'Oh,  dear— oh,  dear!"  said  Ben. 

No,  43. 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


H  You  cannot  guess,  Mr.  Ben,  what  I  have  done  ;  but  I  feel  I  ought  to  tell 
you,  and  it  will  be  quite  a  relief  to  me  to  do  so." 

Ben  shook  his  head.  . 
"  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  my  dear,"  he  said.    "  Your  best  plan  is  to  go  and  tell 
your  mother,  my  dear.    That's  the  proper  person  to  tell.    She  is  sure  to  find 
it  out  somehow  or  another ;  and  you  had  better  tell  her  at  once,  and  then— 

Easy  does  it/1 

"  My  mother  ?    Tell  my  mother  ?    Oh,  no-— no— no  ! 

"  Well,  if  you  have  got  any  respectable  old  aunt  now,  who  is  a  good,  kind  old 
soul,  and  would  not  make  too  much  fuss,  you  had  better  tell  her  ;  but  goodness 
gracious,  my  dear,  what  puts  it  into  your  head  to  tell  rae?" 
"  Because  I  think  you  are  kind-hearted." 
"  Well,  but— well,  but  

"  And,  then,  of  course,  as  you  are  mixed  up,  you  know,  Mr.  Ben,  in  the  whole 
transaction,  it  is  only  proper  that  you  should  know  what  has  happened  at 
last." 

Ben  turned  fairly  round,  and  looked  down  into  the  face  of  Arabella  Wilmot 
with  such  a  course  expression  of  alarm  upon  his  face,  that  at  any  other  than  so 
serious  a  time  she  must  have  laughed. 
"Me?"  he  cried.  "Me?" 
"  Yes,  Mr.  Ben." 

u  Me  mixed  up  in  the— the— Oh  dear  V' 

"Ah,  Mr.  Ben,  you  know  you  are  by  far  to  kind  not  too  be  ;  and  so  I  feel  as 
though  it  would  be  quite  a  relief  to  me  to  tell  you  everything." 
"  Everything?'* 
"  Yes,  all— all." 

"  Not  all  the  particulars,  surely.  Come— come.  I  ain't  an  old  woman,  you 
know,  my  dear." 

"  An  old  woman,  Ben  ?" 

u  No,  my  dear,  I  say  I  ain't  an  eidery  female,  so  I  don't  think  I  ought  to 
listen  to  all  the  particulars,  do  you  know.    Come— come,  you  go  home  now, 
and  say  no  more  about  it  to  me.    Easy  does  it,  you  know  ;  and  keep  your  own 
counsel.    I  won't  say  a  word ;  but  don't  you,  because  you  are  in  such  a  state  of 
mind  as  you  hardly  know  what  you  are  about,  go  on  blubbering  to  me  about  all 
the  particulars,  when  perhaps  to-morrow  you'll  give  one  of  your  pretty  little 
ears  that  vou  had  not  said  a  word  to  me  about  it."  'A 
'<  Alas  f—  Alas!" 
"Pho!  Pho  !  Easy  does  it." 
if  Who  am  I  to  cling  to  but  you  ?" 
ff  Cling  to  me  ?  Perhaps  you'll  say  it's  me  ?" 

ff  What's  you,  Mr.  Ben  P    Explain  yourself.  How  strange  you  talk.  What  do 
you  mean,  Mr.  Ben  ?" 
If  Well,  that's  cool,"  said  Ben. 
"What's  cool?" 

"  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Miss  Arabella  W.,  Fm  disappointed  in  you  ;  ain't  you 
askamed  to  look  me  in  the  face  f " 
"  Ashamed  V 

"  Yes,  positively  ashamed  ?" 

"  No,  Mr.  Ben.    I  may  regret  the  indiscertion  that  is  past ;  but  I  cannot  see 
in  it  anything  to  be  ashamed  of." 
"You  don't?" 
"  Indeed,  Mr.  Ben,  I  do  not." 

"  Then,  Miss  A.  W.,  you  are  about  the  coolest  little  piece  of  goods  I  have 
meet  with  for  some  time.  Come — come,  easy  does  it ;  but  haven't  you  been 
telling  me  all  this  time  about  something  you  have  been  about,  that— that— was 
rather  improper,  in  a  manner  of  speaking  V7 

It  might  have  been  the  tone  in  which  Ben  pronounced  the  word  improper,  or 
it  might  have  been  the  sagacious  shake  of  the  head  which  Ben  accompanied 


• 


his  words  with,  or  it  might  have  been  that  Arabella  was  drawing  a  conclusion 
from  the  whole  transaction  ;  but  certain  it  is,  that  she  began  to  have  a  glimmer- 
ing perception  that  Mr.  Ben  was  making  a  great  mistake. 

"  Oh,  heaven!"  she  said.  "  What  are  you  saying  Mr,  Ben  ?  I  am  speaking 
of  the  advice  I  was  foolish  enough  to  give  Johanna." 

"Advice?* 

"  Yes,  that  is  all.  Into  what  mischief  could  you  have  tortured  ray  meaning  ? 
I  am  much  mistaken  in  you,  sir." 

"What?  Then,  it  is'ant  —  a-hem !  That  is  to  say,  you  haven't— dear  me, 
I  shall  put  my  foot  in  it  directly.  What  a  fool  I  am." 

"You  are,  indeed,0  said  the  now  indignant  Arabella,  and  a  slight  flush  upon 
her  cheeks  showed  how  deeply  wronged  she  was  by  the  unworthy  construction 
Ben  had  put  upon  her  innocent  words. 

"  Good-bye,  Miss  A.  W.,"  added  Ben.  "  Good-bye  ;  I  see  I  am  out  of  your 
books  ;  but  if  you  fancy  I  meant  any  harm,  you  don't  know  me.  God  bless  you. 
Take  care  of  yourself  my  dear,  and  go  home.  I  won't  stay  to  plague  you  any 
longer.  Good-bye." 

"Stop!  Stop!" 

Ben  paused. 

"  I  am  sure,  Mr.  Ben,  you  did  not  mean  to  say  a  single  word  that  could  be 
offensive  to  a  frendless  girl  in  the  street. " 
"  Then,  then  ? — Easy  does  it." 

"  Let  us  be  friends  again  then,  Mr.  Ben,  and  I  will  tell  you  all,  and  you  will 
then  blame  »e  for  being  so  romantic  as  to  give  Johanna  advice  which  has  in- 
duced her  to  take  a  step  which,  although  my  reason  tells  me  she  is  now  well 
protected  in,  my  imagination  still  peoples  with  horror.' 1 

Ben's  eyes  opened  to  an  alarming  width. 

"  You  recollect  meeting  us  in  this  street,  Ben  ?" 

"Oh,  yes." 

"  When  Johanna  was  disguised  ?* 

"  Yes,  Miss  A.  When  she  had  on  them,  a-hem  !  You  may  depend  upon  it, 
my  dear,  there's  no  good  comes  of  young  girls  putting  on  pairs  of  thingamys. 
Don't  you  ever  do  it." 

"  But,  Mr.  Ben,  hear  me/' 

«  Well — well.  I  was  only  saying.  You  stick  to  the  petticoats,  my  dear.  They 
become  you,  and  you  become  them,  and  don't  you  be  trusting  your  nice  little 
legs  into*  what-do-you-call-Jems." 

"Mr.  Ben  ?" 

"  I've  done.  Easy  does  it.  Now  go  on  and  tell  us  what  happened,  my  dear. 
Don't  mind  me.    Go  on." 

*  Then  Johanna,  in  boy's  cloathes,  is  now  " 

"  Now  ?   Oh,  the  little  vixen.    Didn't  I  tell  her  not." 

u  Is  now  filling  the  situation  of  errand  boy  at  Sweeney  Todd's,  opposite.  Can 
I  be  otherwise  than  wretched,  most  wretched  t" 
"Arrant  boy V 

"No,  not  arrant  boy.  Errand  boy." 

"At Todd's — opposite— in — boys— clothes?  Oh—oh—just  you  wait  here, 
and  I'll  soon  put  that  to  rights.  I'll — I'll.  Only  you  wait  in  this  door-way, 
Miss  A.  W.,  just  a  moment  or  two,  and  Fli  teach  her  to  go  and  do  such  things. 
I'll — I'll  " 

"No — no  Ben.  You  will  ruin  all,  you  will,  indeed.  I  implore  you  to  stay 
with  me.  Let  me  tell  you  all  that  has  happened,  and  how  Johanna  is  protected. 
In  the  first  place,  Ben,  you  must  know  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  the  Magistrate 
has  her  under  his  special  protection  now,  and  he  says  that  he  has  made  such 
arrangements  that  it  is  quite  impossible  she  can  come  to  any  harm." 

«  But  " 

"  Nay,  listen  me  out.  He  says  that  nothing  can  now  expose  her  to  any 
danger,  but  some  injudicious  interference.    I  ought  not,  you  see,  to  have  told 


340 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


you,  Mr.  Ben  ;  but  since  I  have,  I  only  ask  of  you,  for  Johanna's  sake,  for  her 
life's  sake,  to  do  nothing/' 
Ben  looked  aghast. 

"  And — and  how  long  is  the  little  lamb  to  be  left  there  V  he  asked. 
"  Only  a  few  hours  I  think  now,  Ben — only  a  few  hours.   Where  are  we 
now,  Mr.  Ben  V 

"  Why,  this,  my  dear,  is  Bell-yard  we  have  strolled  into  ;  and  that  is  the 
famous  pie  shop  of  which  they  talk  so  much,  They  say  the  woman  has  made 
a«  immense  fortune  by  selling  them/' 

As  Ben  made  a  kind  of  movement  towards  Mrs  Lovett's  window,  it 
was  then  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  who  had  followed  him  and  Arabella 
Wilmot  from  Fleet-street,  and  who  had,  in  fact,  overheard  some  portion  of 
their  conversation,  stepped  up  in  the  manner  that  Mrs  Lovett  had  remarked 
from  within  the  shop. 

♦  *  *  *  *  ♦  * 

We  have  before  stated  that  the  three  personages,  consisting  of  the  magistrate, 
big  Ben  the  beef-eater,  and  Arabella  Wilmot,  walked  to  Fleet-street  together! 
from  Bell-yard,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  shook  his  head  at  Arabella  Wilmot,  as  he 
said — 

"  Miss  Wilmot,  I  cannot  help  saying  that  it  would  have  been  better  in  every 
respect,  and  possibly  much  more  conducive  to  the  safety  of  Miss  Oakley,  if  you 
had  gone  home  quietly,  and  not  lingered  about  Fleet-street.'' 

u  I  could  not  go,  sir." 

"But  yet  a  consideration  for  Miss  Oakley's  safety  should  have  induced  you 
to  put  that  violence  upon  your  own  feelings." 

"I  felt  that  when  once  you,  sir,  had  pledged  yourself  for  her  safety,  that  safe 
she  was j  and  that  my  weeping  perchance  in  a  doorway  in  Fleet-street  could 
not  be  so  important  as  to  compromise  her." 

u  I  am  fairly  enough  answered,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  with  a  slight  smile. 
**  But  what  say  you  to  coming  with  me  to  the  Temple  ?* 

11  The  Temple  ?" 

Arabella  cast  a  lingering  look  towards  Todd's  shop,  which  Sir  Richard  at  once 
translated,  and  replied  to  it  by  saying — 

u  Fear  nothing  for  your  young  friend.  She  knows  she  is  protected ;  but  even 
she  does  not  know  the  extent  to  which  she  is  so  protected.  I  tell  you,  Miss 
Wilmot,  that  I  pledge  my  own  life  for  her  safety— and  that,  although  to  all 
seeming  she  is  in  the  power  of  Todd,  such  is  not  the  case/' 

"  Indeed  ?" 

"I  have  a  force  of  no  less  than  twenty-five  men  in  Fleet-street  now — one 
half  of  whom  have  their  eyes  upon  Todd's  shop.  By  Heaven !  I  would  not 
have  a  hair  of  that  young  and  noble  girl's  head  injured  for  the  worth  of  this 
great  kingdom!" 

"  Bravo !"  cried  Ben,  as  he  seized  Sir  Richard  by  the  hand,  and  gave  it  a 
squeeze  that  nearly  brought  the  tears  into  the  eyes  of  the  magistrate  ;  "  bravo  ! 
that's  what  I  like  to  hear.  All's  right.  Bless  you,  sir,  easy  does  it.  You  are 
the  man  for  my  money  V 

"  Will  you  both  come  with  me,  then  }'* 

"To  be  sure/  said  Ben  ;  "to  be  sure  ;  and  as  we  go  along,  I'll  tell  you  what 
a  sad  mistake  I  made  about  Miss  Arabella  here.  You  must  know  that  I  met 
her  crying  in  Fleet- street,  and  she  M  : 

Arabella  shook  her  head,  and  frowned. 

u  And — and — and— she — nothing.'5 

"  Well,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "  I  must  confess  I  have  heard  anecdotes  with  a 
little  more  point  to  them." 

"  You  don't  say  so  !"  said  Ben. 

"  I  think  I  will  go  home,"  said  Arabella,  gently. 

"If  you  will,"  replied  the  magistrate,  "of  course,  I  cannot  say  anything  to 


1 


I 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


341 


stay  you ;  but  I  think  it  will  be  a  great  disappointment  to  Colonel  Jeffery  not 
to  meet  with  you  to-day. 11 

"  CoIonelJeffery  V9  exclaimed  Arabella,  while  her  face  became  of  the  colour 
of  a  rose-bud ;  *'  Colonel  Jeffery  V9 

There  was  just  the  ghost  of  a  smile  upon  the  face  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  as  he 
calmly  replied — 

9 '  Yes ;  I  am  on  my  way  to  meet  that  gentleman  in  the  garden  of  the  Temple ; 
and  I  am  sure  he  would  be  glad  to  see  you." 
11  Glad  to  see  me?" 

u  Yes,  as  so  true  a  friend  of  Johanna's,  he  will  be  more  than  glad  ;  he  will 
be  delighted/' 
Delighted  ?" 

Do  you  doubt  the  Colonel's  friendly  feeling  towards  you  ?" 
"Ohno — no.    I — no— certainly  not." 
"Then  let  me  beg  of  you  to  come/' 

u  No.  Not  now ;  I  will  go  home.  It  will  look  particular  for  me  to  go  to  the 
garden  to  meet  him.5' 

"  It  will  look  much  more  particular  to  refuse,  I  think,  Miss  Wilmot.  You  are 
with  me,  and  with  your  old  friend,  and  Johanna's  relative,  Mr.  a — a  99 

"They  calls  me  Ben/' 

•f  Mr.  Ben  ;  and  so  you  cannot  refuse/'  he  said,  "  to  go  to  meet  Colonel  Jeffery, 
you  know.  Come,  come,  I  pray  you  come.  Indeed,  T  know  the  Colonel  wishes 
to  speak  to  you ;  and  as  it  would  be  obviously  out  of  order  for  him  to  call  upon 
you,  I  think  you  ought,  seeing  that  you're  not  alone,  to  give  him,  as  a  gentle- 
man of  wealth  and  honour,  this  opportunity  of  doing  so." 

u  You  say,  he  wishes  to  speak  t  )  me  ?M 

u  He  does,  indeed.  What  do  you  say,  Mr.  Ben  ?  Don't  you  think  Miss  Wil- 
mot might  as  well  come  with  us  ?" 

"Easy  does  it,"  said  Ben,  if  and  that's  my  opinion  all  the  world  over." 

u  Then  allow  me  to  look  upon  it  that  we  have  prevailed  with  you,  Miss  Wil- 
mot. Pray  do  me  the  favour  to  take  my  arm/' 

Arabella  trembled,  but  she  did  take  the  arm  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and 
made  no  further  opposition  to  proceeding  to  that  Temple  Gardens,  where  already 
such  affecting  interviews  had  taken  place  between  the  Colonel  and  poor  Johanna. 
The  gardens  appeared  to  be  empty  when  they  reached  it,  but  from  behind  some 
•hrubs  C#lonei  Jeffery  in  a  moment  made  his  appearance,  for  Sir  Richard,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  meeting  with  Ben  and  Arabella,  was  considerably  behind  his 
timet 


CHAPTER  LXXVI. 

MRS.  LOVETT  VISITS  THE  BANK  AND  TOOD. 

If  any  one  had  been  looking  at  the  face  of  Arabella  Wilmot  at  this  par- 
ticular juncture,  and  if  the  party  so  looking  had  chanced  to  be  learned  in 
reading  the  various  emotions  of  the  heart  from  the  expression  of  the  features, 
they  might  have  chanced  upon  some  curious  revelations.    It  was  only  one 
glance  that  Arabella  gave  to  the  Colonel,  but  that  was  sufficient.     A  word 
slightly  spoken,  and  in  due  season,  many  say  more  than  a  volume  of  preaching ; 
and  so  one  transient  glance,  fleeting  as  a  sun-beam  in  an  English  April,  may, 
with  most  eloquent  meaning,  preach  a  sermon  that  would   puzzle  many  a 
divine.    But  we  have  become  so  familiar  with  the  reader,  and  put  ourselves 
upon  such  a  cordial  shake-hands  sort  of  feeling,  in  particular  with  you,  Miss, 
who  are  now  reading  this  passage,  that  we  will  whisper  a  secret  in  your  ear, 
and  the  more  readily,  too,  a$  to  whisper  we  must  come  particularly  close  to 
that  soft  downy  cheek,  and  almost  be  able  to  look  askance  into  those  eyes 
ip  whiclji  the  light  of  Heaven  seems  dancing, — Arabella  Wilmot  is  in  love !  j 


■ 


■ 
\ 


342 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Yes,  Arabella  Wilmot  is  in  love  with  Colonel  Jeffery  ;  and  small  blame  to 
her,  as  they  say  in  Ireland,  for  is  he  not  a  gentleman  in  the  true  acceptation  of 
the  term  ?    Not  a  manufactured  gentleman,  but  one  of  nature's  gentlemen. 

You  will  have  promised,  my  dear  what's-your-name,  that  Arabella,  to 
herself  even,  has  hardly  confessed  her  feelings ;  but  still  they  are  creeping 
upon  her  most  insidiously  as  such  feelings  somehow  or  other  will  and  do 
creep. 

To  be  sure,  if  any  one  were  to  stop  her  in  the  street  or  any  where  else  to  say. 
I"  Arabella,  you  are  in  love  with  Colonel  Jeffery,"  she  would  say — "  No,  no, 
no  !"  many  times  over. 

But  yet  it  is  true. 

"  You  read  it  in  her  glistening  eyes, 
And  thus  alone  should  love  be  read  : 
She  says  it  in  her  gentle  sighs, 
And  thus  alone  should  love  be  said." 

After  this,  who  will  be  hardy  enough,  my  dear,  to  dispute  the  fact  with  you 
and  I  ? 

And  now  we  will  watch  her,  ay,  that  we  will,  and  see  how  she  will 
behave  herself  under  such  trying  circumstances. 

Colonel  Jeffery  advanced,  and  as  in  duty  and  gallantry  called  upon,  he,  after 
slightly  bowing  to  the  gentlemen,  spoke  to  Arabella. 

7  This  is  an  unexpected  pleasure,  Miss  Wilmot,"  he  said.  "  I  hope  I  see 
you  well.  Here  is  a  seat  close  at  hand.  May  I  have  the  pleasure  of  con- 
ducting you  to  it  ?" 

"Johanna  is — is — is—  "  stammered  Arabella. 

€i  Well,  I  hope,"  interposed  the  colonel. 

"  Oh,  no — no — that  is,  yes/' 

The  colonel  looked  puzzled.    He  was  not  a  conjurer,  and  so  might  look 
puzzled,  if  he  looked  like  any  ordinary  man,  who  hears  any  one  say  no,  and  yes 
in  the  same  breath,  wnthont  any  injury  to  his  reputation., 
|    "  Mr.  Ben/*  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "  I  have  something  for  your  private 
ear,  if  you  will  just  step  on  with  me." 

|    4i  My  private  ear V  said  Ben  with  a  confused  look,  as  if  he  would  have 
liked  to  add,  c*  which  is  that  V* 
u  Yes.    This  way  if  you  please.'* 

Ben  walked  on  with  the  magistrate,  and  Colonel  Jeffery  was  alone  with 
Arabella  Wilmot.  Yes,  alone  with  the  one  person  who  insensibly  had  crept 
into  her  affections  Alas  !  Is  the  pure  love  of  that  young  creature  scattered 
to  the  winds?  Is  she  one  of  those  who  drag  about  them  in  this  world  the 
heavy  chain  of  unrequited  affection  ?  We  shall  see.  Arabella  had  permitted 
,  the  colonel  to  hand  her  to  one  of  the  garden-seats  near  at  hand.  How  could 
I  she  prevent  him  ?  If  he  had  chosen  instead  to  hand  her  into  the  river  it  would 
Shave  been  just  the  same,  and  she  would  have  gone.  He  led  her  by  that  wreath 
|  of  flowers  which  in  old  Arcadia  was  first  linked  by  Cupid,  and  which,  in  all 
time  since,  has  wound  itself  around  the  hearts  of  all  the  boy-gori's  victims. 

"  Miss  Wilmot,"  said  the  colonel,  and  now  his  voice  faltered  a  little,  "  I 
have  much  wished  to  see  you." 

If  Very  fine,  indeed,"  said  Arrabella.  u  You  said  something  about  the 
weather,  did  you  not  ?° 

'*  Not  exactly/'  he  said  ;  "  I  had  much  wished  to  see  you." 

"Me?" 

i{  Yes,  and  to  begin  at  the  beginning,  you  know  I— I— loved  Johanna  Oakley. 
Yes,  1  loved  her." 
"  Yes— yes." 

*  1  loved  her  for  her  beauty,  and  for  the  gentle  and  the  chivalrous  de- 
votion of  her  character,  you  understand.    I  loved  her  for  the  very  tears  she 
'shed  for  another,  and  for  the  very  constancy  with  which  she  clung  to  the 


I 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  343 

M  -  ■  ■    '-Hi  t  '  i.      ■   ,  "  .  ■  -i      .  ■  ii  .,..„,  ■         ■  ..ii  i      i-  .    ■    ■   -  r    r  i  .  ■  .  ■  ■  Li 

memory  of  his  affection  for  her.  I  saw  in  her  such  child- like  purity  of  mind, 
such  generosity  of  disposition,  such  enchanting  humanity  of  soul,  that  I  could 
not  but  love  her. 

tf  Yes,  yes/'  gasped  Arabella.    %  Yes." 

"  Will  you  pardon  me  for  saying  all  this  to  you  ? 13 

"  Oh  yes.    Go  on— go  on,  unless  you  have  said  all 

W*i  have  not." 

"  Then,  then  you  have  only  to  add  that  you  love  her  still  ?" 

«  Yes,  but  " 

Arabella's  heart  beat  painfully. 

u  Ah,"  she  said,  "has  true  love  any  reservations  ?  You  love  ht>r-,  atidf  yet 
you  have  something  else  to  say." 

j    €i  I  have.    I  love  her  still.   But  it  is  not  as  I  loved  her.    She  has  convinced 

me  of  her  constancy  to  her  first  affection,  that— that  " 

is  Yes,  yes," 

"That  being  so  convinced,  I  now  love  her,  but  with  that  love  a  brother  might 
feel  for  a  dear  sister,  and  I  almost  think  it  was  a  kind  of  preparation  to  try  to 
awaken  in  the  smouldering  fires  of  her  lost  love  a  new  passion.  She  hasanade 
me  feel  that  the  love  of  woman  once  truly  awakened  is  an  undying  passion  and 
can  know  no  change — no  extinction.5' 

"  True.    Oh,  how  true  r ' 

"  I  have  learnt  from  her  that  when  once  the  heart  of  a  young  and  gentle 
girl — one  in  whom  there  are  no  evil  passions,  no  world-wise  failings  nor 
earthly  varieties — is  touched  by  the  holy  flame  of  affection,  it  may  consume  her 
being,  but  it  never  can  be  extinguished." 

Arabella  burst  into  tears. 

"Love,"  added  the  colonel,  "  may  be  trodden  down,  but  like  truth  it  can 
never  be  trodden  out !" 

|  U  Never!  never  I"  sobbed  Arabella.  "  Let  me  go  now  !  Oh,  sir,  let  me  go 
home  now  ?" 

<c  One  moment!'5 

She  trembled,  but  she  sat  still. 

u  Only  a  moment,  Arabella,  while  I  tell  you  that  man's  love  is  different  from 
this.  That  man  can  reason  upon  his  affections,  and  that  when  the  first  beauty 
and  excellence  upon  which  he  may  cast  his  eyes  is  denied  to  his  arms,  he  can 
look  for  equal  beauty — equal  excellence — equal  charms  of  mind  and  person  in 
another,  and  

Arabella  tried  to  go,  but  somehow  she  felt  spell-bound  and  could  not  rise 
from  that  garden  seat. 

4 f  And/5  added  the  colonel,  u  with  as  pure  a  passion,  man  can  make  an  idol 
of  her  who  can  be  his,  ashe  approached  her  who  could  not. — Miss  Wilmot,  I  love 
you!" 

"  Oh,  no,  no — Johanna." 

"I  do  not  shrink  from  the  pronunciation  of  that  name  ;  I  have  said  that  I 
j  loved  Johanna.  If  she  had  been  fancy-free  and  would  have  looked  upon  me 
with  eyes  of  favour,  I  would  have  made  her  my  wife  ;  but  such  was  not  to  be, 
and  for  the  same  qualities  that  I  loved  her  I  love  you.  I  am  afraid  I  have  not 
explained  my  feelings  well." 

"Oh,  yes.    That  is,  I  don't  know." 

u  And  now,  Miss  Wilmot,  will  you  allow  me  to  hope  that  what  I  have  said 

to  you  may  not  be  all  in  vain?  That  " 

U  No,  no." 
"No?" 

"  Allow  me  to  go,  now.    My  mind  is  too  full  of  the  fate  of  Johanna  even  to 
permit  me  to  reject  in  the  language  taught — * 
I  "Reject?" 

&  Yes,"  she  said,  "  reject.  I  wish  you  all  the  happiness  this  world  can  afford 
[to  you,  Colonel  Jeffery." 


344  THE  STRING  OP  PE1RLS. 


U 

a 


M  Then  you  will  be  mine  ¥* 
"No,  no,  no.  Farewell." 

She  rose,  and  this  time  the  colonel  did  not  attempt  to  detain  her*  He  stepped 
back  a  pace  or  two,  and  bowed,  and  then  rose  and  walked  a  pace  or  two 
away.   Then  she  turned,  and  holding  out  her  hand,  she  cried— 
.  < '  We  may-*- may  be  friends.1' 

The  colonel  took  the  little  hand  in  silence,  but  the  expression  of  his  face  was 
one  of  deep  chagrin. 

u  Good-bye,"  said  Arabelie. 

How  courageous  she  had  become  all  of  a  sudden,  as  it  were. 
And  is  this  all  V\  said  JefFery. 

Yes,  all.    When  I  see  Johanna  I  will  remember  you  to  her.'1 
The  colonel  bowed  again,  as  he  replied— 

u  I  shall  be  much  beholden  to  you,  Miss  Wilmot,  for  that  kindness.1' 
«  And— and  I  hope  you  will  find~find — that  is,  meet  with  some  one,  who— 
who  don't  chance  to  know  that  your  love  is  a  kind  of  second-hand— that  is,  I 
don't  mean  that,  but  a— a—   Yes,  that  is  all." 

Arabella  was  saying  too  much.    The  colonel  replied  gently— 
(i  I  am  truly  obliged  for  the  highly  explanatory  speech  just  uttered  by  Ara- 
bella Wilmot,  whom  1  have  the  honour  to  wish  a  very  good-day.1' 
Arabella  trembled. 

€i  No,  no.    Not  thus,  Colonel  JefFery.    We  are  friends,  indeed.1' 
"  Remarkable  good  acquaintances/'  said  the  colonel,  as  he  walked  away 
towards  Sir  Richard  Blunt  and  Ben.    Arabella  walked  hastily  on,  having  but 
one  idea  at  the  moment,  and  that  was  to  leave  the  gadren,  but  she  could  not 
find  the  gate,  and  Ben  ran  after  her  as  well  as  he  could,  calling — 

"Miss  A.  W.— Miss  A.  W.,  where  are  you  a-going?  Don't  you  go  yet. 
I'll  take  care  of  you  and  see  you  all  right,  you  know,  or  perhaps  you'd  like  to 
take  a  wherry  here  at  the  Temple  stairs,  and  go  to  the  Tower,  and  see  the 
animals  fed  ?,J 

"Yes,  no— that  is,  anything,*  replied  Arabella.    '*  I  will  go  home  now,  1  am 

so  very —very  wretched  ! " 

"  What,  wretched?    Here,  Colonel  thingumy,  she  says  she  " 

"  If  you  dare!"  said  Arabella,  as  she  placed  her  hand  upon  the  arm  of  Ben. 

"  Ifyou  dare!" 

|  4<Lor!"  said  Ben,  as  he  looked  down  from  his  altitude  upon  the  frail  and 
beautiful  young  creature.  .  °  Lor!  easy  does  it  V 

\  The  voice  of  Ben,  however,  had  brought  both  the  colonel  and  Sir  Richard 
Blunt  to  the  spot.  During  that  brief  time  that  had  elapsed  since  the  colonel 
had  last  spoken  to  Arabella,  Sir  Richard  had  told  him  of  the  perilous  position  of 

!  Johanna,  and  the  look  of  anxiety  upon  his  face  was  most  marked.  Arabella 
heard  him  say— 

**  Make  use  of  me  in  any  way  you  please,  Sir  Richard,    Regard  my  safety  or 
even  my  life  as  nothing  compared  to  her  preservation." 
Arabella  knew  what  he  meant. 

"Ben,"  she  said,  "will  you  come  with  me,  and  see  me  a  part  of  my  way 
home?'1 

H  Yes,  my  dear,  to  be  sure.   Then  you  won't  come  and  see  the  criturs  fed 
to-dav,  I  supposes  ?* 
"  No,  no." 

**  Very  well.   Easy  does  it.    Gome  along,  my  dear~come  along.    Lord  love 
you!  I'll  take  care  of  you.  I  should  only  like  to  see  anybody  look  at  you  while 
you  are  with  me,  my  duck.   Bless  your  little  bits  of  twinkling  eyes  !" 
f?  Thank  you — thank  you.'* 

u  Lor !  its  enough  to  make  a  fellow  go  mad  in  love,  to  see  such  criturs  as  you 
my  dear  ;  but  whenever  I  thinks  of  such  things,  I  says  to  myself — r  I'll  just  pop 
in  and  see  Mother  Oakley/  and  that  soon  puts  it  all  out  of  my  head,  1  can  tell 
you." 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  345 

"  Indeed?"  '  ]  ~ 

<c  Yes.   You  should  go  in  at  feeding  time  some  day,  and  gee  her  a-coming  it 
strong  with  lried  ingins 
"  Fried  what  ?" 

u  Tngins— ingins  ;  round  things.    Ingions — ah  !  that's  it/' 
"  Onions  ?" 


TODD  HORBIFIES  MRS.  BAGG. 


"Veryl'ke — very  like.  But  ccme  on,  my  dear — come  on.  Easy  does  it! 
Always  remember  that  whenever  you  gets  into  any  fix.    Easy  does  it!" 

Did  Arabella  think  the  colonel  would  run  after  her  and  say  something  ?  Yes 
she  did  ;  but  he  came  not.  Did  she  think  he  would  be  loath  to  part  with  her 
upon  such  terms  as  they  had  seemed  to  part?  Yes,  yes.  Surely  he  could  not 
let  her  go  without  some  kinder,  softer,  word  that  he  had  last  spoken  to  her? 
But  he  did.  He  only  watched  her  with  his  eyes  ;  and  when  Sir  Richard  Blunt, 
who,  it  would  appear,  knew  something  of  the  colonel's  feelings,  said  to  him— 

^   ,   n  T  -t—  m-.   .  .--  -       - .  1   "  ""         '  '" 

.„.  '   ,_,    _  ■■■■■nan-      ,  ,    ,w„|irj|        p        i    n       ■■    u—  \'~ --  — - .      '    J.'fr'JT**"  W  '  *»  "u-^  ■■  -WW**"- 1  m       I  .M 

No  44. 


346  THE  STRING  ^Off  PEARLS.  

"  All  right,  I  suppose,  Colonel  Jeffery  ft* 

He  only  shook  his  head. 

1*  What>  anything  amiss  ?* 

"She  has  rejected  me  !" 

"  Oh,  is  that  all  ?" 

"All?    And  enough  tod. 

"Phoo  !    She  was  sure  to  do  that.   Don't  you  know  the  old  adage,  that—  I 

"  Woman's  nay  still  stands  for  nought." 

Why,  man,  No  comes  as  naturally  to  the  tip  of  a  young  girls  tongue  when  she 
means  Yes,  as  Don't  when  she  expects  to  be  kissed.  I  tell  you,  she  loves  you. 
She  adores  the  very  gound  you  walk  on." 

<s  And  yet  she  taunted  me  with  my  passion  for  Johanna,  and  called  me  a 
second-hand  lover." 

"  Did  she,  though  ?  Ha !  ha !  ha !  ha !  Upon  my  life  that  was  good— was 
it  not  f 


CHAPTER  LXXVII. 

MUTUAL  DEFIANCE.  j 

Mrs.  Lovett,  Mrs.  Lovett,  we  are  neglecting  you  !    Excuse  us,  fascinating 
piece  of  wickedness.  We  are  now  in  Bell-yard  again.  It  will  be  recollected  what 
a  mental  ferment  the  appearance  of  Ben,  and  Arabella,  and  Sir  Richard  Blunt, 
at  the  window  of  her  shop  had  put  her  in.    Not  that  she  knew  any  of  those 
parties— nor  that  she  connected  any  of  them  in  any  way  with  her  feelings,  except 
so  far  as  their  attitudes  might  at  that  moment  lead  her  to  suppose.    The  atti- 
tudes certainly  were  such  as  to  create  suspicion.  All  this,  joined  to  the  previous 
state  of  mind  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  did  not  tend  to  produce  that  heavenly  calm,  which 
philosophers  tell  us  is  such  a  remarkably  nice  things.    On  the  contrary,  the 
mind  of  Mrs.  Lovett  rather  resembled  a  raging  torrent,  boiling  and  bubbling  to 
some  destruction  which  was  afar  off,  and  which  could  only  be  reached  through  the 
perils  and  dangers  of  some  stormy  passage.  She  was  sighing  for  peace.  She  had 
began  to  sicken  for  the  results  of  her  life  of  iniquity — not  those  results  which  an 
indignant  and  outraged  public  would  have  visited  her  w  ith,  but  those  results 
which  she  and  all  persons,  who  deliberately  and  systematically  commence  a 
career  of  guilt,  picture  to  themselves.    Criminality  is  never  engaged  in  fgr  its 
own  sake.    There  is  always  some  ultimate  object  in  view,  which  makes  the 
retrospect  less  horrible,  and  the  prospect  dim  and  dubious,  though  it  may  be 
yet  a  thing  of  pleasurable  anticipation.    Of  course,  we  are  only  reasoning  upon 
those  minds  that  reflect.   There  are  many  who  lead  a  life  of  criminality,  who 
do  so  as  the  manifestation  of  an  intellect  that  can  picture  nothing  else. 
But  the  reader  knows  that  Mrs.  Lovett  was  not  of  such  an  order.  She 
was  to  some  extent  an  educated,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  a  clever 
woman.    Hence,  then,  she  had  always  pictured  to  herself  wealth  and  retire- 
ment, respect  and  power,  as  the  ends  for  which  she  was  striving  with  such 
unscrupulous  means.    But  of  late,  with  a  shuddering  horror,  she  had  begun  to 
dread  that  all  she  had  hoped  for  was  getting  only  more  distant.     She  had 
contracted  a  strong  notion  of  the  bad  faith  of  Todd,  and  if  such  were  really 
the  case,  all  was  indeed  lost.    If  he  allowed  his  cupidity  just  to  induce  him  to 
commit  the  crime  that  would  be  one  too  many,  destruction  must  fall  upon  them 
both.    If  likewewise  he  insantly  made  an  effort  to  take  to  himself  all  the 
profits  of  the  unholy  traffic  that  they  were  mutually  engaged  in,  all  would  be  lost 
to  both  ;  for  was  she  a  likely  woman  to  crouch  down  in  silence  under  such  a  blow  ? 
No  !  the  scaffold  prepared  by  her  instrumentality  for  Todd,  would  be  scarcely  less  a 
triumph  to  her  that  she  herself  would  share  it  with  him.    He  ought  to  have 
known  better  than  he  did,    How  clear  and  long-sighted  we  find  people  upon 
subjects  that  from  this  distance  may  be  supposed  to  present  difficulties,  and 


J 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  847 


yet  how  shallow  they  are  upon  what  is  close  to  them.  One  would  have  thought 
that  such  a  man  as  Todd  could  easily  have  said  to  himself,  with  regard  to  Mrs. 
Lovett,  "  I  dare  not  tamper  with  the  objects  of  that  woman,"  and  he  would  have 
said  it  with  truth  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  he  only  looked  upon  her  as  a  convenient 
tool,  which  was  to  be  thrown  aside  when  it  had  served  all  the  purposes  for 
|  which  he  intended  it.  There  could  not  have  been  a  more  fatal  mistake  upon 
the  part  of  Todd  as  concerned  his  safety.  But  to  return  to  Mrs.  Loyett;  The 
brandy  she  had  promised  to  the  prisoner  was  quite  forgotten.  She  sat  revolving 
in  her  mind,  how  she  could  put  an  end  to  the  state  of  horrible  doubt  and 
perplexity  in  which  she  was.  There  were  some  little  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  Mrs.  Lovett  emerging  from  her  present  condition.  It  has  been  before 
hinted  at,  that  Todd  and  the  fair  lady  of  the  pie- shop  had  between  them 
accumulated  a  large  sum  of  money,  and  that  the  money  was  duly  deposited 
in  the  hands  of  a  stock-broker,  who  was  by  no  means  to  part  with  it  to  either 
of  them,  except  upon  an  order  signed  by  both.  So  far  all  looked  fair  enough  ; 
and  as  they  were  likewise  bound  together  by  such  a  bond  of  mutual  guilt, 
it  did  not  look  likely  that  either  would  make  an  endeavour  to  get  the  better  of 
the  other.  Suppose  there  was  £40,000  in  the  hands  of  the  stock -broker,  it 
did  not  seem,  we  say,  under  all  the  circumstances  likely  that  Todd — being  fairly 
entitled  as  between  them,  to  £20,000 — would  peril  the  safety  of  both  their 
necks,  by  getting  up  a  quarrel  about  the  division  equitably  of  the  spoil.  The 
same  reasoning  will  apply  to  Mrs.  Lovett.  But  these  unlikely  things  are  the 
very  things  that  do  come  to  pass  to  upset  the  finest  plans.  Todd  never  from 
the  first — whenever  that  was — meant  that  Mrs.  Lovett  should  share  with  him  ; 
no,  he  thought  that  he,  as  the  superior  genius,  the  greater  villain,  would  manage 
to  cheat  her,  and  that  she  would,  for  her  own  safety's  sake,  be  obliged  to  put  up 
with  what  he  choose  to  give  her.  That  would  have  been  only  such  a  pittance, 
as  to  keep  her  constantly  in  a  state  of  dependance  upon  him.  Now,  to  do  Mrs. 
Lovett  justice  upon  the  old  equitable  principle  of  giving  the  devil  his  due,  she 
never  had  any  intention,  until  she  saw  symptoms  of  bad  faith  in  Todd,  of 
attempting  to  act  otherwise  than  fairly  by  him.  She  loathed  him  ;  and  all  she 
meant  to  do,  was  when  the  division  of  the  spoil  should  take  place,  to  ascertain 
where  he  was  going,  and  then  to  get  as  far  off  him  as  possible.  Of  late,  how- 
ever, finding  that  Todd  was  getting  lucky,  and  feeling  quite  convinced  that  he 
aimed  at  her  life,  other  views  had  dawned  upon  her,  as  we  are  already  well  aware. 
She  did  not  so  much  care  for  all  the  money  as  she  would  have  liked  in  her 
retirement,  wherever  it  was,  to  have  felt  sure  that  Todd  was  not 


"  An  inhabitant  of  the  earth ; 

and  hence  she  had  taken  the  pains,  all  of  which  had  been  frustrated,  to  put  him 
into  another  world.  But  a  feeling,  superstitiously  consequent  upon  her  failure, 
had  started  up  in  her  mind  that  he  bore  a  charmed  life  ;  and  hence  she  bethought 
herself  of  flying  from  England  ;  but  the  money — how  was  she  to  get  the  money 
to  do  so  ?  How  was  she,  without  his  cognisance,  to  get  her  share  of  the  funds 
which  had  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  stock-broker  ?  Now,  since  she  had 
begun  to  feel  uncomfortable  regarding  the  faith  of  Todd,  Mrs.  Lovett  had  kept 
what  cash  she  saved  at  home  ;  therefore  some  weeks  had  elapsed  since  she  had 
paid  a  monetary  visit  to  the  city.  If  she  had  gone  as  usual,  she  might  have  got 
some  news.  To  a  woman  of  lively  and  discussive  imagination  like  Mrs.  Lovett, 
a  plan  of  operation  was  not  long  in  suggesting  itself.  Why,  she  asked  herself, 
should  she  hesitate  to  put  Todd's  name  to  the  decument  necessary  to  get  her 
half  of  the  money  from  the  stock-broker  ?  What  a  natural  consequence  from 
this  question  it  was  to  ask  herself  another,  which  was — If  I  am  forging  Todd's 
signature  at  all,  might  I  not  do  it  for  the  whole  amount  as  for  half/and  so  take 
the  only  revenge  upon  him  which  he  would  feel,  or  which  I  dare  offer  myself 
the  gratification  of  exacting  from  him  ?  When  such  a  question  as  this  is  asked, 
it  is  practically  answered  in  the  affirmative.  Mrs.  Lovett  felt  quite  decided  upon 
it.    She  was  a  woman  of  courage.    No  faint-hearted  scruple  interposed  be- 


-  ■•  ■■■»   —  ■   ~ ;~ — : — ?r~~i^r^;:n^^ 

348  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS,  j 

tween  the  thought  and  the  execution  of  a  project  with  her.    The  recent  scene  I] 
that  had  taken  place  in  front  of  her  window  decided  her.    Now  or  never !  she 
told  herself.    Now  or  never  is  the  time  to  escape.  I  have  nothing  to  encumber  j 
myself  with.    Let  Todd  keep  his  jewels  and  trinkets.    All  I  want  is  the  money  j 
which  is  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Anthony  Brown,  the  stock-broker,  and  that  I  will  ! 
have  forthwth.    Mrs.  Lovett  did  not  know  the  exact  amount  ;  but  as  it  was  a' 
joint  account,  such  an  amount  of  ignorance  need  not  appear  at  all  surprising  to  j 
the  stock-broker  ;  so  she  drew  up  an  order  for  the  money,  and  signed  it  with  I 
both  Todd's  name  and  her  own,  leaving  a  blank  for  the  amount.    She  then 
carefully  locked  up  all  doors  but  that  of  the  outer  shop,  and  having  procured  j 
the  services  of  a  young  girl  from  a  greengrocer's  shop  in  the  vicinity,  to  mind 
the  place  for  an  hour,  as  she  said,  she  considered  she  was  all  right.   The  girl 
had  attended  to  the  shop  before  for  Mrs.  Lovett  at  times  when  no  batches  of  pies 
were  expected  from  the  regions  below,  so  she  did  not  feel  at  all  surprised  at  the  ! 
call  upon  her  services. 

"  I  shall  be  an  hour,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett.    "  You  can  take  a  pie  or  two  for 
yourself  if  you  feel  at  all  hungry;  and  if  Mr.  Todd  should  come  in,  say  Im  gone 
to  call  upon  a  dress-maker  in  Bond-street.3*  ! 
"  Yes,  mum  !"  j 
Mrs.  Lovett  left  the  shop.    At  the  corner  of  Bell-yard  she  turned  and  cast  a 
glance  at  it.    She  hoped  it  was  a  farewell  one — She  shuddered  and  passed  on  ; 
.  and  then  she  muttered  to  herself—  j| 
"If  I  am—which  assuredly  I  shall  be— successful  in  the  city,  I  will  take  j 
post-horses  there  at  once  for  some  sea-port,  and  from  thence  reach  the  Con-  | 
tinent,  before  Todd  can  dream  of  pursuit,  or  find  out  what  I  have  done,  or 
|  where  bestowed  myself." 

She  was  not  so  impudent  as  to  pass  Todd's  shop,  but  she  went  down  one 
j  of  the  streets  upon  the  opposite  side  of  Fleet-street,  and  came  up  another, 
I  which  was  considerably  past  the  house  which  was  so  full  of  horrors.  A 
i  lumbering  old  hackney  coach  met  her  gaze.    It  was  disengaged,  and  Mrs.  j 
I  Lovett  got  into  it.  j 
"To  Lothbury,"  she  said ;  and  after  swaying  to  and  fro  for  a  few  moments,  j 
the  machine  was  set  in  action,  and  duly  steering  up  Ludgate  Hill.  j 
The  impatience  of  Mrs.  Lovett  was  so  great,  that  she  would  gladly  have  jj 
done  anything  to  induce  the  horses  to  go  at  a  faster  rate  than  the  safe  two  j 
miles  and  a  half  an  hour  to  which  they  were  accustomed,  but  she  dreaded  that  | 
if  she  exhibited  any  signs  of  extreme  impatience  she  might  excite  suspicion. 
To  the  guilty,  any  observation  of  a  more  than  ordinary  character  is  a  thing  j 
to  dread.   They  would  fain  glide  through  life  gently,  and  not  at  all  do  they 
sigh  to  be— - 

"  The  observed  of  all  observers." 

But  the  longest  journey  even  in  the  slowest  hackney  coach  must  come  to  an  ; 
end.   As  Ben  the  beef-eater  would  have  said — "Easy  does  it;"  and  as  Mrs.  ! 
Lovett's  journey  was  anything  but  a  long  one,  the  gloomy  precincts  of  Lothbury  | 
soon  loomed  upon  her  gaze.    After  the  customary  oscillations,  and  wheezing 
and  creaking  of  all  its  joints  and  springs,  the  coach  stopped. 

u  Wait/'  said  Mrs.  Lovett  with  commendable  brevity ;  and  alighting,  she 
entered  a  dark  door- way  upon  the  side  of  which  was  painted,  in  letters  that  j 
had  contracted  so  much  the  colour  of  the  wood-work  that  they  were  nearly 
illegible,  €  Mr.  Anthony  Brown/ 

Tkis  was  the  stock-broker,  who  held  charge  of  the  ill-gotten  gains  of  that  J 
pair  of  un- worthies,  Mrs.  Lovett  and  Sweeney  Todd.  A  small  dcor,  covered  j 
with  what  had  been  green  baize,  but  which  was  now  of  some  perfectly  original  I 
brown,  opened  into  the  outer  office  of  the  man  of  business,  and  there  a  spruce  i 
clerk  held  dominion.  At  the  sound  of  the  rustling  silks  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  he 
raised  his  head  from  poring  over  the  cumbrous  ledger  ;  and  then  seeing,  to  use 
his  own  vernacular,  it  was  "  a  monstrous  fine  woman,"  he  condesendedto  alight  j 
from  his  high  stool,  and  he  demanded  the  lady's  pleasure. 

>         '  '  "  9  -  ....  ■   ,  *  ~~  ~  "ZZZJ 

i~thm      nn>iii<fn    i.n^  p    ii  i  |ip  Minniipw^r~nrTrTnna»   rrrrirr^-*-*- ~*-MM—— *T*--iTTTir^—M—*— "it  '     1  w  ~T*TTrwi***r'T"~l,gwiM'W>r~rTTBrm^»^ii^^  ^mwnwi  i>    »~  "  '  ~ — 


 THE  STRING  Off  PEARLS.  349 

"Mr.  Brown."  < 

"  Yes,  madam.    Certainly.  Mr.  B.  is  in  his  private  room.  What  name  shall 
I  have  the  pleasure  of  saving?" 
"Lovett." 

4 1  Lovett  ?  Yes,  madam*  Certainly — a  hem!  Pray  be  seated,  madam,  if 
you  please.5* 

Mrs.  Lovett  made  a  gesture  of  dissent,  and  the  clerk  went  upon  his  errand. 
He  was  scarcely  absent  a  moment,  and  then  holding  open  a  door,  he  said,  with 
quite  a  chivalric  air — 

u  This  way,  if  you  please,  madam. — A  monstrous  fine  woman,"  he  added  to 
himself. 

The  door  closed  after  Mrs.  Lovett,  and  she  was  in  the  private  room  of  Mr. 
Anthony  Brown. 

"  Ah,  Mrs.  Lovett.  Pray  be  seated,  madam.  I  am  truly  glad  to  see  you 
well.  Well,  to  be  sure,  you  do  look  younger,  and  younger,  and  younger,  every 
time  I  have  the  pleasure  of  a  visit  from  you." 

"  Thank  you,  Mr.  Brownt  for  the  compliment.  My  visits  have  not  been  so 
numerous  as  usual  of  late." 

u  Why,  no  ma'am,  they  have  not ;  but  I  hope  we  are  going  to  resume  busi- 
ness again  in  the  old  way?" 

"  Not  exactly." 

"  Well,  my  dear  madam,  whatever  it  is  that  has  procured  me  the  honour  and 
the  pleasure  of  this  visit,  I  am  sure  I  am  very  glad  of  it,  and  shall  not  quarrel 
with  it.    He!  he!    Nice  weather,  Mrs.  Lovett." 

"Very." 

u  Ah,  madam — ah,  it  was  a  world  of  pities  to  disturb  the  investments.  It 
was  indeed.    But  ladies  w;ll  be  ladies." 
"Sir?" 

u  I — I  merely  said  ladies  will  be  ladies  you  know.  And  indeed— he !  he ! — 
I  fully  expeeted  the  interesting  ceremony  had  come  off  before  now,  I  did  indeed  j 
and  I  should  have  wagered  a  new  hat." 

"  Mr.  Brown,  what  are  you  talking  about?" 

\ ?  About  r 

"  Yes,  what  do  you  mean  ?" 

r<  Why,    a — a— that    is — the — a — a — about— concerning — the — my  dear 

madam,  if  I  have  inadvertently  trodden  upon  your  sensibilities,  I — I  really  " 

"You  really  what  V 

Mr.  Brown  looked  perplexed.    Mrs.  Lovett  looked  a  little  furious. 

"  Sir/'  she  said.  "  Before  I  explain  the  cause  of  my  visit  to  you,  I  insist 
upon  knowing  to  what  all  your  mysterious  hints  and  remarks  allude.  Speak 
freely  and  plainly,  sir." 

i4  Well  then,  madam,  when  Mr.  Todd  was  last  here,  he  said  that  you  had 
at  last  consented  to  reward  years  of  devotion  to  you  by  becoming  his,  and  that 
the  ceremony  which  was  to  make  him  a  happy  man  by  uniting  him  to  so  much 
excellence  and  beauty,  was  to  come  off  almost'immediately,  and  that  that  was 
the  reason  you  had  both  agreed  to  withdraw  all  the  money  I  had  in  such  snug 
and  comfortable  safe  investments  for  you  both.    He  !  he  !  he  V9 


CHAPTER  LXXVIII. 

MRS.  LOVETT  FINDS  THAT  IN  THIS  WORLD  THERE  IS  RETRIBUTION. 

Be  so  good,  reader,  as  to  picture  to  yourself  the  look  of  Mrs.  Lovett.  We 
feel  that  one  brief  moment  of  imagination  will  do  more  to  enable  you  to  feel  and 
to  see  with 

"  Your  mind's  eye" 

her  aspect,  than  as  if  we  weie  to  try  a  paragraph  upon  the  subject.    How  that 

_   ,-     |-  -—  ,  i  .  i  i  i  ii  i  i   .,    «'     'i  "  |  !■» 

1  1 


350  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


he  !  he  !  he  !  of  Mr.  Brown's  rung  in  her  ears.  It  was  at  any  time  almost 
enough  to  provoke  a  saint,  and  we  need  not  say  that  this  time  of  all  others  was 
not  one  at  which  Mrs.  Lovett's  feelings  were  attuned  to  gentleness  and  patience. 
Besides,  she  certainly  was  no  saint.  A  rather  heavy  inkstand  stood  upon  the 
table  between  Mrs,  Lovett  and  the  stock-broker.  The  next  moment  it  narrowly 
escaped  his  head,  leaving  in  its  progress  over  his  frontispiece  a  long  streak  of  ink  ! 
down  his  visage.  j 

ii  Wretch  !"  said  Mrs.  Lovett.    "  It  is  not  true."  j 

,c  Murder  !*  cried  Mr.  Brown, 
j      Mrs.  Lovett  covered  her  face  with  both  her  hands  for  a  moment,  as  though,  to 
enable  her  to  think  clearly,  it  were  necessary  to  shut  out  ttie  external  world;  and 
!   then  starting  up,  she  advanced  to  the  door  of  the  room.  j 

€t  Murder  V9  said  the  stock-broker  again. 

<•  Silence  V* 

"  A  constable/3 

"  If!  you  dare  to  say  one  word  of  this  interview,  I  will  return,  and  tear  you  j 
limb  irom  limb."  j 

Mrs,  Lovett  opened  the  door  of  the  private  room  with  such  a  vengeance  that 
the  nose  of  the  clerk,  who  had  been  listening  upon  the  o'her  side,  was  seriously 
damaged  thereby.    He  started  back  with  a  howl  of  pain.  j 

"Fool!"  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  as  she  passed  him,  and  that  was  all  she  condes- 
cended to  say  to  him  ; — not  by  any  means  an  agreeable  reminiscence  of  his  last  ; 
words  with  a  lady  to  a  gentleman  who  prided  himself  upon  his  looks — rather  ! 

Mrs.  Lovett  reached  the  street,  and  walked  for  some  distance  as  though  street 
it  was  not.  She  was  only  roused  to  a  sense  of  the  world  in  which  she  was, 
by  hearing  the  sound  of  a  voice  calling — 

"Mum — mum!  Here  yer  is — mum — mum!  woo  V9 

She  turned  and  saw  the  coach  in  which  she  had  come  to  the  stock-broker. 
"  Going  back,  mum?"  said  the  man. 

"  Yes,  yes/'  I 
She  stepped  into  the  vehicle,  looking  more  like  an  animated  statue  than  aught 

human.    The  man  stood  touching  what  was  once  the  brim  of  a  hat,  as  he 

said — 

"  Where  to,  mum i"  j 

Mrs.  Lovett  looked  at  him  with  an  air  of  such  abstraction  that  it  was  quite  j 
clear  she  did  not  see  him,  but  she  heard  the  question,  that  came  to  her  like  an 
echo  in  the  air. 

u  Where  to,  mum  V9 

U  To  Fleet-street !" 

Wheeze — creak — wheeze — creak — sway — sway,  and  the  coach  moved  on 
again.  Mrs.  Lovett  sunk  down  among  the  straw  with  which  the  lower  part  of 
the  vehicle  was  plentifully  strewed  ;  and  then,  with  her  head  resting  upon  the  j 
seat,  her  throbbing  temples  clasped  in  her  hands,  she  tried  to  think.  Yes—  j 
she  called  upon  all  that  calmness — that  decision — that  talent  or  tact,  call  it 
which  you  will  that  had  saved  her  for,  so  long,  not  to  desert  her  now  in  this  hour 
of  her  dire  extremity.  She  called  upon  everything  for  aid  but  upon  Heaven! 
and  then,  to  ease  her  mind,  she  cursed  a  little.   Somebody  says— 

"  Swearing  when  the  passions  are  at  war, 
And  light  the  chambers  of  the  brain  with  angers  flash, 
Has  an  effect  quite  moral — a  kind  of  safety  valve, 
Sparing  what  might  be  a  tremendous  crash !  ' 

and  so  Mrs.  Lovett  got  cooler,  but  not  a  whit  the  less  determined,  as  the  erazy 
vehicle  conveyed  her  to  Fleet-street.  She  fully  intended  now  to  measure  con- 
clusions with  Todd.  The  distance  was  so  short  that  eyen  a  hackney-coach 
performed  it  with  tolerable  promptitude.  Mrs.  Lovett  did  not  wish  to  alight 
exactly  at  the  door  of  Todd's  shop  ;  so  she  was  rather  glad  upon  finding 
the  coach  stop  at  the  corner  of  Fleet-street  by  the  old  Market,  and  the 
driver  demanded  what  number  ? 

 \ 

^         ,    .,,,x.'\  ta xit.\"s!''MW»*t"H'"i*TfM'm'- '  I'li'iim"    ii'i  Mill  1  ir—rwrrmtm~—"       1      1      1   "■'"•■iJr  """"i1         i  i   i -t— t— -t— —it         ii  i  i    "''  ■  '   •■  / ''"^ ;r;'"         "  ■■'  --nmi«1"' 


# 


THE  STRING  OP  PEA.KLS. 


"  This  will  do." 

She  was  in  the  street  in  another  minute.  It  took  a  minute  to  get  out  of  a 
hackney-coach.  It  was  like  watching  the  moment  to  spring  from  a  boat  to 
the  shore  in  a  heavy  surf.  And  yet,  oh  much  villified  old  hackney-coach  !  how 
much  superior  wert  thou  to  thy  bastard  son,  the  present  odious  rattling,  bump-  ! 
ing,  angular,  bone-dislocating,  horrid  cab  !  The  driver  received  about  double 
his  fare,  and  a  cab-man  of  the  present  day  would  have  gathered  a  mob  by  his 
vociferations,  and  blackguarded  you  into  a  shop,  )f  you  had  treated  him  in  such  a 
way.  Nothing  less  than  three  times  what  he's  entitled  to  ever  lights  up  the  smallest 
spark  of  civility  in  the  soul  of  a  modern  cab -driver,  but  the  old  hackney-coach- 
man was  always  content  with  double  ;  so  upon  this  occasion  Mrs.  Lovett  got  a 
I  "  thank  ye,  mum  jV  and  along  straw  that  had  taken  an  affection  for  the  skirt 
of  her  dress  was  arrested  by  jarvey  and  restored  to  the  coach  again.  ! 

Mrs.  Lovett  walked  to  all  appearance  composedly  up  Fleet-street.    Alas  !  in  j 
this  world  who  can  trust  to  appearances  ?    She  had  time,  before  reaching  the 
shop  of  ^Sweeney  Todd,  to  arrange  slightly  what  she  should  say  to  that  worthy.  I 
Of  course,  he  could  know  nothing  of  her  visit  to  the  City—of  her  interview 
I  with  Mr.  Brown,  and  she  need  not  blurt  that  out  too  soon.    She  would  argue 
with  him  a  little,  and  then  she  would  be  down  upon  him  with  the  knowledge  of 
his  knavery  and  treachery.    She  reached  the  shop.    No  wonder  she  paused 
there  a  moment  or  two  to  draw  breath-     You  would  have  done  the  same; 
and  after  all,  Mrs.  Lovett  was  mortal.    But  she  did  not  hesitate  for  long. 
The  threshold  was  crossed — the  handle  ot  the  door  was  in  her  hand — it 
was  turned,  and  she  stood  in  Todd's  shop.    Todd  was  looking  at  something 
in  a  bottle,  which  he  was  holding  up  to  the  light ;  and  Mrs.  Lovett  saw, 
too,  that  a  pretty  genteel-looking  lad  was  poking  about  the  fire,  as  if  to  j 
rouse  it. 

I     "  Ah,  Mrs.  Lovett !"  said  Todd,  "  how  do  you  do  ?    Some  more  of  that  fine 
grease  for  the  hair,  I  suppose,  madam  ?M    Todd  winked  towards  the  lad  (our 
dear  friend  Johanna),  as  though  he  would  have  said — "  Don't  appear  to  know  j 
me  too  well  before  this  boy.  Be  careful,  if  you  please."  j 
"  I  have  something  to  say  to  you,  Mr.  Todd."  I 
**  Oh,  certainly,  madam.    Pray  walk  in — this  way,  if  you  please,  madam — to 
my  humble  bachelor-parlour,  madam.    It  is  not  fit  exactly  to  ask  a  lady  into  ; 
but  we  poor  miserable  single  men,  you  know,  madam,  can  only  do  the  best  we 
can.    Ha!  ha!    This  way." 
"No." 

"Eh?    Not  come  in  ?" 

"  No.    I  have  something  to'say  to  you,  Mr.  Todd  ;  but  I  wilt  say  it  here." 
And  now  Mrs.  Lovett  gave  a  sidelong  glance  at  the  seeming  boy,  as  muh  s 
to  say — 

ts  You  can  easily  send  him  away  if  you  don't  want  him  to  listen  to  our 
discourse." 

Todd  saw  the  glance;  and  the  diabolical  look  that  he  sent  to  Mrs.  Lovett  in 
return  would  indeed  have  appalled  any  one  of  less  nerve  than  she  was  possessed 
j  of.    But  she  had  come  to  that  place  wound  up  firmly  to  a  resolution,  and  she 

I  would  not  shrink.   Todd  had  no  resource. 

I I  "  Charley,"  he  said,  "  you  can  go  and  take  a  little  turn — here  is  a  penny  to 
spend;  get  yourself  something  in  the  market.    But  be  sure  you  are  back  within 

i  half  an  hour,  for  we  shall  have  some  customers,  no  doubt," 

"Yes,  sir."  - 
Johanna  did  not  exactly  know  whether  to  think  that  Mrs.  Lovett  came  in 
anger  or  friendship;  but,  at  all  events,  she  felt  that  it  would  be  hazardous  to 
remain  after  so  marked  a  dismissal  from  Todd,  although  she  would  gladly  have 
heard  what  the  subject  of  the  conversation  between  those  two  was  to  be. 
Neither  Mrs.  Lovett  nor  Todd  now  spoke  until  Johanna  had  fairly  gone  and 
■  closed  the  door  after  her.  Then  Todd,  as  he  folded  his  arms,  and  looked  Mrs. 
Lovett  fully  in  the  face,  said— 

i 

  -I*    .■  ■     i.    i.»»m ,n .ii  ii  n  ii  ■  ■jnuan^pai   1  -  ' 


852 


THE  STRING  OFftPEARLS. 


"Well?" 

"  The  time  has  come. 
"  What  time  ? "  _ 

u  For  the  end  of  our  partnership — the  dissolution  of  our  agreement  I  will  I 
go  on  no  further.    You  can  do  as  vou  please  ;  but  I  am  content/' 

"  Humph !"  said  Todd.  *  ■  \ 

u  After  much  thought,  I  have  come  to  this  conclusion,  Todd.  Of  course,  let 
me  be  where  I  may,  the  secret  of  our  road  to  fortune  remains  hidden  here  (she 
struck Aher  breast  as  she  spoke).  All  I  want  is  my  half  of  theproceeds,  and 
then  we  part,  I  hope,  for  ever." 

« Humph!"  said  Todd. 

"  And— and  the  sooner  we  can  forget,  if  that  be  possible,  the  past,  the  better  ! 
it  will  be  for  us  both — only  tell  me  where  you  purpose  going,  and  I  will  take 
care  to  avoid  you." 

"Humph!"  I 
Passion  was  boiling  in  the  heart  of  Mrs.  Lovett ;  and  that  was  just  what  ! 
Todd  wanted  ;  for  well  he  knew  that  something  had  gone  amiss,  and  that  as 
long  as  Mjs.  Lovett  could  keep  herself  calm  and  reasonable,  he  should  stand 
but  a  poor  chance  of  finding  out  what  it  was,  unless  she  chose,  as  part  of  her 
arrangement,  to  tell  it ;  but  if  he  could  but  rouse  her  passion,  he  should  know  all. 
Therefore  was  it  that  he  kept  on  replying  to  what  she  said  with  that  cold  insult- 
ing sort  of  "  humph  !" 
"  Man,  do  you  hear  me  Y9 

"  Humph !"  jj 
«  You  villain  !"  .  j 

"  Humph !"  -  I 

Mrs.  Lovett  took  from  a  side -table  an  iron,  which,  in  the  mystery  of  hair- 
dressing,  was  used  for  some  purpose,  and  in  a  cool,  calm  voice,  she  said—  j 
"  If  you  do  not  answer  me  as  you  ought,  I  will  throw  this  through  your  win-  j 
dow,  into  the  street ;  and  the  first  person  who  comes  in,  in  consequence,  I  will  j 
ask  to  seize  Todd,  the  murderer  !  and  offer  myself  as  evidence  of  his  numerous  J 
atrocities — contrite  evidence — myself  repenting  of  my  share  in  them,  and  j 
relying  upon  the  mercy  of  the  crown,  which,  in  recompense  for  my  denouncing 
you,may  graciously  pardon  m*."  ' 
**  And  so  it  has  come  to  this  ?"  said  Jodd.  j 
u  You  see  and  hear  that  it  has." 

It  was  rather  a  curious  coincidence,  that  Mrs.  Lovett  had  threatened  Todd 
that  she  would  awaken  public  attention  to  his  shop  by  the  same  means  that 
Sii  Richard  Blunt  had  recommended  to  Johanna  to  use  in  case  of  any  emer- 
gency— namely,  throwing  something  through  the  window  into  the  street. 
If  Mrs.  Lovett  had  been  goaded  by  Todd  to  throw  the  iron  through  a  pane  of 
his  glass,  the  officers  of  Sir  Richard  would  quickly  have  made  their  appearance  jj 
to  hear  her  denunciation  of  the  barber.  Unhappy  woman !  If  she  had  but  j 
known  what  the  future  had  in  store  for  her,  that  act  which  she  threatened  Todd 
with,  and  which  to  her  imagination  seemed  such  a  piece  of  pure  desperation, 
would  have  been  the  most  prudent  thing  she  could  have  done.  But  it  was  not 
to  be!  There  was  a  few  moments  silence  now  between  them.  It  was  broken 
by  Todd.  jj 

"Are  you  mad  ?*  he  said.  j. 

"No-"  J 

"  Then,  what,  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  deviluh,  has  got  possession  of  j 
you  ?" 

"  I  have  told  you  my  determination.  Give  me  twenty  thousand  pounds-** 
you  may  profit  by  the  odd  sum— give  me  that  amount,  and  I  will  go  ^ 
peace.  You  know  I  am  entitled  to  more  ;  but  there  is  no  occasion  ^r 
us  to  reckon  closely.    Give  me  the  sum  I  seek,  and  you  will  see  me  no  more. 

**  You  ake  me  by  surprise.    Just  step  into  the  parlour,  and  u 

«  No— no." 


I 


m 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


353 


31 


'*  Why  not  ?    Do  you  suspect —  % 
"I  suspect  nothing;  but  I  am  sure  of  much.  Now,  for  me  to  set  foot  within 
your  parlour  would  be  tantamount  to  the  commission  of  suicide,  and  I  am  not 
yet  come  to  that— you  understand  me  ?" 

Todd  understood  her.  His  hand  strayed  to  a  razor  that  lay  partially  open 
close  to  him.    Mrs.  Lovett  raised  the  iron. 


HEROIC  CONDUCT  OF  MINNA  GRAY. 

"  Beware V9  she  said. 
I        Todd  shrunk  back. 

f)  "  Pho!  pho!  this  is  child's  play/  he  said.  u  You  and  I,  Mrs.  Lovett,  ought 
to  be  above  all  this— far  abovS  it.  You  want  your  half  of  the  proceeds  of  our 
joint  business,  and  I  must  confess,  at  the  moment,  that  the  demand  rather 
staggered  and  distressed  me  ;  but  the  more  I  think  of  it,  the  more  reasonable 
it  appears." 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


***  Very  well.    Give  it  to  me,  then.,,  | 

"  Why,  really  now,  my  dear  Mrs.  Lovett,  you  quite  forget  that  all  our  joint 
savings  are  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Brown."  |  j 

Todd  glared  at  her  as  though  he  would  read  her  very  soul.    She  felt  that  he 
more  than  suspected  she  knew  all,  and  she  adopted  at  once  the  bold  policy  of  I 
;  avowing  it.  I  j 

"  I  do  not  forget  anything  that  it  is  essential  should  be  remembered,"  she  | 
said  ;  "  and  among  other  things,  I  know  that,  by  forging  my  name,  you  have 
withdrawn  the  whole  of  the  money  from  the  hands  of  Brown.    It  is  not  worth  j 
our  while  to  dispute  concerning  your  motives  for  such  an  act.    Let  it  suffice  | 
that  I  know  it,  and  that  I  am  here  to  demand  my  due/' 

"  Ha !  ha  P  •  ! 

"  You  laugh?" 

"  I  do,  indeed.  Why,  really  now — ha  !  ha  ! — this  is  good  ;  and  so  it  is  ; 
this  withdrawal  of  the  money  from  Brown  that  has  made  all  this  riot  in  your 
brain?  Why,  I  withdrew  it  from  him  simply  because  I  had  certain  secret 
|  information  that  his  affairs  were  not  in  the  best  order  ;  and  from  a  fear,  grounded 
upon  that  information,  that  he  might  be  tempted  to  put  his  hand  into  our  purse, 
if  he  found  nothing  in  his  own." 

**  Well,  wrell ;  it  matters  not  what  were  your  reasons.  Give  me  my  half.  It 
will  be  then  out  of  your  custody,  and  you  will  have  no  anxiety  concerning  it, 
while  I  can  have  no  suspicions." 

"  In  a  moment  & 

"You  will  ?" 

"  If  I  had  it  here  ;  but  I  have  re-invested  the  whole,  you  see,  and  cannot  get  j 
it  at  a  moment's  notice.  1  have  moved  it  from  the  hands  of  Brown  to  those  of  j 
Black."  i 


CHAPTER  LXXIX. 

TODD  TAKES  A  JOURNEY    TO  THE  TEMPLE. 

"  Black  ?"  said  Mrs  Lovett. 

"  Yes,  Black/  ;  | 

"  Do  you  think  me  so — "  green,  she  was  going  to  say,  but  the  accidental 
conjunction  of  the  colours— brown,  black,  and  green — suddenly  struck  her  as 
ludicrous,  and  she  altered  it  to  foolish.   "  Do  you  think  me  so  foolish  as  for  j 
one  moment  to  credit  you  V9  j 
"  Hark  you,  Mrs.  Lovett/'  pursued  Todd,  suddenly  assuming  quite  a  dif-  j 
ferent  tone.    u  You  have  come  here  full  of  passion,  because  you  thought  I  was 
deceiving  you/1  ! 
"  You  are."  ~  j 

"Allow  me  to  proceed.    It  is,  I  believe,  one  of  the  penalties  of  all  associa- 
tions for — for — why  do  I  hesitate  about  a  word? — guilty  purposes  that  there 
|  should  be  mutual  distrust.    I  tell  you  again,  that  if  I  had  not  moved  the  money 
from  Brown,  we  should  have  lost  it  all." 

"But  why  not  come  to  me  and  get  my  signature  r" 

"There — really — was — not — time,"  said  Todd,  dropping  his  words  out  one 
by  one,  with  a  sttccato  expression.  j 

€i  That  is  too  absurd. "  1 

Todd  shrugged  his  shoulders,  as  though  he  would  have  said — "  Well,  if  you 
will  have  it  so,  I  cannot  help  it;M  and  then  he  said —  i 

"  I  was  in  the  City.  1  heard  the  rumour  of  the  instability  of  Brown.  I  flew 
into  a  shop.  I  wrote  the  order  like  a  flash  of  lightning.  I  went  to  Brown's 
like  an  avalance,  and  I  brought  away  the  money,  as  if  Heaven  and  earth  were 
coming  together." 

There  was  not  the  ghost  of  a  smile  upon  Todd's  face  as  he  made  use 
of  these  superlatives.    Mrs.  Lovett  began  to  be  staggered. 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  355 

•~"*-~ *    '  Mill  I  II    ■!  I      ■         I  I     I  .  ,  ,|  ,    iii   I  II.  I      .    I.    I.      Mf     II      ■■    II       II  ,        i  „ 

"  Then  you  have  it  here  ?" 
('No,  no  !" 

"  You  have.  Tell  me  that  you  have,  and  that  this  Mr.  Black  you  mentioned 
is  a  mere  delusion." 

"  Black  may  be  no  colour,  but  it  is  not  a  delusion." 
"  You  trifle  with  me.    Beware !" 

"  In  a  word  then,  my  charming  Mrs.  Lovett,  I  dreaded  to  bring  the  money 
here.  I  thought  my  house  the  most  unsafe  place  in  the  world  for  it.  I  and 
you  stand  upon  the  brink  of  a  precipice — a  slumbering  volcano  is  beneath  our 
feet.  Pshaw !  Where  is  your  old  acuteness,  that  you  do  not  see  at  once  how 
truly  foolish  it  would  have  been  to  bring  the  money  here  ?" 

"  Juggler!    ffend  !" 

"  Hard  words,  Mrs.  Lovett. 

She  dashed  her  hand  across  her  brow,  as  though  by  that  physical  effort  she 
could  brush  from  her  intellect  the  sophistical  cobwebs  that  Todd  had  en- 
deavoured to  move  before  it,  and  then  she  said —  j 

"I  know  not.    I  care  not.    All  I  ask — all  I  demand — is  my  share  of  the 
money.  Give  it  to  me,  and  let  me  go/5 
I      "I  will." 

"When?" 

"This  day.    Stay,  the  day  is  fast  going,  but  I  will  say  this  night,  if  you 
really,  in  your  cool  judgment,  insist  upon  it." 
"I  do.    I  do!" 

"Well,  you  shall  have.  This  night  after  business  was  over  and  the  shop 
was  closed,  I  intended  to  have  come  to  you,  and  fully  planned  all  this  that  you 
have  unfortunately  tortured  yourself  by  finding  out.  I  regret  that  you  think  of 
so  quickly  leaving  the  profits  of  a  partnership  which,  in  a  short  time  longer, 
would  have  made  us  rich  as  monarchs.  Of  course,  if  you  leave,  I  am  compelled." 

"  You  compelled  ?h 

*'  Yes.   How  can  I  carry  on  business  without  you  ?  How  could  I,  without 

your  aid,  dispose  of  the  " 

*  Hush,  hush  V* 

Mrs.  Lovett  shuddered. 

"As  you  please,"  said  Todd.  i€  I  only  say,  I  regret  that  a  co-partnership  that 
promised  such  happy  results  should  now  be  broken  up.   However,  that  is  a| 
matter  for  your  personal  consideration  merely.    If  I  had  thought  of  leaving,  j 
and  being  content  with  what  I  had  already  got,  of  course  it  would  have  com- 
pelled you  to  do  so.  Therefore  I  cannot  complain,  although  I  may  regret  your 
excuse  of  a  right  of  action  that  equally  belonged  to  me." 

"  If  I  only  thought  you  sincere — " 

"  And  why  not?" 

<rIfI  could  only  bring  myself  to  believe  that  the  money  was  once  more 
rightly  invested—*" 

"  You  shall  come  with  me  yourself,  if  you  like,  in  the  morning  to  Mr.  Black 
the  broker  in  Abchurch  Lane,  No.  3,  and  ascertain  that  all  is  right.  You  shall 
there  sign  your  name  in  his  book,  so  that  he  may  know  it,  and  then  you  will  be 
satisfied,  I  presume?" 

«  Yes,  I  should  then." 

«  And  this  dream  of  leaving  off  business  would  vanish  ?" 

"  Perhaps  it  would.    But— but  " 

"  But  what  ?" 

"  Whv  did  you  say  to  Brown  that  our  union  was  to  take  place  ?" 

i€  Because  it  was  necessary  to  say  something,  to  account  for  the  sudden  with- 
drawal of  the  money;  and  surely  I  may  be  pardoned,  charming  Mrs.  Lovett, 
for  even  in  imagination  dreaming,  that  so  much  beauty  was  mine." 

The  horrible  leer  with  which  Todd  looked  upon  her  at  this  moment  made  her 
shudder  again ;  and  the  expression  of  palpable  hatred  and  disgust  that  her 
countenance  wore,  added  yet  another,  and  not  the  least  considerable,  link  to 

 —————— —   ■  ■■  ■   —  .      .'.I  i.i  ,      ,  in   .,  .   _   .',.'"*     -."    O.'.Plll   '    l'«.II..Uj,.  If 

■   -  — 


356  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  

the  chain  of  revenge  which  Todd  cherished  against  her  in  his  cruel  and  most 
secret  heart.  While  he  was  philosophising  about  guilty  associations  pro-' 
ducin^  a  feeling  o(  mutual  distrust,  he  should  have  likewise  added  that  they\ 
soon  produce  mutual  hatred.  For  a  few  moments  they  looked  at  each  other — that 
guilty  pair—with  expressions  that  sought  to  read  each  other's  souls  ;  but  they 
were  both  tolerable  adepts  in  the  art  of  dissimulation.  The  silence  was  the 
most  awkward  for  Todd,  so  he  broke  it  first  by  saying— 

"  You  are  satisfied,  let  me  hope  V' 

"I  will  be." 

"  You  shall  be." 

"  Yes,  when  I  have  my  money.    Henceforward,  Todd,  we  will  have  much 
shorter  reckonings,  so  shall  we  keep  much  longer  friends.^   If  you  keep,  in  j 
some  secret  place,  your  half  of  the  proceeds  of  our — our  "  j 

"Business/'  said  Todd.  #  I 

Mrs.  Lovett  made  a  sort  of  gulph  of  the  word,  but  she  adopted  it. 

"If  you,  I  say,  keep  your  half  of  the  proceeds  of  our  business,  and  I  keep  j 
mine,  I  don  t  see  how  it  is  possible  for  us  to  quarrel. * 

"  Quite  impossible." 

He  began  to  strop  a  razor  diligently,  and  to  try  its  edge  across  his  thumb 
nail.  Mrs.  Lovett's  passion— that  overwhelming  passion  which  had  induced 
her  to  enter  Todd's  shop,  and  defy  him  to  a  species  of  single  combat  of  wits- 
had  in  a  great  measure  subsided,  giving  place  to  a  calmer  and  more  reflective 
feeling.  One  of  the  results  of  that  feeling  was  a  self-question  to  the  effect  of, 
"What  will  be  the  result  of  an  open  quarrel  with  Todd  ?"  Mrs.  Lovett  shook 
a  little  at  the  answer  she  felt  forced  to  give  herself  to  this  question.  That 
answer  was  continued  in  two  words— mutual  destruction  !  Yes,  that  would  be  j 
the  consequence. 

"  Todd/'  she  said  in  a  softened  tone,  "  if  I  had  forged  your  name,  and  gone 
to  the  city  and  possessed  myself  of  all  the  money,  what  would  you  have  thought  ? 
Tell  me  that." 

"  Just  what  you  thought— that  it  was  the  most  scandalous  breach  of  faith 
that  could  possibly  be ;  but  an  explanation  ought  to  put  that  right." 
"It  has" 

"  Then  you  are  satisfied  :" 

"  I  am.    At  what  time  shall  we  go  together,  to-morrow  morning,  to  Mr. 

Black's  in  Abchurch  Lane  ?" 

"  Name  your  own  time,"  said  Todd  with  the  most  assumed  air  in  the  world. 
'<  Black  lives  at  Ballam  Hill,  and  don't  get  to  business  until  ten  ;  but  any  time 
after  that  will  do." 

"  I  will  come  here  at  ten,  then." 

"  So  be  it.  Ah,  Mrs.  Lovett,  how  charming  it  is  to  be  able  to  explain  away 
these  little  difficulties  of  sentiment,  Never  trust  to  appearances.  How  very 
deceitful  they  are  apt  to  be."  #  I 

There  was  an  air  of  candour  about  Todd,  that  might  have  deceived  the  devil 
himself.  Notwithstanding  all  his  hideous  ugliness— notwithstanding  his  voice 
was  of  the  lowest  order,  and  notwithstanding  that  frightful  laugh,  and  that 
Obliquity  of  vision  that  seemed  peculiar  to  himself  in  its  terrible  malignancy, 
there  was  a  plausibility  about  his  manner,  when  he  pleased,  that  was  truly 
astonishing.  Even  Mrs.  Lovett,  with  all  her  knowledge  of  the  man,  felt  that  it 
was  a  hard  struggle  to  disbelieve  his  representations.  What  must  it  have  been 
to  those  who  knew  him  not? 

"No,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  "  it  don't  do  to  trust  to  appearances." 

She  still  held  the  iron  in  her  hand. 

"  Nor/'  added  Todd,  giving  the  razor  he  had  been  putting  an  edge  to,  a  flou- 
rish, "nor  will  it  do  to  listen  always  to  the  dictates  of  compassion;  for  if  we 
did,  what  miseries  might  we  inflict  upon  ourselves.  Now,  here  is  a  cure  in 
point." 

"  Where  ?"   [J 


  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.   357 

"  I  allude  to  this  little  affair  between  us.  If  you  had  flown  to  Bow-street,  and 
there,  to  spite  me,  made  a  full  disclosure  of  certain  little  facts,  why,  the  result 
would  have  been  that  we  might  both  have  skpt  in  Newgate  to-night. " 

€t  Yes,  yes." 

"  And  then  there  would  have  been  no  recal.  You  could  not  have  freed  us 
by  telling  the  police  that  you  had  made  a  mistake.  Then  the  gallows  would 
hare  risen*  up  in  our  dreams." 

"  Horrible  !" 

"  And  it  being  easily  discovered  that  it  was  no  love  of  public  justice  or 
feeling  of  remorse,  that  induced  you  to  the  betrayal,  they  would  have  shown 
you  no  mercy,  but  you  would  have  swung  from  the  halter  amid  the  shouts  and 
execrations  of — — " 

"No,  no!" 

"  I  say  yes." 

"  No  more  of  this— no  more  of  this.  Can  you  bear  to  paint  such  a  picture — 
does  it  not  seem  to  you  as  though  you  stood  upon  that  scaffold,  and  heard  those 
shouts  ?    Oh,  horror,  horror  !" 

'*  You  don't  like  the  picture  V* 

"No,  nor 

"  Ha  !  ha !  Well,  Mrs.  Lovett,  you  and  I  had  far  better  be  friends  than 
foes  ;  and  above  all,  you  ought  by  this  time  to  feel  that  you  could  trust  me.  The 
very  fact  that  to  all  the  world  else  I  am  false,  ought  to  prove  to  you  that  to  you 
I  am  true.  No  human  being  can  exist  purely  isolated,  and  I  am  not  an  ex- 
ception." 

I    "  Say  no  more— say  no  more.    We  will  meet  to-morrow." 

"To- morrow  be  it,  then." 
I    "  At  ten/' 

|    "At  ten  be  it,  and  then  we  will  go  to  Black.    Come  now,  since  all  this  is 
settled,  take  a  glass  of  wine  to  our  99 

"No, no.  Not  that.  I— I  am  not  very  well.  A  throbbing  head-ache— a 
— a.    That  is,  no!" 

"  As  you  please — as  you  please.    By-the-by,  did  Black  give  me  a  receipt, 
or  did  he  say  it  was  not  usual  ?    Stay  a  moment,  I  will  look  in  my  secretaire. 
Sit  down  a  moment  in  the  shaving  chair;  I  will  be  with  you  again  directly." 
|    "We  will  settle  that  to-morrow,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett  ;  "I  feel  convinced  that 
Black  did  not  give  you  a  receipt  Good-day/' 

She  left  the  shop,  unceremoniously  carrying  the  iron  with  her.  Todd  breathed 
more  freely  when  Mrs.  Lovett  was  gone.  He  gave  one  of  his  horrible  laughs  as 
he  watched  her  through  the  opening  in  his  window. 

"  Ha  !  ha !  Curses  on  her  ;  but  I  will  have  her  life  first,  ere  she  sees  one 
guinea  of  my  hoard  !" 

He  saw  Charley  Green  crossing  the  road. 

"  Ah,  the  boy  comes  back.  Tis  well.  I  don't  know  how  or  why  it  is,  but  the 
sight  of  that  boy  makes  me  uneasy.  I  think  it  will  be  better  to  cut  his  throat 
and  have  done  with  him.    I  '* 

|  Todd  was  suddenly  silent.  He  saw  two  women  pass,  and  as  they  did  so,  one 
j  pointed  to  his  shop  and  said  something  to  the  other,  who  lifted  up  her  hands  as 
I  though  in  pious  horror.  One  of  these  women  was  Mrs.  Ragg,  poor  Tobias's 
j  mother.  The  other  was  a  stranger  to  Todd,  but  she  looked  like  what  Mrs. 
!  Ragg  had  been,  namely,  a  laundress  in  the  temple. 
!      11  Curses/'  he  muttered. 

Johanna  entered  the  shop.    Todd  caught  up  his  hat. 

"  Charley  f 

*'  Yes,  sir.* 

"  I  shall  be  gone  five  minutes.    Be  vigilant.    If  any  one  should  come,  you 
can  say  I  have  stepped  a  few  doors  off  to  trim  Mr.  Pejitwheesle's  whiskers." 
"  Yes,  sir." 

Todd  darted  from  the  shop,    Mrs.  Ragg  and  her  friend  were  in  that'deep  and 


358 


earnest  course  that  is  a  foe  to  rapid  locomotion,  so  they  had  not  got  many  yards 
from  Todd's  door.    He  Was  rarely  seen,  however,  for  either  to — 

"  Paint  a  moral  or  adorn  a  tale'* 
Mrs.  Ragg  turned  suddenly  and  pointed  to  the  shop,  and  then  both  the  ladies 
lifted  up  their  hands  as  though  in  horror,  ?fter  which  they  resumed  their  deep 
and  all-absorbing  discourse  as  before.    Todd  followed  them  closely,  and  yet  wit 
abundance  of  caution. 


CHAPTER  LXXX. 

TI*E  NIGHT  IS  COMING. 

The  two  females  took  their  way  ta  the  Temple.  Todd  had  been  quite  right 
in  his  conjectures.  The  friend  of  Mrs.  Ragg  was  one  of  the  old  compatriots  of 
the  laundress  tribe  ;  and  that  good  lady  herself,  although,  while  there  was  no 
temptation  to  do  otherwise,  she  had  kept  well  the  secret  of  her  son's  residence 
at  Colonel  JefFery's,  broke  down  like  a  frail  and  weak  vessel  as  she  Wcis  with 
the  weight  of  the  secret  the  moment  she  got  into  a  gossip  with  an  old  friend. 
Now  Mrs.  Ragg  had  only  come  into  that  neighbourhood  upon  some  little  errand 
of  her  own,  and  with  a  positive  promise  of  returning  to  the  colonel's  house  as 
soon  as  possible.  She  would  have  kept  this  promise,  but  that  amid  the  purlieus 
of  Fetter-lane  she  encountered  Martha  Jones  her  old  acquaintance.  One  word 
begot  another,  and  at  last  as  they  walked  up  Fleet-street.  Mrs.  Rhgg  could  not 
help,  with  many  head-shakings  and  muttered  interactional  phrases,  letting  Martha 
|  Jones  know  that  she  had  a  secret.  Nay,  as  she  passed  Todd's  shop,  she  could 
not  help  intimating  that  she  fully  believed  certain  persons,  not  a  hundred  miles 
off,  who  might  be  barbers  or  who  mi^htnot,  would  some  day  come  to  a  bad 
end  in  front  of  Newgate,  in  the  Old  Bailey.  It  was  at  this  insinuation  that 
Martha  Jones  lifted  up  her  hands,  and  Mrs.  Ragg  lifted  up  hers  in  sympathy. 
Tbdd  bad  seen  this  action  upon  the  part  of  the  ladies.  To  overhear  what  they 
were  saying  was  to  Todd  a  great  object.  That  it  in  some  measure  concerned  himj 
he  could  not  for  a  moment  doubt,  since  the  head-shaking  and  hand-uplifting  re- 
ference that  had  been  made  to  his  shop  by  them  both  as  they  passed,  could  not 
mean  anything  else.  And  so,  as  we  have  said,  he  followed  them  cautiously, 
dodging  behind  bulky  passengers,  so  that  they  should  not  see  him  by  any  sudden 
glance  backwards.  One  corpulent  old  lady  served  him  for  a  shield  half  up  Fleet 
Street,  until,  indeed,  she  turned  into  a  religious  bookseller's  shop,  and  left  him 
nothing  but  thin  passengers  to  interfere  between  him  and  the  possibility  of 
j observation.  But  Mrs.  Ragg  and  her  friend  Martha  Jones  were  much  too  fully 
engaged  to  look  behind  them.  In  due  course,  they  arrived  opposite  to  the 
Temple;  and  then,  after  much  flurrying,  inconsequence  of  real  and  supposed 
danger  from  the  passing  vehicles,  they  got  across  the  way.  They  at  once 
dived  into  the  recesses  of  the  legally-learned  Temple.    Todd  dashed  after  them. 

^Now,  my  dear  Mrs.  Ragg,"  said  Martha  Jones,  "  you  must  not  say  No. 
it  s  got  a  beautiful  head  upon  it,  and  will  do  you  zood.* 

"No— no.  Really." 

"Like  cream." 

u  But,  really,  I— I  " 

"^Come,  come,  it  ain't  often  you  is  in  the  Temple,  and  I  know  very  well  he 
don't  miss  a  bottle  now  and  then ;  and  'twix  you  and  me  aad  the  pump,  I  think 
we  has  as  much  a  right  to  that  beautiful  bottled  ale  as  Mr.  Juggas  has,  for  I'd 
take  my  bible  oath,  he  don't  mean  to  pay  for  it,  Mrs.  Ragg." 

"  You  don't  say  so  ?"  * 

«  Yes,  I  does,  Mrs.  Ragg.    Oh,  he's  a  bad  un,  he  is.    Ah,  Mrs.  Ra»g,  you 
don  t  know,  nor  nobody  else,  what  takes  place  in  his  chambers  of  a  night." 
"  Is  it  possible  ?" 


Itfji 

mjdm 

If 

t  foment 


Dt  Uior 


ccix  to  11 

1\  VjL?.  u 


"  Yes.  I  often  say  to  myself  what  universal  profundity  he  must  be  possessed 
with,  for  he  was  once  intended,  he  says,  for  the  church,  and  I  heard  him  say 
he'd  have  stuck  to  it  like  bricks,  if  he  could  have  heard  of  any  church  that  was 
intended  for  him." 

"  Shocking !" 

"  Yes,  Mrs.  Ragg.   There's  profundity  for  you/' 

Did  Martha  Jones  mean  profanity  ? 

"  Ah,"  interposed  Mrs.  Ragg,  "  we  live  in  a  world/' 

"  Yes,  Mrs.  Ragg,  we  does ;  but  as  you  was  a  saying  t" 

"Eh?" 

"As  you  was  a  saying  about  somebody  being  hung,  if  rights  was  rights,  you 
know/' 

u  Oh,  dear,  really  you  must  not  ask  me.    Indeed  you  must  not." 
"  Well,  I  won't ;  but  here  we  are,  in  Pump  Court/' 

Todd  darted  into  a  door-way,  and  watched  them  up  the  staircase  of  No.  6, 
in  that  highly  classic  locality.  He  slunk  into  the  door- way,  and  by  taking  a 
perspective  glance  up  the  staircase,  he  saw  them  stop  upon  the  first  floor.  He 
saw  that  they  turned  to  the  right.  He  darted  up  a  few  stairs,  and  just  caught 
sight  of  a  black  door.  Then  there  was  a  sharp  sound,  as  of  some  small  latch 
closing  suddenly,  after  which  all  was  still.    Todd  ascended  the  stairs. 

"  Curses  on  them  V  he  muttered.  u  What  can  they  mean  by  looking  in  such 
a  manner  at  my  shop?  I  thought  the  last  time  1  saw  that  woman,  Ragg,  that 
she  was  cognizant  of  something.  If  now  she,  in  her  babbling,  would  give  me 
any  news  of  Tobias — Pho  !  he  is — he  must  be  dead/' 

By  this  time  Todd  had  got  to  the  top  of  the  first  flight  of  stairs,  and  stood 
upon  the  landing,  close  to  several  open  doors — that  is  to  say,  outer  black 
heavy-looking  doors — and  within  them  were  smaller  ones,  armed  with 
knockers. 

"  To  the  right,"  he  muttered.  ^They  went  to  theright — this  must  bethe  door." 

He  paused  at  one  and  listened.  Not  a  sound  met  his  ears,  and  his  impatience 
began  to  get  extreme.  That  these  two  women  were  going  to  have  a  conference 
about  him  he  fully  believed  ;  and  that  he  should  be  so  near  at  hand,  and  yet  not 
near  enough  to  listen  to  it,  was  indeed  galling.  In  a  few  moments  it  became 
insupportable. 

"  I  must  and  will  know  what  they  mean/'  he  said.  u  My  threats  may  wring 
the  truth  from  them  ;  and  if  necessary,  I  should  not  scruple  to  silence  them 
both.  Dead  men  tell  no  tales,  so  goes  the  proverb,  and  it  applies  equally  well 
to  dead  women." 

Todd  smiled.    He  was  always  fond  of  a  conceit. 

"  Yes,"  he  muttered,  "  every  circumstance  says  to  me  now  in  audible  language, 
'  Go — go — go!'  and  go  I  will,  far  away  from  England.  I  feel  that  I  have  not 
now  many  hours  to  spare.  This  fracas  with  Mrs.  Lovett  expedites  my  departure 
wonderfully,  and  to-morrows  dawn  shall  not  see  me  in  London.  But  I 
will — I  must  ascertain  what  these  women  are  about.  Yes,  and  I  will  do  so  at 
all  risks/' 

A  glance  showed  him  that  the  act  of  temerity  was  a  safe  one.  The  door  opened 
upon  a  dingy  sort  of  passage,  in  which  were  some  mops,  pails,  and  brooms.  At 
its  further  extremity  there  was  another  door,  but  it  was  not  quite  shut,  and  from 
the  room  into  which  it  opened,  came  the  murmer  of  voices.  There  were  other 
doors  right  and  left,  but  Todd  heeded  only  that  one  which  conducted  to  the 
room  inhabited.  He  crept  along  the  passage  at  a  snail's  pace ;  and  then  having 
achieved  a  station  exactly  outside  the  door,  he  placed  one  of  his  hands  behind 
one  of  his  elephantine-looking  ears,  and  while  his  countenance  looked  like  that 
of  some  malignant  demon,  he  listened  to  what  was  going  on  within  that  apart-  j 
ment.    Martha  Jones  was  speaking.  j 

"  It  is  good,  indeed,  Mrs.  Ragg,  as  you  may  well  say,  and  the  glasses  sticks 
to  the  table,  when  they  is  left  over-night,  showing,  as  Mr.  Juggus  says,  as  it's  a 
gluetenious  quality  this  ale  is/' 


3G0 


"  Sticks  to  the  table  V  said  Mrs.  Ragg. 

"  Yes,  mum,  sticks.    But  as  you  was  a  saying  ?" 

<6  Well,  Martha,  in  course  I  know  that  what  goes  to  you  goes  no  farther.' 1 
"  Not  a  step 

"  And  you  won't  mention  it  lo  no  one  ?" 
"  Not  a  souK    Another  glass  V9 
"No,  no." 

"  Only  one.  Nonsense  !  it  don't  get  into  your  head.  It's  as  harmless  as 
milk,  Mr.  Juggus  says." 

"  But  ain't  you  afeard,  Martha,  he  may  come  in?" 

u  Not  he,  Mrs.  Ragg.  Chambers  won't  see  him  agin  till  night.  Oh,  lie's 
a  shocking  young  man.    Well,  Mrs.  Ragg,  as  you  was  a  saying  f" 

"Well,  it  is  good.  As  I  was  a  saying,  Martha,  I  don't  feel  uneasy  now 
about  Tobias,  poor  boy ;  for  if  ever  a  poor  lad,  as  was  a  orphan  in  a  half-and- 
half  kind  of  way,  seeing  that  I  am  his  natural  mother,  and  living,  and  thanking 
God  for  the  same,  and  health,  leastways,  as  far  as  it  goes  at  this  present  moment 
of  speakin,  I — I — Bless  me,  where  was  I  ?  * 

"  At  Tobias/' 

"  OL,  yes,  I  was  at  Tobias.    As  I  was  saying,  if  ever  a  poor  body  was  well 
provided  for,  Tobias  is.    The  colonel- —  ° 
"  The  who?"' 

"The  colonel,  Martha — the  colonel  as  has  took  the  care  of  him,  and  who, 
sooner  or  later,  will  have  all  the  truth  out  of  him  about  the  Toddey  Sween." 
"Who?  Who?'' 

"  Bless  my  poor  head,  I  mean  Sweeney  Todd.    Dear  me,  what  am  I  thinking 
of?" 
«  The  barber  ?" 

"  Yes,  Martha ;  that  horrid  barber  in  Fleet-street ;  and  between  you  and  me, 
there  isn't  in  all  the  mortal  world  a  more  horrid  wretch  living  than  he  is." 
"I'm  all  of  a  shake." 

"He— he  " 

"Yes,  yes.    What  " 

"  He  takes  folks  in  and  does  for  'em," 
"  Kills  'em  ?" 
"Kills 'em." 

"  What — why — what —  f  You  don't  mean  to  'say— why —  ?  Take  another 
glass  Mrs.  Ragg.  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  Tobias  says,  that  Todd  the 
barber  is  a  murderer  ? — My  dear  Mrs.  Ragg,  take  another  glass,  and  tell  us  all 
about  it ;  only  look  at  the  cream  on  the  top  of  it." 

|  "  You'll  excuse  me,  Mrs.  Jones,  but  the  truth  is,  I  aught  not  to  say  more  than 
I  have  said;  and  if  the  colonel  only  knew  I'd  said  as  much,  I  can  tell  you,  I 
think  he'd  be  like  a  roaring  lion.  But  Tobias  is  quite  a  gentleman  now,  you 
see,  and  sleeps  in  as  fine  a  bed  as  a  nobleman  could  have  for  love  or  money. 
, The  colonel  is  very  good  to  him;  and  there  never  was  such  a  kind  good- 
good   /' 

Mrs.  Ragg  began  to  run  over  with  t  ears  of  ale. 

"  Bless  me,  and  where  does  he  live  ??* 

"Who?" 

"The  colonel.  The  good,  kind,  colonel— colonel— a — a  dear  me,  I  forget 
what  you  said  his  name  was/* 

"  Jeffery,  and  may  his  end  be  peace.  He  will  get  the  reward  of  all  his  good 
actions  in  another  world  than  this,  Martha.  Ah,  Martha,  such  men  as  he 
can  afford  to  smile  at  their  latter  ends. —No — no,  I  couldn't/* 

"  Only  half  a  glass  ;  look  at  the  '? 

"No— no— — V 

"  Cream  on  it." 

"I  must  go,  indeed.  In  course  the  colonel,  since  I  have  been  his  cook, 
knows  what  cooking  is,  for  though  I  say  it,  perhaps  as  should  not,  I  am  a  cook* 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


361 


and  not  a  spiler  of  folks  victuals.  Of  course  what's  said,  goes  no  further*  I 
know  I  can  trust  you,  Martha/' 

"  Oh  dear,  yes,  in  course.  Til  just  put  on  my  shawl  and  walk  a  little  way 
with  you,  Mrs.  Ragg.   Dear  me — dear  me !" 

' 1  What  is  it,  Martha  ?n 


to  \ 


/// 


/////  // 


TOflD  PBEPABING  COMBUSTIBLES  TO  FfRE  HIS  HOUSE. 

Its  a  raining  like  cats  and  dogs,  it  is.  Well,  I  never  ;  what  shall  you  do, 
Mrs.  Ragg  ?    What  shall  you  do  ?" 

"  Call  a  coach,  I  shall,  Martha.   The  last  words  the  colonel  said  to  me  was, 
'  Mrs.  Ragg,  rather  than  there  should  be  any  delay  in  your  return/  says  he,  *  as 
Tobias  may  want  you,  ball  a  coach,  and  1  will  pay  for  it/  " 
Todd  had  only  just  time  to  dart  down  the  staircase  before  the  two  ladies 


#♦ 


Q 


o 


362 


made  their  appearance  ;  and  then  hiding  sometimes  in  doorways,  and  sometimes 
behind  columns  and  corners,  he  dodged  them  into  Fleet-street.  A  coach  was 
duly  called,  and  Mrs.  Ragg  by  the  assistance  of  Martha  Jones,  was  safely 
bestowed  inside  it*  Todd  heard  distinctly  the  colonels  address  given  to  the 
coachman,  who  would  have  it  twice  over,  so  that  he  should  be  sure  he  had  it 
all  right. 

"  That  will  do/'  said  Todd. 

He  darted  across  the  street,  and  made  the  best  of  his  way  to  his  shop  again. 
He  listened  at  the  door  for  a  few  moments  before  he  entered,  and  he  thought  he 
heard  the  sound  of  weeping.  He  listened  more  attentively,  and  then  he  was 
sure.    Some  one  was  sobbing  bitterly  within  the  shop. 

"  It  must  be  Charley,"  thought  Todd. 

He  placed  his  ear  quite  close  to  the  panel  of  the  door,  in  the  hope  that  the  boy 
would  speak.  Todd  was  quite  an  adept  at  listening,  but  this  time  he  was  dis- 
appointed, for  the  sham  Charley  Green  spoke  not  one  word.  Yet  the  deep  sobs 
continued.  Todd  was  not  in  the  best  of  tempers.  He  could  stand  the  delay  no 
longer,  and  bouncing  into  the  shop,  he  cried — 

"  What  the  devil  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?  What  is  the  meaning  of  it,  you 
young  rascal  ?    I  suspect  ri 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Johanna,  looking  Todd  full  in  the  face,  "  and  so  do  L? 

"  You— you  ?  suspect  what?" 

u  That  I  shall  have  to  have  it  out,  for  its  aching  distracts  me.    Did  you  ever 
have  the  tooth-ache,  sir?" 
"  The  tooth-ache  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir.    It's— it's  worse  than  the  heart-ache,  and  that  I  have  had." 
"  Ah !— humph !    Any  one  been  P 

"  One  gentleman,  sir,  to  be  shaved;  he  says  he  will  call  again." 
"Very  good— very  good." 

Todd  took  from  his  pocket  the  key  of  the  back-parlour  —  that  key 
without  which  in  his  own  possession  he  never  left  the  shop  ;  and  then,  after 
casting  upon  Johanna  a  somewhat  sinister  and  threatening  look,  he  muttered  to 
himself— 

"I  suspect  that  boy.  If  he  refuse  to  come  into  the  parlour,  I  will  cut 
his  throat  in  the  shop  ;  but  if  he  come  in  I  shall  be  better  satisfied.  Charley? 
Come  here." 

46  Yes,  sir,"  said  Johanna,  and  she  walked  boldly  into  the  parlour. 
"  Shut  the  door.57 

She  closed  it. 

"  Humph,"  said  Todd,  it  is  no  matter.  "  1  will  call  you  again  when  I  want 
you."  J  & 


CHAPTER  LXXXI. 

JOHANNA  IS  ENCOURGED. 

^^T°Ai  ******  ™&  Johanna's  excuse  about  the  toothache  ?lWas  he 
2?  I  \  i!  ?  g°°d  f0lbIe  ofthe  supposed  Charley  Green,  by  the  readiness  with 
which  she  had  come  into  the  parlour  ?  We  shall  see.  Jf  he  were  not  satisfied, 
ne  was  staggered  in  his  suspicions  sufficiently  to  delay— and  delay  just  then  was 
to  bweeney  Todd-one  of  the  most  fatal  things  that  could  be  imagined.  There 
are  crumbs  of  consolation  under  all  circumstances.  When  Johanna  was  best 
sent  out  o  the  shop  upon  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  Mrs.  Lovett  to  Todd,  she 
naa  scarcely  got  a  half  dozen  steps  from  the  door  of  the  barber's,  when  a  man  in 
passing  her,  and  without  pausing  a  moment,  said- 
Miss  Oakley,  be  so  good  as  to  follow  me." 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  363 


Johanna  at  once  obeyed  the  mandate.  The  man  walked  rapidly  on  until  a 
fruiterer's  shop  was  gained,  into  which  he  at  once  walked. 

u  Mr.  Oston,"  he  said  to  a  man  behind  the  counter,  "  is  your  parlour 
vacant 

"  Yes,  Sir  Richard,  and  quite  at  your  service/'  said  the  fruiterer. 

By  this  Johanna  found  that  she  had  made  no  mistake,  and  that  the  person 
she  had  followed  was  no  other  than  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  the  magistrate,  who  was 
interesting  himself  so  much  for  her  safety,  as  well  as  for  the  discovery  of  what 
had  befallen  Mark  Ingestre.  The  fruiterer's  parlour  was  a  prettily  fitted  up  place, 
where  a  couple  of  lovers  might  in  a  very  romantic  manner,  if  they  chose,  eat 
strawberries  and  cream,  and  quite  enjoy  each  other's  blissful  society,  in 
whispered  nothing  the  while.    Sir  Richard  handed  Johanna  a  seat  as  he  said— - 

"  Miss  Oakley.  I  am  very  much  pleased,  indeed,  to  have  this  opportunity  of 
seeing  you,  and  of  saying  a  few  words  to  you." 

u  Ah,  Sir,  how  much  do  I  owe  you/' 

"  Nay,  Miss  Oakley,  you  owe  me  nothing.  When  once  I  happily  become 
aware  of  your  situation,  it  becomes  my  duty  as  well  as  my  inclination 
to  protect  you  in  every  way  against  what,  I  am  sure  you  will  forgive  me,  for 
calling  your  rashness/' 

(€  Call  it  what  you  will,  sir." 

"  Well,  Miss  Oakley,  we  will  dismiss  that  part  of  the  subject.  Are  you  going 
upon  any  errand,  or  have  you  a  little  time  to  spare/' 
u  I  have  some  tithe." 

"  Then  it  is  a  very  proper  thing  that  you  should  enjoy  it  in  taking  some  pro- 
per refreshment/' 
"  I  want  nothing." 

u  Nay,  but  you  shall  have  something  whether  you  want  it  or  not,  before  I  say 
any  more  to  you  about  Todd  and  his  affairs." 

Johanna,  whose  mental  excitement  had  prevented  her  completely  from  feeling 
the  amount  of  exhaustion,  which  otherwise  must  by  that  time  have  come  over 
her,  would  still  have  protested  that  she  wanted  nothing,  but  Sir  Richard  Blunt 
opened  the  door  of  the  parlour,  and  called  out — 

"  Mr.  Orton,  is  your  daughter  at  home  V9 

u  Yes,  Sir  Richard,  Ann  is  up  stairs." 

"Very  good.    My  young  friend'here  can  find  the  way,  I  dare  say.   Is  it  the 
first  floor  ?" 

u  Yes,  don't  you  hear  her  practising  upon  her  spinet." 

The  tinkling  sounds  of  a  spinet,  then  all  the  fashion  ;  came  upon  their  ears, 
and  Sir  Richard,  said  to  Johanna— 

"  Go  up  stairs,  now,  to  that  young  lady.  She  is  about  your  own  age,  and  her 
father's  housekeeper.  She  will  find  you  something  to  eat  and  drink,  and  then 
come  down  to  me,  as  soon  as  you  can." 

«  Sir  Richard  nodded  to  Mr.  Orton,  who  nodded  in  return,  and  then  Johanna 
seeing  that  it  was  all  right,  ascended  the  staircase,  and  guided  by  the  sound  of 
the  spinet,  soon  found  herself  in  a  tolerably  handsome  room,  upon  the  first 
floor." 

u  A  young  girl  with  a  profusion  of  chesnut  curls  hanging  down  her  back, 
was  seated  at  the  spinet.  Johanna  made  up  to  her  at  once,  and  throwing  her 
arms  round  her  neck,  said — 

"  And  will  you  say  a  kind  word  to  me'"  j 

The  girl  gave  a  slight  scream,  and  rose. 

"  Well,  I'm  sure,  you  impertinant — handsome  

"  Girl,"  said  Johanna. 

*f  Boy/3  faltered  Miss  Orton. 

"  No,  girl/'  added  Johanna.  <ff  Your  father  sent  me  to  you,  and  Sir  Richard 
Blunt  suggested  it.    Shall  I  leave  you  again."  ^:..SZ 

"Oh,  no— no,"  said  Ann  Orton,  "  as  she  sprang  towards  Johanna,  and  kissed 
her  on  both  cheeks,  you  are  Miss  Johanna  Oakley/* 


364 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  How  is  it  that  you  know  me  V9 

"My  father  is  an  old  friend  of  Sir  Richard's,  and  he  has  told  us  all  your 
story.  How  truly  delighted  I  am  to  see  you.  And  so  you  have  escaped  from 
that  odious  Todd,  and  *'  n 

u  Immediate  refreshment,  my  dear,  and  all  the  attention  you  can  cram  into  a 
very  short  space  of  time  to  Miss.  Oakley,  my  dear/'  said  Mr.  Orton,  just  putt- 
ing his  head  so  far  into  the  room  as  to  make  himself  plainly  and  distinctly 
heard.  * 

<r  Yes,  father,  yes." 

"  How  kind  you  all  are,"  said  Johanna. 

,  "  No— no— at  least  we  wish  to  be,  but  what  I  mean  is  that  we  are  no 
kinder  than  we  ought  to  be,    My  father  is  so  good,  I  have  no  mother.0 

€i  And  I,  too,  am  motherless." 

"Yes,  I— I  heard  that  Mrs.  Oakley  99 

"  Lived,  you  would  say ;  and  yet  am  I  motherless." 
,  Johanna  burst  into  tears.  The  sense  of  desolation  that  came  over  the  young 
girl's  heart  whenever  she  thought  ho  w  little  of  a  mother  the  fanatical  personage 
who  owned  that  title  was  to  her,  generally  overcame  all  her  firmness,  as  upon 
the  present  occasion.  Ann  flung  her  arms  around  Johanna,  and  the  two  young 
creatures  wept  in  unison.    We  will  leave  them  to  their  sacred  intercourse 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  remained  in  conversation  with  Mr.  Orton  for  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  and  then  both  Johanna  and  Ann  came  down  stairs.  Johanna 
looked  calmer  and  happier.  Ann  had  said  some  kind  things  to  her— such  as 
none  but  a  young  girl  can  say  to  a  young  girl. 

"  I  am  ready,'*  said  Johanna. 

" Ready  for  what?"  enquired  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  with  a  look  of  earnest 
affection  in  the  face  of  the  beautiful  heroine — for  if  ever  there  were  a  heroine, 
we  really  think  Johanna  Oakley  was  one,  and  we  are  quite  sure  that  you  agree 
with  us.  5 

u  For  my  mission,"  said  Johanna.    "  I  am  ready." 

"  And  can  you  really  find  courage  to  go  again  to  that— that  " 

Sir  Richard  could  not  find  a  fitting  name  for  Todd's  home,  but  Johanna  under- 
stood him,  and  she  replied  gently— 

11  I  may  not  pause  now.    It  is  ray  duty." 

"Your  duty?" 

"  Yes.  Oh,  Mark— Mark,  I  cannot  restore  you  from  the  dead,  but  in  the 
sacred  cause  of  justice  I  may  bring  your  murderer  to  the  light  of  day.  It  is  my 
duty  to  do  so  much  ior  your  memory." 

Ann  turned  aside  to  hide  her  tears.  Mr.  Orton,  too,  was  much  affected,  and 
there  was  an  unwonted  jar,  as  though  some  false  note  had  had  been  struck  in 
yoica  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  as  he  spoke,  saying — 

fi  Miss  Oakley,  I  will  not— I  cannot  deny  that  by  your  going  back  to  Todd's 
house,  you  may  materially  assist  in  the  cause  of  justice.  But  yet  1  advise  you 
not  to  do  so." 

**  I  know  you  are  all  careful  of  my  safety,  while  I  " 

"  Ah,  Johanna,"  said  Ann,  "  you  do  not  know  yet  that  you  are  so  desolate  as 
to  wish  to  die." 

"Yes,  yes— I  am  desolate." 

u  And  so/'  added  Sir  Richard,  "  because  you  loved  one  who  has  been,  accord- 
ing to  your  judgment  upon  the  circumstances  that  have  come  to  your  knowledge, 
torn  from  you  by  death,  you  will  admit  no  other  ties  which  could  bind  you  to 
the  world.    Is  that  right  t    Is  it  like  you  ?" 

The  tones  of  voice  in  which  these  words  were  uttered,  as  well  as  the  senti- 
ment embodied  in  them,  sunk  deeply  into  Johanna's  heart,  Clasping  her  hands 
together,  she  cried — 

"  Oh,  no,  no !    Do  no  think  me  so  inhuman.    Do  not  think  me  so  very 
ungrateful." 


rr 


Y 


to 

i 

pi 

t| 


HI 


fc  Had  you  forgotten,  Arabella  Wilmot  ?  Had  you  forgotten  your  father  ? 
Nay,  had  you  forgotten  the  brave  Colonel  Jeffery?" 

"  No,  no  !  I  ought  not  to  forget  any,  when  so  many  have  so  kindly  remem- 
bered me,  and  you  too,  sir,  I  ought  not,  and  will  not  forget  you,  for  you  have 
been  a  kind  friend  to  me." 

"  Nay,  I  am  nothing." 

u  Seek  not,  sir,  to  disparage  what  you  have  done,  you  have  been  all  kindness 
to  me/1 

Before  he  was  aware  of  what  she  was  about,  Johanna  had  seized  the  hand  of 
Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  for  one  brief  moment  touched  it  with  her  lips.  The 
good  magistrate  was  sensibly  affected. 

"  God  bless  me  I"  said  Mr.  Orton,  "  something  very  big  keeps  blocking  up 
the  whole  of  my  window." 

They  all  looked,  and  as  they  were  silent  at  that  moment,  they  heard  a  voice 
from  the  street,  say — 

"  Come  !  Come,  my  dear !  Don't  set  the  water-works  a-going.  Always 
remember,  that  easy  does  it.  You  come  in  here,  and  have  something  to  eat,  if 
you  won't  go  home.  Lor  bless  me!  what  will  they  think  has  become  of  me  at 
the  tower  ?" 

4t  Why,  it  is  Ben  !"  cried  Johanna. 

"  Ben  ?"  said  Ann.    "  Who  is  Ben  ?" 

"  Hush  !  Stop/'  said  Sir  Richard,  "  I  pray  you,  stop." 

Johanna  would  have  rushed  out  to  speak  to  Ben,  who  certainly  was  at  the 
window  of  the  fruiterer's  shop,  with  Arabella  Wilmot  upon  his  arm,  endeavour- 
ing  to  persuade  her  to  enter,  and  partake  of  some  refreshment. 

€i  I  will  bring  him  in,"  said  Sir  Richard.  "  Retire  into  the  parlour,  I  beg  of 
you,  Miss  Oakley,  for  he  will  make  quite  a  scene  in  the  shop  if  you  do  not." 

Johanna  knew  well  Ben's  affection  for  her,  and  doubted  not,  but  that  as  Sir 
Richard  said,  he  would  not  scruple  to  show  it,  even  in  the  open  shop,  probably 
to  the  great  edification  of  the  passers  by.  She  accordingly  retired  to  the  parlour 
with  Ann.  In  a  few  moments,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  ushered  in  both  Ben  and 
Arabella  Wilmot.  Arabella  with  a  shriek  of  joy,  rushed  into  Johanna's 
arms,  and  then  with  excess  of  emotion  she  fainted.  Ben  caught  up  Johanna 
fairly  off  her  feet,  as  though  he  had  been  dancing  some  little  child,  and  holding 
her  in  a  sitting  posture  upon  one  arm,  he  said — 

i(  Bless  you!  Easy  does  it.  Easy  I  saj- — does — it.  Don't  you  think  I'm  a 
crying.  It's  a  tea-chest  has  flew  in  my  eye  from  that  grocer's  shop  opposite. 
Oh,  you  little  rogue,  you.  Easy  does  it.  What  you  have  got  them  what  do 
you  call  'ems  on,  have  you  ?" 

The  kiss  that  Ben  gave  her  might  have  been  heard  at  Sweeney  Todd's,  and 
then  when  prevailed  upon  to  sit  down,  he  would  insist  upon  holding  her  fast 
upon  his  knee. 

"I  must  go,"  said  Johanna,  and  then  looking  at  Arabella,  she  added — tf  Let 
me  go,  before  she  awakens  from  her  transient  forgetfulness  to  beg  me  to  stay." 
Ben  was  furious  at  the  idea  of  Johanna  going  back  to  Todd's,  but  Sir  Richard, 
overruled  hitn,  and  after  some  trouble,  got  him  to  consent.    Then  turning  to 
Johanna,  he  said —  * 

"  The  moment  night  comes  on,  you  will  have  some  visitors,  and  remember, 
Miss  Oakley,  that  St.  Dunstan's  is  the  watch-word.  Whoever  comes  to  you 
with  that  in  his  mouth,  is  a  Iriend." 

64 1  will  remember,  and  now  farewell  and  God.bless  and  reward  you  for  all 
your  goodness  to  me.  I  will  live  for  the  many  who  love  me  yet,  and  whom  I 
love  in  this  world." 


*  #  * 

Was  it  not  a  world  of  wonders  that  amid  all  this,  Johanna  did  not  go 
mad  ?  Surely  something  more  than  mortal  strength  must  have  sustained  that 
young  and  innocent  girl  in  the  midst  of  all  these  strange  events.   No  human 


1 
] 

I 


I 


366  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


power  that  she  possessed,  could  have  possibly  prevented  her  mind  from 
sinking,  and  the  hideous  fascinations  of  an  overcharged  fancy  from  breeding 

"Rude  riot  in  her  brain. " 

But  there  was  a  power  who   supported  her — a  power  which  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  world  has  supported  many — a  power  which  while  the  world 
continues,  will  suppport  many  more,  strengthening  the  weak  and  trampling  on 
th  e  strong.    The  power  of  love  in  all  the  magic  of  its  deep  and  full  intensity. 
Yes,  this  was  the  power  which  armed  that  frail  [and  delicate-loking  girl  with 
strength  to  cope  with  such  a  man — man  shall  we  call  him  ?  no,  we  may  say  such 
a  fiend  as  Sweeny  Todd.    If  it  required  no  small  amount  of  moral  courage  to 
go  in  the  first  instance  upon  that  expedition — so  fraught  with  danger,  to  Todd's 
shop — what  did  it  require  now  to  enable  her  to  return  after  having  passed 
through   much  peril,  and  tasting  the  sweets  of  friendship  and  sympathy? 
Surely  any  heart  but  Johanna's  must  have  shrank  aghast  from  ever  again  even 
in  thought,  approaching  that  dreadful  place.    And  yet  she  went.    Yes  upon 
her  mission  of  justice  she  went.    To  be  sure,  she  was  told  that  as  far  as  human 
means  went,  she  would  be  upheld  and  supported  from  those  without ;  but  what 
could  that  assure  to  her  further  than  that  if  she  fell  she  should  not  fall  un- 
avenged ?    Truly,  if  some  higher,  some  far  nobler  impulse  than  that  derived  from 
any  consciousness  that  she  was  looked  after,  had  not  strengthened  her,  the  girl's 
spirit,  must  have  sunk  beneath  the  weight  of  many  terrors.    With  a  sad  smile 
she  once  again  crossed  the  threshold  of  that  house,  which  she  now  no  longer 
suspected  to  be  the  murderer's  haunt.    She  knew  it. 


■IS 


CHAPTER  LXXXII. 

TODD  VISITS  THE  COJ-ONEL. 

How  she  sped  with  Todd  we  are  already  aware.  Let  us  take  a  peep  at  the 
arch-demon  in  that  parlour,  which  he  considered  his  sanctuary,  his  city  of 
refuge  as  it  were.  At  least  Todd  considered  it  to  be  such,  whether  it  was  or 
not.  He  sits  at  a  table,  the  table  beneath  which  there  was  no  floor,  and  cover- 
ing up  his  face  with  his  huge  hands,  he  sets  about  thinking.  Yes,  that  man 
now  abandons  himself  to  thought,  as  to  how  he  is,  with  a  blaze  of  wickedness,  to 
disappear  from  the  scene  of  his  iniquities.  It  was  not  remorse  that  now  filled 
his  brain.  It  was  not  any  feeling  of  bitter  heart-felt  regret  for  what  he  had  done 
that  oppressed  him  now.  No  such  feeling  might  possibly  find  a  home  in  his 
heart  at  the  hour  of  success,  but  now  when  he  saw  and  felt  that  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  many  difficulties,  it  had  no  home  in  his  brain.  But  yet  he  thought 
that  they  were  only  difficulties  that  now  surrounded  ;  he  did  not  as  yet  dream 
of  positive  danger.  He  still  reasoned,  as  you  have  heard  him  reason  before, 
namely,  that  if  anythirg  beyond  mere  suspicion  were  entertained  regarding  his 
mode  of  life,  he  would  be  at  once  apprehended.  He  thought  that  somebody- 
most  likely  ColonelJ&fFery— was  trying  to  find  out  something,  and  the  fact  that 
he,  Todd,  was  there  in  his  own  parlour,  a  free  man,  appeared  to  him  proof-suffi- 
cient that  nothing  was  found  out. 
u  How  fallacious!" 

If  he  had  but  known  that  he  was  virtually  in  custody  even  then,  as  he,  indeed, 
really  was,  for  Fleet-street  was  alive  with  officers  and  the  emissaries  of  the  police. 
If  he  had  but  guessed  so  much  for  a  moment  what  a  wild  tumult  would  have 
been  raised  in  his  brain.  But  he  knew  nothing  and  suspected  little.  After  a 
time  from  generalizing  upon  his  condition,  Todd  began  to  be  particular,  and 
then  he  laid  down,  as  it  were,  one  proposition  or  fact  which  he  intended  should 
be  the  groundwork  of  all  in  other  proceedings.  That  proposition  was  contained 
in  the  words — 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  367 

"  Before  the  dawn  of  to-morrow  I  must  be  off  !"  "That's  settled/'  said 
Todd,  and  he  gave  the  table  a  blow  with  his  hand.  "Yes,  that's  settled/' 

The  table  craked  ominously,  and  Todd  rose  to  peep  into  the  shop  to  see  what 
his  boy  was  doing.  Charley  Green,  alias,  Johanna  Oakley,  was  sitting  upon  a 
low  stool  reading  a  bill  that  some  one  had  thrown  into  the  shop,  and  which 
detailed  the  merits  of  some  merchandize.  How  far  away  from  the  contents  of 
that  bill  which  she  held  before  her  face,  were  her  thoughts? 

"Good,"  said  Todd.  "  That  boy,  at  all  events,  suspects  nothing,  and  yet 
his  death  is  one  of  the  things  which  had  better  not  be  left  to  chance.  He  shall 
fall  in  the  general  way  of  this  place.  What  proper  feeling  errand-boy  would 
wish  to  survive  his  master's  absence.    Ha  !" 

Of  late  Todd  had  not  been  very  profuse  in  his  laughs,  but  now  he  came  out 
with  one  quite  of  the  old  sort. 

The  sound  startled  himself,  and  he  retired  to  the  table  again. 

By  the  dim  light  he  opened  a  desk  and  supplied  himself  with  writing  materials 
the  twilight  was  creeping  on,  and  he  could  only  just  see.  Spreadidg  a  piece  of 
paper  before  him,  he  proceeded  to  make  a  memoranda  of  what  he  had  to  do. 

It  was  no  bad  plan  this  of  Todd's,  and  the  paper,  when  it  was  finished  was 
quite  a  curiosity  in  its  way. 

It  ran  thus — 

Mem*— To  go  to  Colonel  Jeffery's,  and  by  some  means  get  into  the  house 
and  murder  Tobias. 

Mem. — To  pack  off  goods  to  the  wharf  where  the  Hamburg  vessel,  called  the 
Dianna,  sails  from. 

Mem. — To  arrange  combustibles  for  setting  fire  to  the  house. 

Mem. — To  cut  Charley  Green's  throat,  if  any  suspicion  arise— if  not  to  let 
him  be  smothered  in  the  fire. 

Mem. — To  have  a  letter  ready  to  post  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  the  magistrate, 
accusing  Mrs.  Lovett  of  her  own  crimes,  and  mine  likewise. 

"  I  think  that  is  all,"  said  Todd. 

He  folded  the  paper  and  placed  it  in  his  bosom,  after  which  he  came  out  of 
the  parlour  into  the  shop,  and  called  to  Johanna. 
"Charles?" 
"Yes,  sir." 

"  Go  to  the  market,  and  get  me  a  couple  of  stout  porter — I  want  something 
carried  a  short  distance.'' 
"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Away  went  Johanna,  but  before  she  got  half  way  down  to  Fleet  Market  she 
met  Sir  Richard,  who  said — 
"  What  is  it?" 

"He  wants  a  couple  of  porters  to  carry  something." 
"Very  well,  get  them.    Depend  upon  me." 

"  I  do,  sir.  I  feel  now  in  good  heart  to  go  through  with  anything,  for  you 
are  near  to  me,  and  I  know  that  I  am  safe/' 

"You  are  safe.  It  will  need  to  be  some  very  extraordinary  circumstances, 
indeed^  that  could  conpromise  you.  But  go  at  once  for  these  porters;  I,  and 
my  men  will  take  good  care  to  find  where  they  go  to." 

There  was  no  difficulty  in  finding  parties  in  abundance  at  the  end  of  Fleet 
Market,  and  Johanna  speedily  returned,  followed  by  two  sturdy  fellows.  Todd 
had  quite  a  smile  upon  his  face,  as  he  received  them. 

"  This  way,*  he  said — this  way.  "  I  hope  you  have  been  lucky  to  day,  and 
have  had  plenty  of  work." 

"  No,  master,"  said  one,  "  we  haven't,  I'm  sorry  to  say." 

u  Indeed,"  added  Todd.  "  Well,  I  am  very  glad  I  have  a  little  job  for  you. 
You  see  these  two  little  boxes.  You  can  carry  one  each  of  you,  and  I  will  go 
with  you  and  show  you  where  to." 

One  of  the  porters  raised  one  of  the  boxes,  and  then  he  gave  a  long  whistle,  as 
he  said— 


368  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  I  say,  master  is  there  penny  pieces  or  paving  stones  in  this  here,  its  deuced 
heavy,  that  it  is." 

"  And  so  is  this,  Bill/'  said  the  other.    €i  Oh,  my  eyes  ain't  it   There  must 
be  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  goose  feathers  in  here. " 
"Ha!  ha  !"  said  Todd,  "How  funny  you  both  are." 
f <  Funny  ?" 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure,  but  come.  This  will  put  strength  into  you  if  you  had  none 
before." 

He  took  a  bottle  and  glass  from  a  cupboard,  and  gave  each  of  the  men  a  full 
measure  of  sueh  frightfully  strong  spirits,  that  they  winked  again,  and  the  tears 
came  into  their  eyes,  as  they  drank  it. 

"Now  shoulder  the  little  boxes,  and  come  along/'   he  said,  "  and  I  tell 
you  what  Til  do.    If  you  step  in  here  in  the  evening,  and  I  should  happen  to 
be  at  home,  Til  give  each  ©f  you  a  shave  for  nothing,  and  polish  you  off  in  such 
a  manner,  that  you  will  recollect  it  as  long  you  live." 
"Thank  you,  master — thank  you.    We'll  come." 

One  of  the  porters  helped  his  companion  with  the  chest  on  to  his  back  and 
head,  and  Todd  then  lent  a  helping  hand  with  the  other, 

4i  Charley,"  he  said.    "  I  shall  be  back  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour." 
Away  he  went,  preceding  the  porter  by  some  half  dozen  steps  only,  but  yet 
ever  and  anon  keeping  a  wary  eye  upon  the  two  chests,  which  contained  cash, 
and  jewels,  sufficient  to  found  a  little  kingdom.    If  he  got  clear  off  with  those 
two  chests  only,  he  felt  that  he  would  not  give  himself  much  uneasiness  about 
what  was  left  behind.  But  was  Todd  going  to  trust  these  two  porters  from  out  his 
own  immediate  neighbourhood,  with  the  secret  of  the  destination  of  the  boxes  ? 
No,  He  was  by  far  two  crafy  for  that.    After  proceeding  some  distance,  he 
took  them  round  the  unfrequented  side  of  St.  Paul's  Church  yard,  and  stopping 
suddenly  at  the  door  of  a  house  that  was  to  let,  he  said — 
"  This  will  do." 
"  In  here,  master*" 
"This  will  do.    Put  them  down." 

The  porters  complied,  and  Todd  set  down  upon  one  of  the  boxes,  as  he 
said  — 

"How  much  ?" 

"A  shilling  each  of  us,  master.*' 
™"  There's  double  the  money,  and  now  be  off,  both  of  you,  about  your  business/ 
The  porters  were  rather  surprised,  but  as  they  considered  themselves  sufficiently 
paid,  they  made  no  objection,  and  walked  off  with  considerable  alacrity,  leaving 
Todd,  and  his  treasure  in  the  street, 

"Now  for  a  coach/'  he  muttered.  Now  for  a  coach.  46  Here  boy— to  a 
ragged  boy  who  was  creeping  on  at  some  short  distance.  Ear  n  a  penny  by 
fetching  me  a  coach  directly." 

The  boy  darted  off,  and  in  a  very  few  minutes  brought  Todd  a  hackney 
coach.  The  boxes,  too,  were  got  upon  it  by  the  united  effort  >  of  Todd,  the 
coachman,  and  the  boy,  and  then,  and  not  till  then  did  Todd  {give  the  correct 
address  of  the  wharf  in  Thames  Street  from  which  the  Ham!,  burg  ship  was 
going,  and  in  which  he  fully  intended  to  embark  that  night.  The  ship  was 
advertised  to  sail  at  the  turn  of  the  tide,  which  would  beabom  ■  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  All  this  did  not  take  long  to  do.  The  coach  *  ambled  along 
Thames  Street,  but  Todd  was  not  aware  that  Mr.  Crotchet  had  g  ot  up  behind  !! 
the  vehicle,  but  such  was  the  fact,  and  when  the  lumbering  old  mac.  hine  stopped  U 
at  the  wharf,  that  gentleman  got  down,  and  felt  quite  satisfied  n  /ith  the  dis-  jj 


covery  he  had  made.  He's  a  trying  of  it  on,  soliloquised  Mr..  Cml  ched  in  the 
bolting  line,  but  it  ain't  no  manner  of  a  go.  He'll  swing,  and  he  ea  n't  help  «* 
if  he  were  to  book  himself  to  the  moon,  and  there  was  a  coach  or  a  si  up  as  went 
all  the  way,  and  no  stoppages. 

"  Mem,''  said  Todd  to  himself.  «« To  go  to  Colonel  Jeffery's,  M  id  murder 
Tobias—Ha!" 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  369  J' 

"  Lor !"  said  the  coachman,  "  was  that  you,  sir  V\ 
u  What  do  you  mean  ?*' 

Why  as  made  that  horrid  sort  of  noise." 
y  Mind  your  business,  my  friend,  and  tell  me  if  you  can  take  me  quickly  to 
Islington,  for  I  have  no  time  to  lose.5' 


TODD  POISONS  MRS.  LOVETT's  SPY  AND  TELLS  HIM  OF  IT. 


"  Like  the  wind,  sir,  you  can  go  with  these  here  osses,"  replied  the  coachman, 
did  you  ever  see  sich  bits  o*  blood,  sir,  one  on  'ems  blind,  and*  tother  on  'era  is 
deaf,  which  is  advantages  as  you  don't  get  in  one  pair." 

"  Advantages  V' 

u  Lor  bless  you,  yes,  sir.  The  blind  'un  goes  unknown  quick,  cos  you  eees, 
sir,  he  thinks  he's  only  in  some  dark  place,  and  in  course  he  want's  to  get  out 
on  it  as  soon  as  he  can." 


No.  47. 


370  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"Indeed?"  ~~ 
"Yes,  sir,  and  the  deaf  5un,  he  goes  quick  too,  cos  as  he  hears  nothink,  he 

thinks  as  there  never  was  sich  a  quiet  place  as  he's  go's,  and  he  does  it  out  o' 

feeling  and  gratitude,  sir,  yer  sees." 

"  Be  quick  then,  and  charge  your  own  price/ ' 

Todd  sprang  into  the  vechicle,  and  stimulated  by  the  idea  of  charging  his  own 
price,  the  coachman  certainly  did  make  the  bits  of  blood  do  wonders,  and  in 
quite  an  incredably  short  space  of  time,  Todd  found  himseif  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  of  the  Colonels  house.  It  was  now  getting  dark,  but  that  was 
what  he  wished.  He  dismissed  the  coach,  and  took  from  the  angle  of  a  wall 
near  at  hand,  a  long  and  earnest  look  at  the  Colonel's  house,  and  as  he  did  so 
dark  and  hideous  thoughts  concerning  Tobias  passed  through  his  mind. 


CHAPTER  LXXXJLI. 

TOBIAS  IN  JEOPARDY. 

"Well,  Tobias/'  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  as  he  entered  the  pretty,  cheerful 
room  into  which  the  now  convalescent  boy  had  been  removed.  "  Well,  Tobias 
how  are  you  now  ?" 

"  Much  better,  sir.    Oh,  sir,— I— I- 
"What  would  you  say  ?" 


I  feel  that  when  I  see  you,  sir,  I  ought  to  sav  so  much  to  convince  you  of 
how  truly,  and  deeply  grateful  I  am  to  you,  and  yet  I  can  scarcely  ever  say  a 
word  about  it.    I  pray  for  your  happiness,  sir,  indeed  I  do.  Your  name  and  my 


mother's,  and—and  Minna  Gray's,  are  always  uttered  to  God  by  me." 

"  Now,  Tobias/7  said  Colonel  Jeffery  gravely.  I  am  quite  satisfied  that  as 
regards  all  that  has  passed,  you  feel  as  you  ought  to  feel,  and  for  my  own 
part,  I  beg  you  to  feel  and  to  know  that  your  saying  anything  about  it  only 


distresses  me; 

u  Distresses  you,  sir  Y9 

"  Yes,  it  does,  indeed.  I  see  your  eyes  are  upon  the  door.  You  expect 
una,  to  day,  I  am  sure/' 

'  Yes,  sir,— she— she — my  mother  was  to  bring  her,  sir." 
A  ringing  at  a  bell  now  came  upon  Tobias's  ear,  and  his  colour  went  and 


came 


"You  are  still  very  weak,  my  poor  boy,"  said  the  colonel,  "hut  vou  are 
certainly  much  improved.    Do  you  feel  any  confusion  in  your  head  now*?" 

"  None  at  all,  only  when  I  think  of  Todd  suddenly,  ever  it  makes  me  feel  cold 
and  sick,  and  something  seems  to  rush  through  my  heart. 

"  Oh,  that  will  go  away.  That  is  nothing.  There,  I  will  draw  up  the  blind 
for  you.  The  evening  is  coming,  and  the  sky  is  overclouded.  You  can  see 
better  now,  and  there  is  one  coming  whom  I  know  you  wish  to  lose  no 
sight  of."  J 

"  I  hear  her  foot  upon  the  stairs/3  said  Tobias. 

€i  Do  you  ? — It  is  more  than  I  do/' 

u  Ah,  sir,  the  senses  are  sharpened,  I  think,  by  illness/' 

«  Not  so  much  as  by  love.    Tobias !  do  you  hear  her  footstep  now  ?,y 

"  Yes,  and  it  is  like  music." 

He  had  his  head  on  one  side  in  an  attitude  of  listening  ;  and  then  with  joy 
sparkling  from  every  feature  of  his  face,  he  spoke  again— 

"  She  comes— she  comes.  Ah,  she  comes  fast.  My  own— my  beautiful 
She  come — she  comes." 

"This  is  real  love/'  said  the  colonel,  and  he  stepped  from  the  room.  Nearly 
on  the  landing  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  he  met  Minna  Gray/' 


"V    '■'   ■  ^3X££**>w  '<iiii'imiii..i..i..'  mga 

Itiln  mltmm  nutnana/.,  iKji...  i..    ih.ik   i      .  ijm  .  i  ^y-anf  -v— , 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  371 

"  Welcome/'  he  said  as  he  held  out  his  hand  to  her.  "  You  will  find  your 
young  friend  up  and  much  better." 

Minna  could  only  look  her  thanks.  Mrs.  Ragg  was  following  her,  and  as 
the  ascent  of  stairs  was  always  rather  a  task  to  that  good  Lady,  she  was  mak- 
ing a  nuise  like  a  stranded  grampus  in  breathing. 

"Ah,  colonel/'  she  said,  u  young  legs  get*  up  stairs  faster  than  old  ones,  sir, 
as  you  see.  Well—well,  there  was  a  time  when  first  I  knew  poor  dear  Ragg, 
who  is  of  course  dead  and  gone,  quite  premature. 

*'  Exactly,  Mrs.  Ragg/'  said  the  colonel,  as  he  rapidly  descended  the  stairs." 

P  Did  you  ever,  my  dear,  know  such  a  strange  man  V}  said  Mrs.  Ragg  to 
Minna.  *vmh-  :  ' 

"Who?" 

"The  colonel,  to  be  sure.    So  soon  as  I  begin  to  tell  him  any  little  what  do 
you  call  it.    No  it  ain't  nanny  goat — that's  ridiculous.    Its — its— what  is  it  T 
u  Anecdote  do  you  mean,  Mrs.  Ragg  f  3 

"Yes,  to  be  sure.  Well,  as  I  was  a  saying,  no  sooner  do  I  begin  telling  him 
a  little  nannygoat — no,  I  mean  anecdote,  than  off*  he  is  like  a  shot." 

Minna  smiled  to  herself,  and  she  was  far  from  wondering  that  the  colonel  was 
off  like  a  shot,  for  well  she  knew,  that  when  Mrs.  Ragg  did  begin  anything 
concerning  the  late  Mr.  Ragg,  it  usually  lasted  three  quarters  of  an  hour  at  the 
very  least. 

k<  Minna,  Minna  V  called  Tobias. 

!1  I  am  here,  Tobias/' 

In  another  moment  she  was  in  the  room.  Truly  it  was  a  pleasant  thing  to 
see  the  face  of  Tobias,  when,  is  sunshine,  as  he  called  Minna,  came  close  to  him, 
and  in  her  soft  voice  asked  him  if  he  was  better. 

ff  Don't  mind  me/'  said  Mrs.  Ragg,  "  I  am  going  to  darn  a  stocking  or  two. 
that's  all.  Just  say  what  you  both  like.  Young  folks  will  be  young  folks 
Bless  me,  I  recollect  just  as  it  it  were  only  yesterday,  when  I  used  to  speak  to  poor 
departed  Mr.  Ragg,  who  is,  premature,  dead  and  gone,  in  a  manner  of 
speaking.  Ah,  dear  me  !  How  the  world  goes  round  and  round — round  and 
round,  continually. " 

Tobias  and  Minna  were  so  well  accustomed  to  the  garullity  of  Mrs.  Ragg, 
and  so  well  aware  that  she  required  no  answer,  that  they  let  her  talk  on,  and 
did  not  mind  her,  as  she  requested  they  would  not ;  and  so  the  evening  grew 
apace,  and  the  light  gradually  began  to  wane,  as  those  two  young  loving 
hearts  spoke  together  of  the  future,  and  indulged  in  that  day  dream  of  happiness 
which  can  only  belong  to  youth  and  love. 

-$  *  *  *  *  * 

Todd  is  skulking  round  the  angle  of  the  garden  wall,  from  which  he  can  get 
a  view  of  the  colonel's  house,  and  yet  not  be  seen  himself. 

The  more  he  looked  the  more  the  desire  grew  upon  him,  notwithstanding  the 
immense  risk  he  ran  of  personal  detection,  by  so  doing,  to  get  into  the  house,  and 
finish  the  career  of  poor  Tobias.  He  would  have  had  no  particular  objection 
rather  to  have  taken  the  life  of  Mrs.  Ragg,  if  it  could  be  easily  and  comfort- 
bly  done. 

It  has  been  said  that  there  are  folks  in  the  world  who  never  forgive  any  one 
for  doing  them  a  kindness ;  and  such  paradoxical  views  of  human  nature  have 
been  attempted  to  be  laid  down  as  truths ;  but  whether  this  be  so  or  not,  is 
still  to  be  proved,  although  it  is  certain  that  nothing  stirs  the  evil  passions  of 
men  who  will  inflict  injury  upon  the  innocent,  as  to  find  themselves  baffled  in 
their  villany.  Trom  that  moment  the  matter  becomes  a  persond  affair  of 
vengeance. 

Hence,  since  Todd  had  become  thoroughly  aware  that  Tobias  had  escaped 
from  the  death  he  had  intended  for  him  at  the  mad-house,  his  rage  against  the 
boy  knew  no  bounds. 

Indeed,  the  reader  will  conclude  that  it  must  have  been  a  feeling  of  no 


372 


THE  STRING  OF^PEARLS. 


ordinary  strength,  that,  at  such  a  busy  and  ticklish  time,  would  take  Todd  to  the 
colonel's  house  at  all. 

It  was  revenge— bitter,  uncompromising  revenge  ! 

Now,  you  must  know  the  colonel's  house  was  one  of  those  half-villa,  half- 
mansion-like  residences,  that  are  so  common  in  the  neighbourhood  of  London. 
There  was  a  kind  of  terrace  in  the  front,  and  a  garden  with  flowering  shrubs, 
that  had  a  pretty  enough  appearance,  and  which  at  night  afforded  abundance  of 
shelter. 

It  was  by  this  front  garden  that  Todd  hoped  to  reach  the  house. 

When  it  was  nearly  dark,  he  slunk  in,  crouching  down  among  the  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  crawling  along  like  a  serpent  as  he  was.  He  soon  came  to  a  flight 
of  stone  steps  that  led  to  the  kitchens. 

By  the  time  Todd  had  got  thus  far,  some  of  her  domestic  duties  had 
called  Mrs.  Ragg  to  the  lower  part  of  the  house.  He  saw  by  the  fire-light  that 
some  one  was  going  about  the  kitchen,  close  to  the  foot  of  the  stone  steps ;  but 
he  could  not  exactly,  by  that  dim  and  uncertain  radiance,  take  upon  himself  to 
say  that  it  was  Mrs.  Ragg. 

She  soon  lit  a  candle,  though,  and  then  all  was  clear.  He  saw  the  good  lady 
preparing  divers  lights  for  the  upper  rooms. 

While  Todd  was  half-way  down  the  stone  steps,  peeping  into  the  kitchen, 
one  of  the  other  servants  of  the  house  came  into  that  receptacle  for  culinary 
articles,  and  commenced  putting  on  a  bonnet  and  shawl.  Todd  could  not  hear 
one  word  of  what  was  said  by  Mrs.  Ragg  and  this  young  woman  who  was 
getting  ready  to  go  out ;  but  he  saw  them  talk,  and  by  their  manner  he  felt  con- 
vinced that  it  was  only  upon  ordinary  topics. 

If  the  young  woman  left  the  house  by  the  steps  upon  which  Todd  was,  and 
which  it  was  more  than  likely  she  would  do,  his  situation  would  be  anything  but 
a  pleasant  one,  and  discovery  would  be  certain. 

To  obviate  the  chance  of  this,  he  stepped  back,  and  crouched  down  in  among 
the  shrubs  in  the  garden. 

He  was  not  wrong  in  his  conjectures,  for  in  a  few  moments  the  servant,  who 
was  going  out,  ascended  the  steps,  and  passed  him  so  closely,  that  by  stretching 
out  his  hand,  he  could,  if  he  had  been  so  minded,  have  touched  her  dress.  In  a 
short  time  she  was  out  of  ear-shot. 

Todd  emerged  from  his  concealment  again,  and  crept  down  the  steps,  and  once 
more  peeped  into  the  kitchen. 

Mrs.  Ragg  was  still  busy  with  the  candles. 

He  was  just  considering  what  he  should  do,  when  he  heard  the  tramp  of 
horses  feet  in  the  road  above.  IT e  ascended  sufficient  of  the  steps  to  enable  him- 
self to  get  a  peep  at  what  was  going  on.  He  saw  a  groom  well  mounted,  and 
leading  another  horse.  Then  no  other  than  Colonel  Jeffrey  himself,  although 
he  did  not  of  his  own  knowledge,  feel  assured  that  it  was  him,  come  out  at  the 
front  door  of  the  house  and  mounted. 

€i  Now,  William,5'  said  the  colonel,  "  we  must  ride  sharply/1 

u  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  groom. 

Another  moment  and  they  were  gone. 

"  This  is  lucky,0  said  Todd.  "  It  is  not  likely  that  there  is  any  other  room 
in  the  house;  and  if  not,  I  have  the  game  in  my  own  hands." 

He  crept  down  the  remainder  of  the  stone  steps,  and  placed  his  ear  quite  close 
to  the  kitchen  window. 

Mrs.  Ragg  was  enjoying  a  little  conversation  to  herself. 

"Ahl**  she  said,  r4it's  always  the  way — girls  will  be  girls;  but  what  I  blame 
her  for  is,  that  she  don't  ask  the  colonel's  leave  at  once,  and  say — •  Sir,  your 
disorderly  has  won  my  infections,  and  may  he  come  here  and  take  a  cup  of 
tea  ?  " 

This  was  Greek  to  Todd. 

'<  What  is  the  old  fool  talking  about "  he  muttered.    "  But  I  will  soon  give 
her  a  subject  tkrt  will  last  for  her  life." 


He  nowa  rrived  at  the  door  of  the  kitchen.  It  was  very  unlikely  to  be  locked 
or  otherwise  fastened,  so  immediately  after  the  young  woman,  who  bad  left  the 
house,  and  passed  so  close  to  him,  Todd,  Yet  he  listened  for  a  few  morae  ns 
more,  as  Mrs.  Ragg  kept  making  observations  to  herself. 

"  Listeners  hear  no  good  of  themselves,  says  the  proverb,  and  at  all  events  it 
was  verified  in  this  instance." 

«  Lor9  a  mumj"  ejaculated,"  Mr.  Ragg,  u  how  my  mind  do  run  upon  that  horrid 
old  ugly  monster  of  a  Todd  to  day.  Well,  I  do  hope  I  shall  never  look  upon 
his  frightful  face  again,  and  how  awful  he  did  squint,  too.  Dear  me,  what  did 
the  colonel  say  he  had  with  his  vision— could  it  be — a  something  afixity  ?  No 
that  isn't  it." 

"Obliquity!"  said  Todd,  popping  his  head  in  at  the  kitchen  door.  "It 
was  obliquity,  and  if  you  scream  or  make  the  least  alarm,  Til  skin  you,  and 
strew  this  kitchen  with  your  mangled  remains  !" 

Mrs.  Ragg  sank  into  a  chair  with  a  melo-dramatic  groan,  that  would  have 
made  her  fortune  over  the  water  in  domestic  tragedy  if  she  could  have  done  it  so 
naturally.  Todd  kept  his  eye  upon  her.  That  basilisk-like  eye,  which  had 
fascinated  the  good  woman  often,  and  this  time  it  acted  as  a  kind  of  spell, 
for  truly  might  he  have  said,  or  rather  might  some  one  have  said  for 
him, 

"  He  held  her  with  his  glittering  eye.' 

Todd's  first  care  now  was  to  get  between  Mrs.  Ragg  and  the  kitchen  door, 
lest  upon  some  sudden  impulse  she  should  rise  and  flee.  Then  he  folded  his 
arms,  and  looked  at  her  calmly,  and  with  such  a  devilish  smile  as  might  have 
become  Mephistopholes  himself,  while  contemplating  the  ruin  of  a  soul.  He 
took  from  his  pocket  a  razor. 

*€  Mercy,"  gasped  Mrs.  Ragg. 

"  Where  is  Tobias  ?" 

u  Up  stairs.    Back  room,  second  floor,  looking  into  the  garden." 

v"  Alone?" 
"  No,  Minna  Grey  is  with  him." 

u  Listen  to  me.  If  you  stir  from  here  until  I  come  to  you  again.  I  will  not 
only  murder  you,  but  Tobias  likewise,  and  every  one  whom  I  meet  with  in  this 
house.  You  know  me,  and  can  come  to  some  opinion  as  to  whether  or  not  I 
am  a  man  likely  to  keep  my  word.  Remain  where  you  are ;  move  not,  speak 
not,  and  all  will  be  well." 

Mrs.  Ragg  slowly  slid  off  her  chair,  and  tell  to  the  floor  of  the  kitchen,  where 
she  lay,  in  what  seemed  a  swcon. 

"  That  will  do  as  well,3'  said  Todd  as  he  glanced  at  her,  "  and  yet  as  I  return. 
He  made  a  movement  with]  his  hand  across  his  throat  to  indicate  what  he  would 
do,  and  then  feeling  assured  that  he  had  little  or,  indeed,  no  opposition  to  expect 
in  the  house,  he  left  the  kitchen,  and  walked  up  siairs." 

When  he  reached  the  top  of  the  kitchen  stairs  he  paused  to  listen.    Ail  was 

very  still  in  the  house. 

"  'Tis  well,"  he  said  "  tis  well.  This  deed  of  blood  shall  be  done,  and  long 
before  it  can  be  thought  that  it  was  I  who  struck  the  blow,  I  shall  be 

gone."  i    a  . 

Alas  !    After  passing  through  so  much !    After  being  persued  in  so  almost  a 

miraculous  manner  from  the  murderous  intentions  of  Todd,  backed  by  the 

cupidity  of  Fogg,  and  his  subordinate  Watson,  was  poor  Tobias  yet  to 'die  a 

terrible  death  as  a  victim  to  the  cruel  passions  of  his  relentless  persecutor? 

No  we  will  not  yet  believe  that   such  is  to  be  the   fate  of  poor  honest 

Tobias,  although  at  the  present  time,  his  prospects  look  gloomy.    Todd  may, 

and  no  doubt  has  taken  as  worthy  lives,  but  we  will  hope  tlut  the  hand  of 

Providence  will  prevent  him  from  taking  this  one.    He  reaped  the  landing  of 

he  first  floor,  and  he  paused  to  listen  again.    He  though-  this  time,  that  he 

heard  the  faint  sound  of  voices  above,  but  he  was  not  qui  e  sure.  Otherwise 


374.  THE  STRING  OE  PEA11LS. 


| 


all  was  quiet.  This  was  a  critical  situation  for  Todd.  If  any  one,  who  was 
a  painter  of  pictures  or  of  morals  had  but  seen  him,  Sweeney  Todd,  as  he 
there  stood,  they  would  no  longer  have  doubted  either  that  there  was  a  devil, 
or  that  some  persons  in  this  world,  were  actuated  by  a  devilish  fiend.  He 
looked  the  incarnate  fiend  ! — the  Mephistopholes  of  the  imagination,  such  as 
he  is  painted  by  the  German  enthusiast.  His  laugh  too  ?  Was  not  that 
sat  mic?  He  set  himself  to  listen  to  the  voices  that  he  heard  in  that  quiet 
rooms  and  the  sounds,  holy  and  full  of  affection  as  they  were,  awakened  no 
chord  of  answering  feeling,  in  that  bold,  bad  man's  breast,  lie  stood  apart  from 
human  nature,  a  solitary  being.    A  wreck  upon  the  ocean  of  society 

4<  None  loving,  and  by  none  beloved." 

Who  would  be  Sweeney  Todd,  for  all  the  wealth,  real  or  fabled,  of  a  million 
Californias  ? 

"  He  is  here,"  he  said,  "  1  know  his  voice.  Tobias  is  here.  Ah  !  he  mentions 
the  name  of  God.  Ha  !  He  is  more  fitting  to  go  to  that  heaven  he  can  talk  of 
so  gibly,  but  there  is  none.    There  is  nou 3 !    No,  no  !  all  that  is  a  fable/* 

Of  course  Todd  could  not  believe  in  a  divinity  of  goodness  and  mercy.  If  he 
had  what  on  earth  could  have  saved  him  from  absolute  madness  ? 


CHAPTER  LXXXIII. 
todd's  wonderful  escape. 
€i  And  so  you  do  love  me,  Minna  V9  said  Tobias. 

How7  his  voice  shook  like  a  reed  swayed  by  the  wind  and  yet  what  a  world  of 
melodv  was  in  it. 

0  f 

<4  Can  you  ask  me  to  say  yes?"  was  the  reply  of  the  fair  young  creature  by 
his  side.    M  Can  you  ask  me  to  say  yes,  Tobias  ?" 

'*  It  seems  to  me,"  said  Tobias,  "  as  though  it  would  be  such  a  joy  to  hear 
you  say  so,  Minna,  and  yet  1  will  m>t  ask  you." 

>c  Mow  well  you  have  got,  Tobias.  Yo-r  cheek  has  got  its  old  colour  back 
ai>;ain,  The  colour  it  had  Ions:  before  vou  knew  there  wras  such  a  man  as 
Sweeney  Todd  in  the  world.  Your  eyes  are  bright  too,  and  your  voice  has  its 
old  pleasant  sound." 

'*  Used  it  to  he  pleaumt  to  you,  Minna  V 

She  held  up  her  hand,  and  shook  her  head  laughingly. 

"No  quest  oris,  Tobias  !    No  questions.    1  will  confess  nothing." 

"  Stop  !"  said  Tobias,  as  he  put  himself  into  an  attitude  of  listening,  "  what 
was  that,  I  thought  I  heard  something  ?  it  was  like  a  suppressed  growl.  I 
wish  the  colonel  would  come  home.    Did  you  not  hear  it,  Minna  V 

Minna  had  heard  it,  but  she  did  not  say  she  had. 

*6  Where  did  it  come  from,  Tobias V 

"  From  the  stair-head,  Minna." 

'6  Oh,  it  is  some  accidental  noise,  such  as  is  common  to  all  houses,  and  such  as 
always  defy  conjecture  and  explanation,  and  being  nothing  and  meaning  nothing, 
always  comes  to  nothing.  Yet  I  will  go  and  see.  Perhaps  a  door  has  been 
left  open,  and  is  banging  to  and  fro  by  the  wind,  and  if  so  it  will  only  vex  you 
to  hear  it  again,  Tobias/' 

It  was  Todd,  who  upon  hearing  the  soft  and  tender  speeches  from  the  young 
lovers,  had  not  been  able  to  suppress  a  growl,  and  now  that  he  had  heard 
Minna  Grey  talk  of  coming  to  look  what  it  was,  he  felt  the  necessity  of  in- 
stantly concealing  himse'f  somewhere. 

It  was  not  likely  she  Tjould  come  down  the  stairs,  so  Todd  adopted  an 
.original  mode  of  keeping  himself  out  of  sight. 

He  descended  steps  sufficient,  that  by  laying  at  full  length  along  them,  his 


"  


THE  STRING  OF  PEAIILS.  375 

head  did  not  reach  the  top,  and  in  the  darkness  he  then  considered  that  he 
should  be  quite  safe  from  the  casual  glance,  that  in  all  likelihood,  merely  to 
satisfy  Tobias,  Minna  would  give  outside  the  room  door. 
Todd  thought  by  her  manner  she  had  heard  nothing. 

"  No,  no,  Minna/'  said  Tobias,  *i  there  is  no  occasion.    It  is  nothing,  I  dare 
say,  and  I  don't  like  you  to  be  out  of  my  sight  a  moment.*' 
96  It  is  only  a  moment." 
She  rose,  and  proceeded  to  the  door. 

An  unknown  feeling  of  dread,  she  knew  not  why,  wras  at  the  heart  of  Minna. 
Certainly  the  slight  sound  she  had  heard,  and  that  too  in  the  house  of  Colonel 
Jeffery,  was  not  sufficient  to  ^warrant  such  a  feeling,  and  yet  there,  at  her 
heart,  it  sat  brooding. 

She  stood  for  a  moment  at  the  door. 

It  was  only  for  a  moment. 

"How  foolish  I  am,"  she  thought,  ''and  then  she  passed  out  on  to  the 
i  landing,  where  she  stood  for  a  moment  glancing  round  her. 

91  It  is  nothing,  Minna/  called  out   Tobias,  "  or  shall  I  try  and  come. 
I  feel  quite  strong  enough  to  do  so." 
u  Oh,  no — no  !  It  is  nothing." 

Minna  stepped  lightly  back  and  sat  down.    She  clasped  her  hands  very 
tight  indeed  together,  and  then  placed  both  upon  her  breast. 
She  had  seen  Todd. 

Yes,  Minna  Grey  had  seen  the  man  that  had  been,  and  who  was  for  all  she 
knew  to  the  contrary  still  to  be,  the  bane  of  Tobias's  existence.  The  clear  eyes 
of  youth  had  noticed  the  lumbering  figure  as  it  lay  upon  the  stairs  before 
them. 

And  she  did  not  scream — she  did  not  cry  for  help — she  did  not  faint,  she 
only  crept  back  as  we  have  seen,  and  held  her  hands  upon  her  heart,  and  looked 
at  Tobias. 

There  was  no  mistaking  Todd.  Once  seen  he  was  known  forever.  Like  some 
hideous  picture,  there  dwelt  the  memory  of  Sweeney  Todd  upon  the  young 
imagination  of  the  fair  Minna  Grey. 

Once  before,  a  long  time  ago,  so  it  seemed  to  her,  she  had  seen  him  in  the 
Temple  skulking  up  an  old  staircase.  From  that  moment  the  face  was  Daguerro- 
typed  upon  her  brain. 

It  was  never  to  be  be  forgotten,  and  with  the  face  comes  the  figure  too.  That 
she  saw  upon  the  stairs. 

Alas  !  Poor  Minn ! 

u  And  so  it  was  nothing  but  one  of  those  odd  accidents  that  will  occur  in 
defiance  of  all  experience,  and  calculation,"  said  Tobias. 
"  Just  that,"  replied  Minna. 

"  Ah,  my  dear  Minna.  We  are  so  safe  here.  It  always  seems  to  me  as  though 
the  very  air  of  this  house,  belonging  as  it  does  to  such  a  man,  so  full  of  goodness 
as  the  colonel  is,  such  that  nothing  very  bad  could  live  in  it  for  long. 

"  I— I  hope  so— I  think  so.— What  a  calm  and  pleasant  evening  it  is,  Tobias, 
did  you  see  the  new  book  of  the  seasons,  so  full  of  pretty  engravings  in  the  shape 
of  birds  and  trees,  and  flowers,  that  the  colonel  has  purchased." 

"  New  book?" 

Yes,  it  lies  in  his  small  study,  upon  this  floor.    I  will  fetch  it  for  you,  if  you 
wish  it,  Tobias  ?" 
99  Nay,  I  will  go." 

99  You  are  still  weak.  Remain  in  peace  upon  the  couch,  dear  Tobias,  and  I 
will  go  for  you.n 

Before  she  left  the  room,  she  kissed  the  forehead  of  the  boy*  A  tear,  too,  fell 
upon  his  hand. 

Who  knows,"  she  thought,  u  that  I  shall  ever  see  him  in  life  again  V 
96  Minna,  you  weep.5 

96  Weep  ?    No — -no— I  am  so— so  happy."  ^ 

-    r  -  „  ,     ~t-T  ..  ,     .,■       ■■      ■■-       -  -     „■■  ,     „  ■  -.,  ,   ,  l|r       -         ,   ,    „,   -  ■~-wttttifiw4nto***  rw  *ltr<>ri***-' 

i        i  1 1  m  ^  i|  [in  mj  ji  iii  |  jl      Tti.|  _  rii'     hi      _  rjnr  i  in  n  r  iniiinmm  v»J»i.i  i  ji  ji.i,  uj)  i..in,»jj  <  .i.iW~Hj|giiwiEi,i.ii|.  jh.  ya  i  mi  »n          nnr  ,iiiff  .,wui.»jWi.gr.'OEB"  i  '       """   1 "  '*  «»»"wwW<'",*,,,t^^ 


THE  STRING  Qtf  PEARLS. 


She  hastily  left  the  room.  Todd  had  heard  what  had  passed,  and  had  turned 
to  hide  himself  again.  The  young  girl  knew  that  she  passed  the  murderer  within 
a  hair's  breadth.  She  knew  that  he  had  but  to  stretch  out  his  right  hand  and 
say—"  Minna  Gray,  you  are  my  victim !"  and  his  victim  she  would  have  become. 
Was  not  that  dreadful  ?  And  she  so  young  and  so  fair— so  upon  the  threshold, 
as  it  were,  of  the  garden  of  her  existence— so  loving,  and  so  well-beloved.  She 
felt  for  a  moment,  as  she  crossed  the  landing — just  for  a  moment  as  though  she 
were  going  mad.  But  the  eye  of  the  Omnipotent  was  upon  that  house.  She 
staggered  on.  She  made  her  way  into  a  bed-room.  It  was  the  colonel's.  Above 
the  mantel-shelf,  supported  on  a  small  bracket,  was  a  pair  ot  pistols.  They  were 
of  a  large  size,  and  she  had  heard  from  the  current  gossip  of  the  house,  how 
they  were  always  loaded,  and  how  the  servants  feared  to  touch  them,  and  how 
even  they  shrank  from  making  the  bed,  lest  the  pistol  from  some  malice  afore- 
thought, or  from  something  incidental  to  such  watching,  should  go  off  at  once  of 
th  eir  own  accord,  and  inevitibly  shoot  whoever  chanced  to  be  in  the  room, 
Minna  Gray  laid  her  hand  upon  the  dreaded  weapons. 

"  For  Tobias  !  for  Tobias  V*  she  gasped. 

Then  she  paused  to  listen.  All  was  still  as  the  grave.  Todd  was  not  yet 
ready  for  the  murder,  or  he  wished  to  take  their  lives  both  together,  and  in  the 
one  room.  That  was  more  probable.  Then  she  began  to  think  that  he  must 
have  some  suspicion,  and  that  it  was  necessary  upon  her  part  to  do  something 
more  than  merely  make  no  alarm.  The  idea  of  singing  occurred  to  her.  It  was 
a  childish  song  that  she  had  been  taught,  when  a  pretty  child,  that  she  now 
warbled  forth  a  few  lines  of — 

"  If  I  were  a  forest  bird, 

I'd  shun  the  no:sy  town  ; 
Td  seek  the  verdure  of  the  spring 

The  dear  autumnal  brown. 
And  even  when  the  winter  came, 

By  sunny  skies  bereft, 
I'J  sleep  in  sorr.e  deep  distant  cave, 

Which  wanton  winds  had  left." 

She  crossed  the  landing. 

Minna/5  said  Tobias.    "  Mv  Minna !" 
u  I  come." 

She  passed  into  the  room,  and  the  moment  she  crossed  the  threshold— she 
turned  her  face  to  it  and  presented  both  the  pistols  before  her.  Then  as  she 
wound,  inch  by  inch,  in'o  the  centre  of  the  room,  all  her  power  of  further  con- 
cealment of  her  feelings  deserted  her,  and  she  could  only  say,  in  a  strange 
choking  tone — 

14  Todd  !-Todd!— Todd!" 

"  JNo— no— no  !    Oh,  God,  no  !"  cried  Tobias. 

-Todd  !—  Todd! -Todd! * 

<•  No-no!    Help!  help!'' 

"D  n!"  said    Sweaney  Todd,   as  he  dashed  open  the  door  of  the 

chamber,  and  stood  upon  the  threshold  with  a  glittering  knife  in  his  right 
hand. 

|  "  Hold  !"  shrieked  Minna  Gray.  "  Another  step,  murderer,  and  I  send  you 
t. <to  your  God!" 

Todd  waited.  He  could  almost  see  down  the  barrels  of  the  large  pistols, 
which  a  touch  of  the  young  girl's  finger  would  explode  in  his  face.  With  a 
sharp  convulsive  cry,  Tob  as  fell  to  the  floor.  The  blood  gushed  from  his 
mouth,  and  he  lay  bereft  of  sensation. 

"Away!"  cried  Minna.  '* Monster,  away!  Another  moment,  and  as 
Heaven  hears  me,  I  will  fire;  once — twice  " 

Todd  darted  to  the  stair  head,  but  he  darted  away  again  quicker  than  he  had 
gone  there ;  for  who,  to  his  horror,  should  he  meet,  advancing  with  great  speed 
xip  the  steps,  but  Mrs.  Ragg,  who  had  managed  to  get  out  of  the  kitchen,  and 


377 


who  bore,  as  a  weapon  of  offence  and  defence,  the  large  kitchen  poker,  which 
was  of  a  glowing  red  heat.    Todd  caught  a  touch  of  it  on  his  face. 

"  Oh,  you  villain  of  the  world  !"  cried  Mrs.  Ragg,  "  I'll  teach  you  to  come 
here  murdering  people.  My  poor  Tot  a>  is  no  more,  I  know  ;  but  I'll  take  the 
law  of  you,  1  will.    Murder  !  murder !    Police !    Colonel  V 


MR,  LUPIN  UNMASKED, 


With  an  alacrity,  that  was  far  beyond  to  all  appearance  Mrs.  Ragg's  powers, 
that  good  lady  pursued  Todd  with  the  red-hot  poker.  He  dared  not  take  refuge 
in  Tobias's  room,  for  there  stood  Minna  with  the  pistols  in  her  hand,  so  he 
darted  up  the  first  flight  of  stairs  he  saw,  which  led  to  the  top  of  the  house. 
Mrs.  Ragg  pursued  him  ;  but  when  she  got  to  the  head  of  the  stairs,  Minna 
pressed  too  hard  upon  the  hair-trigger  of  one  of  the  pistols,  and  off  it  went. 

No.  48 


378 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


mT-m  ■  ■  ..mm.      i  i  mm     ■  ■■    ■■■  I    mmi  ■   i    ™ 

Mrs.  Ragg  fully  believed  herself  shot,  and  rolled  down  the  stairs,  poker  in- 
cluded ;  while  Todd,  labouring  under  the  impression  that  the  shot  was  at  him, 
became  still  more  anxious  to  find  some  place  of  refuge.    Upon  the  landing, 
which  he  was  not  a  moment  in  reaching,  he  found  a  great  show  of  doors  ;  for 
he  was,  in  fact,  upon  the  floor  from  which  all  the  sleeping  rooms  of  the  servants 
opened.    It  was  quite  a  chance  that  the  first  one  he  bounced  into  was  one  that 
had  in  the  roof  a  little  square  trap-door,  facetiously  called  "a  fire  escape  ;**  but 
which,  in  the  event  of  a  fire,  would  have  acquired  the  agility  of  a  harlequin,  and 
the  coolness  of  a  tax-gatherer  to  get  through.    Todd  dragged  a  bedstead  beneath 
the  trap ;  and  then  his  great  height  enabled  him  to  thrust  it  open,  and  project 
his  head  through  it.    He  found  that  part  of  his  corpora'ity  was  in  the  roof  as 
it  were— that  is  to  say,  in  the  cavity,  between  the  ceiling  of  the  room  and  the 
house.    A  trap-door  of  somewhat  larger  size  in  the  actual  roof,  opened  to  the 
air.   Todd  dragged  himself  through,  and  was  fairly  upon  the  top  of  the  colonel's 
house.    A  slippery  elevation  !    But  surely  that  was  better  than  facing  a  red- 
hot  poker,  and  a  pair  of  hair-trigger  duelling  pistols  ;  and  so,  for  a  time,  the 
desire  to  escape   kept  down  every  other  feeling.     Even  his  revengeful 
thoughts  gave  way  to  the  great  principal  of  self-preservation ;  and  Todd  was 
only  intent  upon  safely  getting  away.    He  glared  round  him  upon  the  night 
sky,  and  a  gaudly  assemblage  of  chimney  tops.    What  was  he  to  do  ?    In  a 
minute  he  uttered  a  string  of  such  curses,  as  we  cannot  very  well  here  set  down, 
and  he  turned  preternaturally  calm  and  still. 
"  Shall  I  go  back/'  he  said,  u  or  escape  V* 

He  heard  the  tramp  of  horses  feet,  and  peeping  carefully  over  the  fiont 
parapet  of  the  house,  he  saw  Colonel  JefFery  arrive  on  horseback,  and  dismount. 
His  groom  led  the  horse  away,  and  the  colonel  ascended  the  steps.    Then,  and 
not  until  then,  Todd  made  up  his  mind. 
"  Escape,"  he  said,  "  and  be  off." 

There  was  a  Jong  sloping  part  of  the  roof  close  to  where  he  was,  and  he 
thought  that  if  he  slid  down  that  very  carefully  he  should  be  able  to  get  on  to  the 
roof  of  the  next  house,  and  so  perchance  through  their  trap  door,  and  by  dint  of 
violence  or  cunning,  or  both  united,  reach  the  street. 
It  was  a  desperate  resource,  but  his  only  one. 

The  top  part  of  the  long  sloping  roof  was  easily  gained,  and  then  Tood  began 
to  let  himself  down  very  carefully,  but  the  angle  of  the  roof  was  greater  than  he 
had  imagined,  and  by  the  time  he  got  about  half  way  down  he  found  a  danger- 
ous and  most  uncomfortable  accelertion  of  motion  ensuing. 

It  was  in  vain  he  tried  to  stop  himself :  down  he  went  with  a  speed  into  the 
gutter  behind  the  copping-stone,  that  left  him  lying  there  for  a  few  moments 
half  stunned,  and  scarcely  conscious  if  he  were  safe  or  not.  4  j 

The  colonels  house,  however,  was  stoutly  built,  and  Todd's  weight  had  not 
displaced  anything  ;  so  that  there  he  lay  safe  enough,  wedged  into  a  narrow 
rain  gutter,  from  which,  when  he  did  recover  himself  sufficiently  to  make  the 
attempt,  he  found  some  difficulty  in  wrenching  himself  out  of.  I 

Sore  and  shaken,  Todd  now  looked  about  him.  He  was  close  to  the  roof  of 
the  next-door  house.  To  be  sure  there  was  a  chasm  of  sixty  feet ;  but  its  width 
was  not  as  many  inches,  so  Todd  ought,  with  his  long  legs,  to  easily  step  it. 


CHAPTER  LXXXIV. 

A  SCENE  AT  THE  OAKLEYS. 

The  step  was  but  a  trifle  ;  and  yet,  shaken  as  Todd  was  by  his  fall,  it  really  j 
seemed  to  him  to  be  one  of  the  most  hazardous  and  nervous  things  in  the  world 
to  take  it. 

He  made  two  feints  before  he  succeeded.   At  length  he  stood  fairly  upon  the 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  379 

roof  of  the  adjoining  house.  He  did  not  say  "Thank  God  V  such  words  were 
not  exactly  in  the  vocabulary  of  Sweeney  Todd  ;  but  he  wiped  the  perspiration 
from  his  brow,  and  seemed  to  think  that  he  had  effected  something  at  last. 

And  yet  how  far  was  he  from  safety  ?   It  is  some  satisfaction  fo  have  got 
such  a  man  as  Todd  upon  the  house-tops.    Who  pities  him?   Who  would  be 
j   violently  afflicted  If  he  made  a  false  step  and  broke  his  neck  ?   No  one,  we 
!    apprehend;  but  such  men,  somehow,  do  not  make  false  steps  ;  and  if  they  do, 
i   they  manage  to  escape  the  consequences. 

|       Surely  it  was  about  as  ticklish  a  thing  to  crawl  up  a  sloping  roof  as  to  come 
|    down  one.    Todd  did  not  think  so,  however,  and  he  began  to  shuffle  up  the 
j   roof  of  the  house  he  was  now  on,  looking  like  some  gigantic  tortoise,  slowly 
making  its  way. 

Reasoning  from  his  experience  of  the  colonel's  house,  Todd  thought  he  should 
very  well  be  able  to  pitch  upon  the  trap,  in  the  roof  of  the  domicile  upon  which 
he  was,  nor  was  he  wrong.  He  found  it  m  precisely  the  same  relative  position, 
and  then  he  paused. 

He  drew  a  long  breath, 
i  "  What  a  mad  adventure  this  is,"  he  said  ;  u  and  yet  what  a  satisfaction  it 
would  have  been  to  me,  before  I  left  England,  to  be  able  to  feel  that  I  had  had 
my  revenge  upon  that  brat  Tobias.  That  he  had  not  altogether  failed  me  after 
I  had  paid  so  much  money  to  be  rid  of  him.  But  that  is  over.  I  have  failed 
in  that  attempt;  but  they  shall  not  say  it  cost  me  my  life.  They  will  be  bold 
people  who  step  me  in  my  passage  to  the  street  in  this  house." 

He  felt  the  trap-door.    It  was  fast. 

f<  Humph !"  he  said,  "  doors  are  but  bonds;  and  the  rains  of  a  few  winters 
rot  them  quickly  enough.    We  shall  see." 

The  knife,  with  which  he  would  have  been  well  pleased  to  give  poor  Tobias 
his  quietus,  was  thick  and  strong.  He  slid  it  under  the  wooden  trap,  and  by 
mere  force  lifted  it  up.  The  nails  of  the  bolt  easily  withdrew  themselves  from 
the  rotten  wood. 

Todd  was  right.   The  rains  of  a  few  winters  had  done  their  work. 

It  was  not  exactly  a  time  in  the  evening,  when,  in  such  a  class  of  house,  any 
one  might  be  expected  to  be  found  in  the  attics ;  so  Todd  made  no  scruple  of  at 
once  removing  the  lower  trap  in  the  ceiling. 

He  dropped  comfortably  enough  on  to  the  floor. 

And  now,  coming  suddenly  as  he  did  from  the  light,  faint  as  it  was,  of  the 
open  air  in  the  room,  which  he  found  himself,  sfcemed  to  be  involved  in  profound 
darkness ;  but  that  he  knew  would  wear  away  in  a  few  moments,  and  he  stood 
still  for  his  eyes  to  get  accustomed  to  the  semi-obscurity  of  the  place. 

Gradually,  then,  as  though  out  of  chaos,  there  loomed  a  bedstead  and  all  the 
necessary  appointments  of  a  bed-room.  It  was  untenanted ;  and  so  Todd,  after 
listening  intently,  and  believing,  from  the  marked  stillness  that  there  prevailed, 
that  the  upper  part  of  the  house  was  deserted,  walked  to  the  door,  and  opening 
it,  stood  upon  the  landing. 

Ci  If  I  can  now  but  step  down  stairs  noiselessly,  and  open  the  street  door,  all 
will  be  well.  People  don't  sit  upon  the  staircase,  and  I  may  be  fortunate 
enough  to  encounter  no  one." 

There  was  no  time  to  lose.  Affairs  in  Fleet-street  required  his  presence  j 
and,  besides,  the  present  moment  might  be  the  most  propitious,  for  all  he  knew, 
!  for  the  enterprise. 

Down  he  went,  not  clinging  to  the  balustrades — for  who  should  say  they 
might  not  wheeze  and  creak  ? — not  walking  upon  the  middle  of  the  stairs,  for 
j  there  was  no  saying  what  tell-tale  sounds  they  might  give  vocality  to;  but 
!  sliding  along  close  to  the  wall,  and  stepping  so  quietly,  that  it  would  have  re- 
quired attentive  ears  to  have  detected  his  silent  and  steady  march. 
|     And  so,  flight  by  flight  of  these  stairs  Todd  descended  in  safety,  until  he 
reached  the  passage.   Yes,  he  got  to  the  passage  without  the  shadow  of  an  in- 
terruption. 


380 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS/ 


Then  he  heard  voices  in  one  of  the  par'ours. 

"  Confound  them !"  said  Todd,  "  the^  will  hear  me  open  the  street  door  to  a 
certainty  ;  but  it  must  be  done.'' 

He  crept  up  to  the  door.  There  was  some  complicated  latch  upon  it  that 
defied  all  his  knowledge  of  latches,  and  all  his  perseverance  ;  and  yet,  no  doubt, 
it  was  something  that  only  required  a  touch  ;  but  he  might  be  hours  in  finding 
out  in  the  dark  where  to  apply  that  touch. 

He  still  heard  the  voices  in  the  parlour. 

More  than  five  minutes— ■ precious  minutes  to  him — had  already  been  con- 
sumed  in  fumbling  at  the  lock  of  the  street  door  ;  and  then  Todd  gave  it  up  as 
useless,  and  he  crept  to  the  parlour-door  to  listen  to  the  speakers,  and  so, 
perhaps,  ascertain  the  force  that  was  within. 

A  female  voice  was  speaking. 

€i  Oh,  dear  me,  yes,  I  daresay/'  it  said.  "  You  no  doubt  think  that  house 
can  be  kept  for  nothing,  and  that  a  respectable  female  wants  no  clothes  to  her 
back;  but  I  can  tell  you,  Mr.  Simmons,  that  you  will  find  yourself  wonderfully 
mistaken,  sir." 

"  Pshaw !"  said  a  man's  voice.    "  Pshaw  !    I  know  what  I  mean,  and  so  do 
you.    You  be  quiet  wile,  and  think  yourself  well  off,  that  you  are  as  you  are." 
"Well  off?"' 

u  Yes,  to  be  sure,  well  off." 

"  Well  off,  when  I  was  forced  to  go  to  Mr.  Rickups  party,  in  the  same  dress 
they  saw  me  in  last  Easter.    Oh  !  you  brute  !" 
"  What's  the  matter  with  the  dress  ?" 

u  The  matter  ?  Why  I'll  tell  you  what  the  matter  is.  The  matter  is,  and  the 
long  and  short  of  everything,  that  you  are  a  brute." 

u  Very  conclusive  indeed.    The  deuce  take  me  if  it  ain't." 

u  I  suppose  by  the  deuce,  you  mean  the  devil,  Mr.  Simmons  ;  and  if  he  don't 
take  you  some  day,  he  won't  have  his  own.  Ha!  ha.r  you  may  laugh,  but 
there's  many  a  true  word  spoken  in  jest,  Mr.  Simmons/' 

u  Oh,  you  are  in  jest,  are  you  ?"  1 

"  No  sir,  I  am  not,  and  1  should  like  to  know  what  woman  could  jest  with 
only  one  black  silk,  and  that  turned.  Yes,  Mr.  Simmons,  you  often  call  upon 
the  deuce  to  take  this,  and  to  take  that.  Mind  he  don't  come  some  day  to  you 
when  you  least  expect  it  sir,  and  say  * 

"  Lend  me  a  light !"  said  Tood,  popping  his  awfully  ugly  face  right  over  the 
top  of  the  half  ©pen  door,  a  feat  which  he  was  able  to  accomplished  by  standing 
on  his  tip  toes. 

There  are  things  that  can  be  described,  but  certainly  the  consternation  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Simmons  cannot  be  included  in  the  list.  They  gazed  upon  the  face  of 
Todd  in  speechless  horror,  nor  did  he  render  himself  a  bit  less  attractive  by 
several  of  his  most  hideous  contortions  of  visage. 

Finding  then  that  both  husband  and  wife  appeared  spell-bound,  Todd  stepped 
into  the  room,  and  taking  a  candle  from  the  table,  he  stalked  into  the  passage  / 
with  it. 

The  light  inhis  hand  threw  a  light  upon  the  mystery  of  the  lock.  Todd  opened  \ 
the  street-door,  and  passed  out  in  a  moment.    To  hurl  the  candle  and  candle- 
stick into  the  passage,  and  close  the  door,  was  the  next  movement  of  Todd,  but 
then  he  saw  two  figures  upon  the  steps  leading  to  Colonel  Jeffery's  house,  and 
he  shrunk  back  a  moment. 

u  Now  William,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery  himself,  "you  will  take  this  letter  to 
Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  tell  him  to  use  his  own  discretion  about  it." 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Be  quick,  and  give  i  into  no  hands  but  his  own." 
"  Certainly,  sir." 

cf  Remember,  William,  this  is  important." 

The  groom  touched  his  hat/and  went  away  at  a  good  pace,  and  Colonel 
Jeffery  himself  closed  the  door. 


t 


u  Indeed"  muttered  Todd.    4i  Indeed.  So,  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  who  is  called  an 
ctive  magistrate,  is  to  know  of  my  little  adventure  here  ?    Well — well — we 
shall  see/5 

He  darted  from  the  door  of  the  house,  through  which  he  had  made  so  highly 
successful  and  adventurous  a  progress,  and  pursued  William  with  such  strides  as 
soon  brought  him  close  up  to  him.  But  the  thoroughfare  in  which  they  were 
wa&  too  public  a  one  for  Todd  to  venture  upon  any  overt  act  in  it. 

He  followed  William  sufficiently  closely  however  to  be  enabled  to  take  advan- 
tage of  any  opportunity  that  might  present  itself  to  possess  himself  by  violence 
of  the  letter. 

Now  William  had  been  told  the  affair  was  urgent,  so  of  course  he  took  all 
the  nearest  cuts  he  could  to  the  house  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  such  a  mode  of 
progress  soon  brought  him  into  a  sufficiently  quiet  street  for  Todd's  pur«» 
pose. 

The  latter  looked  right  and  left.  He  turned  completely  round,  and  no 
one  was  coming — a  more  favourable  opportunity  could  not  be.  Stepping 
lightly  up  to  William  he  by  one  heavy  blow  upon  the  back  of  his  neck 
felled  him. 

The  groom  lay  insensible. 

Todd  had  seen  him  place  the  colonel's  letter  in  his  breast-pocket,  and  at  once 
he  dived  his  huge  hand  into  that  receptacle  to  find  it.  He  was  successful — one 
glance  at  the  epistle  that  he  drew  forth  sufficed  to  assure  him  that  it  was  the 
one  he  sought.  It  was  duly  addressed  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt — n  With  speed  and 
private." 

€<  Indeed,  very  private,"  said  Todd. 

a  Wretch  !  Wretch  I"  cried  some  one  from  a  window,  and  Todd  knew  then 
that  the  deed  of  violence  had  been  witnessed  by  some  one  from  one  of  the 
houses. 

With  an  execretion,  he  darted  off  at  full  speed,  and  soon  placed  a  perfect 
labyrinth  of  streets  between  him  and  all  pursuit.  He  thrust  the  letter  all 
crumbled  up  into  his  pocket,  and  he  would  not  pause  to  read  it  until  he 
was  much  nearer  to  Fleet-street  than  to  the  coloners  house,  or  the  scene  of  his 
attack  upon  the  groom.  Then,  by  the  light  of  a  more  than  usually  brilliant 
lamp,  which  with  its  expiring  energies  was  showing  the  world  what  an  old 
oil  lamp  could  do,  he  opened  and  read  the  brief  letter. 
It  was  as  follows. 
"  Dear  Sir  Richard. 

"  Todd  has  been  here  upon  murderous  thoughts  intent.  Poor  Tobias  has,  I 
fear,  broken  a  blood-vessel,  and  is  in  a  most  precarious  condition.  1  leave  all  to 
you.    The  villain  escaped,  but  is  injured  I  think." 

u  Your's  very  faithfully, 
u  To  Sir  Riciiabd  Blunt.  u  John  JeftERy.5' 

"Broken  a  blood-vessel/'  said  Todd.  "Ha!  ha!  Broken  a  blood-vessel. 
Ha!  Then  Tobias  may  yet  be  food  for  worms,  and  the  meat  of  the  pretty 
crawlers  to  the  banquet.  Ha!" 

^  He  walked  on  with  quite  a  feeling'of  elation  :  and  yet  there  was,  as  he  came  to 
think,  a  something— he  could  not  exactly  define  what— about  the  tone  of  the 
letter,  that  began  upon  second  thoughts  to  give  him  no  small  share  of  un- 
easiness. 

The  familiar  way  in  which  he  was  mentioned  as  Todd  merely,  without 
further  description,  argued  some  foregone  conclusion.  It  seemed  to  say,  Todd, 
the  man  whom  we  both  know  so  well,  and  have  our  eyes  upon. 

Did  it  mesn  that  ?  A  cold  perspiration  broke  out  upon  the  forehead  of  the 
guilty  wretch.    What  was  he  to  think  ?    What  was  he  to  do  ? 

He  read  the  letter  again.  It  sounded  much  more  unmeaning  and  strange 
now.  He  had  at  first  been  too  much  dazzled  by  the  pleasant  intelligence  regard- 
ing  Tobias,  to  comprehend  fully  the  alarming  tone  of  the  epistle ;  but  now  it 
waked  upon  his  imagination,  and  hi§  brain  soon  became  vexed  and  troubled. 


"  Off— off,  and  away/'  he  muttered.    "  Yes,  I  must  be  off  before  the  dawn. 


The  interception  of  this  letter  saves  me  for  some  few  hours.  In  the  morning, 
the  colonel  will  see  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  then  they  will  come  to  arrest  me ; 
but  I  shall  be  upon  the  German  Ocean  by  then.    Yes,  the  Hamburgh  ship  for 


me/1 


He  was  so  near  his  home  now  that  it  was  not  worth  while  to  call  a  coach. 
He  could  run  to  Fleet  Street  quicker,  so  off  he  set  at  a  great  pace  till  his  breath 
failed  him. 

Then  he  held  on  to  a  post  so  faint  and  weak,  that  a  little  child  might  have 
apprehended  him. 

"  Curse  them  all,"  he  said.  "  I  wish  they  all  had  but  one  throat,  and  I  a 
knife  at  it.    All  who  cross  me,  I  mean." 

Time  was  rather  am  important  element  now  in  Todd's  affairs,  and  he  felt  that 
he  could  not  allow  himself  a  long  period  even  to  recover  from  the  state  of 
exhaust  on  in  which  he  was. 

After  a  few  minutes  rest,  he  pushed  on. 

One  of  those  sudden  changes  that  the  climate  of  this  country  is  subject  to,  now 
took  place  ;  and  although  the  sky  had  looked  serene  and  bright,  and  there  had 
been  twinkling  stars  in  the  blue  firmanent  but  a  short  time  before,  Todd 
began  to  find  that  his  clothing  was  but  little  protection  against  the  steady 
rain  that  commenced  falling  with  a  perseverance  that  threatened  something 
lasting. 

"  All  is  against  me,"  he  said.    "  All  is  against  me." 

He  struggled  on  with  the  rain  dashing  in  his  face,  and  trickling,  despite  all 
his  exertions  J  to  the  contrary,  down  his  neck.  Suddenly  he  paused,  and  laid 
his  finger  upon  his  forehead,  as  though  a  sudden  thought  of  more  than  ordinary 
importance  had  come  across  his  mind. 

"The  turpentine!"  he  said.  tC  The  turpentine.  Confound  it,  I  forget  the 
turpentine." 

What  this  might  mean  was  one  ol  Todd's  own  secrets;  but  before  he  went 
home,  he  ran  down  several  streets  until  he  came  to  a  kind  of  wholesale  drug 
warehouse. 

He  rang  the  bell  violently. 

M  What  is  it  ?"  said  a  voice. 

"The  small  keg  of  turpentine  that  was  to  be  sent  to  Mr.  Todd's  in  Fleet 
Street,  is  particularly  wanted." 

"  It  was  sent  about  half  an  hour  ago/* 

"  Oh,  thank  you— thank  you.    That  will  do.    A  wet  nigth." 
In  a  few  minutes  more  he  was  at  his  own  shop-door. 


CHAPTER  LXXXV. 

TODD  DECEIVES  TWO  EXTRAORDINARY    LETTERS,  AND  ACTS    UPON  TUEM. 

Johanna  had  had  a  long  time  to  herself  in  Todd's  shop  now.  When  first  he 
left  upon  that  expedition  of  murder,  she  had  almost  been  afraid  to  stir,  for  she 
had  feared  he  might  momentarily  return ;  but  as  his  stay  became  longer  and 
longer  protracted,  she  plucked  up  courage. 

She  began  to  look  about  her. 

*<  As  yet,"  she  said  to  herself,  u  what  has  been  done  towards  arriving  at  a 
solution  of  the  mysteries  of  this  dreadful  place  V9 

The  more  she  thought,  the  more  she  felt  compelled  to  answer  this  inquiry 
in  an  unsatisfactory  manner.    What  had  been  done  ? 

The  only  thing  that  could  be  said  to  be  settled,  was  the  fact  that  Toad 
was  guilty,  and  that  Mrs.  Lovett  was  his  accomplice.    That  he,  by  some 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


383 


diabolical  means,  murdered  people  who  came  into  his  shop  to  be  shaved,  was  a 
fact,  incontestible ;  but  how  he  did  the  deed,  still  remained  a  mystery. 

The  care  which  Todd  always  bestowed  for  the  purpose  of  concealing  the 
manner  in  which  he  committed  the  murder,  had  hitherto  been  successful.  No 
one  but  himself,  and  probably  Mrs.  Lovett,  knew  exactly  how  he  did  the 
deed. 

It  has  been  of  course  sufficiently  observed  that  he  never  attempted  anything 
amiss  when  two  people  were  in  the  shop.  That  he  always  made  it  a  point  to 
|  get  rid  of  Johanna  upon  occasions  when  he  thought  he  had  a  chance  of  making 
!  a  victim  ;  and  that  in  fact  he  had,  by  the  very  fact  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  and  his 
!  officers  had  in  various  disguises  followed  people  into  his  shop,  been  for  some 
i  time  prevented  from  the  commission  of  his  usual  murders. 

Now  without  in  the  smallest  degree  disguising  what  he  did  know,  it  is  quite 
clear  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  up  to  that  time  did  not  know  how  Todd  did 
the  deeds  of  blood  for  which  his  shop  was  to  become  famous,  and  himself  in- 
i  famous. 

|  That  people  went  in  and  never  came  out  again,  was  about  the  extent  of  what 
;  was  really  known. 

I  The  authorities,  including  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  were  extremely  anxious  to 
|  know  exactly  how  these  murders  were  committed,  and  hence  they  waited  with 
I  the  hope,  that  something  would  occur  to  throw  a  light  upon  that  part  of  the 
!  subject,  before  they  apprehended  Todd. 

|  At  any  moment,  of  course,  he  could  have  been  seized,  and  he  little  suspec- 
|  ted  that  he  was  upon  such  a  mine. 

j  If  anything,  however,  could  be  said  to  expedite  the  arrest  of  Todd,  it  would 
j  certainly  be  what  had  taken  place  at  the  colonel's  house. 

|  Now,  to  all  appearance,  when  the  colonel  came  home  so  close  upon  the  events 
|  that  had  happened  in  his  absence,  and  had  so  very  nearly  been  fatal  to  both 
j  Minna  Gray  and  Tobias,  Todd  had  made  his  escape. 

|  :  A  rapid,  but  effective  search  of  his,  the  colonel's  house,  sufficed  to  prove  that 
!  there  he  was  not. 

The  appearance  of  Tobias,  with  blood  gushing  from  his  mouth,  was  sufficiently 
alarming,  and  it  was  under  the  impression  that  he  was  dying  from  the  rupture 
j  of  a  blood  vessel,  that  the  colonel  wrote  the  note  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  which 
|  was  intercepted  by  Sweeney  Todd  himself. 

Upon  the  arrival,  however,  of  the  surgeon,  who  was  immediately  sent  for,  it 
was  soon  ascertained  that  the  blood-vessel  which  had  given  way  in  poor  Tobias, 

I  was  not  on  the  lungs,  and  that  the  danger  arising  from  it  was  by  no  means 
j   great,  provided  he  were  kept  quiet  and  properly  attended  to. 

|      Minna  Gray  received  this  information  with  deep  thankfulness,  and  the 
|   colonel,  upon  hearing  it,  immediately  sought  Sir  Richard  to  consult  with  him 
|  upon  the  subject  in  its  now  altered  state,  for  the  idea  that  Tobias  was  dying,  had 
made  him,  the  colonel,  view  the  affair  much  more  passionately  than  prudently. 
Bv  dint  of  some  trouble,  the  colonel  found  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  then  to  his 

I I  no  small  surprise,  for  he  had  known  his  groom  long,  and  thought  he  could 
j  j  thoroughly  depend  upon  him,  he  found  that  the  magistrate  had  received  no 

j  I  note  at  all  upon  the  subject,  so  that  of  course  no  steps  had  been  taken. 
|      Upon  hearing  the  affair  detailed  to  him,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  said — 
j       "I  regret  this  much,  as  it  will  put  Todd  in  a  fright  and  expedite  his 
}  departure." 

I      "But  was  he  not  going  by  the  Hamburgh  packet  before  day-dawn  ?  At  any 

j   rate,  I  understood  you  that  by  the  manner  in  which  you  had  dogged  him,  you 

j   had  thoroughly  ascertained  that  fact  ?" 

ji      "  I  had,  but  had  taken  steps  to  prevent  him/' 

I  j     U  You  wonld  arrest  him  to-night  ?" 

J  <f  No,  I  do  not  think  it  advisable  to  arrest  him  just  yet.  The  fact  i3,  1  do  not 
know  all  that  I  want  to  know ;  but  in  order  to  stop  him  from  leaving  his  shop  to- 
night, I  have  caused  the  Humburgh  Captain  Owners,  to  write  to  him,  since  he 


384  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


had  taken  a  passage,  telling  him  that  the  ships  stores  would  not  be  ready  until 
to-morrow,  when  at  one  hour  before  sunrise  he  would  sail." 

"  Then  you  want  to  keep  him  in  his  shop  another  day  ?" 

"  I  do.  I  hope  and  expect  that  during  that  day,  something  may  occur  to 
clear  up  the  mystery  that  still  attaches  to  the  mode  in  which  he  commits  his 
murders." 

"  It  may  so." 

u  I  think  I  can  take  measures  by  running  some  little  personal  risk  to  make  it 
do  so ;  but  something  must  be  hit  upon  to  calm  his  mind,  regarding  this  affair 
at  your  house  now,  for  he  will  expect  nothing  but  instant  arrest  on  its 
account." 

«  What  can  I  do  V\ 

i€  If  you  will  be  guided  by  me  you  will  write  Todd  a  letter,  threatening  him 
that  if  there  is  any  more  interference  with  Tobias,  you  will  prosecute  him,  but 
that  you  will,  if  you  hear  no  more  of  him  at  your  house,  say  nothing  of  the 
past.  You  need  be  under  no  fear  that  he  will  derive  any  future  advantage 
from  such  a  promise,  as  any  charge  against  him  connected  with  poor  Tobias 
will  sink  into  insignificance,  compared  with  other  offences." 

"True!  true!* 

''Such  a  letter,  couched  with  the  one  concerning  the  non-deparlure  of  the 
ship,  may  keep  him  in  his  shop  over  to-morrow/' 
"  And  then  " 

"  Then  he  sleeps  in  Newgate,  from  which  building  he  steps  on  to  the  scaffold/' 

u  But  has  he  not  sent  many  trunks  and  packages  to  the  ship  V 

"  Yes,  and  I  have  as  regularly  removed  them  all  to  the  police-office  at  Bow 

Street.    We  have  already  some  thousands  of  pounds  worth  of  property  of  the 

most  costly  description.5' 

u  But  Johanna  ?    What  is  to  become  of  her?" 

€*  You  may  depend  upon  it  that  Todd  will  pursue  the  same  course  with  her 
that  he  did  with  Tobias.  He  will  give  her  a  trifle  of  money,  and  tell  her  to  get 
a  night's  lodging  out ;  and  in  that  case  she  knows  where  to  come  to  be  quite 
safe  and  comfortable.  But  if  such  should  not  be  the  case,  my  protecting  arm  is 
over  her  ;  I  think  I  can  almost  defy  Todd  to  do  her  any  injury." 

u Think  you  so?" 

u  Yes,  I  have  made  such  arrangements  that  if  she  were  missed  only  for  ten 
minutes,  Todd's  house  would  be  searched  from  top  to  bottom.  I  would  not,  for 
this  right  hand,  that  anv  harm  should  come  to  her." 

"  Nor  I— nor  Ln 

"Be  at  ease  regarding  her,  colonel/' 

u  I  know  how  fully  we  may  trust  to  you,  and  therefore  I  will  be  at  ease  re- 
garding her ;  and  I  will  at  once  write  the  letter  to  Todd  you  suggest  to  me/ 

u  Do  so.    His  fears  upon  your  account  must  be  calmed  down/' 

The  colonel  accordingly  wrote  the  necessary  note  to  Todd.  Of  course,  neither 
he  nor  Sir  Richard  Blunt  knew  that  Todd  had  another  reason  for  wishing  to  be 
off  that  night,  which  consisted  in  his  great  unwillingness  to  meet  Mrs.  Lovett 
in  the  morning  ;  for  it  will  be  recollected  that  he  had  an  appointment  with  that 
lady  upon  money  matters  at  an  early  hour. 

The  reader  is  now  fully  aware  of  how  matters  stand,  and  will  be  able  to  com- 
prehend easily  the  remarkable  events  which  rapidly  ensued  upon  this  state  01 
things,  and  therefore  we  can  at  once  return  to  Todd. 

We  left  bim  upon  his  door-step. 

It  was  never  Todd's  custom  to  walk  at  once  into  his  house  as  any  one  else 
would  do  upon  their  arrival,  whose 

"  Conscience  was  not  redolent  of  guilt  !* 

but  he  would  peep  and  pry  about,  and  linger  like  a  moth  fluttering  around  a 
candle,  or  a  rat  smelling  at  some  tempting  morsel,  which  might  be  connectea  wrt 
some  artfully  contrived  trap,  before  he  entered. 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


ooo 


He  wanted  sadly  to  get  a  peep  at  what  Charley  was  doing. 

Now,  poor  Johanna,  fortunately  at  that  moment,  was  only  sitting  before  the 
little  miserable  fire,  holding  her  face  in  her  hands,  and  deeply  thinking  of  the 
once  happy  past.  She  had  brought  out  from  beneath  the  counter  the  sleeve  of 
a  sailor's  jacket,  which  she  had  found  upon  her  former  examination  of  the  shop, 


SIR  RICHARD  GIVES  JOHANNA  PISTOLS  FOR  HER  PROTECTION, 


and  after  sprinkling  it  with  some  tears,  for  she  fully  believed  it  must  have  be- 
longed  to  Mark  Ingestrie,  she  had  hidden  it  again. 

And  now  as  she  sat  in  that  house  of  murder  all  alone,  she  was  picturing  to 
herself  every  tone  and  look  of  her  lover  when  he  had  first  told  her  that  he  loved 
her  before,  as  she  might  have  said  in  the  words  of  the  old  song— 


386  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


"  He  loved  me,  and  he  sped  away 
Far  o'er  the  raging  sea, 
To  seek  tl  e  gems  of  other  lands, 
And  bring  them  all  to  me." 

At  that  moment,  with  all  external  objects  hidden  from  her  perception,  she 
could  almost  fancy  she  could  hear  his  voice  as  he  had  said  to  her— u  My  darling, 
I  shall  come  back 'rich  and  prosperous,  and  we  shall  be  happy/' 

Alas  !  how  sadly  had  that  dream  ended.  Ee  who  had  escaped  the  perils  of 
the  deep— he  who  had  successfully  battled  with  the  tempest,  and  all  the  perils  by 
sea  and  by  land  incidental  to  the  life  he  had  embarked  in,  had  returned  miserably 
to  perish,  almost  within  hearing  of  her  for  whom  he  had  adventured  so  much. 

The  thought  was  maddening ! 

"And  I  live!"  she  said;  <k  I  can  live  after  that!  Oh,  Mark— Mark— I  did 
not  love  you  well  enough,  or  I  could  not  have  existed  so  long  after  the  horrible 
certainty  of  your  fate  has  been  revealed  to  me.  They  may  say  what  they  will  to 
try  to  make  me  calmer  and  happier,  but  I  know  that  he  is  Todd's  victim." 

After  this  she  sat  for  a  time  in  a  kind  of  stupor,  and  it  was  ^during  that  in- 
terval that  Todd  arrived  home. 

There  was  no  light  in  the  shop  but  what  at  times  came  from  a  little  flickering 
flame,  that  would  splutter  into  a  moment's  brief  existence  in  the  fire;  but 
Todd,  as  he  glared  through  the  upper  portion  of  the  half-glass  door  at  a  spot 
where  he  knew  the  blind  did  not  prevent  him,  could  just  see  Johanna  thus 
sitting. 

"  Humph!"  he  said.  "  The  boy  is  quiet  enough,  and  probably,  after  all,  may 
suspect  nothing  ;  although  I  don't  at  ail  like  his  manner  at  times;  yet  it  is  safer 
to  kill  him  before  I  go.  It  is  absolute  security.  He  shaU  help  me  to  arrange 
everything  to  set  the  house  on  fire,  and  then  when  I  have  completed  all  my  ar- 
rangements, it  will  be  easy  to  knock  him  on  the  head." 

With  this  he  opened  the  door. 

Johanna  started. 

"  Well/'  said  Todd,  "well,  any  one  been  ?" 

"  Only  a  man  to  be  shaved,  sir.    I  told  him  you  would  be  home  soon,  but  he 

could  not  wait,  so  he  left." 

"Let  him  leave  and  get  shaved  at  the  devil !"  said  Todd.  "  You  are  sure  no 
one  has  been  here  peeping  and  prying,  and  asking  questions  which  you  would  be 
quite  delighted  to  answer,  eh?" 

"  Peeping  and  prying,  sir  ?"  ^ 
"  Yes,  peeping  and  prying.    You  know  the  meaning  of  that.    Don  t  put  on 
a  look  of  surprise  at  me.    It  won't  do.    I  known  what  you  boys  are.  Curse 
you  all!    Yes,  I  know  what  you  are." 

Johanna  made  no  answer.  , 
Todd  took  off  his  hat,  and  shook  the  rain  from  it  violently.    Then  in  a  voice 
that  made  Johanna  start  again,  he  cried — 

"  Light  the  lamp,  idiot !"  m 
It  was  quite  clear  that  the  occurrences  at  the  colonel's  had  not  improved  I  odd  s 
temper  at  all,  and  that  upon  very  little  pretext  for  it,  he  would  have  committed 
some  act  of  violence,  of  which  Johanna  might  be  the  victim.  Anything  short 
of  that  she  could  endure,  but  she  had  made  up  her  mind  that  if  even  he  so  much 
as  laid  his  hand  upon  her,  her  power  of  further  patience  would  be  gone,  and ^she 
would  be  compelled  to  adopt  the  means  of  summoning  aid  which  had  been 
pointed  out  to  her  by  Sir  Richard  Blunt— namely,  by  casting  something  througti 
the  window  into  the  street. 

She  lit  the  shop-lamp  as  quickly  as  she  could.  „  , 

"A  lazy  life  you  lead,"  said  Todd.  "A  lazy  life,  indeed.  Well,  well,  ne 
added,  softening  his  tone,  "  it  don't  matter— I  shall  polish  you  off  for  all  that, 
Charley.    What  a  pretty  boy  you  are." 

"Sir?"  » 
« I  Say  what  a  pretty  boy  you  are.   Why,  you  must  have  been  your  mamma  s 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  387 


pet,  that  you  must.    I  was.    Ha!  ha!    Look  at  me,  now.    I  was  fondled  and 
kissed  once,  and  called  a  pretty  boy.    Ha !" 
Johanna  shuddered. 

<4  Yes/'  added  Todd,  as  he  wiped  himself  down  with  a  soiled  'owel,  "  yes, 
my  mother  used  to  make  quite  a  pet  of  me.  I  often  used  to  wish  I  was  strong 
enough  to  throttle  her  !    Ha !  ha!    That  I  did  !" 

"  Throttle  her,  sir  P9 

"  Yes,"  added  Todd,  fiercely.  "  What  the  devil  did  she  bring  me  into  the 
world  for  her  own  gratifications,  unless  she  had  plenty  of  money  to  give  me 
that  1  might  enjoy  myself  in  it?" 

V  I  don't  know,  sir.1' 

"  You  don't  know  ?  Who  the  devil  supposed  you  did  know  ?  Answer  me 
that,  you  imp !  Well,  well,  Charley,  you  and  I  won't  quarrel  about  such 
matters.    Come,  my  boy,  I  want  you  to  be  of  use  to  me  to-night/' 

"  To-night,  sir  ?"  t 

"Yes, "to-night.  Is  it  broad  daylight?  Is  the  sun  shining?  Is  there  no 
such  thing  as  night,  under  cover  of  which  black  deeds  are  done  I  Curse  you  ! 
why  do  you  ask  if  to-night  is  the  time  for  action  ?" 

"  1  will  do  your  bidding,  sir." 

"  Yes  ;  and— Ah!  who  is  this?0 

"Is  this  here  keg  of  turpentine  for  you?"  said  a  man,  with  it  upon  his 
shoulder.    '*  Mr.  Todd's  this  is,  ain't  it  3" 

«  yes — yes.    Put  it  down,  my  good  fellow.    You  ought  to  have  something 

to  drink." 

"  Thank  vou  kindly,  sir." 

"  But  you  must  pay  for  it  yourself.    There  is  a  public-house  opposite/' 

The  man  went  away  swearing;  and  scarcely  had  he  crossed  the  threshold, 
when  a  letter  was  brought  by  a  lad,  and  handed  to  Todd.  Before  he  could 
ask  any  questions,  the  lad  was  gone. 

Todd  held  the  letter  in  his  hand,  and  glared  at  the  direction-  It  was  to  him, 
sure  enough,  and  written  in  a  very  clerk-like  hand,  too.  Before  he  could  open 
it,  some  one  hit  the  door  a  blow  upon  the  outside,  and  it  swung  open. 

'"  fs  this  Todd's,  the  barber  ?" 

"  Yes/'  said  Johanna. 

"  Then  give  him  that  letter,  little  cjiap,  will  you  >' 

u  Stop  V%  cried  Todd.  "  Stop.  Where  do  you  come  from,  and  who  are  you  ? 
Stop,  you  rascal.  Will  you  stop  ?  Confound  you,  I  wish  I  had  a  razor  at 
your  throat." 


CHAPTER  LXXXVL 

MRS.  LOVETT  IS  WIDE  AWAKE. 

Todd  looked  the  picture  of  amazement. 

"Two  letters  V9  he  muttered,  "two  letters  to  me,  who  seldom  receive  any? 
To  me  who  have'ne  acquaintances— no  relations  ?    Bah !    It  must  be  some 
mistake,  or  perhaps,  after  all,  some  infernal  nonsense  about  the  parish." 
He  tore  open  the  last  received  one,  and  read  as  follows  : — 
"  Colonel  Jeffery  informs  Sweeney  Todd  that,  although  from  a  variety  of 
reasons  he  may  not  think  proper  to  prosecute  him  for  his  recent  outrage  at  his 
house,  he  will/  upon  a  repetition  of  such  conduct,  at  once  hand  him  over  to  the 
I  police. " 

Todd's  countenance,  during  the  perusal  of  this  brief  note,  betrayed  a  variety 
of  emotions  ;  and  when  he  had  concluded  it,  he  let  it  drop  from  his  hands,  and 
knitting  his  brows,  he  muttered— 
f?  W  hat  does  this  mean  ?" 

That  there  was — that  there  must  be  something  much  more  than  met  the  eye 


388 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


in  this  boasted  clemency  of  the  colonel  towards  him,  he  felt  quite  convinced  • 
but  what  it  was,  he  was  puzzled  to  think  for  a  time.  At  length,  brigtening  up^ 
he  said  — 

>  "  Yes,  I  have  it.  It  is  Tobias — it  is  Tobias.  He  cannot  rid  himself  from  the 
idea  that  I  have  some  mysterious  power  of  injuring  his  mother  ;  and  perhaps, 
after  all,  ke  may  have  made  no  disclosures  to  the  colonel  injurious  to  me/' 

Comforted  by  this  wide  supposition,  Todd  picked  up  the  letter  again,  and 
put  it  in  his  pocket  carefully.  ? 

u  It  is  as  well/'  he  said,  "  for  I  shall  not  now  be  hurried.    No,  I  shall  not 
be  at  all  hurried  now,  which  I  might  have  been. — Charley/' 
"  Yes,  sir." 
"Trim  the  lamp/' 

Johanna  did  so ;  and  white  the  process  was  going  on,  Todd  opened  the  other 
letter.    It  was  as  follows  : — 

"  Sir, — We  beg  to  inform  you  that  our  Hamburgh  vessel  in  which  you  have 
done  us  the  favour  to  take  passage,  will  not  sail  until  to-morrow  night  at  four, 
God  willing,  and  that  consequently  there  will  be  no  occasion  for  your  coming  on 
board  earlier. — Wt  are,  sir, 

"  Your  obedient  servants, 
11  To  Mr.  S.  Todd.  "  Brown,  Buggins,  Muggs,  and  Screamer." 

Todd  ground  his  teeth  together  in  a  horrible  manner.  He  dashed  the  letter 
to  the  floor,  and  stamped  upon  it. 

"  Curse  Brown  and  Buggins  V9  he  cried.  "  1  only  wish  I  could  dash  out 
Muggs  and  Screamer's  brains  with  Brown  and  Buggins's  skulls.  Confound 
them  and  their  ships.  May  they  all  go  to  the  bottom  when  I  am  out  of  them, 
and  be  smashed  and  d — d  I" 

Johanna  was  amazed  at  this  sudden  torrent  of  wrath.  She  could  not  imagine 
what  had  produced  it,  for  Todd  had  read  the  letter  in  a  muttering  tone,  that 
effectually  prevented  her  from  hearing  any  of  it. 

Suddenly  he  rose  and  rushed  into  the  back  room,  and  bolted  the  door  .upon 
himself.    He  went  to  think  what  was  best  to  be  done. 

When  he  was  alone  he  read  both  the  letters  again,  and  then  he  burst  out  into 
such  a  torrent  of  wrath  against  the  ship-owners,  that  it  was  a  mercy  Johanna's 
ears  were  spared  the  dreadful  words  that  came  from  his  lips. 

Suddenly  he  saw  a  postscript  at  the  foot  of  the  ship-owner's  letter,  which  he 
had  at  first  overlooked. 

"  P.  S.— The  ship  is  removed  to  Crimmins's  Wharf,  but  will  be  at  her  old 
moorings  at  time  mentioned  above.37 

u  D — n  Crimmins  and  his  wharf,  too !"  cried  Todd. 

He  flung  himself  into  a  chair,  and  sat  for  a  time  profoundly  still.  During 
that  period  he  tried  to  make  up  his  mind  as  to  what  it  would  be  best  for  him, 
under  the  circumstances,  to  do.  Many  plans  floated  through  his  imagination. 
He  could  not  for  a  long  time  bring  himself  to  believe  that  the  letter  of  the 
colonel's  was  anything  but  a  feint  to  throw  him  off  his  guard  in  some  way. 

At  length  he  got  into  a  calmer  frame  of  mind. 

u  Shall  I  leave  at  once,  or  stay  till  to-morrow  night,  that  is  the  question 
He  argued  this  with  himself,  pro  and  con. 

If  he  left  he  would  have  to  secret  himself  somewhere  all  the  following  day, 
and  the  fact  of  his  having  left  would  make  an  active  search,  safe  to  be  instituted 
for  him,  which  would  possibly  be  successful.  Besides,  how  was  he  to  conve- 
niently set  fire  to  his  house,  unless  he  was  oft  on  the  moment  that  the  flames 
burst  forth  ? 

Then  if  he  stayed  he  had  Mrs.  Lovett  to  encounter,  but  that  was  all ;  and 
surely  he  could  put  her  off  for  a  few  hours  ?  Surely  she,  of  all  people  in  the 
world,  was  not  to  run  to  a  police-office  and  destroy  both  him  and  herself,  just 
because  she  did  not  get  some  money  at  ten  o'clock  that  he  had  promised  to  hand 
to  her. 

"  She  shall  be  put  off,"  he  said,  suddenly,  "and  I  will  stay  over  to-morrow 


_^  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.   389 

|  I  am  safer  here  than  anywhere  else,  ofthatlfeel  assured.  If  there  are  any 
suspicious  whisperings  about  me  at  all,  they  will  grow  to  loud  clamours  the 
moment  I  am  gone,  and  then  they  may  reach  the  ears  of  these  ship-owners, 
and  they  may  say  at  once,  "  Why  we  have  such  a  man  with  a  passage  taken 
in  one  of  our  Hamburgh  ships."  Let  them  say  that  when  the  ship  is  some 
twenty  hours  gone  with  me  on  board,  and  1  don't  care  ;  but  with  me  on  land, 
and  the  ship  only  to  sail,  instead  of  having  actually  sailed,  it  is  quite  a  different 
matter. 

He  rose  from  his  seat.  His  mind  was  made  up.  He  had  not  quite  decided 
what  he  should  say  to  Mrs.  Lovett,  but  he  had  decided  upon  staying. 

i  <*  Charley  will  live  another  day/1  he  muttered ;  "  but  to-morrow  night  he 
dies,  and  his  body  will  be  consumed  with  this  house,  and,  I  hope,  a  good  part 
of  Fleet-street.  It  will  not  be  prudent  to  get  him  to  assist  now  in  disposing 
the  combustibles  to  fire  the  house.  He  might  speak  of  it  before  to-morrow 
night.* 

Todd  came  out  into  the  shop. 

"  Charley,  my  boy  I"    How  kindly  he  spoke  ! 

"I  am  here,  sir." 

**  You  must  not  mind  what  I  say  when  I  am  vexed.  Many  things  happen  to 
put  me  out  of  the  way.  Sometimes  people  that  I  have  done  I  don't  know  how 
much  for,  turn  out  to  be  very  ungrateful,  and  then  I  get  chafed,  you  see, 
Charley." 

H  Yes,  sir,  no  doubt." 

u  But,  after  I  have  retired  to  the  parlour  and  prayed  a  little,  my  mind  soon 
recovers  its  usual  religious  tone,  and  its  wonted  serenity ;  and  for  the  sake  of 
the  Almighty,  who,  you  know,  is  good  to  us  all,  Charley,  I  forgive  all  that  is 
done  to  me,  and  pray  for  the  wicked." 

Johanna  shuddered.    This  hypocrisy  sounded  awful  to  her. 

"  Never  go  to  rest,  Charley,  without  saying  your  prayers.  There's  three- 
pence for  you.  You  can  get  yourself  a  bed  in  the  neighbourhood  for  that 
amount  somewhere,  I  daresay.  I  am  very  sorry  I  cannot  accommodate  you 
here,  Charley.  Now  go  away,  and  let  me  have  you  here  by  seven  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  and  mind,  above  all  things,  cultivate  a  religious  spirit,  and  do  unto  your 
neighbours  as  you  would  that  your  neighbours  should  do  unto  you." 

Johanna  could  not  reply. 

<€  Here  is  a  tract  that  you  can  read  before  you  go  to  sleep,  if  they  allow  you 
a  candle,  when  you  get  a-bed.  It  is  entitled  u  Groans  of  Grace,  or  the  Sinner 
Sifted/'  a  most  godly  production,  from  a  pious  bookseller  in  Paternoster-row^ 
Charley." 

€i  Yes/1  Johanna  just  managed  to  say. 
"Now  you  may  go." 
She  darted  from  the  shop. 

u  Hilloa !  hilloa  !  Stop— stop,  Charley  !  Stop— stop,  will  you?  Confound 
you,  stop  !    The  infernal  shutters  are  not  up.    Do  you  hear?    I  forgot  them/' 

Todd  rushed  to  his  door.  He  looked  right  and  left,  and  over  the  way,  and, 
in  fact,  everywhere,  but  no  Charley  was  to  be  seen.  The  fact  is,  that  Johanna, 
the  moment  she  felt  herself  released  from  the  shop,  had  darted  over  the  way, 
and  into  the  fruiterers,  where  she  had  found  so  friendly  a  welcome  before,  and 
all  this  was  done  in  such  a  moment,  that  she  was  housed  before  Todd  could  get 
his  shop-door  open. 

r1  Welcome  V9  said  a  voice. 

She  found  it  proceeded  from  the  fruiterers  daughter,  who  had  behaved  so 
kindly  to  her. 

Johanna  burst  into  tears. 

"  What  has  happened  ? — what  has  happened  ?"  cried  the  young  girl. 

u  Nothing,  now/'  said  Johanna.  "  But  I  cannot  keep  up  longer  than  when 
I  am  in  that  shop.  As  soon  as  I  am  fairly  out  of  the  presence  of  that  dreadful 
man,  I  feel  ready  to  faint." 


3go  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


"~Be  of  good  cheer/'  said  a  deep-toned  voice. 
She  looked  up,  and  saw  Sir  Richard  Blunt. 
"  Yoa  here,  sir  ?" 

"  Yes,  Johanna-  I  have  been  now  for  some  time  watching  Todd's  shop  from 
our  friends  first-floor  window.  I  saw  you  dart  across  tbe  road,  and  for  the 
moment  feared  something  had  gone  wrong.    Did  Todd  get  two  letters  ?" 

<•  He  did." 

"They  will,  I  hope,  Keep  him  quiet  until  another  night.    Dare  you  go  back 
aeain,  Johanna,  to  that  place?'' 

Yes,  if  it  be  necessary  ;  but  he  has  toll  me  to  sleep  out,  and  the  gust  of 
pleasure  1  felt  at  the  permission,  almost,  I  fear,  betrayed  me." 

"He  came  to  the  door  and  looked  furiously  after  you,  but  he  did  not 
see  which  way  you  had  come.    You  were  over  here  like  a  flash  of  light." 

'<  He  would  have  had  me  back  again,  then  ? — What  could  that  be  for?5' 

"  At  all  events,  you  shall  not  go  until  the  morning,  and  not  then,  unless  after 
a  night's  rest  here]  you  feel  that  you  can  do  so  with  a  good  heart." 

"  Oh  yes,  I  will  fulfil  my  mission." 

"Todd  is  putting  up  his  shutters,''  said  the  fruiterer,  as  he  came  in  from  his 
front  shop. 

"Ah,  then  the  secret  is  out,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt.  "That  is  what  he 
wanted  you  back  for,  Johanna.  He  had  forgotten  at  the  moment  all  about  the 
shutters'you  may  depend.  I  am  glad  he  spared  you  the  trouble,  at  any  rate. 
I  do  not  like  you  to  perform  any  service  for  such  a  rank  villain  as  he  is." 

u  it  would  not  have  been  for  him,  sir." 

"  For  who,  then  ?" 

<<  For  the  dead.  I  feel  that  1  am  bound  to  bring  to  justice  the  murderer  of 
Mark  Ingestrie.  When  I  was  here  last,  sir,  you  strove  to  comfort  me,  by  mak- 
ing me  feel  a  sort  of  hope  that  he  was  not  dead,  but  I  cannot  think  that— 1 
would  that  1  could,  but  indeed  I  cannot,  sir." 

"Do  not  be  too  sure,  Johann;/' 

"  Nay,  look  at  that." 

She  laid  before  the  magistrate  the  sleeve  of  the  jacket  that  she  had  found  at 
Todds,  and  which  fancy,  for  she  certainly  had  no  proof  that  way  tending,  told 
her  had  belonged  to  Mark  Ingestrie,  j 
8  What  is  this  V?  '  J 

"  Look  at  it,  sir.    My  heart  tells  me  it  was  his  !"  ^     •  i 

"And  so  you  suppose  there  was  never  but  one  sailor's  jacket  with  ivory 
tuttons  on  "the  wrist  in  the  world,  and  never  any  one  who  wore  one,  but 
Mark  Ingestrie  ?"  .   .  I 

gi  Nay,  the  place  in  which  it  was  found  brings  conviction." 
"  Not  at  all.    Do  you  forget  there  was  such  a  person  as  Thornhill  in  the 
world,  Johanna  ?" 

"  No ;  but  why  will  every  one  persist  in  fancying  Thornhill  and  Ingestrie  to 
be  two  persons,  when  I  am  convinced  they  were  but  one  ?  Let  who  will  identify 
this  as  part  of  Thornhill5 s  apparel,  and  I  will  weep  for  Mark." 
"  I  cannot  just  now  shake  this  supposition." 
"  You  never  will." 

<c  If  I  live  I  will,  Johanna,  I  give  you  my  word  for  so  much.  Pray  who  is 
the  best  to  judge  of  such  things  ?  You,  a  young  girl  who  have  seen  little  or 
nothing  of  the  world,  and  whose  natural  apprehension  is  rendered  obscure  by 
the  conflict  of  your  affections,  or  I  whose  business  it  is  to  come  to  an  accurate 
conclusion  of  such  matters  ?  I  repeat  my  conviction,  that  Thornhill  was  not 
Mark  Ingestrie."  . 
<«  Oh,  if  I  could  think  so  J" 

«  You  will."  f  f} 

«  You  have  no  doubt,  sir,  but  Thornhill  perished  by  the  hand  of  Todd? 

None  whatever." 
Johanna  looked  deeply  affected. 


A 


.   __■-■*_,_  _»_-..^.   -  ■      ...   ■     ■■■■>■-   -'■  '  ■  ■'  "'  — "     "  - 

 -       -   " '-    ■    t  - 1      -  r        —    1    i     -     -  i-         ■  --  iii       .    .i  ■  ■    i  i     -  ■  i     i.  ..I.    rrii    1  ..i  m.-i— 11  -I         n    i      j'ijliwhi.    ii.     ■     mill  .Ui  1 1  ■  m  1 1  >  I MW1  I  <|^l«n  T____^_^_f__— — -^j^^,——— — — ________ _______ w 

THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  391 

■•-»    ...   _  ,  .  _____  ......   1  -ui. 

u  Come,"  added  Sir  Richard,  "yoa  want  both  rest  and  refreshment,  and  you 
can  have  both  here  at  this  house.  To-morrow  I  hope  will  end  all  your  trials, 
my  dear  girl,  and  I  shall  live,  I  trust,  to  see  you  smile  as  you  ought  to  smile, 
and  to  be  as  happy  as  only  a  very  dim  recollection  of  the  past  will  make  you." 

"  Ah,  no — never  happy." 

€t  You  must  love  some  one.  Yon  must  recover,  #nd  in  the  cares  and  joys  of 
a  new  existence,  you  must  only  look  back  upon  what  has  passed,  as  though  you 
pondere  1  upon  the  phantasma  of  some  fearful  dream;  and  when  you  see  all 
around  you  smiling  "  j 

"  It  will  be  cruel  for  them  to  smile,  sir ;  and  it  is  now  cruel  of  you  to  spe*k  to  j 
me  of  loving  another,  when  you  know  my  affections  are  with  Ingestrie,  in  that  j 
world  to  which  he  has  gone  before  me,  but  to  which  I  look  forward  to  as  the 
place  of  our  happy  meeting,  where  we  shall  part  again  no  more."  | 

"  Well,  I  thought  I  could  find  you  a  lover  that  would  be  to  your  mind  when 
all  these  affairs  were  over."  j 
(  "Sir?" 

€€  Nay,  be  not  offended.    You  know  I  am  your  sincere  friend 
<(  I  know  you  are,  and  that  is  what  makes  it  so  grievous  to  me  to  hear  you  talk 
in  such  a  strain,  sir/' 

"Then  I  will  say  no  more." 

€i  I  thank  you,  Sir  Richard;  and  I  will  forget  what  you  have  said,  because  I 
will  recollect  nothing  from  you,  or  committed  with  you,  but  kindness  and  con- 
sideration," 

Sir  Richard  smiled  slightly  for  a  moment,  as  he  turned  aside  and  spoke  to  his 
friend  the  fruiterer  for  some  minutes  in  a  low  tone.    The  young  girl  who  had  , 
before  behaved  with  such  kindness  to  Johanna,  took  her  by  the  hand,  and  led 
her  up-stairs. 

"  Come/'  she  said,  "you  shall  tell  me  all  you  have  suffered  opposite  since  we 
parted  last,  and  I  will  speak  to  you  of  him  whom  you  love.* 
t(  You  are  too  good  to  me/' 

While  all  this  was  going  on  so  close  to  him,  Todd,  with  many  oaths  and  exe- 
crations, was  putting  up  his  own  shutters,  which  he  did  with  a  violence  that 
nearly  knocked  the  front  of  the  window  in.  When  he  had  finished,  he  walked 
into  his  house,  and  closing  the  door,  he  said,  in  a  low  tone— 

"I  must  make  up  my  mind  what  to  say  to  Mrs.  Lovett  in  the  morning.  I 
am  afraid  she  will  be  hard  to  pacify." 

At  this  moment  a  man  peered  out  from  the  inn  gateway  opposite,  and  said  to 
himself — 

"  Now  begins  my  watch.  I  dare  say  now  Mrs.  Lovett  has  some  [particular 
reason  for  watching  this  barber,  though  she  did  not  tell  me.  However,  a  guinea 
for  one  night's  work  is  not  bad  pay." 


4 


CHAPTER  LXXXVIL 

MR,  LtTPIN  MEDDLES  WITH  OTHER  FOLKS*  AFFAIRS. 

(i  Brother  Oakley,  is  sister  Oakley  within  ?" 

This  rather  cool  speech — cool  considering  all  the  circumstances — Was  uttered 
by  no  other  than  the  Reverend  Mr.  Lupin  to  Mr.  Oakley,  who  was  working  in 
his  shop  on  the  morning  after  Johanna  had  gone  upon  her  perilous  enterprise  to 
Todd's. 

Mr.  Oakley  looked  up  with  surprise  upon  his  features. 

"What?"  he  said. 

"  Is  sister  Oakley  within,  brother  V9 

€i  Don't  call  me  brother,  you  canting  hypocrite.  Ho*W  do  yOu  make  out  anjr 
such  relationship,  I  should  like  to  know?0 


392  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


u  Are  we  not  all  brothers  in  the  Lord  V9 
"  Pho  !    Go  along/' 

i€  Nay,  brother  Oakley,  my  coming  to  you  upon  this  day  hath,  in  good  truth, 
a  meaning.'1 

As  he  said  these  words,  the  countenance  oF  the  pious  man  had  upon  it  a 
malignant  expression,  and  there  was  a  twinkle  about  his  eyes,  which  said  as 
plainly  as  possible,  "And  that  meaning  is  mischief !"  Old  Oakley  looked  at 
him  for  some  few  seconds,  and  then  he  said— 

tc  Hark  you,  Mr.  Lupin,  you  have  already  meddled  too  much  in  my  affairs, 
and  I  desire  now  that  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  leave  them  alone." 

"  Humph !  brother  Oakley,  what  I  have  to  say,  concerns  thee  to  hear,  but  I 
would  rather  say  it  to  thy  wife,  who  is  a  sister  in  the  faith,  and  assuredly  one 
of  the  elect,  than  I  would  say  it  to  you,  who  will  assuredly  go  to  a  warm  place 
below  for  your  want  of  faith;  so  I  say  again,  is  sister  Oakley  within  ?" 

u  If  you  mean  my  wife,"  replied  the  old  spectacle-maker,  "  I  am  sorry  to 
say  that  nobody  knows  less  of  her  going  out  and  coming  home  than  I  do." 

"Truly,  she  frequents  the  Tabernacle  of  the  Lord,  called  Ebenezer,  where;  we 
all  put  up  a  hearty  and  moving  prayer  for  you." 

"  Nobody  asks  you.    I  believe  you  are  a"  set  of  rascals." 

u  How  pleasant  this  is." 

"  What  is  pleasant  ?" 

u  To  be  nailed.  How  charming  it  is  for  the  friends  of  Satan  to  call  the  Saint's 
hard  names.    Brother  Oakley,  you  are  lost,  indeed/3 

"  If  you  call  me  brother  again,  you  shall  be  lost,  Mr.  Lupin.  I  tell  you  once 
for  all,  I  don't  know  anything  of  my  wife's  going  out  or  coming  home,  and  J 
don't  want  to  see  you  in  my  shop  any  more.  If  it  were  not  for  one  person  in 
this  world,  and  that  one  an  ange!,  if  ever  one  lived  upon  the  earth,  I  should  not 
care  how  soon  my  head  was  laid  low." 

"  Humph  !  brother  Oakley  !    Humph  V 

Oakley  caught  up  a  file  to  throw  at  the  head  of  the  hypocrite,  but  there  was 
such  an  expression  of  triumph  upon  his  face,  that  the  heart  of  the  old  spectacle- 
maker]  sunk  within  him  as  he  thought  to  himself,  "  This  man  brings  ill 
news,  or  he  would  never  look  as  he  does."  The  file  dropped  from  his  hands, 
and  pushing  his  spectacles  up  to  the  top  of  his  head,  he  glared  at  Lupin  as 
he  said — 

"  Speak— speak  !    What  have  you  to  say  ?" 
"Humph!" 

u  Speak  man,  if  you  be  a  man  !f 

u  Humph,  brother  Oakley.,  you  have  a  daughter—Johanna  ?" 

"  Yes,  yes  !"  cried  old  Oakley.  "  My  heart  told  me  that  it  was  of  my  child 
this  wretch  came  to  speak.  Tell  me  all  instantly.  Speak— what  of  my  dear 
Johanna  ?  I  will  wrest  the  truth  from  vou.  Has  airy  thins  happened— is  she 
well?    Speak — speak!" 

Mr.  Oakley  sprang  upon  the  preacher,  and  seizing  him  by  die  throat,  forced 
him  back  until  he  fell  upon  an  old  chest  in  the  shop  that  was  full  of  tools  and 
the  lid  of  which  giving  way  with  Lupin's  weight  and  the  sudden  concussion 
with  which  he  came  upon  it,  precipitated  him  into  the  hox  among  a  number  of 
pointed  implements,  the  effect  of  which  may  be  better  imagined  than  described, 
as  the  newspapers  say. 

"  Murder!  murder  if'  screamed  the  preacher. 

"  Now  y°u  ^scal !"  cried  old  Oakley.  "  Say  what  you  have  got  to  say,  and 
at  once,  too."  J  J  & 

^Murdei  !"  again  gasped  Lupin,    "  Brother  Oakley,  spare  my  life/' 
,  4  I  will  not  spare  it  if  you  are  not  quite  explicit  as  .regards  what  you 
hinted  of  my  child.    Speak  at  once.    Tell  me  what  yoa  have  to  say  ?" 
"  Let  me  get  up.    Oh,  be  merciful,  and  let  me  get  up." 
No.    You  can  stay  very  well  where  you  are.    Be  quiet  and  speak  freely,  in 
which  case  no  harm  will  come  to  you." 


have 


THE  STRING  OE  PEAKLS.  393 

 — «   . .  .  . 

M  Did  you  say,  be  quiet,  brother  Oakley  ?  Truly  you  would  be  anything  but 
quiet  in  my  situation.  What  induces  you  to  keep  all  your  tools  in  this  chest 
with  the  points  uppermost  }" 

"  You  are  trying  to  prevaricate  now/1  said  Oakley,  suddenly  snatching  from  the 
wall  of  his  shop  an  antique  sword,  that  had  hung  there  as  a  sort  of  ornament, 
not  entirely  inconsistent  with  his  trade.    "  You  are  trying   to  prevaricate 


THE  BODY  FOUND  UNDER  TODD'S  HOUSJE. 


with  me  now,  and  I  must  and  will  have  your  life.  Prepare  for  the  worst.  You 
have  now  aroused  feelings  that  cannot  be  so  easily  quelled  again.  Your  last 
hour  has  come  \*7 

The  sight  of  the  sword  awakened  the  most  lively  feelings  of  terror  in  the 
mind  of  the  preacher.  He  gave  a  howl  of  dismay,  and  made  the  most  frantic 
efforts  to  get  up  out  of  the  tool-chest ;  but  that  was  no  easy  matter,  particularly 


No.  50. 


394  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  

as~old  Oakley  flourished  the  antique  sword  in  dangerous  proximity  to  his  nose. 
At  length,  lifting  up  his  hands  in  the  most  supplicating  manner,  he  cried — 

"  Mercy—mercy,  and  I  will  tell/' 

"  Go  on,  then.  Quick." 

"Yes — yes.  Oh,  dear  !  Yes.  I  was  sojourning  in  this  ungodly  city,  and 
taking  my  way,  deep  in  thought,  upon  the  wickedness  of  the  vorld,  the  greater 
portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  which  will  assuredly  go  down  below,  where  there 

is  howling  and  

"  You  rascal,  I'll  make  you  howl  if  you  do  not  come  to  the  point  quickly/ 
A  flourish  of  the  sword,  so  close  to  the  face  of  Mr.  Lupin  that  he  really 
believed  for  the  moment  it  had  taken  the  end  of  his  nose  off,  admonished  him  that 
the  patience  of  Mr.  Oakley  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  in  a  whining  tone,  he 
added — 

"  Truly,  I  was  in  the  street  called  .Fleet-street ;  when  as  I  was  crossing  the 
way,  a  young  lad  nearly  upset  me  into  the  kennel.  He  did  not  see  me,  but  I 
saw  him.    Truly,  brother  Oakley,  I  saw  the  face  of  that — that  individual." 

*  Well,  what  is  that  to  me  ?    I  ask  you  what  is  he  to  me  ?    Go  on." 

"  Oh,  oh,  oh  !  Don't  say  I  have  not  prepared  you  for  the  worst.  Oh,  oh, 
oh !  Now,  brother  Oakley,  I  will  tell  you,  even  although  it  provoke  an  abun- 
dance of  wrath.  That  boy  — that  individual  who  nearly  overthrew  me,  one  of 
the  elect  as  I  am,  into  the  kennel,  had  the  face  of  your  daughter,  Johanna." 

The  spectacle-maker  looked  confused,  as  well  he  might. 

"The  face  of  my  daughter,  Johanna  ?"  he  said.  "  What  do  you  mean  ?  Is 
all  this  cock-and-a-bull  story  about  some  boy  in  the  street,  who  happened  in 
your  eyes  to  bear  a  resemblance  to  my  child  ?" 

"  Humph  !  Ay,  truly.  Humph  !  so  striking  a  resemblance,  that  sitting  here, 
even  as  I  am  upon  the  points  of  many  instruments  of  steel  and  of  iron,  I  aver 
that  that  boy  was  Johanna  Oakley/' 

Oakley  staggered  back,  and  the  antique  sword  dropped  from  his  hand,  a 
proceeding  which  Mr.  Lupin  profitted  sufficiently  by  to  scramble  out  of  the  tool- 
chest,  and  make  towards  the  door.  In  another  moment  he  would  have  left  the  shop, 
for  he  had  done  all  the  mischief  he  could,  by  telling  the  anxious  father  such  a 
tale,  but  suddenly  Oakley  snatched  the  sword  from  the  floor  again,  snd  rushing 
after  Mr.  Lupin,  he  caught  him  by  the  skirts  at  the  very  nick  of  time,  and 
dragged  him  into  the  shop  again.  Holding  then  the  sword  to  his  throat  he 
said— 

"  Scoundrel  !  How  dare  you  come  and  tell  me  such  a  thing  ?  Your  life, 
your  worthless  life,  ought  to  pay  the  penalty  of  such  an  odious  falsehood." 

"  No,  no  !"  cried  Lupin  falling  upon  his  knees,  for  he  saw  the  sword  uplifted. 
"  No  !    What  if  it  be  true  ?    What  if  it  be  true  V* 

The  old  man's  hands  shook,  and  the  point  of  the  sword  which  had  been  in 
most  dreadful  proximity  to  Mr.  Lupin's  throat,  was  gradually  lowered  until  it 
touched  the  floor. 

"Tell  me  again — tell  me  again  V9  gasped  Oakley. 

The  preacher  saw  that  his  danger  was  over,  and  rising,  he  took  a  handkerchief 
from  his  pocket,  and  began  deliberately  to  dust  his  knees,  as  he  said  in  a  low 
snuffling  voice— » 

"Truly,  you  are  a  vessel  of  wrath,  brother  Oakley."' 

"  Stop  !"  cried  Oakley.  "  1  have  told  you  before  not  to  call  me  brother  :  I 
have  no  fellowship  or  brotherhood  with  you.  Do  not  tempt  me  to  more  violence 
by  the  use  of  that  word/5 

"Let  it  be  as  you  please/'  said  Lupin,  **  but  as  regards  the  maiden,  who  for 
a  surety  is  fair  to  look  upon,  although  all  flesh  is  grass,  and  beauty  waneth 
after  a  season— — " 

"I  want  none  of  your  canting  reflections.  To  your  tale.  When  and  where 
was  it  that  you  saw  my  child  ?? 

€t  In  the  street  called  Fleet,  as  I  and  all  of  us  are  sinners.  She  wore  nether 
garments  suitable  and  conformable  unto  a  boy,  but  not  to  a  girl,  as  the  way  of 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  ,  395 


the  world  goeth;  and  yet  she  looked  comely  did  the  maiden— ay,  very  comely. 
I  was  moved  to  see  her  truly.  Her  eyes  there  was  no  mistaking,' and  her  hps — 
Ay,  it  was  the  maiden ;  but  after  sitting  in  the  kennel  for  one  moment  mto 
which  I  fell,  and  getting  up  again  amid  the  laughter  of  the  ungodly  bystanders, 
I  found  that  she  was  gone." 

"  And  so  you  have  come  on  to  me  with  this  monstrous  tale  ?" 

"  Monstrous  tail  V*  said  Mr.  Lupin,  turning  round  as  though  he  expected  to 
find  such  an  appendage  flourishing  behind  him.    u  I  am  not  aware  " 

The  old  spectacle-maker  staggered  into  a  seat,  and  holding  his  hands  clasped 
before  him  for  a  few  moments,  he  strove  to  think  calmly  of  what  had  been  told 
to  him. 

The  preacher  was  not  slow  in  taking  advantage  of  this  condition  into  which 
Mr.  Oakley  fell,  to  protect  himself  against  any  further  danger  from  the  sword. 
He  picked  up  that  weapon  from  the  floor,  and  not  finding  any  place  readily  in 
the  shop  where  he  might  effectually  hide  it,  he  held  it  behind  his  back,  and 
finally  thrust  the  long  blade  of  it  between  his  coat  and  his  waistcoat,  where  he 
thought  it  was  to  be  sure  wonderfully  well  hidden.  He  did  not  calculate  that 
the  point  projected  above  his  coat-collar  and  his  head  some  six  inches  or 
so,  presenting  a  very  singular  appearance  indeed. 

He  then  waited  for  Oakley  to  speak,  for  to  tell  the  truth,  the  curiosity  of 
Lupin  was  strongly  excited  concerning  Johanna,  as  well  as  his  sense  of  enjoy- 
ment, tickled  by  the  distress  of  the  father  whom  he  considered  his  enemy. 

After  this  he  waited  patiently  enough  to  see  what  course  the  bafflicted  man 
would  pursue,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  conduct  of  Lupin  was  most  convincing 
of  the  fact,  that  he  entertained  no  doubt  whatever  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
supposed  boy  he  had  seen  in  Fleet  Street.  The  time  at  which  he  had  seen 
Johanna,  must  have  been  when  she  ran  over  the  road  from  Todd's  shop,  and 
took  refuge  in  the  fruiterer's. 

Well,  then,  poor  Mr.  Oakley  Ivas  trying  to  think.  He  way  trying  to  con- 
vince himself  that  it  could  not  possibly  have  been  Johanna  who  had  been 
seen  by  the  preacher;  but  then  there  was  still  present  to  his  mind*  the  impres- 
sion that  had  been  made  upon  it  by  the  singular  manner  in  which  she  had 
bidden  him  adieu  upon  the  last  occasion  of  his  seeing  her.  He  remembered 
how  she  had  come  back,  after  leaving  the  shop  with  her  young  friend,  Arabella 
Wilmot,  and  how  then,  with  a  burst  of  feeling,  she  had  taken  of  him  a  second 
farewell. 

No  wonder  then  that,  by  combining  that  with  the  information  Lupin  had 
brought,  the  father  found  enough  to  shudder  at ;  and  he  did  shudder, 
Mr.  Lupin  watched  him  attentively. 

Suddenly  rising,  with  a  face  pale  as  death  itself,  Oakley  advanced  to  Lupin, 
and  laying  his  hand  upon  his  breast,  he  said  to  him— - 

f<  Man,  I  suspect  that  there  is  much  hypocrisy  in  your  nature.  It  may  be 
unjust  to  do  so — it  may  be  that  I  am  doing  you  a  wrong,  but  yet  I  do  think  in 
my  heart  that  you  are  one  of  those  who  adopt  the  garb  and  the  language  of 
piety  for  the  selfish  purposes  of  human  nature.  And  yet  you  must  have  some 
feeling  :  at  the  bottom  of  even  such  a  heart  as  yours,  there  must  be  some  touch 
of  humanity  ;  and  by  that  I  conjure  you  to  say  if  you  have  told  the  truth  to  me 
in  this  matter  concerning  my  child." 

M  I  have/'  said  Lupin. 

"If  you  have  not,  1  will  say  nothing  to  you,  I  will  be  guilty  of  no  attempt  at 
revengeful  violence.    Only  tell  me  so,  and  you  shall  go  in  peacd." 

"  What  I  have  told  you  of  the  maiden  is  true/"  said  Lupin.  V  I  saw  here- 
with these  eyes  I  saw  her." 

The  spectacle-maker  slipped  off  his  working  apron  and  the  black  sleeves  he 
wore  over  his  coat  to  protect  it  from  the  dust  and  other  destructive  matters  inci- 
dental to  his  work-bench,  and  then  he  snatched  his  hat  from  a  peg  upon  which 
it  hung  in  the  shop. 

"  Come,"  he  said.    '*  Come,    You  and  I  will  walk  together  to  the  house, 


890 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


where  I  was  told  Johanna  was  to  be;  and  if  I  do  not  find  her  there,  I  will 
thank  you  for  the  information  you  have  given  to  me.  I  will  not  stop  to  inquire 
what  were  your  motives  in  giving  if,  but  I  will  thank  you  for  it,  Come. 

Come  with  rue."  .  . 

"Truly  I  will  come  with  you/5  said  Lupin,  "  fori  am  curious — that  is  to  say, 
I  am  in  a  religious  point  of  view,  anxious  to  know  what  has  become  of  the 
maiden,  who  was  so  fair  to  look  upon  always,  although  she  had  not  a  godly 
spirit." 

Oakley  locked  up  his  shop,  and  put  the  key  in  his  pocket.  Then  taking  the 
preacher  by  the  arm,  he  set  off  at  a  fast  pace  for  the  house  of  Arabella 
Wilmot. 


i 


CHAPTER  LXXXVIII. 

TODD    ASTONISHES  MRS  LOVETT's  SPY. 

We  return  to  Todd.  After  he  had  put  up  his  own  shutters,  and  properly 
secured  his  doors  for  the  night,  he  lit  the  lamp  in  his  parlour,  and  glancing 
curiouslv  around  him,  he  muttered — 

u  Yes."  This  will  assuredly  be  the  last  night  here.  How  I  hate  the  look  of 
anything,  and  how  eagerly  1  shall  banish  from  my  mind  all  kind  of  remem- 
brance of  this  place  when'! am  in  another  land,  as  I  shall  be  shortly.  Let  me 
see  :  I  will  embrace  the  catholic  religion,  and  I  will  be  most  devout.  The 
regularity  of  my  religious  exercises  shall  do  much  for  me.  Indeed,  I  do  not 
think  I  could  have  remained  so  long  in  London,  if  I  had  not  had  the  prudence 
to  be  regular  at  the  church.  It  is  true  that  of  late  I  have  neglected  all  that, 
but  then  I  am  going  soon,  nnd  it  does  not  matter." 

Todd  sat  down,  and  looked  over  the  memoranda  of  things  he  had  to  do 
that  he  had  made.  He  felt  tolerably  satisfied  with  the  condition  of  affairs. 
That  Colonel  Jeffery  and  that  others  suspected  him,  he  could  not  doubt;  but  he 
felt  quite  confident  that  he  should  be  far  off,  before  those  suspicions  repaired 
into  anything  dangerous  to  him. 

He  still  clung  to  the  idea  that  they  knew  nothing,  or  else  they  would  arrest 
him ;  and  while  such  did  not  ensue,  he  considered  himself  as  in  a  tolerably  safe 
position. 

He  then  set  about  the  preparations  for  firing  his  house.  We  need  not 
follow  him  through  those  preparations.  We  need  not  state  how  he  soaked 
clothes  in  turpentine  and  oil,  and  how  he  placed  them  in  such  positions, 
combined  with  small  packages  of  gunpowder,  and  lumps  of  rosin,  that  if  a 
torch  were  to  be  applied  at  the  lower  part  of  the  house,  the  whole  would 
be  in  a  few  moments  in  a  blaze.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  Todd  worked  hard 
for  the  next  two  hours,  and  that  by  the  time  they  had  gone,  he  had  got 
everything  ready  for  the  perpetration  of  that  last  crime  which  he  intended 
to  commit,  before  he  crossed  the  threshold  of  his  house  upon  the  following 
night,  to  leave  it  for  ever. 

More  than  once  during  these  two  hours  he  drank  brandy*  The  ardent 
spirit  had  become  necessary  to  the  existence  of  Todd  now  ;  and  when  he 
took  a  draught  at  the  conclusion  of  his  labours,  he  smiled  grimly  as  he  said 

"  Charley  Green  v/ill  have  quite  a  funeral  of  flame.  He  shall  die,  and 
his  body  shall  he  consumed  in  the  blazing  fragments  of  this  house,  and  it 
will  go  hard  but  this  side  of  Fleet  Street  suffers.  Oh,  if  the  flames  would 
only  spread  to  the  old  church,  I  should  rejoice  much  at  that,  and  they  may 
do  so. — Yes,  they  may  do  so.    Ha  S  ha  !  I  shall  be  remembered  in  London. 

As  he  spoke,  a  dull  heavy  sort  of  sound  at  the  outer  door  of  his  house 
came  upon  his  ears.  It  was  as  though  something  heavy  had  been  thrown 
against  it.  With  fear  expressed  upon  every  feature  of  his  face,  Todd  listened 
for  a  repetition  of  the  sound. 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  397 


It  did  not  come  again. 

Todd  began  to  breathe  a  little  more  freely,  and  yet  he  kept  asking  him- 
self— kC  What  was  it?" — and  the  utmost  powers  of  his  imagination  could 
return  him  no  feasible  answer  to  the  interesting  inquiry.  But  nothing  was 
more  easy  than  to  go  to  the  door  and  see  if  any  one  was  there,  or  if  any- 
thing had  happened  to  it.  Should  he  open  it  for  such  a  purpose?  Should 
he  unbar  and  unbolt  at  the  risk  of  he  knew  not  what?  No  :  he  would,  from 
the  first  floor  balcony,  and  there  was  a  ft  ail  one,  reconnoitre  the  street.  He 
should  then  be  easily  able  to  see  if  there  were  any  danger. 

He  had  no  sooner  made  this  determination,  than  he  carried  it  out,  by  as- 
sending  the  dark  blackened  st  urease,  conducting  to  the  upper  part  of  his 
house  ,  that  staircase  which  was  now  so  completely  covered  by  combustible 
material. 

At  every  few  steps  he  took  he  listened  attentively.  He  thought  there 
might  yet  be  a  repetition  of  the  sound  ;  but  no — all  was  still  ;  and  by  the 
time  he  reached  his  first  floor,  he  was  in  some  sort  recovered  from  his  first 
fright.  That  was  something.  He  left  his  light  upon  the  stair-head,  for  he  had 
no  wrish  to  point  himself  out  to  the  chance  passengers  in  Fleet  Street,  or  perhaps 
to  some  enemy,  by  going  into  that  room  with  a  light  in  his  hand.  No,  Todd  was 
much  too  acute  for  that;  so  carefully  closing  the  door,  so  that  no  ray  of  light  got 
in  from  the  staircase,  he  crept  to  the  window. 

The  shutters  had  to  be  unfastened,  for  Todd's  house  was  always  carefully 
closed  up  like  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  at  the  present  day.  He  very  quickly 
unclosed  one  of  the  long-disused  windows,  and  opening  it  gently,  looked  out 
over  the  edge  of  the  little  crazy  balcony  into  the  street. 

Something  big  and  black  was  against  his  door. 

The  more  Todd  bent  his  gaze  upon  this  object,  the  more  a  kind  of  undefined 
terror  took  possession  of  him,  and  the  more  puzzled  he  was  to  give  a  name  to 
the  dark  mass  that  had  been  laid  upon  his  threshold.  There  was  no  lamp  very 
near  his  house,  or  else,  miserable  as  was  the  light  from  those  old  oil  apologies 
for  illuminators,  some  few  rays  might  have  fallen  upon  the  dark  mass,  and  told 
Todd  what  it  was. 

But  no — all  was  dark  and  dubious,  and  he  strained  his  eyes  in  vain  to  pene- 
trate the  mystery. 

"  I  must  go  down,'5  he  said  ;  "  I  must  open  the  door.  Yes,  I  cannot  live  and 
not  know  what  this  is.  I  must  open  the  door,  however  reluctantly,  and  ascer- 
tain precisely.    Ah!"  * 

While  Todd  was  talking,  and  still  keeping  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  mysterious 
object  at  his  door,  he  saw  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  it  a  bright  luminous  spark, 
as  if  something  connected  with  it  was  of  a  red  heat,  and  slowly  smouldering  on 
fire. 

If  he  was  before  puzzled  to  account  for  the  phenomenon  of  a  dark  object, 
without*sha;>e  or  form,  lying  propped  up  against  his  door,  he  was  now  more 
than  ever  confounded,  and  his  imagination  started  some  of  t&J  most  improbable 
conjectures  in  the  world,  to  account  for  the  appearance. 

He  thought  that  it  must  be  some  combustible,  which,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
moments,  would  go  off  with  a  stunn;ng  report,  and  blow  his  street-door  to 
atoms  ;  but  then  again,  what  could  be  the  object  of  such  a  thing  ? 

The  more  he  considered  the  affair  from  above,  the  more  he  was  puzzled  and 
terrified;  so  at  last,  with  a  feeling  of  desperation,  he  ran  down  stairs  and  began 
to  unfasten  the  street-door.  He  did  not  pause  in  his  work  until  he  had 
flung  it  open,  and  then  the  mystery  was  explained. 

A  man,  half  asleep,  with  a  lighted  pipe  in  his  mouth,  rolled  backwards  into 
the  shop  ;  and  as  he  did  so,  with  tht  dreamy  IvUf-consciousness  that  he  was 
upon  some  sort  of  duty,  he  said — 

"  Til  watch  him,  Mrs.  Lovett.  He  shan't  get  away  without  your  knowing 
of  it,  ma'am. ** 

Todd  understood  the  man's  errand  in  a  moment.    Of  course  he  had  been 


398  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"^rTnlo^d  to~~watch  him  by  Mrs.  Lovett,  who  had  a  slight  idea  that  he 
mirfit  not  be  forthcoming  for  the  promised  morning  settlement.  Todd  seized 
the  man  by  the  collar,  and  dragging  him  fairly  into  the  shop,  closed  the  door 

a°ain. 

""Ah  !"  he  said,  "  a  good  joke.  #  _ 

"  What's  a  joke,  sir?"  saidthe  man.  "Whats  a  joke?    Murder!  Where 

am  1  ?— -where  am  I  'l.    Help  1" 

"  Hush!"  said  Todd.  "Hush!  It's  of  no  consequence.  I  know  all  about 
it  man.  Mrs.  Lovett  employed  you  to  watch  me.  She  was  a  little  jealous,  but 
we  have  made  it  all  right  now,  and  sh^  asked  me,  if  I  saw  you,  to  pay  you  and 
give  you  a  glass  of  something,  beside." 

"  Did  ■'he  sir  ?" 

"  To  be  sure  she  did  ;  so  come  in,  and  you  can  tell  her  when  you  see  her  in 
the  morning,  that  you  had  of  me  a  glass  of  as^good  liquor  as  could  be  found  in 
London.    By  -the-bye,  what  am  I  to  pay  you  ?" 

"  A  eruinea,  sir."  ,  .  .  .     ,  , 

"Exactly.  It  was  a  guinea,  of  course.  This  way,  my  friend  this  way. 
Don't  fall  over  the  shaving- chair,  Ibegof  you.  You  can  t  hurt  it,  for  it  is  a 
fixture:  but  you  might  hurt  yourself,  and  that  is  of  more  importance  to  you, 
you  know.  While  we  do  livfe  in  this  world,  if  it  be  for  ever  so  short  a  time,  we 
may  as  well  live  comfortably."  „      .  -  -t,  , 

Talking  away  thus  all  suspicion  from  the  man  who  was  not  one  of  the  brightest 
of  geniuses  in  the  world,  Todd  led  the  way  to  the  parlour-that  fatal  parlour 
which  had  been  the  last  scene  of  more  than  one  mortal  life. 

He  closed  the  door,  and  then  in  quite  a  good-humoured  way,  he  pointed  to 

1  '''Tes^yourfelf,  my  friend— rest  youi  self,  while  I  get  out  the  bottle.  And  sd 
it  is  one  guinea  that  I  am  to  give  you,  eh  ?" 

"  Yes  sir  :  and  all  I  can  say  is  that  1  am  very  glad  to  hear  that  you  and  Mr». 
Lovett  have  made  matters  all  right  again.  Very  glad  indeed,  sir,  I  may  say. 
In  course,  I  should'nt  have  took  the  liberty  of  sitting  down  by  your  door,  sir,  if 
she  had  not  told  me  to  watch  the  house  and  let  her  know  if  so,  be  as  you 
come  out  of  it,  or  if  I  saw  any  packages  moving.  She  didn  t  say  anything  to 
me  what  it  was  for  ;  but  a  guinea  is  just  as  well  earned  easy  as  not,  you  see, 
sir  • 

"  Certainly,  my  frknd,  certainly.    Drink  that." 

The  man  tossed  off  the  glass  of  something  that  Todd  gave  him,  and  then  he 

licked  his  lips,  as  he  said —  '..       ,  T  ttU  t1l. 

"What  is  it,  sir?    It's  strong,  but  leant  say,  for  my  part,  that  I  like  tne 

flavour  of  it  much." 
<•  Not  like  it  ?" 

"  Not  much,  sir."  ,    *?  Si ;  A  a 

"  Why  it's  a  most  expensive  foreign  liquor  that  is,  and  by  all  the  best  judges 
in  the  kingdom  is  never  found  fault  with.  Very  few  persons,  mdeed^nave 
tasted  it  ;  but  of  those  few,  not  one  has  come  to  me  to  say  Mr.  I  odd— — ■ 

"  Good  God  !"  said  the  man,  as  he  clasped  his  head  with  both  of  his  nana* 
"  Good  God,  how  strange  I  feel.    I  must  be  going  mad!" 

"Mad!"  cried  Todd,  as  he  leant  far  over  the  table  so  as  to  bring  his  iace 
quite  close  to  the  man's.  "  Mad  !  not  at  all.  What  you  feel  now  is  part  oi 
your  death-pang.  You  are  dying— I  have  poisoned  you.  Do  you  hear  tnai. 
You  have  watched  me,  and  I  have  in  return  poisoned  you.   Do  you  unaersiaiw 

thThe  dying  man  made  an  ineffectual  effort  to  rise  from  the  chair,  but  he  could 
not.  With  a  gasping  sob  he  let  his  head  sink  upon  his  breast— he  was  dead  . 

"They  perish,"  said  Todd,  "one  by  one;  they  who  oppose  me,  perisn, 
and  so  shall  they  all.    Ha  !  so  shall  they  all ;  and  she  who  set  this  fool  on  to  his 
destruction  shall  feel,  yet,  the  pang  of  death,  and  know  that  she.owes  it 
me  !    Yes,  Mrs.  Lovett,  yes." 


He  closed  his  arms  over  his  breast,  and  looked  at  the  body  for  some  moments 
t   in  silence  ;,and  then,  with  a  sneer  upon  his  lips,  he  added — 
[       "No,  Mrs.  Lovett,  you  did  not  show  your  judgment  in  this  matter.  Had 
you  wished  to  watch  me,  you  should  have  done  it  yourself,  and  not  employed 
this  poor  weak  wretch  who  has  paid  the  price  of  his  folly.    Go— go  ! 

He  struck  the  chair  from  under  the  dead  man  with  his"  foot,  and  the  corpse 
that  had  partially  been  supported  by  it  and  the  table,  fell  to  the  floor.  Another 
kick  sent  it  under  the  large  table,  and  then,  as  another  of  Todd's  victims  had 
once  done,  it  disappeared. 

"  To-morrow  night,  by  this  time,"  said  Todd,  musingly,  "  where  shall 
I  be  V 


CHAPTER  LXXXTX. 

MR.  OAKLEY  IS  IN  DESPAIR  AT  THE  LOSS  OF  JOHANNA. 

The  anxiety  of  poor  Mr.  Oakley  increased  each  moment  as  he  and  the 
preacher  neared  the  house  of  Arabella  Wilmot's  friends.  We  regret  to  say  that 
Mr.  Lupin  did  enjoy  the  mental  agony  of  the  father  ;  but  it  was  in  his  nature 
so  to  do,  and  we  must  take  poor  humanity  as  we  find  it. 

It  must  be  recollected  that  Mr.  Lupin  had,  through  Johanna,  suffered  great 
malefactions.  The  treatment  he  had  received  at  the  bands  of  Big  Ben,  although 
most  richly  deserved,  had  been  on  account  of  Johanna,  and  as  regarded  the  old 
spectacle-maker  himself,  he  had  always  occupied  an  antagonistic  position  as 
regarded  Mr.  Lupin. 

No  wonder  then,  we  say,  that  human  nature,  particularly  in  its  evangelical  va- 
riety, was  not  proof  against  the  fascination  of  a  little  revenge.  Now,  Mr.  Lupin 
felt  so  sure  that  he  had  made  no  mistake,  but  that  it  was  no  other  than  the  fair 
Johanna  whom  he  had  seen  in  what  he  called  the  unseemly  apparel,  that  he  did 
not  feel  inclined  to  draw  back  for  a  moment  in  the  matter.  Curiosity,  as  well 
as  a  natural  (to  him)  feeling  of  malignity,  urged  him  to  stick  by  the  father  in  order 
that  he  might  know  the  result  of  inquires  that  he,  Lupin,  had  no  opportunity 
or  excuse  for  making,  but  which  Mr.  Oakley  might  institute  with  the  most  per- 
fect and  unquestionable  profundity. 

As  we  have  before  had  occasion  to  remark,  the  distance  between  Oakley's 
shop  and  the  residence  of  the  friends  of  Arabella  was  but  short,  so  that,  at  the 
speed  which  the  excited  feelings  of  the  fond  father  induced  him  to  adopt,  he 
soon  stood  upon  the  threshold  of  the  residence,  beneath  the  roof  of  which  he 
hoped,  notwithstanding  the  news  so  confidently  brought  by  Lupin,  to  find  his 
muchvloved,  idolized  child. 

"  You  shall  see,"  he  said  to  Lupin,  catching  his  breath  as  he  spoke  ;  "  you 
shall  see  how  very  wrong  you  are.3' 

"  Humph !"  said  Lupin. 

"You  shall  see,"  continued  poor  Oakley,  still  dallying  with  the  knocker  ; 
u  you  shall  see  what  an  error  you  have  made,  and  how  impossible  it  is 
that  my  child — my  good  and  kind  Johanna — could  be  the  person  you  saw  in 
Fleet-street/' 

"  Ah !"  said  Lupin. 

Mr.  Oakley  knocked  at  the  door,  and,  as  one  of  the  family  had  seen  him 
through  the  blinds  of  the  parlour-window,  he  was  at  once  admitted,  and  kindly 
received  by  those  who  knew  him  and  his  worth  well.  He  asked,  in  an  odd 
gasping  manner,  that  Mr.  Lupin  might  have  permission  to  come  in,  which  was 
readily  granted  ;  and  with  a  solemn  air,  shaking  his  head  at  the  vanities  he  saw 
in  the  shape  of  some  profane  statuary  in  the  hall,  the  preacher  followed  Oakley 
to  the  dining-room. 

It  was  an  aunt  of  Arabella's  to  whom  they  were  introduced,  and,  with  a 
smile,  she  said— 


— , — n — .   — — •-— — —  


400 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


s 
ft 


""  Rea'lv  Mr.  Oakley,  a  visit  from  you  is  such  a  rarity  that  we  ought 
not  to  know  how  to  make  enough  of  you  when  you  do  come.  Why, 
ft  must  have  been  Christmas  twelvemonths  since  you  were  last  beneath  this 
roof!    Don't  you  remember  when  your  dear,  good,  pretty  J ohanna  won  all 

he-  Yes!  yes,"  said  Oakley,  glancing  triumphantly  at  Lupin.  "  My  dear 
child,  whom  all  the  world  loves-God  bless  her  !-She  is  pure,  and  good,  and 

^ -  That^Mn  Oakley,"  said  the  lady,  «  I  believe  she  is.  We  are  as  fond  of 
her  here/and  always  as  glad  to  see  her,  as  though  she  belonged  to  us.  Indeed, 
we  quite  envy  you  such  a  treasure  as  she  is." 

Tears  gushed  into  the  grateful  father's  eyes,  as  he  heard  his  child-h.s  own 
Johannaishe  who  reigned  all  alone  in  his  heart,  and  yet  filled  it  so  completely 
-so  spoken  of.  How  glad  he  was  that  there  was  some  one  besides  himself 
present  to  hear  all  that,  although  that  one  was  an  enemy  !  W  ith  what  a 
triumphant  glance  he  looked  around  him. 

"  Humph !"  said  Lupin.   ■       .     ,  ,  , 

That  humph  recalled  Oakley  to  the  business  of  his  visit,  and  yet  how  hot  and 
parched  his  lips  got,  when  he  would  have  framed  the  all-important  question, 
-Is  my  child  here?"- and  how  he  shook,  and  gasped  for  breath  a  moment  be- 

fore  he  could  speak.  ,  ,  tt 

At  length,  he  found  courage— not  to  ask  if  Johanna  was  there,  ^o— no.  tie 
felt  that  he  dared  not  doubt  that.    It  would  have  been  madness  to  doubt  it, 
sheer  insanity.  So  he  put  the  question  indirectly,  and  he  contrived  to  say- 
"  I  hope  the  two  girls  are  quite  well,  quite— quite— well. 
"Two  girls!"  said  the  aunt.    " Two  girls  I* 

"Yes," gasped  Oakley.    "  Johanna  and  Arabella,  you  know— your  Arabella, 

and  my  Johanna— my  child." 

"  You  ought  to  know,  Mr.  Oakley,  considering  that  they  are  at  yeur  house,  you 
know  I  hope  that  neither  of  them  have  been  at  all  indisposed  ?  Surely  thaUs 
not  the  case,  and  this  is  not  your  strange  way  of  breaking  it  to  us,  Mr. 

The bereaved  father-yes,  at  that  moment  he  felt  that  he  was  a  bereaved 
father- clutched  the  arms  of  the  chair  upon  which  he  sat,  and  his  face  turned  ot 
i    a  ghastly  paleness.    He  made  an  inarticulate  effort  to  speak,  but  could  only  pro- 
1|  duce  a  strange  gurgling  noise. 

II  "  Gracious  Heavens  !  he  is  ill,"  cried  Arabellas  aunt.^ 
«  No,  madam."  said  Lupin.  "  He  is  only  convinced." 
"  Convinced  of  what  ?" 

«•  Of  what  he  himself  will  tell  you,  madam." 

"  Help  !  help !"  cried  Oakley.    «  Help !    My  child— ray  Johanna— my  beau- 
tiful child.    Mercy— help.    Give  her  to  my  arms  again.    Oh,  no— no-no,  ^ 
could  not  leave  me  thus,    ft  \»  false    it  is  some  desperate  juggle  .    My  euua 
mv  child,  coaae  once  again  to  these  arms.— God— God  help  u>e !  ' 

Arabella's  aunt  rose  in  the  greatest  alarm,  and  rung  the  bell  so  sharply,  tna 
it  brought  evervbody  that  was  in  the  house  to  that  room,  and  Mr.  Lupin,  wnen 
he    saw  what'  a  congregation  there  was,  rose  up  and  said  in  a  snuffline 


i 


i  ( 


voice 


n 


"  Is  there  any  objection  to  a  prayer  ?"  .  . 

"The  greatest  at  present,  sir,"  said  Arabella's  aunt.  "Sir,  there  is  a  time 
for  all  things.    The  state  of  poor  Mr.  Oakley,  now  claims  all  our  care,    it  yo 

are  is  friend  '  .  „#prts 

At  these  words,  Oakley  appeared  to  shake  off  much  of  the  prostrating  eiret 
of  the  first  dreadful  conviction,  that  what  Lupin  had  told  him  was  true,  anu 

8  «« No— no,  he  is  no  friend-he  is  a  bitter  enemy.  The  enemy  of  my  peace, 
and  of  my  dear  child.  I  am  calmer  now,  and  I  demand— I  implore,  tnat  m* 
man  be  made  to  leave  this  house." 


  jTHE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.   401  _ 

H  Brother  Oakley/1  said  Lupin,  "  you  brought  me  here." 

"And  I  now  command  you  hence.  Begone,  villain,  begone  ;  go  and  exult  over 
the  heart-broken  father's  grief ;  go  and  tell  the  tale  where  you  will.  You  cannot 
move  me  now — go — go — go,* 

"  Truly  I  will  go  presently,  but  first  of  all,  I  say  t»  you,  brother  Oakley, 


OLD  LONDON  BRIDGE. — TODD  TRIES  BIS  MUlllEROtlS  HAND  ON  MRS.  LOVETT. 


hardened  sinner  as  you  are,  repent*  Down  upon  your  knees  all  of  you,  and  join 
me  in  prayer,  that  the  unbelievers  may  roll  upon  billows  of  burning  brimstone, 
and  that  " 

u  Come/'  said  a  man,  who  happened  to  be  in  the  house  upon  some  domestic 
errand,  "  Mrs,  Wilmot  says  you  are  to  go,  and  go  you  shall.  Come, 
be  off— I  know  who  you  are.   You  are  the  rascal  that  married  the  widow  in 

i                              i.           i          .                      .                                        ii                i      -       -                       i    i                                       ■     ■—       1        i             .                   -i       .                    t            -•   |  , 
1M  I    I         ll|  II.       1  11  1  ■  i  ■   .,  ^  ,        ,      r  |   1  t-   i  [jtljjin  )  l)l!lllll,U.,.UU, 


402  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Moorfields,  but  who,  they  say,  has  another  wife  in  Liverpool.  If  you 
don't  go,  I  shall  give  you  in  charge  for  bigamy,  and  the  widow  says  she  will 
spend  her  last  penny  in  prosecuting  you." 

To  meet  any  one  half  so  well  informed  about  his  affairs,  would  have  been  a 
terrible  blow  to  Mr.  Lupin  ;  but  when  he  found  that  this  man,  who  was  a  kind 

his  great  goggle  eyes  opened  to  an 
alarming  width,  and  he  made  a  movement  towards  the  door.  Still,  he  did  not 
like  to  go  without  saying  something. 

"Flee,  ye  wretches,"  he  said,  "from  the  wrath  to  come  !    You  will  all  go  into 

the  bottomless  pit,  you  will,  and  I  shal!  rejoice  at  it,  and  sing  many  songs  of 

joy  over  you.    Scoffers  and  mockers,  I  leave  vou  all  to  your  fate.  The  devil  will 

have  you  all,  and  that  is  a  great  comfort  and  gratification  to  the  elect  and  to  the 
saints. 

.  }yith  tllis'  Mr-  LuPin  made  a  precipitate  retreat,  having  achieved  about  as  little 
in  the  way  of  satisfying  his  curiosity  as  could  very  well  be  conceived. 

It  was  a  relief— a  great  lelief  to  Mr.  Oakley  to  be  rid  of  such  a  witness  to  his 
teelings  as  Lupm ;  and  when  he  had  fairly  gone,  and  the  outer  door  was  closed 
upon  him,  the  spectacle-maker,  with  clasped  hands,  and  countenance  expressive 
of  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  mental  agony,  spoke— 

"  Dismiss  all  but  ourselves,  madam,"  he  said.    "There's  that  to  say  which 
may  be  said  to  you  alone,  but  which  it  would  break  my  heart  to  say  to  many." 
The  room  was  soon  clear,  and  then  Oakley  continued  in  a  low  faltering  voice 
m^e.those  inquiries,  each  answer  to  which  was  so  fatal  to  his  peace  of  mind. 
'Ill  A    Hi'"  r>  Said'  "  ^  n0t  my  child~niy  Johanna— here  staying  on  a  visit 


with  Arabella  ?" 

"  No,  no— certainly  not." 


,   J         — —   -» WW 

This  was  so  frightfully  conclusive,  that  it  was  some  few  moments  before  he 
could  go  on  ;  but  when  he  did,  he  said— 
"  Is  Arabella  in  the  house  ?" 

"  That,  Mr.  Oakley,"  replied  the  aunt,  "is  a  question  I  cannot  answer  you 
at  the  moment ;  but  rest  and  compose  yourself  for  a  few  moments,  and  I  will 
ascertain  myself  if  she  be  in  or  out,  and  if  the  latter,  when  she  was  last  seen." 

1  am  much  beholden  to  you,  madam.  I  am  a  poor  old  man,  much  broken 
in  spirit,  and  with  but  one  strong  tie  to  bind  me  to  a  world  which  has  nearly 
done  with  me  That  tie  is  the  love  of  my  dear  child,  Johanna.  Alas  !  if  that 
be  broken,  I  am  all  adrift,  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  winds  and  waves  of  evil 
fortune ;  and  the  sooner  I  close  my  eyes  in  the  long  sleep  of  death,  the  better 
for  me  and  ail  who  feel  for  me/' 

"Nay,  Mr.  Oakley,  I  look  upon  it  as  a  thing  almost  criminal  to  despair, 
there  is  one  maxim  which  I  have  learnt  in  my  experience  of  live,  and  which  I 
am  sure  you  must  have  had  abundant  opportunities  of  learning  likewise.  It  is, 
JNever  to  trust  to  appearances.' " 
The  old  man  looked  at  her  with  a  saddened  aspect.  It  was  quite  evident  his 
feelings  had  been  too  strongly  acted  upon  to  make  any  philosophy  available  to 
him  ;  and  when  she  left  the  room  to  make  the  inquiries  concerning  Arabella,  he 
wrung  his  hands,  and  wept. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "yes,  I  am  indeed  alone  now— a  wreck— a  straw  upon  the 

ocean  of  society.    The  sooner  I  drift  in  the  grave  now,  the  better  for  me,  and 

all  who  pity  the  old  man.    Oh,  Johanna-Johanna.    My  child-my  beautiful, 

why  did  you  not  wait  until  I  was  dead  before  you  left  me  ?    Then  I  should 

have  slept  calmly  and  known  nothing;  but  now  my  days  and  nights  will  be 
dreams  01  horror.  J  ° 

The  door  opened  and  the  aunt  re-appeared. 

«« Arabella  is  not  within,"  she  said,  "  and  as  not  been  seen  for  some  hours 
now.  When  last  seen  her  manner  was  evidently  perturbed.  But  now,  Mr. 
Oakley,  sit  down  by  me  and  tell  me  as  clearly  and  as  distinctly,  all  vou  know 
and  all  you  fear.  There  are  few  evils  in  this  world  but  there  are  some*  remedies 
for,  and  you  shall  have  my  true  and  calm  opinion  if  you  will  tell  me  all." 


1  1 


\ ! 


i  i 


I  ! 

!  I 


It  is  something  astonishing,  and  yet  one  of  the  most  ordinary  of  mental  phe- 
nomena, to  note  what  a  power  a  cool  and  clear  intellect  will  exert  over  one  that 
is  distracted  and  full  of  woe  and  clamorous  grief.  Mr.  Oakley  did  sit  down 
by  the  side  of  Arabella's  aunt,  and  he  told  her  all  that  happened  the  girl  of 
which,  of  course,  was  the  real  or  supposed  appearance  of  Johanna  in  Fleet  Street, 
in  male  attire.  The  collateral  circumstances,  such  as  the  hurried  and  half  frantic 
farewell  of  him  in  the  shop  by  Johanna,  and  the  misrepresentation  by  Arabella, 
that  she  (Johanna)  was  going  to  stop  there,  evidently  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  aunt.    Her  countenance  changed  visibly,  as  she  said  faintly — ■ 

H  God  help  us  all/' 

"  Lost  I  lost/5  cried  Oakley.  "  Yes,  you — even  you,  hopeful  as  you  were,  and 
hopeful  as  you  would  fain  have  made  me*— even  you,  now  that  you  know  all, 
feel  that  she  is  lost,    God,  indeed,  only  can  help  me  now." 

"  No,  Mr.  Oakley/'  said  the  aunt,  rallying,  "  I  will  not  yet  trust  to  appear- 
ances, although  I  own  that  they  are  bad.  I  will  come  to  no  conclusion  until  I 
have  seen  Arabella,  and  got  the  truth  from  her.  It  is  quite  clear  that  there  is  some 
secret  between  the  two  young  creatures.  It  is  quite  clear  that  there  is  some- 
thing going  on  that  we  know  nothing  of,  and  to  speculate  upon  which  may  only 
involve  us  in  an  inextricable  labyrinth  of  conjectures.  I  say,  there  is  some  secret, 
but  it  may  not  be  a  guilty  one.3' 

(i  Not— not  guilty?'5 

'?  No,  Mr.  Oakley,  there  are  many  degrees  of  indiscretion  to  pass  through  ere 
the  gulf  of  guilt  is  reached  at  last.  I  have  faith  in  Arabella— I  have  faith  in 
Johanna;  and  even  now,  admitting  for  a  moment  the  truth  of  what  that  man 
whom  you  brought  with  you  here,  reports,  Johanna  may  only  have  to  be 
blamed  for  folly/' 

"  Do — do  vou  think  he  did  so  see  her  V 

u  I  doubt  it  much." 

cs  Mother/'  said  a  lad  of  fifteen,  coming  hastily  into  the  room.    "  Mother 


5  J 


He  paused  upon  seeing  Mr.  Oakley  there,  and  stammered  out  some  apology — 
"He  had  only  come  to  tell  his  mother  that  a  whole  suit  of  his  clothes  were 
missing  from    his  room    and  that  he  could  find    them  nowhere,  and  he 
could  not  make  it  out;  and  one  of  his  hats  was  gone  too,  and  a  pair  of  shoes, 
and  " 

OW  Oakley  fell  back  in  his  chair  with  a  groan. 

P  She  has  them/'  he  said.  She  has  them.  My  child,  whom  I  shall  never 
see  again3  has  them/' 


CHAPTER  XC. 

MORNING  IN  FLEET  STREET  AGAIN. 

Another  day  has  dawned  upon  the  great  city — another  sun  has  risen  upon 
the  iniquities  of  hosts  of  men,  but  upon  no  amount  of  cold-blooded,  hardened, 
pitiless  criminality  that  could  come  near  to  that  of  Sweeny  Todd.  No,  he 
certainly  held  the  position  of  being  in  London,  then,  the  worst  of  the  worst. 

But  who  shall  take  upon  himself  now  to  say  that  in  this  pest-ridden,  loyalty- 
mad,  abuse-loving  city  of  London,  there  are  not  some  who  are  more  than  even 
Sweeney  Todd's  equals  ?  Who  shall  say  that  hidden  scenes  of  guilt  and  horror 
are  not  transacting  all  around  us,  that  would,  in  their  black  iniquity,  far  tran- 
scend anything  that  Sweeney  Todd  has  done  or  dreamt  of  doing  ?  Let  the  ima- 
gination run  riot  in  its  fanciful  conjectures  of  what  human  nature  is  capable  of, 
and  in  London  there  shall  be  found  those  who  will  reduce  to  practice  the  worst 
frenzied  deeds  that  can  be  conceived. 

Yes,  the  dawn  of  another  day  had  come,  and  Todd  had  made  all  his  prepara- 


404 


tions.    Nothing  was  wanting,  but  the  match  that  was  to  set  Fleet  Street,  he  fondly 
hoped,  in  a  blaze.    His  own  house,  he  felt  quite  certain,  could  not  escape.  I 
would  be  a  charred  mass  long  before  any  effectual  means  could  be  procured  tot 
check  the  devestation  of  the  flames,  and  then  as  the  good  ship  spread  its  sweh  j 
ling  sails  to  the  wind  to  bear  him  to  another  shore,  he  should  be  lighted  upon  his  I 
way  by  the  glare  of  the  great  fire  in  Fleet  Street,  that  no  one  would  be  able  to 
guess  the  origin  of. 
So  he  told  himself* 

Short-sighted  mortals  that  we  are  !    How  little  Todd,  with  all  his  cleverness 
— all  his  far-seeing  thrift  and  fancy — dreamt  of  the  volcano  upon  which  he  stood.  I 
How  little  he  for  one  moment  imagined  it  was  possible  that  the  sword  of  justice 
hung  over  him  by  so  slender  a  thread.    Howr  he  would  have  glared  at  any  one  ! 
who  might  have  told  him  that  he  only  moved  about  by  sufferance ;  and  yet  such 
was  the  fact.  j 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  could  put  his  hand  upon  him  at  any  moment,  and  say,  ! 
"  Todd,  you  are  my  prisoner.    To  Newgate— to  Newgate,  from  wdience  only 
you  will  emerge  to  your  trial,  and  to  the  scaffold  V 

No,  Todd,  good  easy  soul,  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  his  real  position  upon 
that  morning.  j 

He  waited  rather  impatiently  for  the  arrival  of  Johanna  to  take  down  the 
shutters,  and  she  urged  upon  Sir  Richard  Blunt  and  her  friends  at  the  fruiterer's,  j 
the  propriety  of  her  going  and  doing  that  morning  piece  of  work  ;  but  they  would 
not  hear  of  it.  She  at  length  used  an  argument  which  made  Sir  Richard  adopt 
another  course  than  keeping  her  at  the  fruiterer's  until  Todd  should  get  out  of 
all  patience  and  open  his  shop  himself.  ^  j 

"  It  is  possible,"  she  said,  "  that  I  may  be  subjected  to  ill-usage  if  I  am  not  i 
there  ;  and  then  being  compelled  to  call  for  aid  as  I  might,  you  would  feel  that 
you  were  forced  to  take  Todd  into  custody  before  the  time  at  which  you  have 
resolved  so  to  do/'  ^  | 

€i  That  is  true/'  said  Sir  Richard;  and  then,  after  some  little  consideration,  he 
added,  "  I  have  a  plan  that  will  save  you  both  ways.  You  shall  be  in  time,  and 
yet  you  shall  not  take  down  Todd's  shutters."  j 

They  could  none  of  them  conceive  at  the  moment  how  Sir  Richard  in-  j 
tended  to  manage  this;   but  they  quickly  saw  that  it  was  easy  enough.  I 
Opening  just  a  little  way  one  of  the  windows  of  the  first  floor  at  the  j 
fruiterer's,  he  blew  a  whistle  that  he  had  suspended  round  his  neck  by  a 
small  chain.    In  the  course  of  a  few  moments,  Crotchet  walked  into  the  shop.  I 

"  Governor  here ?"  he  said.    "I  heard  him  a  chirping  for  me  just  now—  j 

didn't  I?"  9         b  j 

"  Yes,  Crotchet,"  said  the  fruiterer,  who  knew  him  quite  wrell.    "Step  up- 
stairs ;  you  will  find  him  there."  j 

Crotchet  was  soon  in  the  presence  of  Sir  Richard,  and  Johanna,  and  the 

fruiterer's  daughter.    He  made  a  rough  sort  of  salute  to  the  whole  party,  and  \ 

then  remarked  again  that  he  had  heard  the  governor  a  chirping,  he  rather  j 

thought.  t  ! 

"Yes,  Crotchet,"  said  Sir  Richard,  €t  you're  quite  right.    You  know  this 
young  lady  here  ?" — indicating  Johanna.  I 

"  Keether!''  said  Crotchet.  ! 

11  Well,  then,  you  will  seem  to  be  passing  Todd's  shop  when  she  commences 
taking  down  the  shutters ;  and,  seeing  that  they  are  too  heavy  for  such 
a  mere   boy,  you  good-naturedly  take  them  down  for  him — you  under-  j 
stand  ?    It  is  the  last  time  that  they  will  be  taken  down  for  Todd,  I  think/'  I 

"All's  right/'  said  Crotchet ;     1  understands— it's  as  good  as  done.  Lord! 
what  a  scrouge  there  will  be  at  the  hanging  o'  that  barber,  to  be  sure,  unless  he 
manages  to  cheat  the  gallows;  and  1  takes  notice  in  my  hewperimce  as  them  u 
'ere  wery  bad  'uns  seldom  does  trv  that  'ere  game  on,  with  all  their  bounce.  || 

"Now,  Miss  Oakley,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  CiL  think,  then,  your  time  j 
has  come  :  and,  as  Crotchet  will  take  down  the  shutters,  you  may  as  well  go  j 


* 


over  at  once.  I  think  you  thoroughly  understand  what  you  have  to  do — and 
if  Todd  asks  you  where  you  lodged,  you  had  better  say  that  the  servants  here 
offered  to  let  you  sleep  by  the  kitchen  fire,  and  you  accepted  the  offer — for  he 
may  be  watching  for  you  now,  and  see  you  come  out  of  this  house,  for  all  we 
know  to  the  contrary.  And  now  remember,  without  any  reference  to  my  plans 
or  what  I  would  rather  do,  if  you  feel  yourself,  or  fancy  you  feel  yourself  in  the 
least  danger,  take  the  means  I  have  pointed  out  to  you  of  summoning  aid,  and 
aid  will  come  to  you." 
"  I  will,"  said  Johanna. 

"  Heaven  speed  you,  then  !  This  will  be  the  last  day,  I  think,  of  the  career 
of  that  bold  bad  man.  I  intend  to  make  such  an  effort  to  get  under  his  house 
to-day,  as  I  hope  and  expect  will  enable  me  to  come  at  the  grand  secret,  namely, 
of  how  he  disposes  of  his  victims  so  quickly — for  that  there  is  some  wonderful 
jugglery  in  it,  I  am  certain." 

Johanna  took  a  kind  leave  of  the  fruiterer's  daughter,  who  had  lavished  upon 
her  all  those  attentions  which,  in  Johanna's  position,  became  so  precious  from 
one  of  her  own  sex ;  and  then,  assuming  a  careless  manner,  with  her  hat  put 
on  in  a  boyish  slovenly  sort  of  way,  she  boldly  crossed  the  road  to  Sweeney 
Todd's. 

He  had  been  watching  through  a  hole  in  the  upper  part  of  one  of  the  shutters. 
In  a  moment  all  sorts  of  ugly  suspicions  took  possession  of  his  mind.  What 
could  Charley  Green,  his  errand-boy  from  Oxford,  who  knew  no  one,  and  was 
unknown  to  all  London,  doing  at  a  tradesman's  house  in  Fleet  Street  at  such 
an  hour  in  the  morning  ?  How  came  he  to  know  the  people^of  that  house  ? 
How  came  he  to  dream  of  going  there  ? 

Todd  was  boiling  with  anger  and  curiosity  when  he  opened  the  door  and  ad- 
mitted Johanna,  a  thing  that  he,  wras  unmindful  enough  to  do  before  she  knocked 
for  admission,  which  alone  would  have  been  amply  sufficient  to  point  out  to  her 
that  she  had  been  watched  from  some  peep-hole  in  the  house. 

He  stretched  out  his  hand  and  dragged  her  in.  He  controlled  his  temper  suffi- 
ciently to  enable  him  to  gratify  his  curiosity.  He  made  quite  certain  that 
Charley  Green  would  tell  him  some  story  of  were  he  had  been,  which  should 
not  convict  the  fruiterer.  By  the  light  of  a  miserable  candle  that  Todd  had  burn- 
ing in  the  dark  closed  shop,  he  glared  at  J ohanna. 

•*  Well—well,"  he  said.    A  good  night's  rest,  Charley  F 

"Tolerable,  sir  !" 

"Humph!  ha!  And  did  you  find  a  place  to  sleep  at  cheaply  and  decently, 
my  good  lad,  eh?" 

"  I  was  very  fortunate  indeed,  sir/ 

"  Oh,  you  were  very  fortunate  indeed  V 

"  Yes,  sir.  I  am,  through  being  country  bred  I  suppose,  fond  of  fruit,  so 
when  I  left  you  last  night,  I  bought  an  apple  at  a  shop  opposite. " 

"  Oh,  at  Mr.  a— a  " 

"  1  don't  know  the  name,  sir,"  said  Johanna,  Cl  but  I  can  run  out  and  ascer- 
tain, I  dare  say." 

Todd  gave  a  low  sort  of  growl.  He  did  not  know  if  he  were  being  foiled  by 
innocence  or  by  art.    With  an  impatient  gesture,  he  added— 

"Nevermind  the  appres,  I  wish  to  know  where  you  slept,  Charley,  that  I 
may  judge  if  it  was  a  proper  place,  there  are  so  many  wicked  people  in 
London." 

••'  Are  there,  sir  ?" 

u  Bah  !    Go  on.    Where  did  you  sleep  ?* 

"  Well,  sir,  as  there  was  a  kind  tempered-looking  servant  in  the  fruiterer's 
shop,  1  thought  she  might  be  afre  to  tell  me  of  some  place  where  I  could  lodge, 
and  when  she  had  heard  my  slory 
"  Story — story  ?   What  story  r 
"  How  destitute  I  was,  sir,  and  how  kind  you  had  been  to  employ  me  with- 
out a  character,  and  how  happy  and  contented  I  was  in  your  service,  sir.  So 


m>9 

3> 


406 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


when  she  had  heard  all  that,  she  said,  '  It  is  too  late  for  you  to  go  lodging, 
hunting  to  -night.  There  is  an  old  bench  in  our  kitchen,  and  if  you  like  you 
may  sleep  on  that.' " 

Todd  gave  a  growl. 

"  And  so  you  slept  there  V 

<<  Yes  sir." 

He  paced  the  shop  for  some  few  moments  in  deep  thought,  knitting  his  brows 
and  trying  to  make  something  out  of  what  he  had  heard,  contrary  to  what  it 
seemed;  but  Johanna's  story  was  too  straightforward  and  simple  for  him  to 
find  any  flaw  in  it,  and  after  a  few  moments  he  felt  compelled  to  admit  to  him- 
self  that  it  must  be  the  truth.  Turning  to  her  with  something  of  the  amount 
of  amiability  one  might  expect  from  a  bear,  he  said — 

«'  Open  the  shop  V 

«  \  es,  sir,  directly." 

Johanna  propped  the  door  wide  open,  and  then  having,  by  the  dim  light  of 
the  miserable  candle,  found  a  screw  which  fastened  a  bar  across  the  shutters, 
she  speedily  released  it,  and  then  went  into  the  street.  At  that  moment  Crotchet 
came  along,  whistling  in  so  thoroughly  careless  a  manner,  that  even  Johanna 
thought  he  had  forgotten  his  instructions  and  was  about  to  pass  the  shop. 
She  had  her  dhand  upon  the  .bar  when  he  stopped,  saying,  in  an  off-handed 
manner — 

Cr  Why  little  'un,  them  'ere  shutters  is  too  much  for  you,  HI  give  you  a  help- 
ing hand.  Lor  bless  you,  don't  say  anything  about  it.  It  ain't  no  sort  o' 
trouble  to  me  my  little  chap.    Here  goes." 

Mr.  Crotchet  began  opening  Todd's  shop  with  such  a  fury  and  a  vengeance, 
that  the  clatter  and^the  speed  with  which  the  operation  was  being  accomplished, 
brought  Todd  out  'of  the  parlour  to  see  what  on  earth  Charley  was  about. 
When  he  saw  Crotchet  coming  in  with  three  shutters  in  his  arms  at  once,  he 
could  scarcely  believe  his  eyes,  and  he  roared  out — 

"  What's  this  ?    Who  are  you?" 

4 '  Easy—  easy/'  said  Crotchet.    "Don't  get  in   the  way  old  gentleman. 

Easv.    There  now  \" 

Crotchet  managed  to  give  Todd  such  a  rap  on  the  side  of  the  head  with  the 
shutters,  that  a  thousand  lights  danced  in  his  eyes,  and  he  writhed  with  pain. 

4 Well,  I  never/'  said  Crotchet,  "  I  hope  I  haven't  hurt  you,  old  man  ?  You 
see  I  was  a  passing,  and  seed  as  these  here  shutters  was  rather  a  bit  top-heavy 
for  your  little  son°here,  and  1  thought  I'd  give  him  a  helping  hand.  To  be 
sure  he  didn't  want  me  to,  but  you  see  I  would,  and  perhaps  as  your  old 
head  is  getting  better,  you  wouldn't  mind  a  pint  of  beer,  old  gentleman  V 

"  You  atrocious  villain,0  yelled  Todd,  "  I'll  cut  your  throat.  I'll  polish  you 
off,    I'll— Til— would  you  like  to  be  shaved?" 

"  I've  had  a  scrape  already/5  said  Crotchet,  "  and  if  you  won't  stand  the 
beer,  why  you  won't,  and  there's  no  bones  broke  arter  all.  Good  morning,  old 
Grampus.  '  Good  morning  my  little  chap,  I  wishes  you  good  luck  ;  and  if  I  am 
passing  again,  I  don't  mind  lending  you  a  helping  hand,  though  the  governor 
is  about  one  o'  the  ugliest,  nastiest  tempered  brutes,  I  ever  came  near  in  all 
my  lite. 

Crotchet  went  away  whistling  with  great  composure. 


CHAPTER  XCI. 

MRS.  LOVETT   WONT  TAKE   ANY  EXCUSES. 

Todd  se  *ed  Johanna  by  the  arm,  and  dragged  her  into  the  shop.  He  locked 
the  door,  and  then  confronting  her,  he  said — 

"How  kind  it  was  of  your  fs'end,  to  take  down  the  shutters  for  you, 
Charley  G/tecu 


Ml 


WtCltlj 

sliest 


rift  pun. 
loan?  Foi 
it  ||M 


"My  friend,  sir?" 

"  Yes,  your  friend  wlio  declined  being  shaved,  you  know,  because  you  told 
him  last  night  that  he  had  better  go  to  some  other  shop." 

**  Really,  sir,"  said  Johanna,  "  I  don't  know  what  you  mean." 

"  Come,  come,  Charley,  confess  that  you  do  know  some  one  in  London,  as 
well  as  you  know  me.  Conf  ess,  now,  that  people  are  so  fond  of  interfering  in 
other  folks  affairs,  that  you  have  been  set  on  to  watch  me*  I  shall  not  be  at  all 
angry,  indeed,  I  shall  not,  1  assure  you.  Not  the  least  ;  only  tell  me  the  truth. 
That  is  all  I  ask  of  you,  my  boy,  and  you  will  find  that  it  is  no  bad  thing  to 
make  a  friend  of  Sweeney  Todd." 

"  If  I  had,  sir,  anything  to  confess,"  replied  Johanna,  "  except  that  at  times 
I  do  feel  that  I  wish  I  had  not  run  away  from  my  mother-in-law  at  Oxford, 
I  should  soon  tell  it  all  to  vou." 

"And  so  that  is  all,  Charley  ?" 

u  All  at  present,  sir/' 

u  What  a  good  lad.  What  an  exemplary  lad.  Light  the  shop  fire,  if  you 
please,  Charley.  Humph !  I  am  wrong,"  muttered  Todd  to  himself ;  "  but  yet 
I  will  cut  his  throat  before  I  leave  to-night.  It  will  be  safer  and  more  satis- 
factory to  do  so,  and  besides,  he  has  given  me  some  uneasiness,  and  I  [hate  him 
for  his  quiet  gentle  ways.  I  hate  everybody.  I  would  cut  the  throats  of  all  the 
world  if  I  could.    Light  the  fire  quickly,  you  young  hound,  will  you?" 

Johanna  trembled.  She  felt  that  anything  but  a  blow  from  Todd  she  could 
put  up  with,  but  in  her  pocket  she  kept  a  jagged  piece  of  flint  stone,  which 
would  go  through  the  window  in  a  moment  ;  and  she  felt  that  through  she  must 
throw  it,  if  he  only  so  much  as  raised  his  hand  against  her. 

The  fire  blazed  up,  and  Todd  at  that  moment  had  no  further  excuse  for 
abusing  Charley.    With  a  sulky  growl,  he  said — 

"You  can  call  me  out  if  any  one  comes/'  and  then  he  retired  to  his  back 
parlour,  closing  and  locking  the  door  as  usual. 

The  morning  felt  rather  raw,  and  Johanna  was  glad  to  warm  her  hands  at 
the  fire  in  the  shop,  which  soon  burnt  brightly  ;  but  she  did  not  venture  upon 
keeping  up  a  bright  blaze  for  long.  Todd's  mode  of  managing  the  fire,  was 
always  to  keep  a  dry  turf  smouldering  upon  the  top  of  it,  from  which  ample 
heat  enough  was  emitted  to  keep  the  shaving-pot  upon  the  simmer.  She  now 
placed  upon  the  fire  one  of  those  turfs,  a  small  pile  of  which  were  always  ready 
in  the  corner  of  the  shop . 

She  had  scarcely  done  so,  when  the  shop  door  opened,  and  a  man  walked  in. 

"  Is  Mr.  Todd  in,  my  little  man  V*  he  said. 

u  Yes,  sir.  Do  you  wish  to  see  him  ?"  Johanna  wished,  if  it  were  possible,  to 
discourage  visitors,  but  the  man  sat  down  at  once  in  the  shaving  chair,  and 
placed  his  hat  upon  the  floor,  adding  as  he  did  so— 

"  Yes,  a  right  down  good  shave  I  want.  As  good  as  if  St.  Du  nstan  himself 
wanted  one." 

The  manner  in  which  the  man  pronounced  the  words  St*  Dunstan  was  so 
marked  that  Johanna  felt  convinced  at  once  he  was  a  friend,  and  she  felt  quite 
a  gush  of  pleasure  at  the  thought  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  such  a  continual 
supervising  eye  upon  her  safety. 

She  felt  that  she  must  not  look  at  this  man  otherwise  than  as  a  stranger.  She 
felt  that  the  least  word  of  recognition  might  be  fatal  both  to  him  and  to  her. 
She  knew  that  Todd  had  some  small  orifice  through  which  from  his  parlour  he 
peeped  into  the  shop,  and  that  his  eye  was  now  upon  her  she  did  not  doubt. 

"  I  will  call  Mr.  Todd,  sir,"  she  said  in  a  moment.  "  He  is  close  at 
hand/' 

" Thank  you,"  replied  the  man.  "Isit  here  as  comfortable  as  St.  Dm- 
stan." 

f  Yes,"  said  Johanna,  as  she  heard  the  watch-ward  of  safety  and  friendship 
once  more  uttered  by  that  man  who  was  in  truth]one  of  Sir  Richard's  most  con-< 
fidential  and  trustworthy  officers. 


MrfOk  \ 


mdb. 


408  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.   

She  at  once  now  proceeded  to  the  door  of  the  parlour,  and  tapped  at  it  until 
Todd  opened  it,  and  popped  his  head  out  with  a  grim  smile. 

"  Oh,  Charley  my  dear/'  he  said,  "  does  a  gentleman  want  me  V 
"  Yes,  sir/' 

"A-hem!  Good  morning,  sir/'  added  Tood,  as  he  advanced,  tying  on  his 
apron.  #<  A  shave  I,  presume,  sir  ?  A  close  shave,  sir  ?  I  do  think  of  all  the 
luxuries  in  life,  sir,  a  good  close  shave — what  I  call  a  regular  polish  off,  sir  — 
is  one  of  the  greatest  in  a  small  way.  Charley,  ain't  it  near  breakfast  time,  my 
good  lad  V 

a  Yes,  sir,"  said  Johanna.  "  I  daresay  it  is." 

"Very  good.  The  hot- water,  lhank  you  my  dear — you  will  take  two 
pence  from  the  till,  Charley,  and  get  yourself  somewhere  about  the  market  a 
 Well  now  r 

A  (hin  man  in  a  cloak  made  his  appearance  at  the  door  of  the  shop,  and 
taking  off  his  hat,  made  a  bow,  as  he  said—- 

"  I  believe  I  have  the  pleasure  of  speaking  to  the  pious  Mr.  Todd  ?" 
u  My  name  is  Todd,  sir.    What  is  it  ?" 

t€  I  am  truly  delighted/'  said  the  tall  thin  man  sitting  down  upon  the  nearest 
seat,  and  placing  his  hat  upon  his  knees.  "  I  am  truly  delighted  to  see  you. 
Pray  go  on  shaving  that  gentleman,  as  I  shall  be  some  time/' 

"  Some  time  about  what  ?"  almost  screamed  Todd. 

"  Finding  the  tract,  from  which  I  purpose  reading  to  you  a  few  extracts  upon 
the  all-important  subject  of  the  election  of  grace,  and  the  insufficiency  of  works." 

Todd  stropped  a  razor,  and  glared  at  the  intruder,  who,  fitting  on  Lis 
nose  with  great  precision  a  pair  of  blue  spectacles,  began  rumaging  in  his  hat. 

"  Humph !  this  is  it.  No — this  is  not  it.  Well,  I  thought  I  had  it  here, 
and  so  I  have.  This  is — no.  This  is  an  imaginary  and  highly  religious  dis- 
course upon  saints,  and  St.  Dunstan  in  particular." 

Johanna  knew  in  a  moment  that  this  other  man  was  a  friend  likewise.  He, 
too,  had  pronounced  the  words  St.  Dunstan  in  a  peculiar  manner. 

Todd  suddenly  became  quite  calm. 

u  Sir,"  he  said,  "  I  take  it  as  a  very  particular  favour,  indeed,  that  you  should 
have  called  here  upon  such  an  errand,  and  I  only  beg  that  you  will  not  hurry 
yourself  in  the  least;  I  can  go  on  shaving  this  gentleman,  and  perhaps  when  he 
\  is  gone,  you  will  permit  me  the  honour  of  operating  upon  you  V 
i      "  With  great  pleasure/'  replied  the  man.    u  Dear  me,  where  can  the  tract  be  ? 
Is  this  it  ?    No — this  is  about  the  pious  milkmaid,  who  always  put  up  a  prayer 
for  the  milking-pail,  to  prevent  the  cow  from  kicking  it  over.    Dear  me,  where 
can  it  be?    Oh,  is  this  it?    No— this  is  the  story  of  the  pious  barber's  boy, 
who,  when  he  had  an  opportunity,  went  over  the  way  and  found  his  father 
there  !  Dear  me,  where  can  it  be  r 
Johanna  starred. 

"  The  barber's  boy, v  she  thought,  u  who  went  over  the  way  and  found  his 
father  there  ?    Those  words  are  for  me." 

She  was  now  in  quite  a  fever  of  anxiety  to  leave  the  shop,  for  she  did  not 
doubt  but  that  by  some  means  her  father  had  heard  of  her  position,  and  she 
felt  that  then  nothing  but  the  actual  sight  of  her  in  perfect  health  and  safety 
would  satisfy  him.  But  she  dared  not  show  the  anxiety  she  felt.  She  bent  over 
the  fire,  and  affected  to  be  stirring  the  turf. 

"  You  can  go  and  get  your  breakfast,  Charley/'  said  Todd. 

"Thank  you,  sir." 

Johanna  would  not  betray  any  haste,  but  she  shook  with  agitation  as  she 
neared  the  door ;  and  then  she  recollected  that  she  had  not  taken  the  twopence 
from  the  till  as  she  had  been  told  to  do,  and  that  the  circumstance  of  not  doing 
so  might  create  suspicion. 

She  crept  back  and  possessed  herself  of  the  pence.  Todd  watched  her  with 
the  eyes  of  demon. 

"  Are  you  going,  my  dear  Charley  ?"  he  said. 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


•409 


u  Yes,  sir." 

She  left  the  shop,  and  then  her  first  impulse  would  have  induced  her  to  hurry- 
over  the  road  to  the  fruiterer's  shop,  but  her  eyes  fell  upon  the  figure  of  Sir 
Richard  Blunt  standing  in  the  fruiterer's  doorwav.  He  moved  his  hand  signify- 
ing that  she  should  go  towards  the  market,  and  she  did  so.  He  quickly  followed 
her.  } 


I 


f 


! 


THE  WIDOW  ASKS  FOR  CHARITY  OF  HER  HUSBAND'S  MURDERER — TODD. 


She  did  not  look  behind  her,  until  she  was  quite  in  the  old  Fleet-rtiarket  j  and 
then,  just  as  she  looked  round,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  touched  her  arm. 
r<  You  understood  my  message     he  said. 
4<Yes.   My  father." 

u  Exactly.  It  is  concerning  him,   It  appears  tha*:  some  busy-body,  a  man  I 


No,  «2 


410 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


understand  named  Lupin,  has  seen  you  in  your  present  disguise,  and  informed 
him  of  it*" 

"  I  know  the  man.  He  is  one  of  those  saintly  hypocrites,  who  make  religion 
the  cloak  for  their  vices/' 

"  Yes,  there  are  not  a  few  of  them/'  said  Sir  Richard.    "They  revel  in  vice, 
and  daily  try  to  make  the  Almighty  an  accomplice  in  their  offences  against 
society.     Well,  then,  Johanna,  this  man  has  tortured  your  father  with  an 
account  of  your  being  in  this  disguise.1 '  i 
f  |"  It  would  torture  him." 

"  Naturally,  without  he  knew  all  the  reasons  for  it  ;  but  it  appears  that  he 
went  to  the  house  of  Miss  Wilmot,  and  after  some  trouble  saw  her,  when  she, 
finding  that  he  knew  quite  enough  to  make  him  wretched,  and  not  enough  to 
explain  your  position,  frankly  told  him  all,  and  brought  him  to  me." 

u  It  was  the  best/' 

"Most  decidedly  it  was,  and  I  need  only  say  that  he  is  anxiously  waiting  to 
see  you,  at  our  friend  the  fruiterer's  house  ;  bat  as  it  would  not  do  for  you  to 
go  direct  from  Todd's  door  to  there,  I  have  intercepted  you,  you  see,  to  take 
you  by  a  safer  route." 

"How  good,  and  kind,  and  considerate  you  are  to  me/'  said  Johanna,  as  she 
looked  up  in  the  face  of  the  magistrate,  while  tears  started  to  her  eyes.  "  With- 
out you  how  miserably  I  must  have  failed  in  this  adventure.  Todd  would  no 
doubt  before  this  have  dscovered  me,  and  taken  my  life." 

"  Don't  say  a  word  about  that/'  replied  Sir  Richard.   "  Recollect  that  after 
all  it  was  my  duty  to  protect  you  ;  and  if  I  have  been  a  little  more  anxious  than  I 
usual  in  the  performance  of  that  duty,  it  is  because  I  admire  your  heroic  con-  1 
stancy  and  courage,  and  hope  to  see  you  happy  yet. "  \ 

"  Alas  !  the  sun  of  my  happiness  has  set  for  ever.    I  can  enly  now  pray  to  I 
Heaven,  that  it  will  endow  me  with  patience  to  bear  its  decrees  with  serenity." 

u  Well,"  added  Sir  Richard,  "  we  will  say  no  more  upon  that  subject,  just  now. 
Come  with  me,  and  I  will  take  you  to  your  father  bv  a  safer  way  than  just  j 
crossing  the  road  from  Todd's  shop  to  the  fruiterer's. " 

He  led  her  down  a  court  in  Bridge-street,  and  thence  through  a  complete 
labyrinth  of  passages,  some  of  which  still  exist  at  the  back  of  Fleet  Street,  and 
some  of  which  have  been  swept  away,  until  they  reached  a  door  in  a  dingy- 
looking  wall,  at  which  he  paused.  j 
"This  is  the  back  of  the  fruiterer's  house,"  he  said, <f  and  I  dare  say  some  one  j 
is  waiting  for  me" 

He  tapped  three  times  distinctly  at  the  door,  and  then  it  was  opened  imraedi- 
f  ately  by  the  fruiterer's  daughter,  who  with  a  smile  clasped  Johanna  in  her  arms. 
"  Welcome,"  she  siad.    "  Welcome  once  again." 

"  Ah,  my  dear  friend/'  said  Johanna,  u  I  shall  learn  to  bless  the  circum- 
stances, commencing  in  affliction  as  they  did,  that  have  brought  me  acquainted 
with  such  kind  hearts." 

They  all  three  now  crossed  a  little  paved  yard,  and  were  soon  injthe  fruiterer's 
house. 

44  Where  is  my  dear  father  ?"  said  Johanna.  "  Where  is  he  ?" 

"  This  way,"  said  the  young  girl,  who  took  so  great  an  interest  in  the  fate  of 
Johanna.    "This  way,  dear.    He  is  in  our  room  up  stairs,  and  will  be  no  less  j 
delighted  to  see  you,  then  you  will  be  delighted  to  see  him/'  ! 

u  I  am  sure  of  that,"  said  Johanna.  .  ! 

W  She  ran  up  the  stairs  with  more  speed  that  the  fruiterer's  daughter  could 
make,  and  in  another  moment  was  in  her  fathers  arms. 


*9 

m 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  411 


CHAPTER  XCII. 

MR.  OAKLEY'S  ANXIETIES  MUCH  DIMINISH. 

For  some  few  moments  after  this  meeting,  neither  M.  Oakley  nor  Johanna 
could  speak.    At  length  the  old  spectacle-maker  was  just  able  to  say— 
"  Great  God,  I  thank  thee,  that  once  again  I  hold  my  darling  to  my  heart." 
"Father — father/'  said  Johanna.    rrDid  you  think  for  one  moment  that  I 
could  have  left  you  V1 
\       H  No  my  dear,  no  ;  but  I  was  bewildered  by  all  I  heard.    I  was  half  mad  I 
think  until  I  was  told  all ;  and  now  we  will  go  home,  my  pretty  darling,  at  once, 
and  we  will  have  no  secrets  from  each  other.  Dear  heart,  what  a  pretty  boy  you 
i    make  to  be  sure.   But  come— come.  I  am  in  an  agony  until  I  have  you  home 
again." 
4t  Father,  listen  to  me." 
"  Yes  my  child — my  darling.  Yes." 

"  If  it  had  not  been  for  Sir  Richard  Blunt  I  should  now  have  been  with  the 
dead,  and  you  and  I  would  never  have  met  again,  but  in  another  world,  father,  I 
owe  him,  therefore,  you  will  say,  some  gratitude." 

c<  Some  gratitude,  my  darling  ?  We  owe  him  a  world  of  gratitude.  Alas,  we 
shall  never  be  able  to  repay  him,  but  we  will  pray  that  he  may  be  as  happy  as 
his  noble  heart  deserves,  my  dear.    God  bless  him!'* 

"  4nd,  father,  we  will  do  any  little  thing  he  asks  of  us:" 

uWe  will  fly  to  obey  his  commands,  my  dear,  in  all  things.  Night  or  day, 
he  will  only  have  to  speak  to  us,  and  what  he  says  shall  be  our  law/' 

"  Then,  father,  he  asks  of  me,  for  the  cause  of  public  justice,  that  I  should  go 
back  to  Todd's,  and  wear  this  dress  for  the  remainder  only  of  to-day.  Can  we 
refuse  him?" 

"Alas!  Alas!"  said  the  old  man,  "  more  trouble— more  anxiety — more 
danger.'* 

"  No,  father.  No  danger.  He  will  watch  over  me,  and  I  have  faith  that 
Heaven  is  with  me.'* 

"  Can  I  part  with  you  again  ?" 

u  Yes,  for  such  an  object.  Do  not,  father,  say  no  to  me,  for  you  may  say,  and 
I  will  obey  you  ;  but  with  your  own  free  consent,  let  me  go  now,  and  do  the 
bidding  of  the  great  and  the  good  man  who  has  saved  me  to  once  more  rest 
upon  your  breast,  and  kiss  your  cheek." 

The  old  man  shook  for  a  moment,  and  then  he  said — 

u  Go,  go,  my  child.  Go,  and  take  with  you  my  blessing,  and  the  blessing  of 
God,  for  surely  that  must  be  yours  ;  but,  oh  !  be  careful.  Remember,  my 
darling,  that  upon  your  safety  hangs  my  iife  ;  for  if  I  were  to  hear  that  anything 
had  happened  to  you,  it  would  kill  me.  I  have  nothing  now  but  you  in  the 
world  to  live  for." 

n  Oh,  father,  you  do  not  mean  to  tell  me  that  my  mother  is  no  more  ?" 

"  No,  my  dear.  No. — Ask  me  nothing  now.  You  shall  know  all  at  another 
time.    Only  tell  me  when  1  shall  see  you  again." 

';  At  sunset,"  said  Sir  Richaid  Blunt,  as  he  stepped  into  the  room  at  this 
moment.  At  sunset,  I  hope,  Mr.  Oakley  ;  and  in  the  meantime  be  assured 
of  her  perfect  safety.  I  offer  my  life  as  security  for  her's,  and  would  not  hesitate 
to  sacrifice  it  for  her." 

The  manner  of  the  magistrate  was  such  that  no  one  could  for  one  moment 
doubt  that  he  spoke  the  genuine  sentiments  at  his  heart;  and  such  words, 
coming  from  such  a  quarter,  it  may  be  well  supposed  were  calculated  to  produce 
a  great  impression. 

"  I  am  satisfied,"  said  Mr.  Oakley.  n  \  should  be  more  than  an  unreason- 
able man  if  I  were  not  fully  convinced  now  of  the  safety  of  Johanna." 

When  she  had  got  her  father  to  say  this  much,  Johanna  was  anxious  to  be 


412  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


i 


off,  and  she  signified  as*much  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  who  fully  acquiesced~irTthe 
propriety  of  the  measure,  for  already  her  absence  had  been  quite  long  enough 
from  the  shop,  and  Todd  might  not  be  in  the  best  of  humours  at  her  return. 

After  one  more  embrace,  Johanna  tore  herself  from  her  father's  arms,  and 
followed  the  magistrate  from  the  fruiterer's  house,  by  the  same  route  which  had 
conducted  her  to  it. 

On  their  way,  he  explained  to  her  some  little  matters  of  which  she  was  in 
ignorance,  or  at  least  concerning  which  she  could  only  conjecture. 

"Both  the  persons,  whom  you  left  in  Todd's  shop,"  he  said,  "belong  to  my 
force  ;  and  the  one  only  went  for  the  protection  of  the  other,  as  I,  of  course, 
surmised  that  you  would  be  at  once  sent  out  of  the  way  upon  some  real  or 
mock  errand,  to  give  Todd  opportunity  of  committing  a  murder.  My  great 
object  is  to  find  out  precisely  how  he  does  the  deed;  and  the  man  who  came  in 
to  be  shaved  was  to  make  what  observations  of  the  place  he  could  during  the 
ceremony,  while  the  other  distracted  Todd's  attention. 

"  I  understand/'  said  Johanna.  "  I  of  course  knew  that  they  were  friends 
when  they  mentioned  the  watchword  of  St.  Dunstan  to  me." 

V  Exactly.  I  gave  them  instructions  to  seize  the  very  first  opportunity  of 
letting  you  hear  the  watch-word.    Are  there  any  large  cupboards  in  the  shop  ?5) 

**  Yes.    There  is  one  of  great  size." 

"  Would  it,  do  you  think,  hold  two  men?" 

<c  Oh,  yes.  Perchance  you/ who  are  tall,  might  have  to  stoop  a  little  ;  but 
with  that  exception  as  to  height,  there  is  most  ample  space. " 
*  "  That  will  do,  then.  I  cannot  tell  you,  of  course,  the  exact  hour  ;  but  be  it 
when  it  may,  the  moment  Todd  leaves  the  shop  to  day  to  go  upon  any  business 
out  of  doors,  two  persons  from  me  will  come  to  hide  themselves  in  that  cup- 
board." 

"  They  will  use  the  watch-word  ?" 

ct  Yes,  certainly ;  and  you  will  so  dispose  any  movable  article  in  the  shop, 
as  to  take  away  any  idea  that  the  cupboard  had  been  visited,  or  in  the  slightest 
degree  interfered  with." 

"That  I  can  easily  do." 

"Well,  here  we  are,  then,  in  Fleet-street  again;  and  mind  all  this  that  I 
have  planned  has  nothing  to  do  with  your  proceedings  to  call  for  assistance,  if 
any  special  or  unforeseen  danger  should  occur  to  you." 

Johanna,  upon  this,  showed  him  the  gagged  stone  she  had  in  her  pocket,  to 
cast  through  the  window. 

"  Yes,  that  would  do/'  said  Sir  Richard;  ^  but  I  would  gladly  supply  you 
with  arms.    Da  you  think  you  could  manage  a  pistol,  if  you  had  one 

"  Yes.  I  have  often  looked  at  some  fire-arms  that  my  father  had  in  his  shop 
to  sell  once,  and  I  have  seen  them  used." 

4C I  am  glad  of  that/  continued  Sir  Richard.  u  Here  are  two  very  small 
pistols  loadel.  They  may  be  thoroughly  depended  upon  in  a  room  ;  but  they 
would  not  carry  any  distance,  in  consequence  of  the  shortness  of  the  barrel. 
If,  however,  you  should  be  in  any  sudden  and  extreme  danger  from  Todd,  any- 
where else  than  in  the  shop,  or  there,  if  you  are  pushed  for  time,  one  of  these 
fired  in  his  face  will  be  tolerably  effective.  You  can  keep  them  both  in  your 
pocket.'' 

The  magistrate,  as  he  spoke,  handed  to  Johanna  a  pair  of  very  small,  but 
exquisitely  made  pistols,  encircled  with  silver  mounting,  and  she  carefully 
concealed  them,  feeling  still  more  secure  from  any  treachery  upon  the  part  of 
Todd,  now  that  she  held  his  life  as  much,  if  not  more,  in  her  hands,  than  he 
held  her's  in  his. 

She  shook  her  kind  friend  warmly  by  the  hand,  and  then  hastened  to  the 
barber's  shop.  As  she  got  near  to  it,  she  saw  the  tall  thin  man  who  had  so 
perplexed  Todd  about  the  religious  tract,  come  out,  and  Todd  followed  him  to 
the  door,  looking  after  him  with  such  an  expression  of  deadly  malice,  that 
Johanna  could  not  but  pause  a  moment  to  look  at  him. 


THE  STRING  OF  PEABL5.  413 

He  suddenly  turned  his  eyes  towards  her,  and  saw  her.  He  beckoned  with 
his  finger,  and  she  entered  the  shop. 

"  Well,  Charley, "  lie  said,  with  quite  an  affectation  of  good  humour.  u  You 
are  a  good  lad." 

"  I  am  glad  you  think  so,  sir,"  she  replied,  seeing  that  Todd  paused  for  an 
answer. 

(<  I  cannot  but  think  so.  I  shall  have  to  look  over  some  accounts  in  the 
parlour  this  morning,  and  if  anybody — any  female,  I  mean — comes  for  me,  say 
I  have  gone  to  the  city,  and  that,  after  that,  I  said  I  would  call  in  Bell  Yard 
before  1  came  home.  You  well  remember  that,  Bell  Yard.  Be  vigilant  and 
discreet,  and  you  shall  have  the  reward  that  I  have  all  along  intended  for  you, 
and  which  you  should  not  miss  upon  any  account." 

u  I  am  much  beholden  to  you,  sir.  But  if  any  one  should  come  to  be  shaved 
while  you  are  in  the  parlour,  what  shall  I  say  to  them  ?'* 

"  You  can  say  I  have  gone  to  the  Temple  to  dress  Mr.  Block's  new  wig, 
if  you  like,  so  that  you  got  rid  of  them,  for  I  must  not  be  disturbed  on  any 
consideration." 

"  Very  well,  sir." 

u  Put  another  turf  on  the  fire,  Charley,  and  make  yourself  quite  com- 
fortable." 

What  inconsistent  amenity  this  was  upon  the  part  of  Todd.  It  seemed  as 
though  he  had  turned  over  a  new  leaf  completely,  and  intended  to  put  an 
end  to  all  suspicions,  if  he  had  any,  of  Charley  Green  ;  and  after  that— 
after  that,  Todd  still  preserved  his  kind  intention  of  cutting  his  throat  with  one 
of  the  razors. 

"The  very  best  thing  you  can  do  with  people,"  muttered  Todd  to  himself,  as 
he  went  into  the  parlour,  u  is  to  cut  their  throats  as  soon  as  they  cease  to  be 
useful  to  you,  for  from  that  moment,  if  you  do  not  put  them  out  of  the  way,  they 
are  almost  certain  to  be  mischievous  to  you." 

What  a  pleasant  lot  of  maxims  Todd  had,  and  what  a  beautiful  system  of 
moral  philosophy  his  was,  to  be  sure ! 

One  thing  was  quite  evident,  and  that  was  that  he  fully  expected  and  dreaded 
the  visit  of  Mrs.  Lovett  upon  money  matters.  It  will  be  recollected  that  ten 
o'clock  was  named  as  about  the  hour  when  that  lady  was  to  bring  in  her  little 
account  in  the  partnership  affair  of  Todd,  Lovett,  &  Co. ;  and  as  he  (Todd)  had  for 
once  in  his  life  been  fairly  bothered  to  make  any  further  excuses  to  so  per- 
tinacious a  creditor  as  Mrs.  Lovett,  he  had  hit  upon  the  plan  of  trying  to 
put  her  off  during  the  day  by  one  means  or  another,  and  at  night  he  would, 
at  an  earlier  hour  than  he  had  before  intended,  be  off  and  away. 

Everything  was  in  readiness,  and  he  considered  Mrs.  Lovett  his  only 
hindrance — a  danger  he  scarcely  thought  her — for,  at  the  very  worst,  he  could 
not  conceive  that  even  her  passion  would  be  sufficient  to  induce  her  to  sacrifice 
herself,  for  the  sake  of  revenge  upon  him. 

His  house  was  prepared  so  that  a  match  would  at  any  moment  suffice  to  give 
the  touch  that  would  set  it  in  a  blaze  ;  and  then,  as  he  said — "  Who  shall  say 
where  the  conflagration  among  the  old  well-dried  wooden  houses  of  Fleet-street 
may  reach  to?" 

His  passage  in  the  Hamburgh  ship  was  secure — the  fearful  proceeds  of  his 
life  of  rapine  and  murder  were  in  her  hold.  How  uncommonly  safe  Todd 
thought  himself,  and  how  well  he  considered  he  had  managed  his  affairs. 

Short-sighted  mortals  that  we  are  !  How  often  we  mistake  the  shifting  morass 
of  difficulty  for  the  terra  firma  of  prosperity,  and  how  often  do  we  weep  for 
those  events,  which,  in  themselves  and  their  results,  form  the  ground-work  of 
the  happiness  of  a  life !    Truly  we  are 

"  Such  things  as  air  is  made  of." 

If  Todd  now  for  one  moment  could  have  imagined  that  his  plunder,  which  he 
believed  was  so  safe  on  board  the  Hamburgh  ship,  was  actually,  on  the  con* 
trary,  at  the  office  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  in  Craven -street,  what  would 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


have  been  his  sensations  ?  Would  he  have  laughed  and  sniggered  over  the 
bumper  of  brandy  he  was  holding  to  his  lips  in  his  parlour  ?    No,  indeed. 

If  he  could  but  have  guessed  that  the  ship  in  which  he  had  intended  to 
embark,  was  then  twenty-four  hours  on  her  route,  and  battling  with  the  surging 
waves  of  the  German  Ocean,  how  wrould  he  have  felt! 

Strange  to  say,  he  never  had  felt  so  confident  of  success  and  triumph  as  upon 
that  day.    He  could  have  said  with  Romeo  in  Mantua — 

"  My  bosom's  lord  sits  lightly  on  its  throne," 

while,  like  Romeo,  he  was  on  the  eve  of  a  blow  that  at  once  was  to  topple  to  the 
dust  the  very  structure  of  all  his  hopes.  He  of  course  fully  expected  a  visit 
from  Mrs.  Lovett,  but  he  did  hope  that  she  would  take  an  answer  from  Charley, 
and  go  away  again.  If  she  did  not  he  trusted  to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment 
I  to  be  able  to  say  something  to  her  which  might  have  the  effect  of  producing 
that  which  he  wanted  only,  namely,  delay. 


CHAPTER  XCIII. 

SIR  RICHARD  BLUNTS  SUBTERRANEAN  EXPEDITION. 

While  Todd  is  thus  waiting  anxiously  for  the  arrival  of  his  old  ally  in  in- 
iquity, but  who  now  he  considered  to  be  his  most  deadly  foe,  and  his  worst 
possible  hindrance  to  carry  out  his  deeply — by  far  too  deeply — laid  schemes,  we 
shall  have  time  to  take  a  peep  at  some  proceedings  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt5 s, 
which  are  rather  entertaining,  and  decidedly  important. 

Johanna  had  not  been  long  gone  Irom  the  fruiterer's  shop,  before  he  Sir 
R  ichard  said  to  the  fruiterer — 

'*  If  you  are  ready  we  will  go  now  to  the  church  at  once.  I  have  left  quite 
a  sufficient  guard  over  the  safety  of  Miss  Oakley,  and  besides  this  affair  will  not 
take  us  I  daresay  above  a  couple  of  hours/' 

"Not  so  long  1  think/'  replied  the  fruiterer.    "I  am  quite  ready,  and  no 
doubt  your  men  are  in  the  church  by  this  time.    They  are  apt  to  be  punctual/' 
"They  would  not  suit  me  for  long  if  they  were  not/*  replied  Sir  Richard. 
"  Punctuality  is  the  one  grand  principal  which  is  the  hinge  of  all  my  business, 
and  the  secret  of  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  my  success/' 

They  walked  rapidly  up  Fleet  Street  together,  until  thq/f  came  opposite  to  St. 
Dunstan's  Church,  and  then  they  crossed  the  road  and  tapped  lightly  at  a  little 
wicket  in  the  great  door  of  the  building.  The  wicket  was  immediately  opened 
by  a  man  who  touched  his  hat  to  Sir  Richard. 

n  All  right  ?"  asked  the  magistrate,  "  and  every  one  here  V9 
"  Yes,  sir.  Every  one/5 

14  That  will  do  then.  Be  sure  you  fasten  the  door  in  the  inside,  so  that  that 
troublesome  beadle,  if  he  should  be  smitten  with  a  desire  to  visit  the  church, 
cannot  get  in  ;  and  if  he  should  come  and  be  troublesome,  take  him  into  custody 
at  once,  and  shut  him  him  up  anywhere  that  may  keep  him  out  of  harm's  way 
for  the  next  twelve  hours  or  so." 

"Yes,  sir/' 

This  man,  whose  business  it  evidently  was  to  stay  by  the  door,  carefully 
fastened  it,  and  Sir  Richard  Blunt  with  his  friend  from  Fleet  Street  advanced 
into  the  body  of  the  church.  He  had  not  gone  far  before  a  pew  opened, 
and  six  persons  came  out.  One  of  these  was  a  well-dressed  elderly  man,  who 
said,  as  the  magistrate  approached  him — 

"  I  have  made  a*l  the  necessary  observations,  Sir  Richard,  and  am  quite 
easy  and  confident  that  I  can  direct  your  men  how  to  excavate  directly  to  Todd's 
house." 

"Thank  yon    Sir  Christopher/'  said  the  magistrate.  "I  am  very  much 


 THE  STRING J)E  PEARLS.   415 

•  ;  .  ~~    .. 

*ndebted  to  you  for  the  trouble  you  have  taken  in  this  affair,  which  I  think  is 
now  near  its  climax/'  j 
*  I  hope  so,  Sir  Richard.    This  way  if  you  please." 

The  whole  party  now  proceeded  to  the  same  slab  of  stone  which  the  magistrate  | 
had  had  before  removed,  for  the  purpose  of  making  his  inquiries  below  the  ! 
surface  of  the  earth.    The  slab  was  standing  on  its  edge  against  a  column  of 
the  nearest  aisle,  and  the  deep  dark  opening  to  the  vaults  was  before  them. 

"  There  is  but  little  foul  air/'  said  Sir  Christopher.  u  The  stone  has  been 
off  they  tell  me  many  hours.    Shall  I  go  first,  or  will  you,  Sir  Richard  ?" 

u  Allow  me,"  said  the  magistrate  ;  "  should  there  be  any  risks,  it  is  my  i 
duty  first  to  encounter  them." 

"  As  you  please,  Sir  Richard.  As  you  please,  sir.  I  willingly  give  place  to 
you,  because  I  know,  if  there  be  any  difficulty^  how  much  better  calculated  you 
are  than  any  one  here  to  overcome  it/' 

The  magistrate  made  a  slight  bow  to  the  compliment,  and  then  taking  a  link 
in  his  hand,  he  descended  the  stairs  leading  to  the  vaults  of  St.  Dunstan's. 

It  will  be  well  recollected  that  he  had  been  in  those  vaults  before,  and  that  he 
had  made  certain  discoveries,  which  to  a  vast  extent  implicated  Mrs.  Lovett  in 
the  crimes  of  Sweeney  Todd  ;  but  his  object  upon  this  present  visit  was  of  a 
different  character.  In  plain  language,  this  was  an  attempt  to  ascertain  if 
there  were  any  underground  modes  of  communication  between  Todd's  house, 
and  the  vaults  of  old  St.  Dunstan's  church. 

That  there  were  some  such  subterraneous  passages  had  become,  after  the  most 
mature  consideration,  a  firm  conviction  upon  the  mind  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt, 
and  hence  he  had  resolved  upon  such  an  exploration  of  the  spot  as  should 
confirm  o*  dispel  the  idea  for  ever. 

Those  whom  he  had  with  him,  were  all   persons  upon  whom  he  could 
thoroughly  depend  ;  and  the  ancient  architect,  who  had  given  his  services,  was 
\  to  point  out  the  exact  direction  in  which  to  proceed* 

Upon  reaching  the  foot  of  the  stone  steps,  instead  of  traversing  the  passage 
that  led  in  the  direction  of  Bell  Yard,  which  he  had  formerly  done,  Sir  Richard 
turned  directly  the  other  way,  saying  as  he  did  so — 
"  This,  I  presume,  will  be  our  direction  ?" 

"  We  shall  see  in  a  moment/'  ?aid  the  architect.  i€  I  have  taken  the  bearings 
so  exactly,  that  I  can  point  out  to  you  the  precise  course/' 

He  forced  into  the  ground  to  a  sufficient  depth  to  make  it  stand  steady,  his 
walking  stick,  and  then  removing  a  little  gold  cap  from  the  top  of  it,  he  dis- 
closed a  small  compass,^which  after  some  oscillations,  steadied  itself. 

"Then,"  said  Sir  Christopher,  <' through  that  wall  would  lead  in  a  direct  line 
to  Todd's  house." 

''This  will  assist  us/'  said  Sir  Richard.  "We  will,  before  we  actually  begin 
excavating,  endeavour  to  find  some  of  the  vaults  which  may  run  in  that  direc- 
tion, and  so  perhaps  save  ourselves  an  immense  amount  of  labour." 

M  Very  good,"  said  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  "  I  can  at  any  time  give  you, 
from  any  place,  the  exact  bearing  of  Todds  house,  for  I  have  it  fixed  in  my 
mind,  and  can  read  it  off  from  the  compass -plate  in  a  moment." 

They  now  at  once  made  their  way  into  the  vaults,  and  by  dint  of  keeping  to 
the  right  hand,  they  avoided  going  much  out  of  their  course.  These  vaults 
were  of  great  extent,  and  although  some  of  them,  owing  to  being  full  of  the 
dead,  had  been  bricked  up,  yet  they  were  very  easily  opened,  and  in  many  cases 
a  direct  thoroughfare  for  considerable  distances  was  affected. 

Ever  and  anon  the  compass  was  appealed  to,  and  showed  them  that  they  were 
approaching  Todd's  house. 

One  of  the  party,  a  well-dressed  gentlemanly-looking  man,  now  stepped  for- 
ward, and  said  to  Sir  Richard — 

<c  Here,  according  to  the  plans  of  the  church,  the  vaults  end." 
"Then  we  can  get  no  further  ?" 
"Not  an  inch,  Sir  Richard." 


41G 


THE  STRING  OE  PEAULS. 


u  Then  here  commences  in  reality  our  mission,  which  is  to  try  to  discover 
some  communication  between  the  lower  part  of  the  house  occupied  by  Sweeney 
Todd,  and  these  vaults.  Let  us  each  use  our  utmost  discrimination  to  affect 
that  object." 

He  lighted  for  himself  a  small  lantern,  and  commenced  a  rigorous  search  of 
the  walls,  but  for  some  few  minutes  could  find  nothing  to  excite  the  least  sus- 
picion. At  length  he  paused  at  one  portion  of  one  of  the  vaults,  where  a  kind 
of  wooden  tomb  had  been  erected  close  to  the  wall.  A  large  piece  of  dirty  oak 
was  placed  upright  against  the  earth  work. 

*f  If  there  be  any  mode  of  leaving  this  vault,  but  the  one  we  have  entered/5  he 
said,  "  it  is  here." 

At  these  words,  so  significant  as  they  were  of  some  discovery  having  been 
made  by  Sir  Richard,  all  those  who  were  with  him  made  their  way  to  that 
spot,  and  from  their  several  lanterns,  a  glare  of  light  was  thrown  upon  the 
wooden  monument, 

u  This/'  said  the  person  who  had  before  spoken  of  the  plan  of  the  vaults, 
"  this  is  the  monument  of  a  Sir  Giles  Horseman,  who  was  killed  by  accident 
andi  nterred  here  about  twenty-two  years  ago.  It  was  a  very  unusual  thing  to 
make  any  such  erection  in  a  vault,  but  his  widow  wished  it,  and  the  authorities 
saw  no  good  reason  for  interfering. 

The  monument  had  evidently  consisted  of  an  oaken  kind  of  square  ornamental 
torn1)  affixed  to  the  wall,  and  extending  out  about  six  feet  into  the  vault.  That 
portion  of  it  which  did  so  extend  into  the  vault  had  fallen  in,  but  the  piece  of 
oak  which  had  been  originally  affixed  to  the  wall  there  remained. 

"  What  leads  you  to  suppose,  Sir  Richard/'  said  the  architect,  u  that  this 
place  will  show  us  anything  V9 

"This,"  said  the  magistrate,  as  he  picked  up  from  amid  the  rubbish  of  the 
broken  monument,  a  nearly  new  glove  of  thick  leather.  "  How  did  this  get  here  ?" 

The  <j;love  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  and  duly  examined.  No  one 
owned  it,  and  the  only  remark  that  could  be  made  upon  it  was,  that  it  was  of 
an  immense  size. 

44  Then/'  said  Sir  Richard!  Blunt,  €S  since  it  belongs  to  none  of  us,  1  give  it 
as  my  opinion  that  it  belongs  to  Sweeney  Todd,  and  has  fallen  from  his  hand 
in  this  place. "  I 

u'Jt  must  be  so,"  said  the  fruiterer.  u  I  know  of  no  hand  in  the  City  of 
London  that  such  a  glove  would  fit  but  his," 

'A  But  how  came  he  here  ?5>  said  Sir  Christopher.  "  That  is  the  question. 
How  could  he  get  here." 

"  We  shall  see,"  said  the  magistrate.  u  Lend  me  that  small  iron  crow-bar, 
Jenkins.5'  ,  -  -  Q* 

The  crow-bar  was  handed  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  at  one  touch  with  it 
down  come  the  piece  of  oak  that  was  against  the  wall.  That  was  conclusive,  for, 
instead  of  the  solid  wall  beyond  it,  there  was  a  deep  crevice  or  opening  just 
sufficient  to  enable  one  person  to  go  through  it, 

"  This  is  the  place/'  said  the  magistrate. 

There  was  a  death-like  silence  among  all  present.  Every  ear  was  on  the 
stretch,  and  every  eye  was  fixed  upon  the  narrow  opening  in  the  wall  of  the 
vault.  It  would  almost  seem  as  though  every  one  expected  Sweeney  Todd  to 
appear  with  one  of  his  victims  on  his  back  that  he  had  just,  to  use  his  own  expres- 
sive phraseology,  succeeded  in  polishing  off. 

Sir  Christopher  stuck  up  his  compass  again,  and  it  was  his  voice  that  first 
broke  the  stillness. 

"The  route  is  direct/'  he  said. 

ft  To  Todd's  houe  ?"  asked  Sir  Richard. 

u  Yes,  direct." 

"Then  all  we  have  got  to  do  is  to  follow  it.  It  is  an  enterprise  perhaps 
attended  with  some  danger,  and  certainly  with  much  horror,  I  think.  iSow,  I 
do  not  ask  any  one  to  follow  me,  but  go  1  will.3' 


Shear** 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


417 


"  I  will  follow  you,  Sir  Richard/'  said  the  fruiterer.  w  I  reside  in  Fleet  Street, 
and  rather  than  not  ferret  out  such  a  villain  as  Todd  from  the  neighbourhood,  I 
would  run  any  risks.  I  am  with  you,  sir." 

"  And  I,"  said  Sir  Christopher  Wren. 

f'  And  I— and  I>'?  cried  every  one. 


i 


i 


i  } 

i  { 

i 
i 

1  I 


I  i 


I  I 


TODD  PERFORMS  AN  OPERATION  ON  MRS.  STAG. 


i*  Come  on,"  said  the  magistrate.  u  Come  on.  I  will  take  the  small  lantern, 
and  if  I  meet  Todd,  my  great  aim  will  be  to  take  him  a  prisoner,  not  to  kill 
him  ;  and  mind  all  of  you,  if  by  any  chance  a  scuffle  with  that  man  should  ensue, 
it  would  be  a  scandalous  cheating  of  the  gallows  to  do  him  any  injury  that 
might  even  delay  his  execution.    Now,  come  on/' 

It  required  no  small  amount  of  real  courage  talead  the  way  in  that  expedition 


No.  53. 


418  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


into  the  very  bowels  of  the  earth  as  it  were  ;  but  with  the  small  lantern  elevated 
as  far  above  his  head  as  the  roof  of  the  passage  would  admit  of,  Sir  Richard 
stepped  cautiously  and  slowly  on. 

The  excavation  in  which  they  were  was  roughly  but  well  made.  At  intervals 
of  about  twelve  feet  each,  there  always  occurred  two  upright  pieces  of  plank 
supporting  a  third  piece  on  the  roof,  and  firmly  wedged  in,  to  that  there  was  but 
little  likelihood  of  a  fall  of  earth  from  above. 

Suddenly  a  scuffling  noise  was  heard,  and  Sir  Richard  for  a  moment  paused. 

€€  What  is  it  V  said  the  fruiterer. 

u  Only  some  rats/*  he  replied.  H  I  daresay  there  are  plenty  of  such  gentlemen 
in  this  quarter  of  the  world,  and  probably  they  never  saw  so  large  a  party  here 
before.    They  are  scudding  along  in  a  regiment  here." 

After  going  on  for  about  twenty  paces  further,  Sir  Richard  found  a  door 
completely  blocking  up  the  passage.  By  dint  of  careful  investigation  of  it,  he 
found  it  was  locked,  and  the  key  in  the  other  side  of  the  lock.  He  pushed  it 
through  with  some  difficulty,  and  then,  with  a  skeleton  key,  opened  the  door  in 
the  course  of  a  few  moments. 

"  Come  on,"  he  said.    ¥  Ah  !  this  is  a  different  place." 

They  now  found  themselves  in  some  regularly  constructed  vaults, "arched  with 
stone,  down  the  sides  of  which  there  rolled  long  streams  of  moisture.  They 
were  all  quite  at  a  loss  to  know  what  place  they  had  got  into,  for  they 
knew  of  nothing  of  the  sort  beneath  Fleet  Street,  and  they  gazed  about  them 
with  wonder. 


CHAPTER  XCIV. 

MRS.  tOVETT  IS  VERY  INTRACTABLE  INDEED 

"  Who  on  earth  would  hare  thought  of  finding  vaults  like  these  in  such  a 
situation  ?"  said  the  fruiterer. 

"  They  are,"  said  Sir  Christopher,  tt  undoubtedly  the  remains  of  some  public 
building,  which  probably  at  a  very  distant  date  has  occupied  the  site  above. 
They  are  well  built,  and  really  of  considerable  architectural  beauty  in  some 
respects.    I  am  quite  pleased  at  the  opportunity  of  seeing  such  a  place." 

"  It  looks,"  remarked  the  magistrate,  "  as  though  it  had  been  long  hidden 
from  the  world.  It  is  such  men  as  Sweeney  Todd  who  find  out  more 
underground  secrets  in  a  month  than  we  should  in  a  lifetime  ;  but  T  hope  that 
we  shall  find  out  all  his  cleverness  and  most  abhorrent  iniquities  now." 

The  air  in  this  stone  place  was  by  no  means  very  bad,  and  indeed,  after  the 
vaults,  there  was  rather  an  agreeable  damp  kind  of  freshness  in  it ;  while  it 
was  evident,  by  the  manner  in  which  the  lights  burnt  in  it,  that  there  was  no 
want  of  vitality  in  its  atmosphere.  At  first  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  find  any 
kind  of  outlet  from  the  place.  After  some  searching,  however,  another  door 
was  discovered,  very  similar,  indeed,  to  the  one  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had 
opened  with  the  picklock,  and  that,  too,  was  found  to  be  locked  on  the  other 
side,  and  the  key,  as  in  the  former  case,  in  the  lock. 

"  All  this  locking  of  doors,"  said  the  magistrate,  "  was,  I  have  no  sort  of 
doubt,  to  protect  himself  from  any  night  visit  upon  the  part  of  Mrs.  Lovett, 
from  whom  I  feel  certain  that  Sweeney  Todd  has  been  expecting  attempts 
upon  his  life,  as  much  as  to  my  own  knowledge  he  has  made  attempts  upon 
hers ;  but  by  some  kind  of  fatality,  or  providence,  they  seem  to  be  unable  to 
harm  each  other." 

"  It  is  a  providence,"  said  Sir  Christopher.  "  They  must  both  suffer  the 
penalty  of  outraging,  as  they  have  done,  the  laws  of  God  and  man ;  and  the 
retribution  would  be  by  no  means  complete  were  they  to  fall  by  the  hands  ot 
each  other*" 

"  I  think  you  are  right,  sir,"  said  the  fruiterer. 


  4 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  419 

The  door  which  was  now  opened,  only  led  to  some  other  vaults,  which  lome- 
what  resembled  those  the  party  had  just  left,  only  that  they  were  by  no  means 
so  lofty  or  so  carefully  constructed  as  they  were  ;  and  before  they  had  pro- 
ceeded far,  some  evidences  of  habitation  began  to  show  themselves.  Some  old 
boots  occupied  a  place  in  one  corner,  and  some  old  hats,  and  other  articles  of 
clothing,  were  lying  in  a  confused  heap  in  another.  Sir  Richard  Blunt  looked 
upon  all  this  as  ample  testimony  that  he  was  quite  close  to  the  abode  of  Sweeney 
Todd,  and  he  accordingly  turned  to  his  friends,  saying — 

"  It  is  necessary  that  we  proceed  with  the  utmost  caution.  I  think,  a  very 
few  steps  will  take  us  into  the  cellars  of  Todd's  house,  and  the  object  now  is 
not  by  any  means  to  give  him  the  least  alarm,  but  merely  to  find  out,  if  possible, 
by  what  means  he  murders  and  disposes  of  his  victims." 

Acting  upon  this  caution,  they  extinguished  all  the  lights,  with  the  exception 
of  one  lantern,  and  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  himself  carried,  as  he  still  continued 
to  head  the  expedition.  Suddenly  he  came  upon  an  arched  doorway  without  a 
door  ;  and  hardly  had  he  proceeded  a  few  paces,  when  he  saw  something  lying 
in  a  strange  confused  mass  upon  the  floor,  which,  upon  a  closer  examination, 
proved  to  be  a  dead  body. 

The  reader  will  probably  in  this  body  see  the  spy  who  had  been  employed 
by  Mrs,  Lovett  to  see  that  Todd  did  not  run  away  in  the  course  of  the  preceding 
night. 

The  body  was  lying  upon  some  stones,  that  seemed  to  have  been  placed 
one  upon  another  in  such  a  position  that  their  most  jagged  corners  and  uneven 
surfaces  should  be  uppermost.  A  glance  at  the  roof  showed  a  square,  black- 
looking  hole. 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  upon  the  point  of  saying  something,  when  overhead 
they  heard  the  distinct  tramp  of  a  man.  The  magistrate  immediately  placed 
his  finger  upon  his  lips,  and  all  was  as  still  as  the  grave  in  that  place.  Pre- 
sently they  heard  a  voice,  and  they  all  knew  that  it  was  the  voice  of  Sweeney 
Todd.  It  came  from  above,  and  reached  their  ears  with  sufficient  clearness  to 
enable  them  to  catch  the  words — 

#<  Her  death  is  certain  if  I  can  but  get  her  to  cross  the  threshold  of  this 
parlour !" 

Then  the  pacing  to  and  fro  of  that  really  wretched  man  continued.  The 
few  words  that  Todd  had  spoken,  had  been  sufficient  to  convince  Sir  Richard 
Blunt  of  one  thin^,  which  was,  that  they  were  beneath  the  parlour,  and  not 
the  shop.  It  was  from  the  shop  the  people  disappeared,  so  the  heart  of  Todd's 
mystery  remained  yet  to  be  reached.  There  was  another  small  door-way  a 
little  to  the  left  of  where  he  stood,  and  Sir  Richard,  upon  the  impulse  of  the 
moment,  passed  through  it  alone.   He  came  back  again  in  a  moment. 

u  Gentlemen/'  he  whispered,  "  have  we  seen  enough  V9 

They  nodded,  and  without  another  word,  he  led  the  way  back  again  from  the 
dreary  subterranean  abode  of  murder.  It  was  only  to  the  fruiterer  he 
whispered,  after  they  had  get  some  distance  from  the  spot  upon  which  the 
dead  body  lay— 

"  I  know  all." 

"  Indeed  ?" 

"  Yes;  When  we  get  back  to  your  home,  I  will  tell  you.  Let  for  the  mean- 
time the  general  impression  be,  that  all  there  was  to  learn  consisted  of  the 
secret  of  that  square  hole  in  the  flooring  of  the  parlour/' 

"  Yes,  yes  !    But  there  is  more  ?* 

"  Much  more.  You  and  Sir  Christopher  at  present,  I  think,  are  the  only 
two  persons  I  shall  be  communicative  with.  The  whole  world  will  know  it 
all,  soon  enough,  but  long  and  old  habits  of  caution,  always  induce  me  to 
keep  my  information  as  quiet  as  I  possibly  can/' 

"  You  are  quite  right,  Sir  Richard.  Even  I  shall  feel  it  to  be  no  offence  if 
you  keep  entirely  to  yourself  what  you  have  seen." 

"  No,  no  !  I  wish  to  avail  myself  of  your  advice,  which  has  done  me  good 


420  THE  STRING  OF  PEA11LS.    , 

service  upon  more  than  one  occasion  ;  so  when  we  get  to^  your  house,  we  will 
talk  the  matter  fully  over." 

By  this  time  they  had  got  so  far  from  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Todd's  house, 
that  such  excessive  caution  in  conversing  was  no  longer  necessary,  and  the 
magistrate  pausing,  made  a  general  remark  to  all.  ; 

"  The  less  that  is  said  about  what  we  have  seen  here,  the  better  it  will  be, 
]  Let  me  beg  of  every  one  not  to  give  the  smallest  hint  to  any  one,  even  in  the  most 
1  confidential  manner,  of  the  discoveries  that  have  been  made  here-to-dav."  ! 

An  immediate  assent  was  of  course  given  to  this  proposition,  and  in  the 
course  of  five  minutes  they  were  all  in  St.  Danstan's  church.  It  was  something 
amusing  to  Sir  Richard,  at  that  moment,  to  notice  the  look  of  relief  there  was 
upon  every  countenance,  now  that  the  investigation  into  that  underground 
and  unknown  region  was  over.  Each  person  seemed  as  if  he  had  just  escaped 
from  the  toils  and  hazards  of  a  battle.  By  a  glance  at  his  watch,  Sir  Richard 
j  ascertained  that  only  one  hour  and  a  quarter  had  been  consumed  in  the  whole 
affair,  and  he  was  pleased  to  think  how  soon  again  he  should  be  personally 
superintending  the  safety  of  Johanna. 

Before,  however,  the  party  got  half  way  to  the  door  of  the  church,  they  heard 
a  vociferous  argumentation  going  on  in  that  quarter,  and  the  voice  of  the 
beadle,  who  was  well  kncwn  to  Sir  Richard,  was  heard  exclaiming — 

£  I  will  come  in.  I'm  the  beadle.  Fire  !  Fire !  I  will  come  in.  What !  keep  a 
beadle  out  of  his  own  church?  Oh!  Oh!  Oh!  Conwulsions  conwulsions!  It 
ain't  possible." 

"  Gentlemen/'  said  the  magistrate,  u  we  must  repress  our  friend  the  beadle's 
curiosity.  Let  us  all  say  '  Hush'  to  him  as  we  go  out,  and  not  another  word/' 

This  was  generally  understood,  and  they  walked  slowly  in  a  kind  of  proces- 
sion to  the  church  door. 

fi  Pitchforks  and  hatchets  !"  cried  the  beadle.    u  I  will  come  in.    Dust  to 
dust,  and  ashes  to  ashes.   Look  at  my  hat  and  coat ;  I  ain't  a  himposter,  but  a 
real  beetle  !    Bless  us,  who  is  here  ?    Why — why,  there  ain't  no  service  nor  a  ! 
wedding.    What  a  lot  of  folks.    Have  they  been  a  grabbing  of  the  Communion 
plate  ?    Oh,  murder,  conwulsions,  and  thieves  V9 

Sir  Richard  went  close  up  to  him,  and  in  the  most  mysterious  way  in  the 
world,  whispered  in  his  ear  w  Hush."   

"  Eh  ?"  said  the  beadle.  ~ 

Sir  Christopher  took  hold  of  him  by  the  collar  of  the  coat,  and  said— 
"Hush." 

"  Well,  but— but  • 

The  fruiterer  beckoned  to  him  with  great  gravity,  and  when  he  come  forward  a 
pace  or  two,  said — "  Hush." 

u  But  good  gracious  what  am  I  to  hush  about  ?    What  is  it  all— what  does 
it  mean — tell  us,  for  goodness  gracious  sake  ?  I  don't  know  anything  ;  I'm  an  j 
ass — an  idiot.    What  am  I  to  hush  about — I  shall  sit  upon  no  end  of  thorns 
and  nettles,  till  I  know. — What  is  it?* 

"  Hush!  hush!  hush!''  said  every  one  as  he  passed  the  now  nearly  distracted 
beadle,  and  finally  there  he  was  left  in  the  church  porch  with  nothing  in  ' 
the  shape  of  information,  but  hush  !  The  man  who  had  been  left  by  the  j 
magistrate  as  a  sentinel  at  the  church  door,  was  the  last  to  leave,  and  he  took  j 
his  cue  from  all  the  others  ;  and  when  the  beadle  laid  hold  of  him  crying — a  nil 
take  you  up.  I  won't  let  you  go,"  he  gently  sat  him  on  the  floor  ;  and  then 
saying  "  Hush  !"  away  he  went  likewise. 

The  large  slab  in  the  church,  that  usually  covered  up  the  passage  leading  to  ; 
the  vaults,  was  left  uncovered  ;  but  then  the  beadle  perfectly  understood  that  • 
that  was  for  the  sole  purpose  of  relieving  the  vaults,  during"  the  week,  of  the  j 
acccumulation  of  raephitic  vapours  supposed  to  be  in  them;  and  at  all  events 
no  impulse  of  curiosity  could  be  sufficiently  strong  in  him  to  induce  so  despe- 
rate a  step  as  a  descent  alone  into  those  dreary  abodes  of  the  departed ;  so  that 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  421 

he  was,  in  a  manner  of  speaking,  compelled  to  put  up  entirely  with  "  Hush  I" 
for  his  portion  of  the  mystery. 

Sir  Richard  bade  good-day  to  every  one  but  the  fruiterer  at  the  door  of  the 
II  church  ;  and  then  with  him  he  walked  to  his  shop  opposite  to  Todd's.  Crotchet 
j  was  close  at  hand,  and  he  came  into  the  shop,  at  a  signal  from  the  magistrate 
I  to  do  so. 

I      "  Is  all  right,  Crotchet  V9 

"  Right  as  a  trivet,  sir.  Lord  bless  you  about  so  much  as  a  sneeze,  but  I'll 
find  it  out ;  and  as  for  little  Miss  Tliingamybob,  he  shan't  hurt  a  hair  of  her 
pretty  little  bit  of  a  head." 

"  That's  right,  Crotchet.    Remember  that  the  bringing  to  justice,  with  atnple 
evidence  of  all  his  crimes,  of  Sweeney  Todd,  is  a  great  object;  but  it  is  an 
infinitely  greater  one  to  preserve  the  life  of  Johanna  Oakley/' 
u  I  knows  it,"  said  Crotchet. 

u  Resume  your  charge,  then;  Crotchet.   All  will  be  well,  and  this  will  be 
Todd's  last  day  out  of  Newgate." 
Crotchet  nodded,  and  made  his  exit. 

In  the  succeeding  half  hour,  it  would  seem  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  made  his 
old  acquaintance,  the  fruiterer,  thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  he  knew  of  the 
way  in  which  Todd  got  rid  of  his  victims.  What  that  way  was  will  very 
shortly  now  appear ;  and  we  think  it  hai  better  appear  in  this  regular  and 
most  authentic  narrative,  than  in  a  chance  conversation  between  Sir  Richard 
Blunt  and  his  friend. 

It  was  the  special  duty  of  one  officer  to  come  into  the  fruiterer's  shop  with  a 
report  and  a  description  of  whoever  went  into  Todd's  house,  and  now  this  man 
made  his  appearance. 

"  Well,  Jervis,*  said  the  magistrate,  "  so  Todd  has  a  customer,  has  he  V 
€t  I  don't  know,  sir.    It  is  a  woman,  well  dressed,  and  rather  tall  than  other- 


wise." 


"  Mrs.  Lovett,  without  a  doubt.  No  one  need  go  and  look  after  that  lady, 
for  I  don't  kniw  any  one,  except  you  or  I,  Jervis,  who  is  so  capable  ai 
taking  care  of  number  one.  Todd  will  find  her  a  troublesome  customer, 
and  if  she  is  at  all  the  woman  1  take  her  to  be,  she  will  not  go  into  his  back 
parlour  quite  so  easily  as  he  would  fain  persuade  her/* 

€i  Then  no  one  need  follow,  sir  V 

"No  ;  but  if  the  >oung  lad  comes  out,  you  may  just  look  in  and  ask  some 
frivolous  question  to  see  what  is  going  on.  If  the  female  is  not  in  the  shop — 
she  is  dead." 

«  Dead,  sir  !J' 

**  Yes.  She  will  not  live  a  minute  after  she  leaves  the  shop  ;  but  you  may 
depend  she  will  not]do  so  ;  she  is  to  the  full  as  well  acquainted  with  Todd  as  we 
are,  so  there  is  no  sort  of  apprehension  of  her  coming  to  any  harm.  I  should 
indeed  be  sorry  to  lose  her." 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  right  in  his  guess.  It  was  no  other  than  Mrs.  Lovett, 
who,  agreeably  to  her  appointment  with  1  odd,  called  upon  him  for  her  half  of  the 
plunder  for  the  last  few  years. 

CHAPTER  XCV. 

THE  DAY  IS  PROGRESSING,  AND  TODD's  DANGER  THICKENS. 

Before  entering  the  shop,  Mrs.  Lovett  hovered  about  it,  peeping  at  tht 
things  in  the  window,  and  glancing  about  her  as  though  she  had  some  uncom- 
fortable ideas  in  her  mind  concerning  the  place,  and  was  coquetting  with  her 
feelings  a  little  before  she  could  make  up  her  mind  to  go  into  it. 

At  length  she  laid  her  hand  upon  the  handle  of  the  door,  and  turned  it.  She 
stood  upon  the  threshold,  and  her  sharp  glance  at  once  comprehended  that 
Todd  was  not  there.  Johanna  advanced  towards  her,  and  waited  for  her  to  speak. 


422  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


"  Oh,"  she  said.    "  Is  Mr-  Todd  in  ?" 
"No,"  said  Johanna.    "  No,  madam." 

Johapna  did  not  think  it  worth  while  at  that  time  to  expose  herself  to  the 
great  danger  of  disobeying  Todd's  positive  commands,  to  say  he  was  not  at 
home,  merely  upon  a  point  of  punctilious  truth.  Mrs,  Lovett  looked  keenly 
at  her. 

"  So/'  she  said,  "  he  is  out— is  he  ?" 
"  Yes,  madam. " 

«  And  you  are  Mr.  Todd's  hoy  ?* 

The  emphasis  which  Mrs.  Lovett  placed  upon  the  word  boy,  rather  alarmed 
Johanna,  and  she  was  more  terrified  when  Mrs.  Lovett  marched  twice  round 
her,  as  though  she  were  performing  some  incantation,  glaring  at  her  all  the 
while  from  top  to  toe. 

Whatever  was  Mrs.  Lovett's  opinion  of  Johanna,  however,  she  magnani- 
mously kept  it  to  herself ;  but  the  young  girl  had  a  sort  of  perception,  that  her 
suit  had  not  escaped  the  keen  and  penetrating  eyes  of  Mrs.  Lovett.  This  con- 
viction gave  a  great  air  of  timidity  to  Johanna's  manner  in  speaking  to  the  bold 
bad  woman  who  confronted  her. 

u  And  so  he  is  out  ?"  added  Mrs.  Lovett. 

"  Yes,  madam." 

"  How  long  has  he  been  gone  ?" 

"  Only  a  short  time." 

u  Well,  my  principal  business  this  day,  is  to  see  Mr.  Todd.  I  have  made 
such  arrangements  at  home,  that  I  can  wait  here  the  whole  day  if  necessary, 
for  see  him  I  must — and  see  him  I  will ;  I  had  a  sort  of  presentiment  that  he 
might  be  out,  notwithstanding  I  have  an  appointment  with  him." 

With  this  Mrs.  Lovett  sat  down  and  composed  herself  evidently  for  a  long 
wait— she  did  not  sit  in  the  shaving-chair  though.  Johanna  thought  that  as 
she  passed  it,  she  rather  shuddered  ;  but  that  might  have  been  a  mere  fancy  upon 
the  part  of  our  young  friend. 

Mrs.  Lovett  was  not  exactly  of  the  shuddering  order  of  human  beings. 

"  Did  he  say  when  he  should  return  V 

"  No,  madam." 

All  these  questions  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  were  asked  with  a  sneering  kind  of 
incredulity,  that  was  quite  sufficient  to  show  Johanna  how  completely  she  dis- 
believed the  statement  concerning  the  absence  of  Todd.  That  she  would  wait 
until  Todd  was  perforce  obliged  to  show  himself,  Johanna  did  not  doubt. 
There  was  something  about  the  pale  face  and  compressed  lips  of  Mrs.  Lovett 
that  at  once  bespoke  such  a  determination  ;  but  should  any  scene  of  unusual 
violence  ensue,  Johanna  made  up  her  mind  to  luish  from  the  shop,  if  near  the 
door,  and  if  not  able  to  do  that,  to  cast  a  missile  through  the  window,  which 
she  knew  would  bring  her  immediate  help. 

u  How  long  have  you  been  with  Mr.  Todd  ?"  asked  Mrs.  Lovett  of  Johanna. 

"  Only  a  few  days,  madam/' 

■f  And  what  made  you  come?" 

"My  necessities,  madam.  I  was  in  want  of  a  situation,  and  Mr.  Todd 
wanted  an  errand  boy." 

"  Humph  !"  said  Mrs.  Lovett.  "This  is  very  strange/'  She  rested  her 
head  upon  her  hand  for  a  few  moments,  and  appeared  "to  be  lost  in  thought, 
and  at] times  Johanna  could  see  that  she  was  keenly  eyeing  her.  Truly,  Johanna 
had  never  felt  so  thoroughly  uncomfortable  since  she  had  been  in  Todd's  shop, 
for  she  could  not  but  feel  that  she  was  discovered. 

The  only  question  was  now  whether,  when  she  did  see  Todd,  Mrs.  Lovett 
would  think  it  worth  her  while  to  speak  of  the  affair  at  all.  The  probability, 
however,  was  that  she  was  too  much  engrossed  in  the  business  that  brought 
her  there  to  pay  more  than  a  passing  attention  to  a  mystery  which,  to  all  ap- 
pearance, could  not  in  any  way  concern  her. 

But  Todd  all  this  while  was  a  prisoner  in  his  own  parlour,  and  it  may 


■    ■  1  — — — — — —  mini  ■    ihm  i  HIIU!  li 

THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  423 

easily  be  imagined  how  he  chafed  and  fumed  over  such  a  state  of  things. 
If  any  convenient  mode  of  taking  the  life  of  Mrs*  Lovett  had  but  presented 
itself  to  him,  how  gladly  he  would  have  embraced  it ;  but  none  did ; 
and  after  enduring  the  present  state  of  affairs  for  about  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  he  coolly  opened  the  parlour  door  and  walked  into  the  shop  as  if  nothing 
were  amiss. 

Mrs.  Lovett  was  not  at  all  taken  by  surprise  at  this  proceeding.    She  merely 
rose  and  took -a  step  towards  the  door,  as  she  said,  in  a  cool  sarcastic  tone — • 
"  I  am  glad  you  have  come  home." 

if  Come  home  ?"  said  Todd,  with  a  well-acted  look  of  surprise.  i€  Come  home  ? 
What  do  you  mean,  my  dear  madam  ?  I  am  particularly  glad  to  see  you,  and  was 
particularly  desirous  to  do  so." 

"  Indeed  J" 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure.  Really,  do  you  know,  I  told  the  lad  here,  to  deny  me  to 
anybody  but  you/' 

"And  he  made  the  slight  mistake  of  denying  you  to  me  only/' 

¥  Is  it  possible  Can  such  things  be  ?  Oh,  you  careless  rascal.  Upon  my 
word,  some  employers  would  pull  you  ears — that  they  would.  I'm  ashamed  of 
you— that  I  am.  Really,  Mrs.  Lovett,  these  boys  are  always  annoying  oae  in 
some  way  or  another  ;  but  walk  in,  if  you  please — walk  in,  and  we  will  soon 
settle  our  little  affairs.5' 

"  Excuse  me,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  "  I  prefer  the  shop,  Mr.  Todd/ 

"  You  don't  say  so  }9> 

"  You  here  me  say  so,  and  you  might  know  by  this  time,  that  when  I  say 
anything — I  mean  it." 

"  Of  course,  Mrs.  Lovett,  of  course,"  said  Todd  ;  **  I  know  you  for  a  lady  of 
infinite  powers  of  mind— of  great  susceptibility — of  feeling — of  uncommon  intellect 
and  thrift.  Please  to  step  into  the  parlour,  and  I  will  settle  with  you  at  once, 
for  I  believe  you  call  for  a  small  trifle  that  you  are  entitled  to  from  me,  Mrs. 
Lovett." 

"  I  do  call  for  what  I  am  entitled  to,  and  I  will  have  it  here." 

"  Charley,  just  go  to  St.  Dunstan's,  my  lad,  and  bring  me  word  the  exact 
time ;  and  then,  you  can  do  it  all  under  one,  you  know,  just  walk  down  Fleet- 
market,  and  see  if  you  can  find  any  love-apples,  and  if  so,  you  can  ask  the  price 
of  them,  and  let  me  know." 

(<  Yes,  sir,"  said  Johanna. 

In  another  moment  she  was  gone.  Mrs.  Lovett  took  another  step  nearer  to 
the  door,  and  actually  laid  her  hand  upon  it  to  prevent  it  closing  thoroughly. 
She  did  not  think  that  she  would  be  safe  if  it  were  shut ;  and  then  addressing 
Todd,  she  said — 

"  All  disguise  between  you  and  I,  is  useless  now,  Todd.  Give  me  my  half  of 
the  money  that  has  been  earned  by  blood.  It  may  have  the  curse  of  murder 
clinging  to  it,  but  I  will  have  it — I  say  I  will  have  it." 

"  Are  you  mad  ?" 

°  Not  yot— not  yet.  But  I  shall  be,  and  then  it  will  be  time  for  you  to  beware 
of  me/' 

c( Mrs.  Lovett — Mrs.  Lovett,  is  it  not  a  melancholy  thing,  that  you  and  I, 
who  may  be  said  to  be  at  war  with  all  the  world,  should  begin  to  quarrel  with 
each  other  ?  If  we  are  not  true  to  one  another,  what  can  we  expect  from  others  ? 
Have  we  not  for  so  long  carried  on  our  snug  little  business  in  safety,  merely 
because  we  were  good  friends  ?" 

"No,  Todd,  no.  We  never  were  friends— you  know  that  as  well  as  I 
do.  It  is  a  principal  of  human  nature,  that  those  who  are  associated  together 
for  wicked  purposes  are  never  friends.  You  and  I  have  not  been  exceptions 
to  the  rule.    We  hate  each  other — we  always  did  and  will,  you  know  it." 

"Dear,  dear !"  said  Todd,  lifting  up  his  hands,  and  approaching  a  step  nearer 
to  Mrs.  Lovett.  "Tiiis  is  afflicting— this  is  truly  afflicting  to  hear  such  words 
from  you,  Mrs.  Lovett." 


424 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


11  Keep  off— keep  off,  I  say!    Another  step,  and  I  will  at  once  ^into  the 
street,  and  then  to  the  passers-by  scream  out  for  public  vengeance  upon  Todd  \ 
the  murderer  V* 

"  Hush !— hush  !  God  of  Heaven  !  woman,  what  do  you  mean  by  speaking 
of  murder  in  such  a  tone }" 

u  I  mean,  Todd,  what  I  say ;  and  what  I  threaten  I  will  do*  Keep  off- 
keep  off!  I  will  not  have  you  another  step  nearer  to  me  with  that  hang-dog 
look/ 

"  Moderate  your  tone,  woman!*  said  Todd,  as  he  stamped  upon  the  floor  ! 
of  the  shop  ;  H  moderate  your  tone,  woman,  or  you  will  destroy  yourself  and 
me." 

ri  I  care  not." 

"You  care  not? — what  do  you  mean  by  that?  Have  you  gone  mad  in 
earnest  ?  What  do  you  mean  by  you  care  not  ?  Has  the  scaffold  any  charms 
for  you  i" 

44 It  might  have  for  once,  with  you  for  a  companion  on  it,  Sweeney  Todd; 
but  if  I  am  desperate  and  reckless,  you  have  yourself  to  thank  for  it.   Well  you 
know  that,  Todd.  I  have  toiled,  and  sinned,  and  murdered,  for  what  you  have  j 
done  the  same,  for  gold ! — Gold  was  the  God  of  my  idolatry,  and  it  was  yours.  j 
We  both  seized  the  same  idea.    We  bath  saw  how  gold  alone  was  worshipped 
|  in  the  land.    We  saw  how  Heaven  was  affected  to  be  worshipped  by  all ;  but 
!  we  found  out  that  gold  was  the  real  divinity.    We  saw  that  it  was  for  the  lucre 
I  of  gain  that  the  priest  clothed  himself  in  the  garments  of  his  pretended  ministry, 
|  and  spake  his  mock  prayers  to  the  people.    We  saw  that  it  was  for  gold  only 
|  that  the  rulers  of  the  land  struggled  and  fought.    We  found  that  the  love  and 
the  worship  of  gold  was  the  true  religion  of  all ;  and  we  sought  to  possess  our-  I 
selves  of  the  idol." 

"  Mad  !— mad  !"  cried  Todd. 
I      11  No,  I  speak  sanely  enough  now.    I  say,  we  found  out  that  by  the  pos-  \ 
\    session  of  gold  in  christian,  canting,  religious,  virtuous  England,  we  should  find  j 
many  worshippers.     We  found  out  that  thousands  upon  thousands  would 
bend  the  knee  to  us  on  that  account,  and  on  that  account  only.    If  we  were 
par  agons  of  virtue,  we  might  ro:  and  starve  ;  but  if  we  were  monsters  of  vice,  i 
if  we  had  but  gold,  and  kept  but  by  the  side  of  the  law,  we  should  be  kings  — 
;  emperors  upon  the  earth/' 

'.'Bah!  bah!  bah!"  crielTodd. 

"Well,  we  took  a  royal  road  to  our  object.    We  murdered  for  it,  Todd. 
You  dipped  your  hands  in  gore,  and  I  helped  you.    Yes,  I  do  not  deny  that  I 
|  helped  you." 

u  Peace,  woman  \u 

"  I  will  not  hold  my  peace.   The  time  has  come  for  you  to  hear  me,  and  I  i 
j  will  make  you  do  so.    1  will  speak  trumpet-tongued,  and  if  you  like  not  that 
j  word  murder,  I  will  shriek  it  in  your  ears.    If  you  like  not  the  word  blood,  I 
!  will  on  the  house-tops  proclaim  and  teU  the  people  that  it  is  synonymous  with 
I  Todd.    Ha!  ha!    You  shrink  now." 


CHAPTER  XCVL 

THE  BOAT  ON  THE  RIVER* 

Todd  did  shrink  aghast*  This  wild  vehemence  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  was  some- 
thing that  he  did  not  expect.  Every  word  that  she  uttered  filled  him  with 
alarm.  He  began  really  to  think  that  she  had  gone  mad,  and  that  he  might 
have  everything  to  dread  from  her  wrild  vehemence,  and  that  probably  he  had 
gone  too  far  in  cheating  her  out  of  the  result  of  her  labours. 

"  Peace/1  he  said.    **  Peace,  and  you  shall  be  satisfied." 

4C I  will  be  satisfied." 


THE  STRING  OJF  PEA.KLS.  425 


"Well,  well,  of  course  you  shall.  But  you  cannot  be  if  you  destroy  both 
yourself  and  me,  which  your  present  conduct  threatens/' 

•'  I  tell  you  I  joined  with  you  in  murder  for  the  love  of  gold,  and  I  will  have 
my  recompense.  Give  me  that  which  is  mine  own.  I  will  have  it,  or  I  will 
drag  you  with  me  to  the  halter.  Do  you  understand  thaf,  Sweeney  Todd  ?  I 
ask  you,  do  you  understand  that  ?" 


TODD  DESTROYS  MRS.  LOYJSTT's  FURNITURE. 


<c  It  is  plain  enough/'  said  Todd. 

6(  Then  give  me  my  gold— gold  for  blood.    Give  it  to  me,  and  let  me  go." 

(i  You  are  rtally  so  precipitate.  Upon  my  word,  Mrs.  LoveLt,  you  are  q  site 
an  altered  woman,  that  you  are.  I  certainly  never  did  expect  to  bear  such 
language  from  you.  Any  one  would  think  that  you  had  an  idea  I  meant  to 
cheat  you." 

—    ■  i  .       ■mi.    ii  ii      i.      ■    i   mmwm~m*m   -M-  ,  —  —   "    '   ■■■   "         ■-  " 

 i,  .1  i  i  .—i  ....  ,     r  - -ii  inn    i  j       .t    ■  i  t        ii  -  ■   ■■  '  '  "'   i"^— m 


No.  54, 


426     *  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


Mrs.  Lovett  made  an  impatient  gesture,  but  Todd  continued— 
?  Now,  anything  more  repugnant  to  my  feelings  than  that  could  not  possibly 
be,  I  assure  you;  and  I  consider  you  fully  entitled  to  £22,000  8s.  3d.,  which 
is  precisely  your  half  of  the  proceeds  of  the  little  business." 
"  Give  me  the  money." 

"  Now,  ao  you  suppose,  Mrs.  Lovett,  that  I  am  so  green  as  to  keep  here  in 
the  house  no  less  a  sum  than  .£22,000  8s.  3d.  ?  You  really  must  think  I  have 
taken  leave  of  my  senses,  to  dream  for  one  moment  of  such  a  thing." 

4 '  Where  is  it,  then  ?— where  is  it  ?    I  see  you  are  bent  upon  driving  me  mad." 
"  Why,  really,  Mrs.  L.,  it  would  be  insulting  you  to  say  that  you  were  per- 
fectly in  your  right  senses  at  this  moment ;  but  come,  sit  down,  and  we  will  see 
what  can  be  done.    Sit  down,  and  compose  yourself." 
*'  In  the  shaving  chair  V* 

"  Ha— ha,  that's  a  good  joke.    In  the  shaving  chair !    Ha— ha  !    No  Mrs. 
L.,  I  don't  exactly  wan't  to  polish  you  off.    Sit  down  where  you  like,  but 
not  m  the  shaving  chair,  if  you  don't  fancy  it,  Mrs.  L.    Pray  sit  down." 
"  For  you  to  cut  my  throat  ?" 
"  What  ?" 

"  I  say,  for  you  to  cut  my  thraot  ?  Do  you  think  I  am  not  sharp  sighted 
enough  to  see  that  razor  partially  hidden  in  your  sleeve?  No,  Todd,  I  am 
well  aware  that  you  are  panting  to  murder  me.  I  tell  you  I  know  it,  and 
it  is  useless  your  making  the  faintest  attempt  to  conceal  it.  The  fact  is 
broad  and  evident ;  but  I  am  upon  my  guard,  and  I  am  armed  likewise,  Todd." 
"Armed  ?" 

"Yes,  Todd,  I  am  armed,  and  you  are  terrified  at  the  idea,  as  I  knew  you 
would  be.  Nothing  to  you  is  so  horrible  as  death.  You  who  have  sent  so  many 
from  the  world,  will  yourself  go  from  it  howling  with  fright.  I  am  armed,  but 
I  do  not  mean  to  tell  you  how." 

*'  You  are  wrong,  Mrs.  Lovett.  What  on  earth  would  be  the  use  of  my  taking 
your  life  r 

"You  would  have  all  then." 

"  All  ?  What  do  I  want  with  all  ?  I  am  not  a  young  man  now,  and  all  I 
wish  is  the  means  of  enjoyment  for  the  remainder  of  mv  days.  That  I  can 
well  command  with  a  less  sum  than  my  half  of  that  which  we  have  to  divide 
will  come  to.  1  have  no  one  that  I  care  to  leave  a  sixpence  to,  and  therefore 
what  need  I  trouble  myself  to  hoard?  You  are  quite  mistaken,  Mrs.  Lovett." 
"  Give  me  my  money  then.'' 

"  I  will,  of  course ;  but  I  tell  you  it  is  at  the  banker's,  Messrs.  Grunt,  Mack, 
Stickinton,  and  Fubbs.  Yes,  that  is  the  name  of  the  highly  respectable  firm  in 
whose  hands  for  the  present  both  my  money  and  yours  is  deposited  ;  and  from 
the  high  character  of  the  honse,  I  should  say  it  could  not  possibly  be  in  safer 
hands." 

"  My  share  will  be  quite  safe  with  me,  or  if  unsafe,  you  need  not  care.  I  will 
have  it." 

"  Step  into  the  parlour,  and  I  will  write  you  an  order  for  your  half,  and  you 
can  get  it  in  half  an  hour." 

"  No  Todd.  You  will  make  the  attempt  to  murder  me  if  I  step  into  the 
parlour.  1  will  not  even  come  further  into  your  shop,  than  here  upon  the 
threshold  of  it,  with  the  door  in  my  hand.  Why  do  you  keep  a  razor  concealed 
in  your  sleeve  V 

"  Oh— I — It's  a  little  habit  of  mine  ;  but  allow  me  to  assure  you  how  verv 
incorect  your  suspisions  are,  Mrs.  Lovett;  and  if  you  will  not  come  in,  I  will 
write  the  order,  and  bring  it  to  you ;  or  what  do  you  say  to  my  going  with  you 
to  the  bankers,  where  you  can  yourself  ask  what  is  the  amount  of  the  sum 
standing  in  my  name  there ;  and  when  you  have  ascertained  it,  you  can  have 
half  of  it  to  a  sixpence." 

"  Come,  then.  I  confess,  Todd,  I  am  sufficiently  suspicious  of  you,  that  I 
would  rather  not  lose  sight  of  you." 


I 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  427 


i€  Dear  me,  how  dreadful  it  is  for  friends  to  be  in  such  a  state  of  feeling 
towards  each  other,  to  be  sure.  But  the  time  will  come,  Mrs.  Lovett,  when 
you  will  see  my  conduct  in  a  different  light,  and  you  will  smile  at  the  suspicion 
which  you  say  you  now  entertain,  but  which  sometimes  I  cannot  help  thinking 
are  not  the  genuine  sentiments  of  your  heart." 

u  Come — come,  at  once/' 

M  I  must  wait  for  the  boy  ;  I  cannot  leave  the  shop  until  the  boy  is  here  to 
mind  it  in  my  absence. — Oh,  here  he  is." 

At  this  moment,  Johanna,  who  had  not  troubled  herself  to  go  to  the  market  at 
all,  came  back. 

"  Well,  wbat  is  the  exact  time/'  said  Todd,  "  by  St.  Dunstan's:" 
u  A  quarter-past  eleven,  sir.*' 

"  How  very  satisfactory.  I  am  only  going  a  little  way  with  this  lady,  and 
will  soon  be  back-  You  can  keep  up  the  fire,  Charley,  and  in  that  corner  you 
will  find  some  religious  tracts,  which  will  I  hope  improve  your  mind.  Above 
all  things,  my  lad,  never  neglect  your  religious  exercises.  I  hope  you  said  your 
prayers  last  night,  Charley  ?" 

"T  did,  sir,"  said  Johanna,  and  she  said  it  with  a  look  that  added  the  query, 
u  did  you  say  your's  V9 

Todd  hesitated  a  moment,  as  though  something  were  passing  through  his  mind 
respecting  Johanna,  and  then  he  muttered  to  himself— 

f  There  is  time  enough,  yet." 

No  doubt  he  had  begun  to  entertain  serious  suspicions  of  Master  Charley, 
and  in  those  few  words  was  alluding  to  his  intention  of  taking  his  life  before  the 
coming  night. 

"  Now,  my  dear  Mrs,  Lovett,*  said  Todd,  as  he  put  on  his  hat,  and  pressed  it 
down  unusually  over  his  brows,  ul  am  ready.1' 
u  And  I,"  she  said. 

Todd  only  glanced  round  the  shop,  to  be  certain  that  he  had  left  everything 
as  he  wished  it.  and  he  tried  the  parlour  door.  Then  he  at  once  stalked  into 
Fleet  Street,  followed  by  Mrs.  Lovett. 

'i  It  will  look  better  for  you  to  take  my  arm/'  he  said. 

"  I  don't  care  how  it  looks,"  she  replied.    "  All  I  want  -  is  my  money.  Do 
not  touch  me,  or  you  will  see  good  cause  shortly  to  me  having  done  so.    Go  on 
and  I  will  follow*  you  ;  but  if  you  attempt  to  escape  me,  1  will  raise  the  street 
in  pursuit  of  you,  by  screaming  out  that  you  are  Todd  the  mur 
"  Hush — hush,  woman.    Do  you  know  where  you  are  ?" 


"  Yes,  in  the  street,  but  I  do  not  care.  Ail  I  want  is  my  money,  and  I  will 
have  it." 

"Curses  on  you  and  your  money  too,"  muttered  Todd,  as  he  crossed  Fleet 
Street,  and  turned  up  Bridge  Street  at  a  rapid  pace.  He  passed  all  the  turnings 
leading  to  the  city,  and  kept  on  his  way  towards  the  bridge. 

Mrs.  Lovett  followed  him  closely. 

" Stop !"  she  said.  "Stop!" 

Todd  stopped  and  turned  about.  He  was  mortally  afraid  that  she  would 
carry  out  some  of  her  threats  if  he  exhibited  anything  of  a  restive  spirit  towards 
her. 

"  Whither  are  you  going  ?"  she  said.    "  This  is  not  the  way  to  the  City." 
"  It  is  bv  the  Thames." 
"  By  the'  Thames  ?" 

"Yes,  1  go  by  water  ;  I  do  not  wish  to  run  the  risk  of  meeting  all  sorts  of 
people  in  the  streets.  I  have  not  communicated  to  you  that  we  are  in  great 
cJaager,  but  it  is  a  fact.    I  do  not  now  think  that  I  shall  get  fairly  off,  but  you 

ill,  if  I  am  not  interfered  with  before  you  get  your  money.  By  taking  a 
boat  at  the  stairs  here  by  Blackfriars  Bridge,  we  can  be  landed  at  a  spot 
within  about  twenty  yards  of  the  banking-house,  which  will  be  by  far  the  safer 
route." 

Mrs,  Lovett  did  not  much  fancy  the  river   excursion ;]  but  she  con- 


1 


428 


sidered  that  after  all  there  would  be  a  waterman  in  the  boat,  and  that  the  river 

at  that  time  of  the  day  was  populous,  so  she  thought  that  Todd  dared  not 

attempt  anything. 

€i  Very  well,"  she  said  ;  "  so  that  we  are  quick,  I  care  not.55 

"  I  am  to  the  full/'  said  Todd,  ^  as  anxious  as  you  can  be  to  get  the  job 

settled." 

Mrs.  Lovett  thought  that  there  was  something  ominous  in  the  way  in  which 
he  pronounced  the  word  " job;"  but  then  she  thought  perhaps  she  was  too 
critical,  and  she  followed  him  to  the  stairs  by  the  side  of  the  old  bridge, 
certainly  not  without  suspicions,  but  they  were  only  general  ones.  The 
idea  struck  her,  however,  that  she  should  be  safer  with  two  watermen,  and  she 
said — 

"  We  will  have  two  men,  and  by  so  doing  we  shall  go  quicker  down  the 
stream/3 

"  So  we  shall,"  said  Todd  ;  "  it  is  a  good  idea.  Hilloa!  first  oars,  here — first 
oars !" 

"  Here  you  are,  sir,"  said  a  waterman. 
(i  "We  want  a  couple  of  you/  said  Todd. 

u  Yes,  your  honour.  Here  we  are — me  and  my  mate.  All's  right,  your 
honour.  Now,  Bill,  look  alive. — Mind  the  step,  ma'am.  That's  yer  sort. 
Where  to,  vour  honour  ?" 

"To  Pigs  Quay." 

"Ay,  ay.  Give  way,  Bill,  give  way.  A  nice  day  for  the  water,  your  honour; 
a  fine  fresh  air,  nd  not  too  much  of  it.    Easy,  Bill." 

"  Very,"  said  Todd,  as  he  took  his  place  beside  Mrs.  Lovett  in  the  stern 
of  the  boat,  which  in  a  moment,  propelled  by  the  vigorous  strokes  of  the  two 
rowers,  shot  out  into  the  middle  of  the  stream.  He  whispered  to  Mrs.  Lovett — 
u  Now,  how  delightful  it  would  be  if  you'and  I,  with  all  our  money,  were  going 
from  England  to-day !" 

"  No." 

"No?    Why,  I  cannot  concieve  anything  more  pleasant.    Ha  !  ha  !" 

Both  Todd  and  Mrs.  Lovett  were  so  much  occupied  in  watching  each  other, 
that  they  did  not  perceive  another  boat  push  off  from  the  same  stairs  at  which 
they  had  embarked  with  two  men  in  it,  and  which  kept  in  their  wake  pretty 
closely.  The  two  watermen  of  Todd's  boat,  however,  saw  it,  and  they  looked 
at  each  other,  but  they  said  nothing*  They  went  upon  the  wise  plan,  that  it 
was  no  business  of  theirs  ;  and  so  they  palled  away,  while  Todd  glanced  uneasily 
into  the  pale  face  of  Mrs.  Lovett. 

To  say  that  Mrs.  Lovett  kept  an  eye  upon  Todd,  would  be  but  faintly  to 
express  the  feline-like  watchfulness  with  which  she  regarded  him,  as  they  sat 
together  in  the  boat.  There  was  not  the  slightest  movement  of  his  eye — the 
least  twitch  of  a  muscle  of  his  face,  that  she  did  not  observe,  and  strive  to 
draw  some  conclusion  from  ;  and  he  felt  that  his  very  soul  was  being  looked 
into  by  that  bold  woman,  who  had  been  the  companion  of  his  iniquity,  and 
whom  he  was  now  plotting  and  planning,  by  some  mad  desperate  means,  to  deprive 
of  her  share  of  that  ill-gotten  wealth,  which  never  in  this  world,  even  if  ten 
times  the  amount,  could  make  either  of  them  happy. 


CHAPTER  XCVII. 

THE  ATTEMPTED  MURDER  ON  THE  THAMES. 

The  boat  that  followed  Todd  did  not,  after  a  time,  keep  quite  in  the 
wake  of  the  one  containing  him  and  Mrs.  Lovett.  It  rather  went  on  a  line 
parallel  to  it,  but  it  kept  at  a  convenient  distance;  and  there  were  those  in  that 
beat,  who  never  took  an  eye  off  Todd  and  his  female  accomplice. 


si 

II 


" 11    "  ■»         n      i    -    mn  i     i       i  i    ii  1 1 1  ■          ■  ii  i  ii      ii      i  I 


••'ftjw  ^gU'lJl^tllU*!*'*.' '  ILW  I '  U'UIMO  »!$  ■  im*mm  1*I,.JU  *>  m,»m  m  mmmmmmmmmmw  *  i  m  "«^»PiM»^«««-.l»mw»'i  i^m^h.  ■■  y*"'-*?*'  '  «n*mn  n  .■■■iiii.nnuii.mimw 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  42 'J 

1 1       

It  must  not  be  for  one  moment  supposed  that  Mrs.  Lovett  was  quite  deceived 
by  Todd's  representations  concerning  the  money ;  but  then  it  must  be  con- 
sidered that,  with  all  her  cunning,  that  lady  was  in  a  very  difficult  position 
indeed — one  that  it  was  impossible  to  change  for  the  better. 

If  she  had  boldly  told  Todd  that  she  doubted— nay,  that  she  absolutely  dis- 
believed all  that  he  said  about  the  money  being  lodg'ed  with  a  firm  in  the  city, 
she  gained  nothing,  but  simply  pkced  herself  in  a  position  that  forced  upon  her 
some  violent  action.  . 

What  that  action  could  be  would  have  been  Mrs.  Lovett's  great  difficulty.  Of 
course  she  would  have  had  no  trouble  in  the  world  in  going  at  onde  to  a  police- 
office,  and  denouncing  Todd.  That,  to  be  sure,  would  have  been  a  great 
revenge  ;  but  then,  in  the  midst  of  all  her  anger,  she  did  not  forget  that  by  so 
doing  she  had  to  criminate  herself,  and  from  that  moment  put  an  end  to  all  her 
dreams  of  revelling  in  some  foreign  land  upon  the  produce  of  her  crimes. 

Situated,  then,  as  she  was,  Mrs.  Lovett  felt  that  she  had  no  sort  of  resource 
but  to  follow  Todd  up,  as  it  were — to  keep  close  to  him,  and  partly  to  worry 
him,  and  partly  to  shame  him  into  doing  her  justice.  Well  she  knew  that  he 
was  upon  the  point  of  fleeing  from  the  scene  of  his  iniquities ;  and  well  she  knew 
what  a  hindrance  it  would  be  to  his  arrangements  to  have  her  at  his  elbow  con- 
tinually. 

And  so  she  thought  that  he  would  see  it  was  better  to  pay  her,  and  be  rid  of 
her,  and  so  every  one  would  have  thought ;  but  Todd's  nature  was  of  that  mad 
implacable  character,  that  anything  in  the  shape  of  opposition  only  made  a  wish 
a  passion. 

"  I  will  not  pay  her,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  H  if  my  refusal  so  to  do  brings 
us  both  to  the  gallows  !" 

If  Mrs.  Lovett  could  have  dived  sufficiently  deep  into  Todd's  mind  to  be 
aware  of  this  sentiment,  she  might  have  changed  her  tactics  ;  but  who  could 
have  thought  it?  Who  could  have  supposed  that  any  passion  but  self-preserva- 
tion could  master  all  others  in  his  mind  ? 

The  two  boats  sped  on  towards  London  Bridge — not  the  elegant  structure 
that  now  spans  the  Thames,  but  the  previous  one,  with  its  narrow  arches,  and 
its  dangerous  fall  of  water  when  the  tide  was  ebbing,  which  was  the  case  upon 
this  occasion. 

The  watermen  looked  uneasily  at  the  arch  through  which  it  would  be 
necessary  to  go,  and  where  the  tide  was  raging  with  unexampled  fury,  and 
lashing  the  sides  of  the  arch  like  a  m  lUstream,  bearing  upon  its  surface  millions 
of  bubbles,  and  making  such  a  seething  roaring  sound,  that  it  was  a  point  of 
attraction  to  some  idle  chance  passengers  upon  the  bridge  to  watch  any  adventur- 
ous wherry  as  it  shot  through  the  dangerous  passage. 
<c  A  rough  tide,  Bill,"  growled  one  of  the  watermen. 

"  Ay/'  said  the  other.    "Do  you  want  to  go  through  the  bridge,  master  ?" 
Todd  smiled  grimly  as  he  replied  by  asking  a  question. 
"  Is  it  dangerous  ?" 

"Why,  you  see,  master,  it  maybe  or  it  may  not.    But  we  are  not  the  sort  to 
say  no,  if  alare  says  as  he  wants  to  go  through  the  bridge*    To  be  sure  there  be 
times  when  there  is  a  squall  upon  the  river,  and  then  any  man  may  say  no." 
"  But  that  is  not  now,"  said  Todd. 

"No,  master,  that  is  not  now,  so  if  you  must  go  through  the  bridge,  only  say 
so,  and  through  we  go.    We  have  been  lots  o  'times  when  it's  as  bad,  ay,  and 
I  perhaps  a  trifle  waser  than  it  is  now.    Haven't  we,  Bill  ?" 
«  Ay,  ay." 

"  If,"  said  Todd,  u  the  lady  has  no  particular  objection." 
<c  Can  we  not  land  upon  this  side  of  the  bridge  ?"  said  Mrs.  Lovett. 
"In  course,  ma'am,"  said  one  of  the  boatmen.  "In  course,  ma'am." 
''But/'  added  Todd  hastily,  "  we  must,  then,  until  to-morrow,  abandon  the 
business  upon  which  we  came,  as  landing  upon  this  side  of  the  bridge  will  not 
suit  me  by  any  means." 


430  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Pass  through,"  cried  Mrs.  Lovett  sternly,.    "  I  for  one  will  not  abandon 
the  business  upon  which  I  came,  except  with  my  life.    It  is  more  than  life  to  me, 
j   and  I  will  go  upon  it,  let  it  lead  me  where  it  may." 

"And  I,"  said  Todd,  in  a  voice  of  great  indifference,  11 1,  too,  am  of  precisely 
that  opinion.  So  through  the  bridge  me  must  go  at  any  risk,  if  you,  my  men, 
will  take  us." 

Pull  away,  Bill/*  was  the  only  reply  of  the  waterman.  "Pull  away,  Bill, 
nd  keep  her  steady.  On  we  go." 
By  this  time  a  curious  throng  of  persons  had  assembled  on  the  bridge  to 
watch  the  wherry,  for  previous  to  its  approach  two  others  had  declined  the 
dangerous  passage  of  the  arch,  and  had  landed  their  passengers  at  a  small  stairs 
some  distance  from  the  strong  eddying  current  that  leaped  and  bubbled  through 
the  arch.  It  was  therefore  something  of  a  treat  for  the  crowd  to  see  their  boat 
make  for  the  dreaded  spot,  an  evident  determination  on  the  part  of  the  rowers 
to  shoot  through  the  arch  of  the  bridge  if  it  were  possible  so  to  do. 

No  one  spoke  on  board  the  boat.  The  watermen  pulled  very  steady  into  the 
current,  keeping  over  their  shoulders  a  wary  eye  upon  the  head  of  the  boat. 
Todd's  eyes  gleamed  like  two  coals  of  fire,  and  Mrs.  Lovett  was  as  pale  as  death 
itself.     "  - 

Perhaps  at  that  moment  she  reflected  that  she  had  trusted  herself  with  all  her 
sins  on  board  that  little  boat  amid  the  wild  rush  of  waters  ;  but  if  she  did,  she 
said  nothing.  Neither  by  word  nor  by  action  did  she  give  indication  of  the  fear 
that  was  tugging  at  her  heart. 

And  now  the  little  wherry  was  floating  in  the  boiling  surge  that  flew  towards 
the  arch,  and  made  when  it  got  there  such  a  battle  to  get  through.  There  was 
no  occasion  for  pulling.  The  only  gog/i  they  could  now  do  with  their  oars  was 
to  steady  the  little  craft,  and  so  far  as  was  possible  to  keep  her  head  to  the  current. 

That  this  was  done  by  the  two  watermen  with  admirable  and  practised  skill, 
every  one  who  watched  the  progress  of  the  party  from  the  bridge  or  elsewhere 
could  perceive  ;  and  now  the  critical  moment  was  at  hand,  and  the  boat  being 
caught  like  a  reed,  was  swept  under  the  bridge  by  the  rapid  current. 
u  Easy,  Bill/'  cried  one  of  the  men. 
u  Easy  it  is,"  said  the  other. 

'?  You  will  upset  us,  my  dear  madam/'  said  Todd,  "  if  you  move  and  then, 
while  the  two  men  were  fully  engaged  with  the  boat,  and  by  far  too  much 
occupied  with  the  necessary  movements  for  the  preservation  of  themselves  and 
their  little  craft,  Todd,  with  one  blow  upon  the  head,  struck  Mrs.  Lovett  over- 
board. 

She  uttered  a  piercing  shriek. 
"  What's  that  ? — what's  that  V  cried  the  boatmen. 

The  boat  scraped  against  the  side  of  the  arch  for  a  moment,  and  then  shot 
through  it  wth  a  terrific  bound  into  the  comparatively  still  water  on  the  other 
side  of  the  bridge. 

"  Im  afraid/  said  Todd,  "  that  the  ladv  has  fallen  overboard." 
u  Afraid  !*  cried  one  of  the  watermen.    "  Why,  good  God  !  don't  you  see  she 
has;  and  there  she  goes,  along  with  the  stream.    Pull  away.  Bill;  don't  you 
see  her  ?    There  she  £oes  I" 
"  Alas,  poor  thing  V9  said  Todd. 

He  affected  to  be  overcome  by  his  feelings,  and  to  be  compelled  to  rest  his 
head  upon  his  hands,  while  he  kept  his  hot-looking  blood-shot  eyes  fixed  upon 
the  form  of  Mrs.  Lovett  in  the  water. 

And  now  a  scene  ensued  of  deep  interest  to  Todd — a  scene  which  he  watched 
with  the  greatest  attention.  It  was  a  scene  upon  the  issue  of  which  he  felt  that 
his  life  depended. 

If  Mrs.  Lovett  wer?.  saved,  his  life  would  not  be  worth  an  hour's  purchase. 
If  she  were  drowned,  he  was,  so  he  fancied,  a  free  man  ;  and  he. saw  that  from 
the  shore  several  boats  put  off  after  her,  while  the  two  men  in  his  wherry  pulled 
as  though  their  lives  depended  upon  hers. 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  431 

r  ■    1  ---    _  "        ""  '  1  ...     —    ,,..„  —    -  _  _  .        ,i        -        ._  1  ■  i-   . — '          -  ■  ■   —  r 

Todd  could  have  struck  them  for  the  exertions  that  they  were  making,  but 
he  dared  not  even  speak  one  deprecating  word  to  make  them  pause.  He  was 
condemned  only  to  watch  what  was  going  on;  and  truly  a  most  interesting- 
scene  it  was. 

Mrs.  Lovett  had  on  a  large  cloak,  and  it  was  by  the  aid  of  that,  as  well  as  by 
the  strength  of  the  current,  that  she  floated  so  long  as  to  make  it  quite  remark- 
able, and  to  induce  the  opinion  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  spectators  that  she 
was  swimming. 

Suddenly,  just  as  a  boat  that  had  put  off  from  the  stairs  by  the  Custom  House 
reached  her,  down  she  went. 
"  Gone  !"  said  Todd. 

"Yes,  she's  gone/'  said  one  of  the  watermen.    "She's  gone,  poor  thing, 
whoever  she  was,  and  no  one  will  get  her  now." 
"  Are  you  sure  of  that  ?" 

"  Ah,  master,  as  sure  as  may  be ;  but  you  are  a  witness  that  it  was  no  fault 
of  ours,  master." 

"  Certainly/'  said  Todd,  "  The  fact  if,  that  she  got  alarmed  the  moment  the 
boat  shot  under  the  arch,  and  rose  up.  I  tried  to  catch  her,  but  she  toppled 
over  into  the  water." 

u  Natural  enough,  sir.  If  she  did  get  up,  over  she  was  sure  to  go.  Did  you 
hear  what  a  shriek  she  gave,  Bill?  My  eye,  if  I  don't  dream  of  that,  I'm  a 
Dutchman!  I  fancy  it  is  ringing  in  my  ears.  Yet  I  have  heard  a  few  odd 
sounds  on  the  river  in  my  time,  but  that  was  the  very  worst." 

"  And  she  is  gone,"  said  Todd.  "  Why  does  that  boat  linger  there  upon  the 
spot  where  she  went  down  ?  Stay— stay,  I  cannot  see  if  you  pull  into  shore  so 
quick.    Now  that  barge  is  between  me  and  the  boat." 

"  There's  nothing  to  see  now,  sir," 

"Well— well.  That  will  do— that  will  do.  Poor  creature  !  Viewing  it  in 
one  way,  my  friends,  it's  a  happy  release,  for  she  was  a  little  touched  in  her 
intellect,  poor  thing ;  but  it's  dreadful  to  lose  one  to  whom  you  are  much 
attached;  notwithstanding,  I  shall  shed  many  a  tear  over  her  loss,  and  of  the 
two  I  had  really  much  rather  it  had  been  myself.  Alas !  alas !  you  see  how 
deeply  affected  I  am !" 

"It's  no  use  grieving,  sir." 

"  Not  a  whit — not  a  whit.  I  know  that,  but  I  can't  help  it.  Take  that  and 
divide  it  between  you.  I  give  it  to  you  as  a  kind  of  assurance  that  it  is  not  your 
fault  the  poor  thing  fell  overboard." 

"  Thank  your  honour,"  said  the  man  in  whose  huge  palm  Todd  had  placed 
a  guinea.  "  We  may  be  asked  who  you  are  possibly,  sir,  if  the  body  should 
be  found." 

"Oh,  certainly— certainly,3'  said  Todd,  "that  is  well  thought  of.  I  am  the 
Rev.  Silas  Mugginthorpe,  preacher  at  the  new  chapel  in  Little  Britain.  Will 
you  remember 

"  Oh,  yes  sir.    Alls  right/' 

Todd  ascended  the  slippery  steps  of  the  little  landing-place  with  an  awfully 
demoniac  chuckle  upon  his  face,  and  when  he  reached  the  top  of  them  he  struck 
his  breast  with  his  clenched  hand,  as  he  said  in  a  voice  of  fierce  glee — 

" 'Tis  done — 'tis  done.  Ha,  ha,  ha!  'Tis  done.  Why,  Mrs.  Lovett,  you 
have  surely  been  singularly  indiscreet  to-day.  Ha,  ha !  Food  for  fishes,  if 
fishes  can  live  in  the  Thames.  Ha,  ha  !  Farewell,  Mrs.  Lovett,  a  long  farewell 
to  you  ?  So — so  you  thought,  did  you,  to  get  the  better  of  Sweeney  Todd  ?  To 
stick  to  him  like  a  bear  until  he  should  be  compelled  to,  what  you  called,  settle 
with  you?    Well,  he  has  settled  with  you — he  has  !    Ha,  ha  ! ?> 

Thus  in  wild  ferocious  glee  did  Todd  walk  through  the  city  back  to  his  own 
house  after  perpetrating  this  the  worst  murder,  if  there  can  be  at  all  degrees  in 
murder,  that  he  had  ever  done.  People  got  out  of  his  way  as  they  heard  his 
wild  demoniac  laugh,  and  many,  after  one  glance  at  his  awful  face,  crossed  over 
to  the  other  side  of  the  street  with  precipitation. 


"  Good- day,  Mrs.  Lovett/'  he  kept  muttering.  "  A  charming  day,  Mrs. 
Lovett,  and  charmingly  you  look  to-day,  only  a  little  swelled  and  bloated  with 
the  water.  You  wish  me  to  settle  with  you  ?  Oh,  of  course,  I  will  settle  with 
you  before  we  part.    Ha,  ha!" 

Todd  had  never  been  so  thoroughly  pleased  in  all  his  life.  More  than  once 
he  stopped  in  the  street  to  laugh,  and  twice  on  his  route  he  called  at  noted 
hostels  in  the  city  to  refresh  himself  with  a  glass  of  something  strong  and  hot 
He  fancied  that  he  wore  upon  his  countenance  quite  an  amiable  aspect,  and  if 
one  can  fancy  the  devil  himself  looking  sentimental,  or  an  ogre  looking  reli- 
gious and  humane,  we  may  have  some  sort  of  mixed  idea  of  how  Todd  looked 
whenhe  was  amiable. 

In  this  blissful  condition  he  reached  Fleet  Street,  and  just  as  he  crossed  the 
way  from  Ludgate  Hill  to  the  top  of  Fleet  Market  he  was  accosted  by  a  miser- 
able-looking woman  in  widow's  weeds,  with  a  girl  in  one  hand  and  a  boy  in  the 
other.  They  were  begging,  that  was  evident,  for  each  of  the  children,  and 
genteel  pleasant-looking  children  they  were,  although  now  dejected  by  destitu- 
tion, had  upon  its  breast  a  little  written  paper  with  the  one  word,  "  Want" 
upon  it.  That  word  ought  to  have  been  sufficient  to  unlock  the  hearts  of  the 
passers  by,  and  yet  how  the  crowd  hurried  on  ! 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Todd/'  said  the  woman,  '*  can  you  spare  a  trifle  for  the  little 
ones  ?" 

"Who  are  you,"  he  said,  "that  you  address  me  by  my  name,  woman  ?" 

"  My  name  is  Cummins,  sir.  Dont  you  recollect  how  my  poor  husband, 
John  Cummins,  went  out  one  day  about  a  month  ago,  to  carry  the  watch-cases 
he  had  to  polish  to  his  employers,  saying  that  he  would  call  at  your  shop  and 
be  shaved  before  he  went  into  the  city,  and  did'nt  call,  sir,  as  you  kindly  told 
me,  but  has  never  been  heard,  of  since  ?  The  city  people  will  have  it  that  he  ran 
away;  but  ah,  sir,  I  know  him  better.  Would  he  run  away  from  me  and  from 
those  that  he  loved  so  well  ?    Oh,  no — no — no,  I  know  John  better/' 


CHAPTER  XC VIII. 

JOHANNA  HAS  A  VISITOR  WHILE  TODD  IS  GONE  UPON  THE  RIVER. 

"  Well  ?"  said  Todd. 

"Well,  sir,  I  was  thinking  tint— that  you  might  spare  a  trifle  for  the 
children,  sir.  They  are  starving — do  you  hear,  Mr.  Todd /  —  they  are  starving, 
and  have  no  father  now." 

"  What  was  the  value  of  the  watch-cases  your  husband  had  with  him,  Mrs. 
Cummins,  when  he  disappeared  ?" 

"About  a  hundred  pounds,  sir,  they  tell  me.  But  don't  you  believe,  sir,  for 
one  moment  that  John  deserted  me  and  these— ah  no,  sir.55 

"You  really  th'nk  so  V* 
1  am  sure  of  it,  sir,  quite — quite  sure  of  it.    He  loved  me,  sir,  and  these— 
he  did  indeed,  sir.    You  will  help  us,  Mr.  Todd— oh,  say  that  you  will  do  what 
vou  can  for  us/* 

"  Certainly,  my  good  woman — certainly.  What  is  this  little  fellow's  name, 
Mrs.  Cummins  V 

fj  William— William  is  his  name,"  said  the  poor  woman,  in  such  a  flurry  from 
the  idea  of  what  Todd  was  going  to  do  for  the  children  that  she  could  hardly 
speak,  but  caught  her  breath  hysterically.    M  His  name  is  William,  Mr.  Todd. 

"  And  this  little  girl,  ma'am  ? ' 

"  Ann,  sir—  Ann.  That  is  her  name,  Mr.  Todd.  The  same,  if  you  please, 
sir,  as  her  poor  mother's.  Look  up,  Ann,  my  dear,  and  courtesy  to  the  gentleman. 
God  bl.ss  you,  Mr,  Todd,  for  thinking  of  me  and  mine.    God  bless  you,  sir!' 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  433 

*^  i  i  ■  ■  ■  ■r-*J**rr^  i  -r  .  _     _   _  _   ^   ^    ^   ^      |       ^       ^   i  n    1 1  ,  w»wy< 

M  Ann  and  William,"  said  Todd,  "  Ann  and  William ;  and  very  nice  children 
they  are,  too,  in  my  opinion,  Mrs.  Cummins." 

"They  are  good  children,  sir."  Mrs.  Cummins  burst  into  tears  at  the  idea 
of  what  Todd  was  going  to  do  for  the  children,  for  the  whole  of  the  parish  was 
impressed  with  the  idea  that  he  was  well  to  do.    "  They  are  very  good  children 


LUPIN  DRUGS  HIS  WIFE,  AND  THEN  CUTS  &ER  THROAT, 

Mr.  Todd  ;  and  although  a  charge  to  me,  are  still  a  blessing;  for  now  that  John 
is  gone,  they  seem  to  hold  me  to  the  world,  sir.'' 

1  Well,  Mrs.  Cummins,  I  am  glad  you  have  applied  to  me,  for  if  you  had 
not,  I  certainly  should  not  have  known  the  names  of  your  children.  As  it  is, 
however,  whenever  I  pray,  I  will  think  of  them,  and  of  jou  ;  and  in  the  mean- 
time,  I  commend  you  to  the  care  of  that  Providence  which,  of  course,  cannot 


No,  55. 


434 


VHE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


permit  the  widow  and  the  fatherless  to  want  anything  in  this  world,  or  the  next 
either." 

Todd  walked  leisurely  on. 

"Ha!  ha!"  he  laughed.  €*  Good  again.  What  have  I  to  do  with  charity, 
or  charity  with  me  ?    I  am  at  war  with  all  the  world,  and  at  war  with  Heaven, 

too,  if  there  be  one,  which  I  will  not  admit !    JNo,  no — I  will  not  admit  tha  t" 

*  *  *  *  *  $  * 

While  Todd  was  away  upon  this  errand  of  getting  rid  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  which 
we  have  seen  he  has  accomplished  so  much  to  his  satisfaction,  Johanna  was 
not  entirely  without  visitors.  The  excellent  watch  that  was  kept  upon  the 
movements  of  Todd,  in  their  minutest  particular,  by  Sir  Richard  Blunt  and  his 
officers,  let  them  know  perfectly  well  that  Todd  was  from  home  ;  but  it  was 
not  from  them  that  Johanna  had  her  first  visit  after  Todd  was  gone. 

He  had  not  left  the  shop  above  ten  minutes  when  Johanna  heard  a  mysteri- 
ous noise  outside  the  door  of  it.  Jt  sounded  as  if  some  one  were  scraping  it 
with  something.  At  first  she  felt  a  little  uneasy  at  the  sound,  but  as  it  increased 
she  calmed  herself,  and  resolved  upon  ascertaining  what  it  was. 

Turning  to  the  door,  cautiously  she  opened  it  a  little  way.  That  was  quite 
sufficient  to  dispel  any  fears  that  she  knight  have,  for  the  paw  of  a  dog  was 
immediately  thrust  through  the  opening  ;  and  when  upon  this  Johanna  opened 
the  door  freely,  Hector,  with  a  loud  bark,  dashed  into  the  shop. 

So  fierce  was  the  dog's  demeanour,  that  Johanna  shrank  aside,  but  master 
Hector  saw  with  half  an  eye  that  he  had  frightened  her,  so  he  went  up  to  her, 
and  licked  her  hand  in  token  of  amity,  after  which  he  barked  loudly  at  the  shop, 
as  though  he  would  have  said,  ft  Mind,  though  I  am  friends  with  you,  I  am  still 
the  uncompromising  *be  of  all-else  in  this  place.51 

if  Alas  poor  dog,"  said  Johanna  as  the  tears  rushed  to  her  eyes,  "  you  will 
never  see  your  master  again. " 

The  young  girl's  grief  for  the  loss  of  her  lover  seemed  all  to  be  roused  up 
freshly  from  the  depths  of  her  heart  at  this  appearance  of  the  dog,  which  she 
had  some  reason  to  believe  had  been  the  companion  of  Mark  Ingestrie.  She 
sat  down  upon  the  little  stool  by  the  fire,  and  covering  her  face  with  her  hands, 
she  wept  bitterly. 

In  the  meantime,  Hector,  finding  that  Todd  was  not  there  to  do  battle  with 
him,  made  up  his  mind  for  a  grand  rummage  in  the  shop  ;  and  truly  he  con- 
ducted it  with  a  perseverance  and  a  recklessness  of  consequences  that  was 
wonderful.  He  was  on  the  coxjnter  that  ran  along  under  the  window— he  was 
under  it — he  was  on  every  shelf,  and  he  tore  open  every  cupboaid  ;  but  alas  ! 
poor  Hector  could  find  no  token  of  his  lost  master.  At  length  the  howling 
and  the  scratching  that  he  made  induced  Johanna  to  look  up  to  see 
what  he  wanted.  She  was  rather  appalled  at  the  confusion  he  had  created, 
and  she  could  not  think  what  he  wanted  until  she  found  that  there  was  a 
shelf  at  the  top  of  the  cupboard,  that  was  equally  out  of  her  reach  as  it  was  out 
of  his. 

€C  I  cannot  help  you,  my  poor  friend/'  she  said.  "  There  seems  to  be  nothing 
on  that  shelf.' 1 

Hector,  however,  having  retired  tp  a  remote  corner  of  the  shop,  and  got  on  a 
chair  in  order  that  he  might  get  a  good  look  at  the  shelf,  was  of  a  different 
opinion ;  and,  finding  that  he  was  not  to  calculate  upon  any  help  from  Johanna, 
he  made  various  springs  up  to  the  shelf  with  his  mouth  open,  until  at  last  he 
caught  hold  of  a  little  bit  of  tape  that  seemed  to  be  hanging  over  the  edge 
of  it. 

The  tape  was  attached  to  something,  which  Hector  immediately,  with  a  loud 
bark  of  defiance,  took  possession  of,  partly  by  standing  upon  it,  and  partly  by 
holding  it  in  his  mouth.  Upon  stooping  to  see  what  this  was,  Johanna  dis- 
covered that  it  was  a  waistcoat  of  blue  cloth. 

At  first  Hector  did  not  seem  much  to  fancy  even  letting  her  look  at  it ;  but 
after  looking  intently  in  her  face  for  a  few  moments,  he  very  quietly  resigned  it 

.1  .  ,   - 1  -     -         --    .    ..  ■  — -  i    '   ■     "        ■  ■  ■  » »■  j  ^.  ■.■    ■■-        ^.mw—  ■■    ■      ii  ■  .i.  .  i.  i  ■  ■     ■  -  ■  -         —   |  ,       |      hi  iii.  i     i  ii  —q^LMM^.— rrTT-"""^^^^"-"""— 

~"~~»^-~*-«~  ■»-..».   ■  ■■■»  '  ..  .        ii.i.ii   ii    i     ■    ,1.1.1.,,    .mgniKu,..  ■    N  wumwm,  m   .;i«,|'H»     '       W.  MS,  HM.)UljyWWSW<WW>WM' i  ■ "  tn*>-'mr 


to  m}^^\ 

mm 

^  *s  it  iocretet; 


f  w 

openec 


but 
W.nptok 

I  too,  I  am  i 

(TcSj  you  V.. 

to  be  roused  t; 
whidii 

tri  ier  ianfe 

Jo  battle  will 

tody  ke  w 
sees  that  vias 
,^4e  if 

Skip** 


!55 


•MS 


#1* 


■ 


0 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


435 


to  her,  only  he  kept  very  close  to  it  while  she  turned  it  round  and  round  and 
looked  at  it.  It  might  have  been  Mark  Ingestrie's.  It  looked  something  like 
the  sort  of  garment  that  a  master  mariner  might  be  supposed  to  wear,  and  the 
evident  recognition  of  it  by  the  dog  spoke  wonders  in  favour  of  the  supposition 
that  it  had  belonged  to  his  master  at  one  time  or  another. 

Johanna  thought  that  in  one  of  the  pockets  there  seemed  something,  and 
upon  putting  in  her  hand  she  found  a  small  piece  of  paper  folded  in  four. 
To  undo  it  was  the  work  of  a  moment,  and  then  she  saw  upon  it  the  following 
words  : — 

"  Mr.  Oakley,  Spectacle-maker,  33,  Fore  Street,  City." 

Her  senses  seemed  upon  the  point  of  deserting  her.  Every  object  for  a 
moment  appeared  to  whirl  round  her  in  a  mad  dance.  Who  should  know 
better — ah,  who  should  know  half  so  well  as  she — the  handwriting  which  con- 
veyed those  few  words  to  her  senses  ?  It  was  the  handwriting  of  her  lost  lover, 
Mark  Ingestrie  ! 

a  Hilloa !  Pison,  is  you  here  ?"  cried  a  voice  at  the  shop  door  at  this 
moment. 

Johanna  started  to  her  feet. 

1  *  Wfro  are  you?-— what  do  you  want?"  she  cried.  "Murder! — murder! 
He  has  been  foully  murdered,  I  say  ;  I  will  swear  it — I— I — God  help  me  !" 

With  the  little  scrap  of  paper  in  her  hand,  she  staggered  back  until 
she  came  to  the  huge  shaving- chair,  into  which  she  sank  with  a  long-drawn 
sigh. 

"  Why,  what's  the  row  ?"  said  the  man,  who  was  no  other  than  Hector's 
friend,  the  ostier,  from  the  inn  opposite.  u  What's  the  row  ?  Now  what  an 
out-and-out  willain  of  a  dog  you  is,  Pison,  to  cut  over  here  like  bricks  as  soon 
as  you  can  git  loose  to  do  so.  Don't  you  know  that  old  Todd  is  a  busting  to 
do  you  an  in  turn  some  o'  these  days  ?  and  yet  you  will  come,  you  hidiot." 

"  Mr.  Todd  is  out,"  said  Johanna. 

H  Oh,  is  he,  mv  little  man  ?  Well,  the  devil  go  with  him,  that's  all  I  sav. 
Come  along,  that  s  a  good  dog/' 

Pison  only  wagged  his  tail  in  recognition  of  the  friendly  feeling  between  him 
and  the  ostler  and  then  he  kept  quite  close  to  Johanna  and  the  waistcoat,  which 
the  moment  he  saw  her  drop,  he  laid  hold  of,  and  held  tight  with  such  an  ex- 
pression as  was  quite  enough  to  convince  the  ostler  he  would  not  readily  give  it 
up  again. 

"Now  what  a  hanimal  vou  is,"  cried  the  ostler.  11  Whose  blessed  veskut  is 
that  you  as  got  V' 

Ci  He  found  it  here,"  said  Johanna.  u  Did  you  see  his  master  on  the  day  when 
he  came  here  ?* 

"No,  my  little  chap,  I  didn't;  but  I  don't  care  who  knows  it — it's  my 
'pinion  that  whosomedever  his  master  was,  old  Sweeney  Todd,  your  master, 
knows  more  on  him  than  most  folks.    Come  away,  Pison,  will  you  ?" 

The  dog  did  not  now  show  much  disinclination  to  follow  the  ostler,  but  he 
kept  the  waistcoat  firmly  in  his  grasp,  as  he  left  the  shop  after  him.  Johanna 
still  held  that  little  scrap  of  paper  in  her  hand,  and  oh!  what  a  world  of  food 
for  reflection  did  it  present  her  with.  Was  it,  or  was  it  not,  an  establishment 
of  the  fact  of  Mark  Ingestrie  having  been  Todd's  victim  ?  That  was  the  ques- 
tion that  Johanna  put  to  herself,  as  through  her  tears,  that  fell  like  rain,  she 
gazed  upon  that  paper,  with  those  few  words  upon  it,  in  the  well-known  hand  of 
her  lover. 

The  more  Johanna  reflected  upon  this  question,  the  more  difficult  a  one  did 
she  find  it  to  answer  in  any  way  that  was  at  all  satisfactory  to  her  feelings.  The 
strong  presumption  that  Mark  Ingestrie  had  fallen  a  victim  to  Todd  had  not  been 
sufficiently  obliterated  by  all  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  said  to  her  to  free  her 
mind  from  a  strong  bias  to  fancy  anything  that  transpired  at  Todd's  a  corrobo- 
ration of  that  fact. 

u  Yes/'  she  said,  mournfully,  u  yes,  poor — poor  Mark.    Each  day  only  adds 


i 


i 

f 
i 


» 1, 


436 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


■  ,  t     ,-r     in.  ■  ■  — -  -    ■  —  — 1-1^   -  "    — ■  — —  ■■- .....  ■■        «■    ■        '  ■■■   -■  ^— —  -— ■■    ■■     —  -  ■— —         ■    —    '  '    ■      ■  -   -■■   - 

to  my  conviction  that  you  became  this  man's  victim,  and  that  that  fatal  String 
of  Pearls,  which  you  fondly  thought  would  be  a  means  of  uniting  us  together 
by  removing  the  disabilities  of  want  of  fortune,  has  been  your  death.  That 
waistcoat,  which  your  faithful  dog  has  carried  with  him,  is  another  relic  of  you, 
and  this  scrap  of  paper  is  but  another  link  in  the  chain  of  circumstances  that 
convinces  me  we  shall  never  meet  again  in  this  world/' 

Poor  Johanna  was  absolutely  reasoning  herself  into  an  agony  of  grief 
when  the  door  of  the  shop  opened,  and  an  old  man  with  white  hair  made  his 
appearance. 

"  Is  Mr.  Todd  within  V  he  said. 

"  No,  sir,"  replied  Johanna. 

"  And  is  it  possible,"  added  the  old  man,  straightening  himself  up,  "  that  I 
am  disguised  so  well  that  even  you  do  not  know  me,  Johanna  ?" 

In  a  moment  now  she  recognised  the  voice.  It  was  that  of  Sir  Richard 
Blunt. 

"Oh,  sir/'  she  said,  "  I  do  indeed  know  you  now,  and  I  am  very — very 
wretched." 

u  Has  anything  new  occurred,  Johanna,  to  produce  this  feeling  V9 

"  Yes,  sir.  The  dog,  that  my  heart  tells  me  belonged  to  poor  Mark,  has 
been  over  here*  and  with  a  rare  instinct  he  found  a  piece  of  apparel,  in  the 
pocket  of  which  was  this  paper.  It  is  in  his  writing.  I  know  it  too — too  well 
to  be  denied.  Ah,  sir,  you,  even  you,  will  no  longer  now  seek  to  delude  me  with 
false  hopes.  But  do  not  tarry  here,  sir  ;  Todd  has  been  long  gone,  and  mav  at 
any  chance  moment  come  back  again." 

Be  at  rest  upon  that  point,  Johanna.  He  cannot  come  back  without  my 
being  made  aware  of  it  by  my  friends  without.  But  tell  me  in  what  way  you 
attach  such  serious  importance  to  this  piece  of  paper,  Johanna  V9 

"  In  what  way,  my  dear  friend  ?  Do  I  not  say  that  it  is  in  poor  Mark's  own 
handwriting  ?  How  could  it  come  here  unless  he  brought  it  ?  Oh,  sir,  do  not 
ask  me  in  what  way  1  attach  importance  to  it.  Rather  let  me  ask  you  how, 
otherwise  than  upon  the  supposition  of  his  having  become  one  of  Todd's 
victims,  can  you  account  for  its  being  here  at  all  V? 

"  Rtally/*  said  Sir  Richard,  "this  Mark  Ingestrie  must  have  been  a  very 
forgetful  young  man/'  I 

"Forgetful?" 

"  Yes.  It  seems  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  carry  your  name  and 
address  in  his  pocket.  Now  if  he  had  given  such  a  slip  of  paper  as  this  to 
another  person  for  fear  he  should  forget  what  was  not  so  deeply  imprinted  in 
his  memory,  I  should  not  have  wondered  at  it  for  a  moment.'* 

Johanna  clasped  her  hands  and  looked  the  magistrate  in  the  face,  as  she 
said —  . 

"  Then,  sir,  you  think — that  is,  you  believe — that — that  this  is  no  proof  of 
poor  Mark  having  been  here  V 

"  As  I  hope  for  mercy  in  Heaven,  it  is  to  my  mind  a  proof  the  other  way, 
Johanna.51 

She  burst  into  a  passion  of  hysterical  weep:ng.  Sir  Richard  Blunt  knew  too 
much  of  human  nature  to  interfere  by  word  or  gesture,  with  this  effort  of  nature 
to  relieve  the  overchanged  heart  and  he  waited  patiently,  affecting  to  be  looking 
upon  some  old  prints  upon  thewrall  until  he  heard  the  sobs  decrease  to  sighs. 
Then  he  turned  with  a  smile  to  Johanna,  and  said — 

"My  dear  girl,  gather  hope  from  that  scrap  of  paper,  not  despair.  Depend) 
upon  it  the  address  of  your  father  held  too  conspicuous  a  place  in  the  heart 
of  him  who  loved  you  to  require  that  it  should  have  been  written  upon  a  piece 
of  paper.    You  know  that'my  theory  on  the  subject  is  that  Mr.  Thornhill  was 
actually  sent  to  you  by  Mark  Ingestrie,  and  that  it  was  he  who  perished  here/' 

"And  Mark  himself — if  that  were  so  ?M 

"  His  fate  has  still  to  be  elucidated  ;  but  that  he  perished  here  I  do  not  be- 
lieve, as  I  have  often  told  you." 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  43 7 


"This  is  an  exquisite  relief/'  said  Johanna,  as  she  laid  her  hand  upon  her 
heart.  wVV 

"  Make  much  of  it/'  said  Sir  "Richard;  (( something  even  yet 'seems  to  tell 
me  that  you  will  be  happy.  I  cannot  think  it  possible  that  Hea/en  would  per- 
mit such  a  man  as  Todd  to  destroy  your  earthly  felicity.  But  how  comes  the 
shop  in  such  confusion 

u  It  was  the  dog.  He  would  look  everywhere,  and  I  had  not  the  heart  nor 
the  strength  to  prevent  him.  Todd  has  a  horror  of  hira  ;  and  fright  will  keep  him 
quiet  when  I  tell  him  the  caus2  of  the  mischief  that  is  done  here/' 

'*  Perhaps  then  it  will  be  better  to  leave  it  as  it  is,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "  than 
awaken  his  suspicions  by  attempting  to  put  the  place  to  rights,  in  which  you 
might  fail  in  some  particulars  known  to  hira.  And  now  tell  me,  Johanna,  what 
passed  between  him  and  this  Mrs.  Lovett  ?" 

iC  But  a  few  words,  sir,  before  I  was  sent  out.  There  is  one  thing  though  that 
I  suspect,  and  that  is  that  Mrs.  Lovett  has  found  out  my  secret." 

f*  Indeed?" 

u  Yes,  she  regarded  me  with  a  strange  gaze  that  made  me  feel  that  she  pene- 
trated my  disguise.  I  know  not  if  she  will  say  as  much  to  Todd,  but  one  glance 
of  his  eye  upon  me  when  he  returns  will  satisfy  me  upon  that,  I  think." 

At  this  moment  a  bugle  sounded  in  Fleet  Street. 

*  That  is  my  s;gnal,"  said  Sir  Richard.  "  Todd  is  coming.  I  will  be  close  at 
hand,  Johanna,  lest  Mrs.  Lovett  has  told  him  your  secret,  and  you  should  find 
yourself  in  any  danger,    Farewell !  Heaven  hold  you  in  its  keeping." 


CHAPTER  XC1X, 

THE  COOK  FEELS  THAT  ALL  THE  WORLD  NEGLECTS  HIM,  AND  THEN   HE  GETS 

A  LETTER. 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  left  the  shop,  and  Johanna  had  just  time  to  conceal  the 
scrap  of  paper  which  she  had  found  in  the  waistcoat,  and  to  seem  to  be  busy  at 
the  fire,  when  Todd  made  his  appearance.  She  had  never  seen  such  a  grim 
smile  upon  Todd's  face  as  it  now  wore.  He  was  for  once  in  his  life  fairly 
pleased.  When  had  he  made  such  a  morning's  work  as  that?  Not  even  in 
his  acquisition  of  those  fatal  Pearls  had  he  gained  so  much  as  by  that  one  slight 
push  that  had  sent  Mrs.  Lovett  and  her  claims  into  the  river  so  neatly. 

No  wonder  Sweeney  TDdd  was  elated  and  delighted.  He  had  ail  the  money 
now  to  himself.  There  was  no  one  now  to  say  to  him  "  Where  is  my  share  ?" 
He  had  all  the  produce  of  another's  awful  criminality  to  add  to  his  own.  Was  he 
not  thus  a  very  happy  man  for  a  little  while  ? 

The  sunshine  of  the  heart  was  not  a  thing  to  last  long  in  such  a  bosora  as 
Sweeney  Todd'*.  His  was  not  that  sweet  and  lasting  hilarity  of  soul  that  can 
alone  arise  from  a  deep  and  sincere  consciousness  of  right.  No  !  The  fierce 
delight  of  a  successful  stroke  of  villany  may  for  a  time  resemble  happiness,  ljut  it 
is  a  resemblance  as  weak  as  that  between  the  faint  watery  ray  of  a  winter's  sun 
and  the  full  blaze  of  the  god-like  luminary  in  all  the  beauty  of  the  vernal  season. 

But  for  the  time,  we  say,  Todd  was  pleased,  and  the  demoniac  triumph  of  his 
soul  beamed  forth  from  his  eyes  and  played  around  the  puckered  corners  of  his 
huge  mouth. 

w  Well,  Charley,"  he  said,  "  how  goes  it  with  you,  my  lad  ?" 
Johanna  stared  as  well  she  might  to  hear  Tod i  speak  in  such  a  mild  pacifc 
sort  of  way. 

*'  Sir?"  she  said. 

u  I  say,  how  goes  it  with  you,  my  good  boy.  How  have  }ou  pa  sed  the 
time  in  my  unavoidable  absence  upon  a  little  business  ?? 


438 


THE  STRING  OF  PEAKLS. 


"  Quite  tolerable,  sir,  thank  you,  with  the  exception  that  a  dog  pushed  his  j 
way  into  the  shop,  and,  as  you  see,  sir,  has  made  some  confusion."  j 
"A  dog?" 

"  Yes,  sir.  A  large  one,  black  and  white*  I  had  no  strength  to  turn  him  out, 
so  he  had  his  will  in  the  shop,  and  tossed  the  things  about  as  you  see,  sir." 

"  My  malediction  upon  that  confounded  dog.  He  is  mad,  Charley,  I  tell  you, 
he  is  stark,  staring  mad.  Why  did  you  not  throw  open  razors  at  him  until  one 
had  transfixed  him  ?" 

"I  don't  like  touching  the  razors,  sir.55  | 

€t  You  don't — you  don't  ?  He  !  he  !  What  will  he  think  when  one  touches 
him  ?'5  muttered  Todd  to  himself  as  he  turned'aside  and  made  a  movement  as 
though  cutting  a  throat.    *'  You  don't  like  touching  the  razors,  Charley?" 

"  No,  sir,  I  thought  you  would  be  angry  if  I  had,  so  the  dog  had  all  his  own 
way  here.  I  would  have  put  the  place  to  rights,  but  I  thought  you  aught  to  see 
it  as  it  is.5' 

"  Right,  my  boy— right.    To-morrow  will  be  quite  time  enough  to  put  it  to 
rights.    Yes,  to-morrow.    Has  any  one  called,  Charley?" 
"  No,  sir." 

"  Well  I  am  glad  of  that,  for  when  one  is  off  upon  an  action  of  charity  one 
don't  like  one's  business  to  suffer  as  well.  It's  quite  unknown  what  I  give 
away,  and  1  always  like  to  see  the  object  myself,  you  know,  Charley,  as  I  find 
I  can  then  better  adapt  my  benevolence  to  their  real  wants,  which  in  a  great — a 
very  great  object." 

"  I  should  think  it  was,  sir/5 

€i  You  are  a  clever  observant  lad,  Charley,  and  you  will,  when  you  leave  me, 
I  feel  convinced,  drop  into  a  genteel  independence.    You  will  want  for  nothing 
then,  I  feel  quite  assured,  Charley/5  i 
"  You  are  very  good,  sir/5  I 
t€  I  strive  to  be  good,  Charley,  and  by  the  help  of  the  gospel  we  may  all  be 
good  to  some  extent — sinners  that  we  are.    Now,  simple  as  is,  it's  really  a  great 
thing  to  be  supplied  in  an  unlimited  manner  with  cold  water/5 
44  No  doubt  of  it,  sir.55 

u  Well,  I  have  supplied  the  person  to  whom  my  benevolence  has  extended 
this  morning,  with,  I  hope,  an  unlimited  quantity,  and  always  fresh.    He !'? 

Todd  here  executed  one  of  his  awful  laughs,  and  then  went  into  his  parlour 
grinning  at  his  own  hideous  facetiousness  over  the  murder  he  had  committed. 
Johanna  had  managed  to  say,  from  time  to  time,  what  was  expected  by  way  of 
answer  to  him,  but  it  was  with  a  shuddering  consciousness  that  he  had  been 
about  some  great  crime  that  she  did  so  ;  and  when  he  had  left  the  shop,  she  said 
faintly  to  herself — 

"He  has  murdered  Mrs.  Lovett/5 

It  was  sufficient,  if  Todd  went  out  with  an  enemy  and  rcame  home  jocular, 
to  conclude  what  had  happened.  That  person  then  might  be  fairly  presumed  to 
be  no  more,  and  hence,  with  a  shudder  of  horror  pervading  her  frame,  did 
Johanna  whisper  to  herself — 

%€  He  has  surely  murdered  Mrs.  Lovett/' 

The  first  thing  that  Todd  did  when  he  was  alone  in  his  parlour,  and  the  door 
fast,  was  to  produce  the  memoianda  he  had  made  of  all  that  he  had  to  do  pre- 
vious to  leaving  England.    One  item  ran  thus  :— •  j 
"  Mem.    To  pay  Mrs.  Lovet  in  full/'  j 
After  that  item  he  wrote  paid,  and  then  he  laughed  again  in  his  hideous  way, 
and  leaning  his  head  upon  his  hand,  or  rather  his  chin  upon  it,  he  spoke  in  a 
chuckling  tone.  I 
"  She  will  turn  up  some  day— yes,  she  will  turn  up  some  day,  and  the  swollen 
disgusting  mass,  that  was  once  the  bold  and  glittering  Mrs.  Lovett,  will  be 
pulled  through  the  river  mud  by  a  boat-hook,  and  then  there  will  be  an  inquest, 
and  a  verdict  of  found  drowned,  with  a  statement  that  the  body  was  in  too  ad- 
vanced a  state  of  decomposition  to  be  identified.  Ha!" 


  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  439 

Todd  actually  rubbed  his  hands  together,  and  then  he  took  a  good  drop  of 
brandy,  and  felt  himself  quite  a  pleasant  sort  of  character,  and  one  upon  whom 
the  fickle  goddess,  Fortune,  had  taken  to  smiling  in  her  most  bland  and  pleasant 
way. 

"  When  I  am  snug  and  comfortable  at  Hamburgh,"  he  said,  "how  eagerly  I 
shall  look  for  the  London  papers,  to  let  me  know  how  far  the  fire  in  Fleet  Street, 
that  is  to  happen  to-night,  has  extended.  How  I  shall  laugh  if  it  travel  to  the 
old  church,  and  burns  that  down  likewise.  Ha  !  I  think  I  shall  take  to  laughing 
as  a  regular  thing  when  T  am  fairly  abroad  with  all  my  money,  and  safe— so 
safe  as  I  shall  be,  so  very — very  safe." 

Yes,  there  sat  Sweeney  Todd  rejoicing.  He  might  have  said  with  Romeo  in 
Mantua— 

"  My  bosom^  lord  sits  lightly  in  bis  throne, 
And  all  this  day  an  uuaccustomed  spirit 
Lifts  me  above  the  ground  with  cheerful  thoughts." 

But  as  it  was  with  the  young  husband  of  the  sainted  Juliet,  the  day  of  reckon- 
ing was  coming  to  Todd,  and  the  spirit  that  spoke  of  comfort,  joy,  and  security 
to  his  heart  and  brain,  was  after  all  a  false  one. 

But  we  must  leave  Todd  to  his  self- felicitations,  while  we  request  the  reader's 
kind  company  to  Bell  Yard,  for  certain  things  had  taken  place  in  the  establish- 
ment of  Mrs.  Lovett  which  it  is  highly  necessary  should  find  a  place  in  this 
veracious  and  carefully  collected  narrative. 

When  Mrs.  Lovett,  with  a  full  notion  of  the  projected  perfidy  of  Todd,  left 
home  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  that  individual  to  a  sense  of  his  wrongdoings, 
and  insisting  upon  a  settlement,  she  did  not  awaken  popular  remark  or  popular 
interest  by  shutting  up  her  shop,  but  she  took  such  measures  as  she  believed 
would  last  very  well  until  she  got  back  again. 

She  was  not  sanguine  upon  the  subject  of  getting  back  very  soon,  for  she 
had  made  up  her  mind  that  back  she  would  not  come  without  the  money. 

Previously,  then,  to  leaving,  she  sought  the  narrow  opening  in  the  strong  iron- 
door  through  which  she  was  accustomed  to  speak  to  the  discontented  cook,  and 
fastening  a  bottle  of  wine  by  the  neck  to  a  piece  of  cord,  she  let  it  down  into  the 
prison-house  of  pie-manufactory,  saying  as  she  did  so — 

"I  keep  my  word  with  you.    Here  is  wine.  I  trust  that  you  will  keep  your 
word  with  me.    A  batch  is  wanted  at  twelve  to-day,  as  you  know." 

"  Very  well,'*  said  the  cook.    €t  Very  well.   They  shall  be  ready.  But  you 
promised  me  freedom,  Mrs.  Lovett.5' 

"I  did,  and  freedom  you  shall  have  shortly.  All  you  have  to  do  now  is  to  \ 
attend  to  business  for  a  little  while.    When  I  ring  at  twelve,  send  up  the  batch."  \ 

"  I  will — I  will.    But  yet  " 

"  What  is  it  now?"  I 

u  If  you  only  could  fancy,  Mrs.  Lovett,  what  it  was  to  pass  one's  time  in  this 
place,  you  would  have  some  feeling  for  me.   Will  you  send]  or  bring  me  some  j 
real  butcher's  meat  V  i 

Bang  went  the  wicket-door,  and  the  cook  found  himself  once  again  shut  out 
from  the  world  in  those  dismal  vaults  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  house. 

"  Twelve  o'clock,"  muttered  Mrs.  Lovett,  as  she  proceeded  to  her  parlour.  fC  I  j 
shall  surely  be  home  by  twelve.    Todd  will  find  out  that  I  atn  too  persevering 
for  him.    His  fears  will  force  him  to  pay  me,  although  his  justice  never  would. 
I  will  threaten  him  him  into  payment.    The  odious  villain  !  to  attempt  yet  to  j 
deprive  me  of  all  that  I  have  toiled  for,  with  the  exception  of  what  of  late  I  have  |  j 
had  the  prudence  to  keep  in  the  house  V*  I 

The  next  thing  that  Mrs.  Lovett  had  to  do  was  to  get  some  one  to  effectually 
mind  the  shop  in  her  absence,  and  for  that  purpose  she  pitched  upon  a  Mrs. 
Stag,  a  tall,  gaunt-looking  female,  who  acted  as  a  kind  of  supernumerary  laun- 
dress in  Lincoln's  Inn.  With  this  person  Mrs.  Lovett  felt  that  she  need  have  no 
delicacy  as  regards  locking-up  and  so  forth  ;  and  as  Mrs.  Stag  laboured  under  a  J 
defect  of  hearing,  she  would  not  be  likely  to  pay  any  attention  to  what  might  j 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


take  place  below  ;  but  still  Mrs.Lovett  was  determined  to  leave  nothing  to  chance,  i 
and  she  left  Mrs*  Stag  a  note  which  was  to  go  down  on  the  movable  platform  i 
to  the  cook  in  case  she,  Mrs.  Lovett,  was  not  at  home  at  the  twelve  o'clock 
batch.    This  note  contained  the  following  words,  which,  as  Mrs.  Stag's  parents  ! 
and  guardians  had  omitted  to  include  reading  in  her  education,  were  perfectly  safe 
from  her  scrutiny — 

w  Send  up  the  four  o'clock  batch,  and  you  will  be  free  within  twenty-four 
hours  from  then. " 

This  she  concluded  would  keep  him  quiet  ;  and  within  twenty -four  hours 
Mrs.  Lovett  felt  that  her  affairs  must  be  settled  in  some  way  or  another; 
so  that  it  was  a  very  safe  promise,  even  if  she  had  not  still  retained 
in  her  own  hands  the  means  of  breaking  it  if  there  should  be  occasion  so  to  do. 

Truly,  Mrs.  Lovett  was,  in  the  full  acceptation  of  the  term,  a  woman  of 
business.      «, ... 

Mrs.  Stag  was  sure  to  look-in  the  first  thing  in  the  morning  upon  Mrs. 
Lovett ;  so  that  as  soon  as  that  useful  and  submissive  personage  made 
her  appearance  in  Bell  Yard,  she  was  duly  installed  in  authority  in  the  shop 
— the  parlour  being  properly  fastened  up  against  Mrs.  Stag  and  all  intruders, 

u  You  will  be  so  good  as  to  sit  here  until  I  come  back,  Mrs.  Stag  ?" 
said  Mrs.  Lovett;  *'  and  sell  as  many  pies  as  you  can.  I  am  going  to 
the  chiistening  of  a  friend's  child,  who  is  anxious  that  I  should  be  its  god- 
mother." 

What  a  delightful  godmother  Mrs.  Lovett  would  have  made ! 
"  Yes,  ma'am/'  said  Mrs.  Stag. 

"  I  think  I  shall  be  back  at  twelve  o*  clock  ;  but  if  I  am  not,  you  can  let  this 
note  go  down  with  the  empty  tray  on  the  trap-door  after  you  have  slid  off  it  the  | 
twelve  o'  clock  batch  of  pies." 

"  Yes,  ma'am." 

"You  will  answer  no  questions  to  any  one.    All  you  have  to  say  is,  that  I  I 
am  out  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  may  come  home  at  any  minute,  as  indeed  I 
may.    T  shall,  of  course,  pay  you,  Mrs.  Stag,  for  your  whole  day.    Pray  help 
yourself  to  a  pie  or  two,  as  you  feel  inclined.    Good  morning." 

"  Good  mornin\  ma'am,  good  mornin'.  She's  a  very  pleasant  woman,"  said 
Mrs.  Stag,  after  Mrs.  Lovett  had  left;  €i  she's  a  remarkably  pleasant  woman. 
What  a  delicious  pie,  to  be  sure  !?  , 

Mrs.  Stag  was  deep  in  the  mysteries  of  a  yesterday's  veal. 

"  It's  very  odd,"  added  the  laundress,  as  she  wiped  the  gravy  from  the  sides 
of  her  mouth;  "  it's  very  odd  that  Mrs.  Lovett  is  so  very  particular  in  shutting 
up  her  parlour  always,  when  she  might  know  what  a  likely  thing  it  is  that  any- 
body may  want  to  look  at  the  drawers  and  cupboards.  It's  a  most  remark- 
able thing  to  think  what  she  can  have  there  that  she  will  lock  up  in  such  a 
way." 

Upon  this,  just  with  a  faint  forlorn  sort  of  hope  that  the  door  might  be  left 
open,  Mrs.  Stag  tried  it,  but  it  was  fast;  and,  with  a  sigh  of  disappointment, 
she  returned  to  her  seat  again. 

In  another  moment  a  yesterday's  pork  yielded  up  its  fascinations  to  the  appe- 
tite of  Mrs.  Stag. 

This,  then,  was  the  sort  of  life  that  Mrs.  Stag  passed  in  the  shop.  Lamen- 
tations and  gravy — gravy  and  lamentations ;  and  while  she  was  thus  occupied, 
the  cook  was  pacing  the  cellars  in  rather  a  discontented  mood,  with  his  hands 
behind  his  back,  reflecting  upon  things  past,  present,  and  to  come,  and  upon  his 
own  dismal  situation  in  particular. 

"  I  cannot  stand  this,*  he  said,  "  I  really  cannot  stand  this.  I  have  had 
promises  from  Mrs.  Lovett  of  freedom,  and  I  have  had  similar  promises  from 
he  who  came  to  the  grating  in  the  door,  but  none  of  the  promises  have  been 
fulfilled.  I  cannot  stand  this  any  longer,  it  is  impossible.  I  am  driven  mad 
as  it  is  already.    I  itust  do  something.   I  can  no  longer  exist  in  this  way/* 

The  cook  looked  about  him,  as  many  people  are  in  the  habit  of  doing  when  j 


...gMijy. 


4  be  its  joj 


ro  slid  of  U 


to  auto 

in.  M 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


441 


they  say  they  must  do  something,  without  having  a  very  clear  notion  of 
what  it  is  to  be ;  but  as  he  at  length  fixed  his  eye  upon  that  piece  of  machinery, 
far  up  to  the  roof,  by  which  the  batches  of  pies  went  up  to  the  shop,  and  by 
which  flower  and  butter  and  other  matters,  always  excepting  meat,  found  their 
way  down  to  him,  an  idea  took  possession  of  him. 
What  that  idea  was  will  show  itself  in  another  place. 


MR.  LUPIN  CRUSHES  THE  CORPSE  TO  MAKE  ROOM  FOR  HIS  MURDERED  WIFE. 

CHAPTER  C. 

TODD  TAKES  HIS  LAST  WALK  UP  FLEET  STREET  AND  TO  BELT,  YARD. 

The  twelve  o'clock  batch  of  pies  went  up,  and  down  came  the  little  missive 
of  Mrs.  Lovett  respecting  the  four  o'clock  lot  to  the  cook  ;  but  no  Mrs, 
Lovett  made  her  appearance,  to  relieve  Mrs.  Stag  from  her  duties  in  the  shop. 

"Ah,"  said  that  elongated  lady,  "it's  all  very  well  of  Mrs.  L.  to  say  she 


No.  56, 


would  pay  me  for  the  day.   I  suppose  she  means  to  make  a  day  of  it,  and 
that's  the  reason.  Now,  young  man,  what's  for  you?" 

"  A  pork  with  a  nob  of  veal  in  it  to  give  it  a  relish/*  was  the  reply  of  the 
young  scion  of  the  law,  to  whom  Stag  had  addressed  herself. 
"  Go  along  with  you,  I  don't  want  none  o'  your*  imperence." 
9i  Now,  ma' an,  look  alive.    Two  veals  if  you  please.  One  pork — five  porks- 
four  veals.    Do  vou  make  half  a  veal?"  \ 
<*  No  we  don't." 

u  A  hot  pork— three  porks — two  porks — eight  veals.  Don't  be  pushing  in  that 
way — four  porks — smash.  There,  now,  I've  dropped  mine,  and  its  all  along  of 
you.1' 

"  Do  be  quiet,"  said  Stag,  "  gentlemen  do  be  quiet  ;  '  patience/  says  Paul, 
4  and  III  soon  serve  you  all.'  What  are  you  laughing  at,  you  little  jackanapes  ? 
You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself  to  be  making  faces  at  a  female  twice 
you  age/1 

f  And  three  times  your  size,"  said  a  voice. 

There  was  a  great  roar  of  laughter  at  this,  but  by  degrees  poor  Stag  got 
through  the  business  of  the  twelve  o'clock  batch,  and  sat  down  with  a  sigh, 
to  console  herself,  by  eating  two  or  three  of  the  most  luscious-looking  that 
remained. 

"It  ain't  to  be  denied/  said  Stag,  "  but  they  are  good.  I  never  met  with 
such  gravy  in  all  my  life  as  is  in  'era.  Yes,  they  are  first-rate.  I'll  just  put 
one  in  the  crown  of  my  bonnet,  for  there's  no  knowing  a  minute  now  when 
Mrs.  L.  may  pop  in  upon  one  at  unawares,  like.  It's  a  comfort  to  have  one  of 
these  pies,  promiscous  like,  at  one  s  hand,  to  lay  hold. of  just  in  this  sort  of 
way,  and  pass  in  one's  mouth  in  this  kind  of  way.  Oh,  heart  alive,  but  this 
is  a  good  one.  I  declare  the  gravy  is  running  out  of  it  like  water  from  a  plug, 
when  there's  no  house  on  fire,  and  it  ain't  warned." 

Mrs.  Stag  would  have  done  very  well  indeed  if  she  could  but  have  got  some- 
thing to  drink.  T  hat  certainly  was  a  drawback,  that  at  first  the  lady's  in- 
genuity did  not  present  any  means  of  speedily  overcoming;  but  as  necessity 
is  the  mother  of  invention,  Mrs.  Stagg  at  last  hit  upon  a  plan. 

%  There's  plenty  of  money  in  the  till,  of  course,"  she  said,  "and  suppose  I 
stand  at  the  door,  and  wait  till  some  wretch  of  a  boy  passes,  and  then  give  him 
a  halfpenny  for  himself,  just  to  run  to  the  corner  and  get  me  a  drop  of  some- 
thing warm  and  comfortable." 

Mrs.  Stag  had  no  sooner  started  this  "  suppose,"  than  she  felt  a  burning 
desire  to  carry  it  out ;  and  accordingly,  history  says,  that  at  a  quarter  to  one 
she  might  have  been  seen  at  the  door  of  Mrs.  Loyett's  pie-shop,  with  a  shiling 
in  one  hand,  a  halfpenny  in  another,  and  a  bottle  concealed  in  her  pocket, 
looking  like  an  ogress  at  every  boy  who  passed,  and  who  looked  as  though  he 
wanted  a  halfpenny,  and  consequently  would  go  upon  the  secret  message,  for 
the  purpose  of  earning  one  there  and  then. 

Presently  one  came  along  the  centre  of  Bell  Yard,  who  seemed  just  the  sort 
of  person. 

u  Boy,  boy  !"  cried  Mrs.  Stag. 

"  Well,  old  'un,"  he  replied,  "  what  do  you  bring  it  in — Wilful  Murder  with 
the  chill  off,  or  what  ?" 

\  4  Don't  be  owdacious.    If  you  want  to  earn  a  penny— I  mean  a  halfpenny— 
honestly,  take  this  shilling  and  this  bottle,  and  go  to  the  corner,  and  get  a 
quartern  of  the  best/' 
"  The  best  what  ?" 

"  Oh,  you  foolish  boy.  Gin,  of  course  ;  but  remember  that  my  eye  is  upon 
you." 

It  was  well  that  Mrs.  Stag  spoke  in  the  singular  regarding  her  optical  organ, 
for  she  had  but  one.  The  boy  professed  a  ready  acquiescence,  and  away  he 
went,  with  the  bottle  and  the  shilling.  Alas  !  Mrs.  Stag  was  left  lamenting. 
He  came  not  back  again,  and  from  thenceforward  Mrs.  Stag  lost  the  small 


to' 


  1  »■■   I        H>  III   ■     lW*»«MWI«P»M»«W»»»»W>i       III  I   I  II 

THE  STRING  OJF  PEARLS.  443 


amount  of  faith  she  had  had  in  boyhood.  The  well- concocted  scheme  had  failed, 
and  there  she  was,  with  countless  halfpence  in  the  tilt,  and  so  thirsting  for 
strong  water,  that  she  was  half  inclined  to  make  a  grand  rush  herself  to  the 
nearest  public-house,  and  chance  any  one  in  the  interim  helping  themselves  to 
the  pies  ad  lib. 

But  she  was  not  reduced  to  that  extremity.  Suddenly  the  window  was 
darkened  by  a  shadow,  and  through  one  of  the  topmost  panes  an  immense 
hideous  face,  with  an  awful  grin  upon  it,  confronted  Mrs.  Stag. 

The  good  lady  was  fascinated — not  in  an  agreeable  sense,  but  in  quite  the 
reverse — she  could  not  take  her  eyes  from  off  the  hideous  gigantic  face,  as  it 
placed  itself  close  to  the  frame  of  ill-made  greenish  glass,  in  order  to  get  a  good 
view  into  the  shop. 

"  Goodness  gracious,  it's  Lujicer  himself!0  said  Mrs.  Stag.  "I'm  a  lost 
woman.  Quite  a  lost  woman.  I'm  undone.  It's  Lujicer  himself,  I'm  sure  and 
certain!"  ^  4 

Probably  the  hideous  eyes  that  belonged  to  the  hideous  face,  conveyed  the 
impression  to  the  brain  behind  them  that  Mrs.  Stag  was  in  a  state  of  apprehen- 
sion ;  for  suddenly  the  face  was  withdrawn,  and  Todd— yes,  Todd  himself,  for 
to  whom  else  could  such  a  face  belong  ? — made  his  way  into  the  shop. 

Mrs.  Stag  groaned  again,  and  in  a  stammering  voice,  said— • 

"If  you  please,  sir,  1 — I  ain't  ready  yet." 

"  Ready  for  what  ?*  said  Todd. 

*'  To  go  to — to — the  brimstone  beds,  if  you  please,  sir.  I  haven't  done  half 
enough  yet/' 

<fPho!,>  said  Todd.  "My  good  woman,  you  don't  surely  take  me  fo  the 
devil  ?  I  am  an  old  friend  of  Mrs.  Lovett's,  and  a  neighbour.  I  have  just 
stepped  in  to  ask  her  how  she  does  to  day." 

Mrs.  Stag  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief  as  she  said — 

"  Well,  really,  sir,  I  begs  your  parding.  It  must  have  been  the  pane  of  glass 
that— that— that  * 

u  Threw  my  face  out  of  shape  a  little/'  said  Todd,  making  one  of  his  most 
hideous  contortions,  and  finishing  it  off  with  a  loud  "  Ha  !" 

Mrs.  Stag  nearly  fell  off  her  chair.  But  it  was  not  Todd's  wish  to  frighten 
her,  although  he  had,  in  the  hilarity  of  his  heart,  yielded,  like  Lord  Brougham, 
to  the  speculative  fun  of  the  moment.    He  now  tried  to  reassure  her. 

*  Don't  be  at  all  alarmed  at  me,  madam,"  he  said.  "  Mrs.  Lovett  laughs 
often  at  my  little  funny  ways.    Is  she  at  home  $" 

Todd  knew  what  sort  of  home  he  had  provided  Mrs.  Lovett  with,  and  this 
visit  to  Bell  Yard  was  one  partly  of  curiosity  and  partly  of  triumph,  to  ascer- 
tain how  she  had  left  things  in  her  absence  from  her  establishment. 

"No,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Stag,  replying  to  the  question  of  Todd  ;  'f  she  is  no  at 
home,  sir." 

"  Dear  me,  I  thought  she  w^s  always  in  at  this  time  of  the  day.  When, 
madam,  do  you  expect  her?" 

"Leastways,"  said  Mrs.  Stag,  i€  I  don't  know,  sir,5' 
u  Were  you  here,  madam,  when  she  left  home  V9 
"  Yes,  I  were" 

u  Oh,  and  did  she  leave  any  message,  madam,  in  case  Mr.  Todd  from  Fleet 
Street  should  call?  Pray  reco4ect  yourself,  my  dear  madam,  as  it  may  possibly 
be  important.    I  do  not  say  that  it  is,  but  it  may  be." 

u  No,  sir,"  replied  Mrs.  Stag ;  "  oh  dear,  no.  All  she  said  was,  that  she  was 
going  to  a  christening."  ^ 

<k  A  christening?    Ha!    She  has  been  christened  !" 

"Sir!" 

u  I  only  said  she  had  been  christened,  and  no  stint  of  the  water,  that  was  all, 
madam ;  but  I  perfectly  understand  you.  Mrs.  Lovett  has  gone  to  the  christen- 
ing of  some  one  of  those  sweet  little  innocents,  all  perfume  and  flabbiness,  that 


444 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


take  one's  heart  completely  by  storm.    Ah,  my  dear  madam,  when  one  looks  at 
the  slumbering  infant,  how  one  feels  an  irresistible  desire  to  smsther  it;* 
"Lor,  sir!" 

"  With  soft  kisses,  my  dear  madam.    Only  fancy  me  now  a  baby  V 

Todd  made  so  awful  a  contortion  of  visage  contingent  upon  this  supposition 
that  poor  Mrs.  Stag,  in  the  nervous  condition  which  the  whole  adventure  had 
thrown  her  into,  nearly  fainted  right  away.  Indeed,  the  only  thing  that  recovered 
her  was  hearing  her  visitor  say — 

u  I  am  really  very  thirsty  to-day.  How  do  you  feel,  madam  V* 

These  were  delightful  words. 

"  Oh,  sir,"  she  said,  "how  very  odd.    I  am  thirsty  likewise." 

"Well,  that  is  remarkable/'  said  Todd.  "Now,  my  dear  madam,  I  don't 
make  a  common  thing  of  saying  as  much  to  anybody,  but  you,  who  are  a  lady 
evidently  of  refined  taste  and  intellectual  capabilities,  I  am  sure,  will  understand 
me,  and  make  allowances  for  my  feelings  when  I  say  that  I  prefer  to  anything 
else — gin  !*' 

"  You  don't  mean  it,  sir  ?* 

"  Indeed,  but  I  do." 

(i  Oh,  how  could  I  mistake  you  for  anything  but  a  very  nice  man  indeed, 
and  a  perfect  gentleman.  It's  one  of  the  most  singular  things  in  all  the  world, 
but  I  never  do  hardly  take  anything,  yet  what  I  do  take  is— is — 

"Gin-" 

Mrs.  Stag  nodded  and  smiled  faintly. 

"  Well,  my  dear  madam,  I  don't  see  why  we  should  not  have  a  drop  while  I 
wait  for  Mrs.  Lovett.  Don't  you  trouble  yourself,  my  dear  madam.  Now 
really  do  not.  I  know  that  you  will  like  to  have  to  say  to  that  good,  delightful, 
Mrs.  Lovett,  that  you  have  not  left  the  shop  since  she  was  absent ;  I  will  get  it. 
They  will  lend  me  a  bottle,  and  I  have  capacious  pockets/' 

"  But  for  you,  sir,  to  — — 99 

Todd  was  gone. 

**  Well,  really,  he  is  a  very  nice  sort  of  conversable  man,"  said  Mrs.  Stag  to 
herself,  "  when  you  come  to  know  him,  and  he  aint  near  so  ugly  as  he  looks 
after  all.  I  do  hope  Mrs.  Lovett  wont  trouble  herself  to  come  home  for  the  next 
half  hour,  since  Mr.  Todd  has  been  so  good  as  to  call  and  to  make  himself  so 
very  agreeable  about  the — the  gin.*' 

Todd  went  into  Fleet  Street  for  the  gin,  and  he  returned  by  the  dark  archway 
leading  into  Bell  Yard.  It  was  darker  then  than  it  is  now,  and  in  the  deepness 
of  an  ancient  doorway,  he  paused  to  drop  into  the  gin — not  a  deadly  poison 
—■  but  such  a  potion  as  he  knew  would  soon  wrap  up  the  senses  of  Mrs.  Lovett's 
substitute  in  oblivion. 

This  narcotic  he  took  from  a  small  phial  he  had  in  his  breast-pocket. 

He  did  not  say  anything,  but  he  gave  one  laugh,  and  then  he  walked  on  to 
the  pie- shop,  where  he  was  eagerly  and  warmly  welcomed  by  Mrs.  Stag,  who 
very  assiduously  placed  a  chair  for  him,  saying,  as  she  did  so,  that u  Mrs.  Lovett 
would  quite  stare  if  she  were  to  pop  in  just  then,  and  see  them  enjoying  them- 
selves, in  a  manner  of  speaking,  in  so  delightful  a  manner." 

"  I  should  stare  ! "  said  Todd. 

"  You  would,  sir  ?" 

u  Yes  ;  I  rather  am  inclined  to  think  that  that  christening  business  will  detain 
her.  By  this  time  she  has  got  into  the  thick  of  it,  my  dear  madam,  you  may 
depend,  although  I  am  quite  certain  she  will  be  strictly  temporate,  and  take 
nothing  but  water.'5 

"  Do  you  think  so,  sir  ?" 

"  I  am  sure  of  it.  Can  you  find  a  glass,  madam  ?  I  have  not  the  happi- 
ness of  knowing  your  name.0 

"  Stay,  if  you  please,  sir.  I  have  one  glass  here  without  a  foot.  It's  an  odd 
thing,  but  Mrs.  Lovett  shuts  up  the  place  when  she  goes  out,  as  if  we  were  all 
thieves  and  murderers.'' 


WWW  mini,  in  up. 


M»IMWfH 


m>  1 


h  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  445 


**  Does  she  really  ?  Well — well,  we  will  manage  with  one  glass,  my  dear  Mrs. 
Stag.  Jt  is  the  first  time  we  have  had  a  drop  together,  and  I  have  only  to  hope 
that  it  will  not  be  the  last.  I  ought  not,  perhaps,  to  say  it  before  your  face,  but 
you  are  the  most  entertaining  company  that  I  have  met  with  for  a  long  time. — 
brink,  madam/' 

"  After  you,  sir." 

€i  No — no,  I  insist." 

Mrs.  Stag  drank  off  the  full  glass  that  Todd  presented  her  with,  and  then 
affecting  to  pour  one  out  for  himself,  but  dexterously  keeping  the  bottle  between 
him  and  the  lady,  he  only  carried  the  empty  glass  to  his  lips.  Now,  Mrs.  Stag 
was  a  decided  connoisseur  in  gin,  and  she  suddenly  assumed  a  thoughtful  air, 
and  looked  up  to  the  ceiling  as  she  slightly  moved  her  lips. 

"  Rather  an  unusual  taste  after  its  down,  don't  you  think,  sir  ln  she  said. 

*'  Has  it  ?  Well,  I  don't  know.  Perhaps  you  have  been  tasting  a  pie,  madam, 
and  that  may  have  influenced  the  flavour.  Try  it  again.  You  never  can  tell 
the  taste  of  a  glass  of  gin,  in  my  opinion,  until  you  have  taken  two  at  least.  Try 
this,  Mrs.  Stag." 

"  Really  I— I.  Thank  you,  sir.5' 

Off  went  a  second  glass,  and  then  Todd  glared  at  her  with  the  eyes  of  a 
fiend,  as  he  said;  placing  the  bottle  upon  the  counter,  14  That  ought  to  be  a  dose, 
I  think." 

f*  Sir?'  stammered  Mrs.  Stag.  4  I — I — God  bless  me — I — sir — gin — I — that  is 
lots  of  pies — gin— gravy.  Mrs.  Lovett — in  the  crown  of  a  bonnet — I — my  dear, 
my  dear — Bless  us  all.  Lock  it  all  up — no — no — no.  Gin — I — good  again 
— Pies— gravy." 

Todd  caught  her  by  the  throat  or  she  would  have  fallen  ;  and  then,  as  she 
became  quite  insensible,  he  thrust  her  under  the  counter. 


CHAPTER  CL 

TODD  MAKES  HIMSELF  QUITE  AT    HOME  IN  BELL-YARD. 

"  Idiot  !"  said  Todd,  as  he  spurned  the  insensible  form  of  Mrs.  Stag  with  his 
foot.  "Idiot!  1  would  kill  you,  but  that  it  would  not  do  me  any  good.  The 
narcotic  you  have  taken  in  the  gin  may  or  may  not  carry  you  off  for  all  I  care. 
It  don't  matter  to  me  one  straw." 

He  glared  around  him  for  a  few  moments  with  the  fierceness  of  an  ogre,  and 
then  walking  to  the  shop-door,  he  deliberately  locked  and  bolted  it,  so  that  no 
one  could  get  in,  even  if  they  were  expiring  for  a  pie. 

u  Humph/'  he  said.  "  This  is  a  time  of  day  when  it  is  not  likely  the  shop 
will  be  troubled  with  many  customers.  It  is  between  the  batches,  I  know,  so  I 
am  safe  for  an  hour;  and  duringlthat  time  if  1  do  not  make  some  discoveries  here, 
it  will  surely  be  my  own  fault." 

Again  he  glared  around  him  with  the  ogre-like  aspect,  and  he  ran  his  eyes 
carefully  over  the  whole  shop,  from  corner  to  corner— from  floor  to  roof,  and 
from  roof  to  floor.  At  length  he  said— 

u  Where  now,  if  I  were  hiding  anything,  would  I  select  a  place  in  this 
shop?" 

After  putting  this  question  to  himself  Todd  again  ran  his  eyes  over  the 
shop,  and  at  lenght  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  not  there  he  should 
seek  for  any  hiding  place  at  all,  and  he  certainly  paid  the  sagacity  of  Mrs. 
Lovett  one  of  the  highest  compliments  he  possibly  could Jby  concluding  that  she 
would  do  as  he  would  under  like  circumstances.  * 

"No,"  he  said.  H  The  shop  is  no  hiding  place  for  the  secret  store  of  my 
late  friend  Mrs.  Lovett.  No — no.  I  must  seek  in  the  very  centre  of  her 
home,  for  that  which  1  would  find.    Let  me  think — let  me  think." 


J  i 


* 


446  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.1 


Todd  felt  himself  quite  at  home  in  Bell  Yard.  He  was  in  truth  the  landlord 
of  the  house.  It  had  not  been  safe  to  make  the  extensive  under-ground  altera- 
tions in  the  place  if  Mrs.  Lovett  had  been  the  tenant  of  a  stranger  merely  ;  so 
Tood  had  purchased  the  freehold,  and  such  being  the  case,  and  his  tenant,  the 
charming  Mrs.  Lovett,  being  as  he  firmly  believed,  at  the  botton  of  the  Thames, 
who  should  feel  at  home  in  the  place  if  he,  Sweeney  Todd,  did  not  ? 

He  felt  that  he  had  time,  too.  There  was  no  hurry  in  life,  and  he  quite 
smiled  to  himself,  as  he  said— - 

n  How  often  I  have  longed  for  a  rummage  among  my  dear  departed  friend 
Mrs.  Lovett's  goods  and  chattels,  and  now  how  many  happily  and  singly  circum- 
stances have  changed  about  to  enable  me  to  gratify  my  inclination.  Ha!" 

Todd,  in  the  security  of  his  bad  heart,  uttered  one  of  his  old  laughs — but  then 
for  the  whole  of  that  day  he  had  been  unusually  happy.  His  good  terms  with 
himself  shone  out  even  of  his  eyes,  horrible  eyes. 

41  Yes,"  he  said,  "yes,  she  is  dead — dead  — dead.  Ha!  ha  !  Mrs.  Lovett— 
clever,  fascinating  creature — how  muddy  you  lie  to-night.  Ha!" 

It  was  not  prudent,  however,  to  waste  time,  although  he  had  plenty  of  it — it 
never  is  ;  so  up  rose  Todd,  and  proceeded  to  the  parlour.  How  fast-locked  the 
door  was ! 

"Now  really/5  he  said,  "it  is  a  thousand  pities  that  poor  dear  Mrs.  L.  has 
gone  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  Thames  with  her  keys  in  her  pocket.  It  would 
have  made  no  manner  of  difference  in  the  world  to  her  to  have  let  me  have  them. 
It  would  have  saved  me  some  little  trouble,  and  the  doors  some  little  damage. 99 

With  a  malicious  grin,  as  though  he  delighted  in  the  mischief  tie  had  made, 
he  dashed  himself  bodily  against  the  parlour  door,  and  burst  it  open  with  a 
crash. 

"  That  will  do/'  he  said.  "  To  be  sure,  the  party  who,  when  my  absence 
gets  noised  about,  comes  to  take  possession  of  this  house,  would  rather  that  the 
doors  were  whole  ;  but  what  of  that?  Ha  !  I  have  mortgaged  it  twice  over  for 
its  full  value,  and  they  may  fight  about  it  if  they  like.  Ha!  ha!  How  they 
will  litigate,  and  I  shall  read  the  pleasant  account  of  it  in  the  papers." 

By  this  time  Todd  was  in  Mrs.  Lovett's  parlour,  and  folding  his  arms  across 
his  breast,  he  gazed  about  him  with  a  feeling  of  marked  satisfaction,  as  he 
said — 

(i  For  five  years  she  has  been  making,  of  course,  a  private  purse  for  herself, 
the  dear  creature,  as  well  as  looking  to  the  share  of  the  money  in  the  bank ;  and 
for  the  last  few  weeks,  since  our  agreement  together  has  not  been  quite  so  perfect, 
she  has  kept  all  her  takings  herself ;  so  reasoning  upon  that,  she  must,  bless 
her  provident  spirit,  have  a  tolerable  sum  laid  by  somewhere,  which  I,  as  her 
executor,  will  most  assuredly  pounce  upon." 

At  this  moment  some  one  clamoured  for  admission  at  the  shop-door,  rapping 
at  it  with  a  penny-piece  in  a  manner  that  sounded  very  persevering. 

"  Curses  on  you/'  muttered  Todd,  "  who  are  you  ??' 

"  A  twopenny — a  twopenny — a  twopenny  W  cried  a  boy,  who  was  at  the 
door,  in  a  sing-song  sort  of  voice— "I  want  a  twopenny — a  twopenny/' 

Rap,  rap,  rap!  went  one  of  the  penny-pieces  against  the  upper  half  of  the 
shop-door,  which  was  of  glass.  Rap,  rap,  rap  !  Todd  felt  quite  convinced  that 
that  boy  would  not  go  without  some  sort  of  answer  being  given  to  his  demand, 
so  he  slunk  round  the  shop,  crouching  down,  until  he  came  close  to  the  door, 
and  then  assuming  one  of  his  most  hideous  faces,  he  suddenly  rose  up,  and  from 
within  half  an  inch  of  the  boy's  face  upon  the  other  side  of  the  glass,  he  con- 
fronted  him. 

So  horrible  and  so  completely  unexpected  was  this  face  to  the  boy,  that  for  a 
moment  or  two  he  seemed  to  be  absolutely  paralysed  by  it,  and  then,  with  a  cry 
of  terror,  he  dropped  the  penny-piece  with  which  he  had  been  rapping  the  win- 
dow, and  fled  up  Bell  Yard  as  though  the  evil  one  himself  were  at  his  heels. 

"That  will  do,"  said  Todd. 

He  went  back  to  the  parlour  and  glared  round  him  again  in  the  hope  of  find- 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  447 


ing  something  there,  but  the  only  cupboard  which  he  observed  was  fast  locked. 
One  blow  with  the  poker,  using  it  javelin-like,  forced  it  open,  and  Todd  began 
flinging  out  upon  the  floor  the  glass  and  china,  with  which  it  was  well  enough 
filled,  without  any  mercy.  What  cared  he  for  such  matters  ?  Would  he  not 
before  twelve  hours  now  be  miles  and  miles  away?  What,  then,  was  glass  and 
china  to  him  ?    Nothing — absolutely  nothing. 

He  was  disappointed,  though,  for  he  did  not  find  the  supposed  concealed 
hoard  of  Mrs.  Lovett  behind  the  other  things  in  this  cupboard. 

%  Be  it  so,"  he  said.  "No  doubt  she  fancies  her  bed-room  is  the  safest 
place,  after  all,  for  her  money— *that  is  easily  sought.  Bless  you,  Mrs.  Lovett, 
I  will  find  your  gold  yet !" 

With  this  view,  Todd,  by  the  aid  of  the  poker,  broke  open  another  door, 
namely,  the  one  which  led  from  the  parlour  to  the  staircase,  that  would  enable 
him  to  ascend  to  the  upper  part  of  the  house.  Truly,  Mrs.  Lovett  was  great  in 
the  locking-up  way — very  great  indeed. 

Todd  was  now  getting  out  of  patience  just  a  little,  but  only  a  little,  that  was 
all.  He  naturally  enough  in  his  own  house  wanted  to  make  discoveries  a  little 
quicker  than  he  was  making  them,  that  was  all ;  and  so  he  felt  put  out  of  h  is 
way  a  little,  as  any  gentleman  might  under  such  circumstances.  He  swore  a 
little,  and  was  not  so  polite  in  his  mention  of  the  deceased  Mrs.  Lovett  as  he 
might  have  been. 

He  ascended  the  stairs  three  at  a  time. 

"  I  wonder,"  he  said,  when  he  reached  the  top  of  the  first  flight ;  u  I  wonder 
where  the  wily  wretch  slept.  She  never  would  let  me  up  stairs  since  she  occu- 
pied the  house." 

The  locking-up  propensities  of  Mrs.  Lovett  did  not  continue  past  the 
ground-floor ;  and  Todd  found  all  the  doors  upon  the  floor  he  was  now 
on  readily  enough  yield  to  his  touch.  The  second  one  he  went  into  was 
undoubtedly  the  room  he  sought.  It  was  rather  elegantly  furnished  as  a 
bed  chamber ;  and  as  Todd  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  floor,  he  chuckled  to  him- 
self, and  muttGred — 

"  Ha!  when  she  rose  this  morning,  she  did  not  quite  fancy  she  was  taking 
her  last  look  at  this  chamber.  Ha!  ha!  Well,  my  dear  Mrs.  L.,  you 
had  some  taste,  I  will  admit,  for  this  room  is  very  nicely  got  up.  It  is 
a  world  of  pities  you  had  not  sense  enough  to  be  my  slave,  but  you  must 
try  to  be  my  equal,  which  in  your  poor  vanity  you  thought  I  could  permit. 
No — no — no  ! — that  was  impossible.  Why  should  I  single  you  out  of  all  the 
world,  Mrs.  Lovett,  to  be  just  to  ?" 

This,  in  Todd's  estimation,  was  a  very  conclusive  argument,  indeed.  Whether 
it  would  have  been  so  to  Mrs  Lovett  is  another  thing. 

And  now  the  arch  villain  commenced  a  search  in  the  chamber  of  his  victim 
of  the  most  extraordinary  character  for  minuteness  that  could  possibly  be  con- 
ceived. It  was  quite  clear  that  there  he  expected  to  find  something  worth 
looking  for,  and  that  if  he  were  foiled,  it  should  not  be  for  want  of  due  dilligence 
in  the  investigation. 

In  the  course  of  ten  minutes,  the  trim  and  well-kept  bedroom  was  one 
scene  of  confusion  and  disorder.  The  dressing-glass  was  thrown  down,  and, 
being  in  his  way  once,  was  kicked  to  the  other  end  of  the  room,  and  smashed 
to  fragments.  The  bed-clothes  were  tossed  hither  and  thither  in  the  most 
reckless  manner.  Boxes  were  burst  open  and  ransacked,  but  all  in  vain.  Not 
one  penny-piece  could  Todd  discover. 

"  Confound  her !"  he  said,  as  he  wiped  his  brow  with  a  lace  cap  he  picked  off 
the  dressing-table;  "  confound  her!  I  begin  to  suspect  that  what  she  had  of  her 
own  she  put  in  her  pocket  this  morning,  and  it  has  gone  down  to  the  bottom  of 
the  river  with  her!    How  infernally  provoking !" 

He  peeped  up  the  chimney,  and  got  nothing  by  that  motion  but  a  flop  of  soot 
in  his  eve. 

Mmtmmmmm^mmmm^mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm»mmmmmmmmmmml^mmmmmmmmmmmm^^  in.   ■    >  ■   


448 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


He  stamped  and  swore  and  cursed  in  the  most  horrible  manner  that  can  pos- 
sibly be  conceived. 

Feeling  that  Mrs.  Lovett  in  the  matter  of  her  little  private  savings  had  been 
one  too  many  for  him,  he  looked  rather  hopelessly  through  the  other  rooms  of 
the  house.  They  were  all  completely  vacant,  and  from  the  appearance  of  the 
dust  upon  the  floors  of  them  did  not  seem  to  have  been  entered  for  years  past. 
He  gave  up  the  search  in  despair,  and  gloomily  walked  down  stairs  to  the 
parlour  again. 

"  It  is  lost,"  he  said.  *'  It  is  lost.  Well,  I  must  even  be  content  with  that 
which  I  have  :  I  don't  think  any  one  will  be  the  richer  for  what  is  here.  No,  no. 
It  could  not  have  escaped  my  search)  and  if  it  has  done  so  by  a  miracle,  or  next 
thing  to  one,  it  will  remain  until  the  house  falls  to  pieces  years  hence,  perhaps, 
and  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  one  when  I  am  de — No — no — what  puts  that 
word  dead  into  my  mouth  ?  I  hate  to  think  of  it  !  I  am  young  in  constitution, 
and  shall  live  many — many  years  yet ;  oh,  yes,  I— I  need  have  no  fear  of  death/' 

Todd  glared  round  him  as  though  he  expected  that  the  very  impersonification 
of  the  grim  King  of  Terrors  would  rise  up  before  him  to  take  vengeance  for 
being  treated  so  slightingly  ;  but  all  was  still. 

He  wiped  his  brow  again  with  the  lace  cap  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  which  he  had  me- 
chanically retained  when  he  left  the  bed-room,  and  then  he  began  to  ask  himself 
what  should  be  done  with  the  shop. 

**  For  a  few  hours  yet,"  he  said,  "  a  few  short  hours,  there  must  be  no 
disturbance  and  no  commotion  in  this  neighbourhood  with  which  my  name  may 
possibly  be  connected.  After  that,  they  may  do  what  they  like  and  say  what  they 
like,  but  now  all  must  be  peace  and  silence.  What  shall  1  do  with  this  con- 
founded shop,  now  ?  I  wish  I  had  not  given  so  strong  a  dose  of  the  narcotic  to 
yon,  old  woman,  left  in  charge  by  Mrs.  Lovett.    Ah,  what  is  that  ?" 

The  sound  from  the  shop  as  of  some  one  being  violently  sick,  came  upon 
Todd's  ears. 

"Ah/'  he  said,  "  so  the  narcotic  has  taken  that  effect,  has  it,  upon  Mrs. 
Lovett's  representative  ?  Well,  well,  she  will  recover  from  it  much  sooner  than 
I  thought  she  would,  and  that  will  now  be  all  the  better,  for  it  absolves  me  of 
my  difficulty  about  the  shop  for  the  next  few  hours." 

He  walked  into  the  shop  and  found  Mrs.  Stag  sitting  up  behind  the  counter, 
and  in  rather  a  dubious  condition  as  regarded  the  peace  of  her  stomach. 
Well,  ma'am,'*  said  Todd.    "  How  are  you  now  ?" 

"  The  Lord  have  mercy  upon  us  !" 
Amen  !    But  how  came  you  in  this  state,  ma'am  ?* 

"The  pies,  sir.  The  pies.  You  really  have  no  idea  of  how  very  rich  they 
are,  sir.  It's  all  along  of  the  pies,  that's  all,  sir  ;  but  I  am  getting  better,  though 
my  head  is  none  of  the  best." 

"  Yes/'  said  Todd.  "  Of  course  it  was  the  very  rich  pies.  It  could  not  have 
been  what  you  drank.1' 

"  Oh,  no,  no.  Oh,  dear  no.  That  wasn't  enough  to  hurt  an  infant,  sir,  as 
you  ought  to  know.  What  a  mercy  it  is  that  Mrs.  Lovett  has  not  come  home, 
for  she  is  rather  a  violent  woman  at  times.    It's  really  quite  a  mercy. H 

"  She  won't  be  home  just  yet,  I  think/'  said  Todd.  "  You  will  have  time  to 
get  completely  to  rights  before  you  see  her,  and  when  you  do  see  her  I  would 
advise  you  to  make  your  peace  with  the  other  world  as  quickly  as  you  can  f ' 

Todd  closed  the  parlour  door  ;  and  as  it  was  only  the  lock  that  had  given,  it 
did  not  show  much  symptoms  of  what  had  happened  to  it  ;  as  that  ia  all  likeli- 
hood Mrs.  Stag,  supposing  that  it  was  fast  as  she  had  first  found  it,  -would  not 
pay  any  attention  to\it  or  scrutenise  it  sufficiently  to  be  aware  that  it  had  been 
at  all  tampered  with  by  any  one. 

"  Only  a  few  hours  after  all,"  muttered  Todd,  "  and  then  I  don't  care  what 
anybody  thinks  or  says  about  this  shop  and  its  affairs,  or  about  me  in  connec- 
tion with  them.  Ah,  I  had  quite  forgotten.  I  wonder  what  Mis.  Lovett's  cook 
is  about  ?" 


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THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS 


9 


Todd  paused,  and  gave  some  few  moments'  thought  to  the  cook.  He  had  an 
idea  of  going  down  to  the  oven  cellar,  ana  Idling  him,  so  that  he  might  feel  quite 
ertain  he  was  out  of  th«  way  of  perpetrating  any  mischief ;  but  a  second  thought 
determined  him  in  the  other  way. 

"  No— no,"  he  said.  w  What  can  he  do  ?  No  doubt  the  house  will  be  shut 
af     ter  a  time,  and  then  he  will  starve  to  death.  Ha!" 


MBS,  LOVETT  FINDS  SOMEBODY  OUT — AT  HOME. 

CHAPTER  CIL 


TAKES  A  SLIGHT  GLANCE  AT  TOBIAS  AND  HIS  INTENDED. 

The  idea  of  the  cook  being  starved  to  death,  had  quite  reconciled  Todd  to 
the  notion  of  leaving  him  alone;  so  he  left  the  shop,  and  proceeded  to  his  own 
domicile  in  Fleet  Street,  and  as  nothing  of  great  moment  has  occurred  during 
his  absence,  we  will  take  the  liberty  of  conducting  the  reader  to  the  house  of 


No-  57. 


450  ____  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.   

  .  -  -    -  i  —    ■  ■■   ■  ■  -  ■  ■■■■■■■  ■        Mjjwgpy     —  -  -  —  — — —  <  i  ■  —  —  ■ . — ,,.  mp*m/mf  ,.i„.  mm&fs&fmm  ■  |w  *  —■  -  -■■  

Colonel  Jeffery,  and  taking  a  slight  peep  at  our  old  friend  Tobias,  whom  we  left 
in  rather  a  critical  position. 

Tobias  had  been  in  so  delicate  a  condition,  prior  to  the  last  outrage  of  Todd 
at  the  colonel's  house,  that  one  might  suppose  such  a  thing  would  go  fai 
towards  terminating  his  mortal  career,  and  so  indeed  it  did  ;  but  in  youth  there 
is  such  a  tenacity  to  life  that  we  may  fairly  look  for  the  most  extraordinary 
things  in  the  shape  of  clinging  to  the  vital  principle,  and  in  the  way  of  getting 
over  injuries.  Poor  Tobias  was,  to  be  sure,  thrown  bacfc  by  Todd's  attack,  but 
he  was  not  destroyed.  The  medical  man  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  the  mental 
shock  was  by  far  worse  than  the  physical  injury,  and  he  said  to  the  colonel — 

"  Some  means  must  be  devised  to  make  him  believe  that  he  is  quite  free  from 
any  further  attack  upon  the  part  of  Todd,  or  he  will  never  recover.  He  will 
awaken,  it  is  true,  from  the  trance  he  is  now  in,  but  it  will  be  to  all  the  horrors 
and  dread  of  some  expected  fresh  attack  from  Todd." 

"But  I  will  assure  him  of  my  protection,"  said  the  colonel.  €t  I  will  in  the 
most  positive  manner  tell  him  that  he  shall  here  be  perfectly  safe  from  that 
man." 

"  Excuse  me,  colonel,"  replied  the  surgeon,  but  all  that  was  done  before, 
and  yet  Tobias  has  found  that  Todd  reached  him,  even  in  one  of  the  room  of 
this  house.  You  will  find  that  he  will  be  very  sceptical  regarding  your  powers 
to  protect  him  now  from  that  bold  aad  infamous  man.  I  hope  I  am  not  offend- 
ing you,  colonel,  by  my  plain  speaking  ?" 

"  Not  at  all  my  dear,  sir,  not  at  all.  Do  not  think  of  such  a  thing.  Plain 
speaking,  when  it  is  dictated  by  friendly  feeling,  is  one  of  the  most  admirable 
things  in  all  the  world,  and  no  one  can  possibly  admire  it  more  than  I  do.  I 
feel,  too,  the  full  force  of  what  you  have  said,  and  that  to  the  ears  of  Tobias  it 
would  sound  like  a  farce  for  me  to  offer  to  protect  him  from  the  further  assaults 
of  Sweeney  Tood." 

"  But  something  may  be  done  that  is  quite  of  a  decisive  character  upon  the 
subject,  c#lonel." 

"  W  hat  do  you  mean  V* 

"  I  mean,  that  to  sick  folks  I  say  anything  that  I  think  will  tend  to  their 
recovery,  even  although  I  may  feel  that  I  am  a  little  transgressing  the  bounds  of 
truth.  We  must  consider  what  we  say  to  people  in  the  position  of  Tobias, 
as  so  much  medicine  artfully  administered  to  him." 

<€  I  quite  agree  with  you,  and  I  feel  that  f  ou  have  some  Important  sugges- 
tion to  make  to  me  regarding  Tobias.    What  is  it  ?" 

"Then,  colonel,  if  I  were  you,  I  should  not  hesitate  for  one  moment  to  tell 
him  that  Todd  was  dead." 

"Dead?" 

"  Yes,  that  is  the  only  thing  that  will  thoroughly  convince  Tobias  he  has 
nothing  further  to  fear  from  him.  I  think  it  not  only  one  of  those  delusions 
that  are  in  themselves  harmless,  but  I  think  it  a  justifiable  dose  of  moral 
medicine." 

"  It  shall  be  done,"  said  the  colonel.  "It  shall  be  done.  I  do  not  hesitate 
about  it  for  a  moment.  I  thank  you  for  the  idea,  and  if  thnt  will  do  Tobias 
any  good,  he  shall  have  the  full  benefit  of  it  at  my  hands.  Shall  we  seek  him 
now?" 

"  Yes,  I  hope  that  he  is  in  a  state  to  fully  comprehend  what  is  said  to  him, 
and  in  that  case  the  sooner  we  say  this  from  which  we  expect  such  good 
results,  the  better  it  will  be.  I  am  most  anxious  to  witness  the  effect  it  will 
have  upon  his  mind,  colonel.  If  I  mistake  not,  it  will  be  one  far  exceeding 
anything  you  can  suppose." 

Upon  this  they  both  went  up  stairs  to  the  chamber  in  which  poor  Tobias 
lay.  The  boy  was  upon  a  bed,  lying  to  all  appearance  bereft  of  sense.  His 
breathing  was  rather  laborious,  and  every  now  and  then  there  was  a  nervous 
twitching  of  the  muscles  of  the  face,  which  bespoke  how  ill  at  ease  the  whole 
system  was.    At  times  too  he  would  mutter  some  incoherent  words,  during 


r  -arjrjr    "  —  -  ■  •   ■       1    "  - 

 1  '   <    ■  .    —  —  — — — — ■  — ■ 

THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  451 

er  '- —   —    '  ....        ,    -   -   ~    — ^» 

which  both  the  medical  man  and  the  colonel  thought  they  could  distinguish 
the  name  of  Todd. 

"  Yes/5  said  the  surgeon,  "that  is  the  spectre  that  is  ever  present  to  the 
imagination  of  this  poor  boy  and  we  must  speedily  get  rid  of  it  from  him,  or  it 
will  assuredly  kill  him.  I  would  not  answer  for  his  life  another  twenty-four 
hours,  if  his  fancy  were  still  to  continue  to  be  tortured  by  an  expectation  of  the 
appearance  of  Todd." 

"Will  you,  or  shall  I,  speak  to  him  ?" 

"You,  if  you  please,  colonel;  he  knows  your  voice  better  no  doubt  than  he 
does  mine/' 

\      Colonel  Jeffery  bent  his  head  close  down  to  Tobias's  ear,  and  in  a  clear  correct 

voice  spoke  to  him. 

"Tobias,  I  have  come  to  say  something  very  important  to  you.  It  is  some- 
!   thing  which  I  hope  will  do  you  good  to  hear.    Do  ycu  comprehend  me, 

Tobias }" 

The  sufferer  uttered  a  faint  groan,  as  lie  tossed  one  of  his  arms  uneasily  I 
about  upon  the  coverlet. 

^  "  You  quite  understand  me,  Tobias  ?  Only  say  that  you  do  so,  and  I  shall 
be  satisfied  to  go  on,  and  say  to  you  what  I  have  to  say."  % 

"Todd,  Todd  !"  gasped  Tobias.    "  Oh,  Go  i  !  coming—he  is  coming." 

"  You  hear,"  said  the  surgeon.  "That  is  what  his  imagination  runs  upon. 
That  is  proof  conclusive/' 

"It  is,  poor  boy,"  said  the  colonel.  "But  I  wish  I  could  get  him  to  say 
that  he  fully  comprehends  my  words." 

"  Never  mind  that.  I  would  recommend  that  you  make  the  communication 
to  him  at  once,  and  abruptly.  It  will,  in  all  likelihood,  thus  have  more  effect  than 
if  you  dilate  it  by  any  great  note  of  preparation  before  it  reaches  his  ears/' 

The  colonel  nodded  his  acquiescence  ;  and  then,  once  more  inclining  his 
mouth  to  Tobias's  ear,  he  said,  in  clear  and  moderately  loud  accents — 

"  Sweeney  Todd  is  dead  P* 

Tobias  at  once  sprang  up  to  a  sitting  posture  in  the  bed,  and  cried — 
"No,  no!    Is  it  really  so V 

"  Yes,"  added  the  colonel.    "  Sweeney  Todd  is  dead." 

For  a  moment  or  two  Tobias  looked  from  the  colonel  to  the  surgeon,  and 
from  the  surgeon  to  the  colonel,  with  a  bewildered  expression  of  countenance, 
and  then  burst  into  tears. 

"That  will  do,"  said  the  surgeon. 

"It  has  succeeded  ?"  whispered  the  colonel. 

"Fully.    It  could  not  do  better.    He  will  recover  full  consciousness  now 
when  those  tears  are  over.    All  will  go  well  with  him  ;  but  do  not,  by  word  or 
look,  insinuate  the  rs&rpotest  doubt  of  the  truth  of  what  you  have  told  him.  It 
1  would  be  better  to  say  the  same  thing  to  any  of  the  servants  that  may  come 
about  him." 

f1 1  will — I  will ;  and  particularly  to  his  master,  whom  I  would  as  soon  trust 
with  a  secret  as  I  would  with  the  command  of  a  regiment  of  cavalry.1' 

Tobias  wept  for  the  space  of  about  ten  minutes,  and  then  he  looked  up  with 
a  face  in  which  there  was  a  totally  different  expression  to  what  it  had  borne 
but  a  short  time  previously,  and  with  a  faltering  voice  he  spoke — 

"  And  so  Todd  is  gone  at  last?" 

"He  has,"  replied  the  colonel;  "and,  therefore,  you  may  now,  Tobias,  make 
your  mind  quite  easy  about  him.0 
"Oh,  quite— quite !" 

By  the  long  breath  that  Tobias  drew,  it  was  evident  what  an  exquisite  relief 
it  was  to  him  to  be  able  to  feel  that  the  man  who  had  been  the  bane  of  his 
young  life  was  no  more.  No  assurance  of  protection  from  him  could  have 
come  near  the  feeling  of  satisfaction  that  he  now  felt  in  the  consciousness  of 
such  a  release.  But  Todd  being  dead,  settled  the  affair  at  once,  There  was  no 
drawback  upon  his  satisfaction. 

4 

w 


452 


THE  STBING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Oh  !"  he  said,  "  I  do  indeed  feel  that  life  is  with  me  again,  and  that  I  can 
be  happy.    Where  is  Minna  I" 

u  She  cannot  remain  here  always/'  replied  the  colonel;  "  but  she  will  be  in 
the  house  shortly,  upon  a  visit  to  your  mother,  and  you  shall  yourself  have  the 

pleasure  of  communicating  the  welcome  news  of  Todd's  death  to  her  news 

which  to  her  bears  as  great  a  significance  as  it  does  to  you." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  replied  Tobias.    *'  Minna  will  be  pleased.    We  ought  not  to 
rejoice  at  the  death  of  any  one;  but  then  Todd  was  so  very,  very  bad  a  man 
that  his  dying  is  a  good  thing,  as  It  keeps  him  from  loading  his  soul  with  more 
wickedness." 

"That,"  said  the  medical  man,  "is  the  proper  view  to  take  of  the  matter 
Tobias;  but  now  you  will  permit  me  to  say  to  you  that  you  should  not  talk  too' 
much,  nor  overtax  your  young  strength.  I  will  darken  the  room,  by  closing 
the  shutters ;  and  it  is  highly  desirable  that  you  should  enjoy  a  few  hours  calm 
sleep,  which  now,  with  the  conviction  that  Todd  is  dead,  I  do  not  see  any 
difficulty  in  your  doing." 

"  Oh,  no— no,"  said  Tobias,  with  quite  a  bright  expression  upon  his  face. 
"Oh,  no,  I  shall  sleep  well  now.  Quite  weJl,  for  what  have  I  to  fear  now?' 
These  few  words  were  spoken  in  such  a  tone  of  calm  composure,  that  the 
colonel  had  every  reason  to  rejoice  in  the  experiment  he  had  tried,  upon  the 
advice  of  the  medical  man.  The  latter  closed  the  shutters  of  the  room  all  but 
one,  so  that  there  was  but  a  soft  and  chastened  light  in  th  room;  and  then, 
with  a  smile  upon  his  face,  Tobias— after  hoping  that  they  would  arouse  him 
when  Minna  should  come,  and  receiving  a  promise  that  way— turned  his  face  to 
his  pillow,  and  composed  himself  to  the  first  pure  rest  he  had  had  since  the 
attack  that  the  villain  Todd  had  made  upon  him  in  the  coloners  house. 

"  It  is  not  much  of  a  deception,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery  to  the  surgeon,  when 
the  latter  was  leaving  the  house,  "  for  I  believe  now  that  Todd's  hours  are 
indeed  numbered.    He  will  be  arrested  to-night." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  replied  the  surgeon.  "Such  a  notable  villain  ought 
to  be  as  quickly  as  possible  put  out  of  the  world." 

TiTi?6  ^i"";^^  hear  from  Sir  Richard  Blunt, 

gone  over  my  head,  the  whole 

crirninaUty  »  nam6  °f  &nd  the  Stor>r  of  his  friShtful 

Tobias  slept  quietly,  and  securely  for  four  hours,  during  which  space  of  time 
he  was  twice  visited  by  Minna  Gray,  who  had  arrived  while  he  was  in  that  state 
of  repose.   The  colonel,  although  be  felt  the  danger  of  letting  Mrs.  Ragg  know 

was  premature,  felt  no  such 
scruple  with  regard  to  Minna.  Indeed  he  considered  that  it  would  have  been 
an  insult  to  her  judgment  not  to  have  told  her  exactly  how  the  case  stood. 

When  she  heard  it  all,  and  upon  visiting  Tobias's  bed-room,  found  what  a 
sweet  sleep  he  was  in,  and  what  a  quiet  gentle  smile  was  upon  his  face,  she 
tearfully  acknowledged  what  a  good  thing  the  innocent  deception  was  which  had 
produced  such  a  result.  r 

"  It  will  save  him,"  she  said. 

«  It  will,"  replied  the  colone  I;  "and  be  sure  that  you  keep  sufficient  guard  over 
yourself  to  keep  from  betraying  the  secret." 
"  Oh,  sir,  trust  me,  I  will." 

™  AffT«ff  embifr  nat  J"  thiS  h°UuSe'  Minna> ifc  is  known  onlyfc  y°u  to 
me.    If  Tobias  should  ask  you  anything  about  it,  you  had  betterknow  nothing, 

^.JP;™1^  of  makings    •  ommunf 

cation  to  you  himself,  therefore  you  cannot  be  puzzled  by  nestions  re- 

garding  particulars  when  he  is  your  informant " 

Minna  joyfully  concurred  with  all  that  the  colonel  said  upon  this  head ; 

vini  f  Tw-r-11  MJS-  RaSS  in  the  kitchen-that  good  lad^ 
w  g  ? \T  ™flcltJ*lt]}  " .the  story  of  the  death  of  Todd*  and  the 
profoundest  hope  that  she  should  soon  hear  the  full  particulars  of  that 


 1  «—  , — ^ 

THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


453 


event — she  betook  herself  to  the  bedside  of  lobias,  there  to  await  his 
awakening. 

^  When  he  did  open  his  eyes,  they  were  clear  and  bright,  and  the  fever  had  left 
his  brow  and  cheeks*    The  first  object  his  eye  rested  upon  was  Minna,  and  the 
first  words  he  said  were — 
"Todd  is  dead  !" 

"  Ah,  then,  Tobias,  you  have  nothing  now  to  fear,  for  you  have  not  an  enemy 
in  the  world. 99 

"  No,"  he  cried,  "  I  have  now  nothing  to  fear— but,  my  Minna,  my  own, 
my  beautiful !  how  much  I  have  to  love !  We  shall  be  now,  Minna,  very,  very 
happy,  indeed,  and  God  will  bless  me  for  your  dear  sake  !'* 


CHAPTER  CIII. 

m 

MR.  LUPIN  HAS  A  SINGULAR  INTERVIEW    WITH    MRS.  OAKLEY. 

Amid  all  the  exciting  circumstances  that  it  has  been  our  duty  to  relate — amid 
the  turmoil  of  events  consequent  upon  the  wild  villany  of  Todd,  and  the  urgent 
attempts  of  Mrs.  Lovett  to  get  her  accounts  audited — we  have  very  much  lost 
sight  of  Mrs.  Oakley. 

Perhaps  the  reader  has  not  been  altogether  unwilling  to  lose  sight  of  a 
lady  who,  we  will  admit,  was  not  calculated  to  make  great  advances  in  his 
esteem. 

But  yet  one  thing  must  be  recollected,  and  that  is  that  Mrs.  Oakley  is 
Johanna's  mother  !  That  we  opine  is  a  fact  which  she  should  be  given  some 
degree  of  attention  for ;  and  insomuch  as  the  bright  eyes  of  the  fair  and  noble- 
minded  Johanna  might  be  dimmed  by  an  additional  tear  if  anything  very  serious 
was  to  become  of  Mrs,  Oakley,  we  will  go  a  little  out  "of  our  way  just 
now  to  see  what  that  deluded  parson-ridden  woman  is  about. 

The  outgoings  and  the  incomings  of  Mrs.  Oakley  for  a  lcng  time  past  had 
been  so  various  and  discursive,  that  the  poor  spectacle-maker  had  long  since  left 
off  considering  that  he  had  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  domestic  establish- 
ment. Certainly,  Johanna  was  always  at  hand,  until  lately,  to  attend  to 
her  father's  comforts — but  the  wife  never/  There  was  either  a  prayer- 
meeting,  or  a  love-feast,  or  some  congregation  or  another  assembled  to  hear 
or  to  see  Mr.  Lupin ;  so  that  if  the  wife  and  the  mother  went  to  such  places 
to  learn  her  duties,  it  was  pretty  evident  that  the  lesson  occupied  the  whole  of 
her  time. 

But  still  at  times  she  did  come  home.  At  odd  seasons  she  was  to  be 
found  groaning  and  snuffling  at  the  fireside  in  the  little  dark  parlour  at  the 
back  of  the  shop  ;  but  now  for  some  few  days  she  had  totally  disappeared. 

Mr.  Oakley  was  alone. 

Up  a  dingy  court  in  the  City,  not  a  hundred  miles  from  the  dingy  purlieus  of 
Monkwell  Street,  there  was  a  dingy  conventicle,  upon  the  front  of  which 
the  word  u  Ebenezer"  announced  its  character,  or  its  would-be  character.  The 
upper  part  of  this  chapel  was  converted  into  a  dwelling-place,  and  there  luxu- 
riated Mr.  Lupin. 

The  flock  (geese,  of  course!)  of  the  reverend  gent  rented  the  edifice,  so 
that  there  he  was  rent  free,  and  there  he  was  in  the  habit  of  inviting  to  tea 
such  of  the  females  of  his  congregation  who  either  had  money  of  their 
own,  or  whose  husband's  had  tills  easily  accessible,  or  pockets  into  which 
the  wife's  hand  could  be  dipped  at  discretion  :  and  dipped  it  generally  was 
at  in-discretion  ; — for  folks,  whether  they  be  wives  or  not,  when  they  can 
dip  into  other  folks'  pockets,  do  not  always  know  how  much  to  take  just  and  no  | 
more. 


454 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


Now  Mr.  Lupin  had  established  a  Three-days-two-hours  and-general-sub- 
scription-saving  grace-prayer,  which  consisted  of  praying  every  two  hours  for 
three  days  and  three  nights,  and  at  each  prayer  making  an  offering  in  hard  cash 
for  the  use  of  the  church  and  the  gospel,  he  (Mr.  Lupin)  being  both  the  church 
and  the  gospel. 

Alas  !  what  will  not  human  folly  in  the  name  of  religion  stoop  to  !  There 
were  women — mothers  of  families,  who  came  to  Mr.  Lupin's  house  above  the 
chapel  with  what  plunder  they  could  get  together,  and  there  actually  stand  the 
three  days  and  three  nights,  the  reverend  gent  making  it  is  duty  to  keep  them 
awake  at  the  end  of  every  two  hours  at  least,  as  he  pretended  to  pray,  and  send- 
ing them  away  completely  placid,  but  with  the  comfortable  conviction,  as  they 
themselves  expressed  it,  that  their  "  souls  were  saved  alive.'5 

Mrs.  Oakley  was  one  of  these  dupes. 

Now,  although  these  proceedings  weie  very  profitable  to  Mr.  Lupin,  he  found 
that  it  was  very  irksome  to  get  up  himself  in  the  middle  of  the  night  to  awaken 
the  sinners  to  prayer,  so  he  used  to  introduce  brandy-and-water  after  he  had 
pretty  well  tired  out  his  devotee,  and  ascertained  the  amount  of  money  he  was 
likely  to  get,  and  in  the  confusion  of  mind  consequent  upon  that  gentle  stimu- 
lant, the  time  went  on  very  glibly. 

"  Sister  Oakley,5'  said  Lupin,  on  the  evening  of  the  first  day  of  Mrs.  Oakley's 
residence  beneath  his  highly-spiritual  roof.  "  Sister  Oakley,  truly  you  will  be 
a  great  brand  snatched  from  the  burning — How  much  money  have  you  got  ?" 

"  Alas  !"  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  "  business  must  be  bad,  for  I  only  found  in  the 
tell  three  pounds  eleven-and- sixpence.5' 

Mr.  Lupin  groaned. 

"  Rut  I  will  from  time  to  time  take  what  I  can,  and  let  you  have  it,  for  the 
welfare  of  one's  precious  soul  is  above  all  price/' 

"Truly,  Sister  Oakley,  it  is,  and  you  may  as  well  give  me  the  small  instalment 
now  if  it  shall  seem  right  unto  thee,  sister.  I  thank  you  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  !  Humph — only  three  pounds  eleven-and-sixpence.  Well,  well,  we  shall 
do  better  another  time,  perhaps,  sister.  Rest  in  peace,  and  I  will  from  time  to 
time  come  in  and  awaken  thee  to  prayer.  Truly  and  verily  I  have  a  hard  time  of 
it  al  ways." 

it  was  on  the  second  night  that  fatigue  had  had  a  great  effect  upon  Mrs. 
Oakley,  and  upon  the  reverend  gent  likewise  that  he  brought  her  a  tumbler  of 
hot  brandy-and-water,  saying  as  he  placed  it  by  her — 

"  Truly  I  have  had  a  dream,  and  the  Lord  told  me  to  give  you  this,.  I  pray 
you  take  it,  Mrs.  O.,  and  may  it  put  you  in  mind  of  the  glory  of  the  world  that 


is  to  come — Amen 


( 


Mr.  Lupin  retired,  and  as  the  stimulant  was  not  at  all  an  ungrateful  thing  to 
Mrs.  Oakley,  she  was  about  to  raise  it  to  her  lips,  when  a  stunning  knock  at  the 
chapel  door  made  her  give  such  a  start,  that  she  dropped  glass,  and  spirit,  and 
spoon  to  the  ground.  No  doubt,  a  repetition  of  the  knock  at  the  moment,  pre- 
vented Lupin  from  hearing  the  crash,  which  the  fall  in  spirits  produced,  Mrs. 
Oakley  heard  him  open  the  window  of  his  room,  and  in  a  voice  of  stifled  anger 
cry — 

"  Who  is  there  ?    Who  is  there  ?" 

"It's  me,  Groggs,  and  you  know  it,"  said  a  female  voice.   H  Come  down  and 
open  the  door,  or  I  will  rouse  the  whole  neighbourhood/' 
$f  Come,  you  be  off.    I  have  some  one  here." 

"  What,  another  idiot  ?  Ho  ! — ho  !— ho  !  Why,  Groggs,  they  will  find  you 
out  some  day,  and  limb  you.  If  they  only  knew  that  you  were  Groggs  the 
returned  transport,  how  they  would  mob  you  to  be  sure.  But  I  have  come  for 
money,  old  fellow,  and  I  will  have  it.  I  ain't  drunk,  but  I  have  had  enough — 
just  enough,  mark  me  old  boy,  and  you  know  what  I  am  capable  of  when  that's 
the  case.  1  am  your  wife,  and  you  know  it.    Ho  !  hoi'* 

Dab  came  the  knocker  again  upon  the  chapel  door. 

"Do  you  want  to  be  my  ruin  ?"  said  Lupin.    "  Stay  a  moment  and  I  will 


II 


i  hvi  M 
cuaUer  0/ 


Mm 


A  to 


•hod  11  i' 
dm** 


IH 


111 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


455 


! 


throw  you  out  five  shillings  ;  but  if  you  make  any  noise  you  shall  not  have  on 
farthing  from  me/' 

"  Shall  I  not  ?  Ha  !— ha!  Shall  I  not  ?  Five  shillings  indeed  !" 

The  lady  upon  this,  feeling  no  doubt  that  both  her  wants  and  his  powers  of 
persuasion  were  made  very  light  of,  commenced  such  a  tremendous  knocking 
at  the  door,  that  the  terrified  Lupin  at  once  descended  to  let  her  in,  uttering 
such  terrible  curses  as  he  went  that  Mrs.  Oakley  was  petrified  with  dis- 
may. 

Foolish  woman !  Did  she  expect  that  her  idol  would  turn  out  to  be  anything 
but  a  common  brozen  image  ? 

In  the  course  of  a  few  moments  she  heard  the  couple  coming  up  stairs  again, 
and  when  they  reached  the  top,  she  heard  Lupin  say,  "  Confound  you,  you 
always  will  come  with  your  infernal  demands  at  the  very  worst  and  most  awk- 
ward times  and  seasons  to  me.  Did  you  not  take  ten  pounds  some  time  ago, 
and  promise  to  come  near  me  no  more  ? 

"  Ha ! — ha!  Yes,  I  did.  But  lam  here  aga-n  you  see.  You  thought  I 
would  drink  myself  to  death  with  that  amount  of  money,  and  that  you  would 
get  rid  of  me,  but  it  d'd  me  good.  Ho! — ho  ! — ho!  The  good  stuff  did  me 
good/' 

"  You  are  a  fool,"  said  Lupin.  €<  I  tell  you,  woman,  you  will  be  my  ruin, 
my  absolute  ruin  ;  and  then  where  will  your  supplies  come  from  I  should  like 
to  know  ?  Why  I  have  an  idiot  only  in  the  next  room,  of  whom  I  hope  to  make 
a  good  thing  ;  and  if  you  had  only  come  in  five  minutes  sooner  you  would  have 
been  heard  by  her,  and  1  should  have  been  done  up  here.'' 

"  And  why  don't  she  hear  you  now  ?  Have  you  cut  her  throat  like  you  did 
the  woman's  by  Wappinsj?" 

u  Hush  ! — hush!  you  devil !    Why  do  you  allude  to  that  ?" 

*'  Because  I  like,  my  beauty.  Because  1  know  you  did  it.  And  whenever  I  do 
mention  it,  the  gallows  shines  out  in  your  face  as  plain — ay,  as  plain  as  this 
hand  ;  and  I  like  to  see  you  quake  and|change  colour,  and  be  ready  almost  to 
fall  down  with  your  fears.  Ho  ! — ho !  1  like  that.  Yes,  it's  as  good  to  me  as  a 
drop  of  drink,  that  it  is." 

"  I  only  wish  your  throat  was  cut,  that  is  all." 

"  I  know  you  do.  But  you  won't  try  that  on  upon  me.  No — no.  You 
won't  try  that  on.  Look  at  this,  my  beauty.  Do  you  think  I  would  step  into 
a  place  of  your's  without  something  in  the  shape  of  a  friend  with  me  ?  Oh — no — 
no  93 

The  lady  exhibited  the  handle  and  point  of  the  blade  of  a  knife,  as  she 
spoke,  at  which  Mr.  Lupin  staggered  back,  and  then  in  a  faltering  voice  he 
said — 

"  I  will  go  and  see  how  my  portion  has  worked  with  the  idiot  I  mentioned. 
I  gave  her  a  good  dose  of  laudanum  in  a  glass  of  brandy  and  water." 

t  may  be  imagined  with  what  feelings  Mrs.  Oakley  heard  this  interesting 
little  dialogue,  it  may  be  imagined,  if  she  had  at  he  bottom  of  her  heart  any 
lingering  feelings  of  right  or  wrong,  how  they  were  likely  to  be  roused  up  by 
all  this — how  her  thoughts  were  likely  to  fly  back  to  the  house  she  had  made 
wretched,  and  virtually  deserted  for  so  long  a  period  of  time.  And  now  what 
was  to  become  of  her  ?  Had  she  not  heard  Lupin  denounced  by  one  who  knew 
him  well  as  a  murderer — an  allegation  which  he  had  not  even  in  the  faintest 
manner  denied  ? 

Mrs.  Oakley  went  down  upon  her  kness  in  earnest,  and  wringing  her  hands, 
she  cried—  f 

"  God  save  me  for  my  poor  husband  and  my  child's  sake  V' 

We  will  suppose  that  if  any  appeals  at  all  reach  Heaven,  that  this  was  one  of 
those  that  would  be  sure  to  get  there.  Hastily  pushing  aside  with  her  hands 
the  fragments  of  the  broken  glass,  Mrs.  Oakley  flung  herself  upon  the  floor,  at 
the  moment  that  Lupin  with  a  light  in  his  hand  entered  the  room. 

"  Hilloa  l»  he  said. 


11 


i 


!  I 


!  I 


I  i 


456 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


All  was  stilL  Mrs.  Oakley  did  not  move  hand  nor  foot.  She  scarcely  dared 
to  breathe,  for  she  felt  that  upon  his  belief  that  she  had  swallowed  the  narcotic 
her  life  rested.  When  he  saw  her  lying  upon  the  floor,  he  gave  a  short  laugh, 
as  he  said — 

u  I  thought  she  could  not  resist  the  brandy  and  water.  The  laudanum  has 
done  its  work  quickly  indeed.    It's  well  that  it  has,  for  if  it  had  not  Well, 


well !  If  I  only  now  had  the  courage  to  take  a  knife  to  my  wife,  and  get  rid  of 
her  once  and  for  all,  I  should  do  well.  Sister  Oakley,  you  will  not  awaken  for 
many  hours,  and  when  you  do,  you  will  be  by  far  too  much  confused  to  know 
if  you  have  said  all  your  prayers  or  not.  I  shall  make  a  fortune  out  of  these 
women/' 

Mrs.  Oakley  felt  upon  the  point  of  fainting,  and  if  he  had  but  touched  her, 
she  was  certain  that  she  must  have  gone  off ;  but  he  felt  so  satisfied  with  the 
powerful  dose  of  laudanum  that  he  had  given  her  in  the  brandy  and^water,  that 
he  did  not  think  it  worth  while  in  any  way  further  to  interfere  with  her. 

g(  Old  and  ugly  too !"  he  muttered,  as  he  left  the  room. 

Perhaps  these  last  words  cut  Mrs.  Oakley  to  the  soul  more  quickly  than  all 
he  had  previously  said.  If  she  was  not  from  that  moment  cured  of  what  might 
in  her  case  be  called  Lupinism,  it  was  a  very  odd  thing  indeed. 
,  The  Rev,  gent  had  been  gone  more  than  ten  minutes  before  Mrs.  Oakley 
gathered  courage  to  look  up,  and  to  listen  to  what  was  taking  place  in  the  next 
room.  Then  she  found  that  Lupin  was  speaking.  She  was  still  too  much  over- 
come by  terror  to  rise,  but  she  managed  to  crawl  along  the  floor,  until  she 
reached  the  wall  between  the  two  rooms. 

It  was  a  flimsy  wall  that,  composed  only  of  canvas,  for  the  rooms  above  the 
chapel  had  been  got  up  in  a  very  extemporaneous  kind  of  way. 

Nothing  could  take  place  in  the  way  of  conversation  in  the  next  room,  that 
might  be  distinctly  enough  heard  m  the  one  that  Mrs.  Oakley  was  in.  As  we 
have  said,  Lupin  was  speaking.  Mrs.  Oakley  placed  her  ear  close  to  the  canvas, 
and  heard  every  word  that  he  uttered. 

"  Listen  to  reason,"  he  said,  u  listen  to  reason,  Jane.    Of  course,  I  will  give 
you  as  much  money  as  I  can.    I  do  not  attempt  to  deny  your  claim  upon  me, 
and  what  is  to  hinder  us  working  together,  and  making  a  good  thing  of  it  ?  Ah, 
if  I  could  only  persuade  you  to  be  a  religious  woman/' 
M  l€  Gammon  !"  said  Jane. 

<CI  know  that  very  well/'  said  Lupin,  "  That's  the  very  thing.  I  know  it  is 
gammon  as  well  as  you  do.    What's  that?" 

Mrs.  Oakley  had  made  a  slight  noise  in  the  next  room. 


v 

1 1 


CHAPTER  CIV. 

MRS.  OAKLEY  SEES  A  STRANGE  SIGHT,  AND  THINKS  THERE  IS  NO  PLACE  LTKE 

HOME. 

it  -   j  ' 

f*  What's  that,  eh  ?•?  added  Lupin. 

Mrs.  Oakley  sank  flat  upon  the  floor  in  a  moment ;  she  thought  that  now 
surely  her  last  hour  was  come. 

"  1  thought  I  heard  a  noise.    Did  you,  Jane  ?"  added  Lupin* 

"  I  didn't  hear  anything/'  said  the  woman.  "  It's  your  conscience,  old  boy, 
that  makes  you  hear  all  sorts  of  things.  ;You  know  you  are  a  hard  one,  and  no 
mistake.  You  know,  there  ain't  exactly  your  equal  in  London  for  a  vagabond. 
But  come,  hand  out  the  cash,  for  I  ain't  particularly  fond  of  your  company,  nor 
you  of  mine,  I  take  it." 

"  It  must  have  been  imagination,"  muttered  Lupin,  still  alluding  to  the  noise 
he  had  heard  or  fancied  he  had  heard.    "  It  must  have  been  imagination,  and 


S^uiiMi   mi  »p     ii  i  >  i.i  in  [  i-ibi  i    i  ■  m  mmmmmtm   miiKinir  ni     ,   \rKm*mm*mmmmmammm0*mii*mmmmt  urn  'r  \jmwM^mmmmmmmmmi^m^mmmmmmmm^ummmmm$  ifii  ■  mi  +m  i  nififin  m 

■^f— —  —  —  ■        -|         ■       — ..    .  ...         ■■  .  „         i       .-a  ,i        i  .  i  i  ■■    i  -  i    i   _     i  l  —i  ■    .  -■  i-  i       ■■    i    i  ■  .  .      ■    -  -  i  i  ■       Bin  -  -,  -        -  ■       j.i  hi.  i  in -    -r      »  —  IT—'-.  -  ■-      ■  -  .  —    -  - 

THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  457  x 


the  wind  at  night  does  certainly  make  odd  noises  in  the  chapel  at  times, 
know.*' 

"  Bother  the  noises.  Give  me  the  money,  and  let  me  go,  I  say.  Come,  be 
quick  about  it,  or  else  I  shall  think  of  some  way  of  helping  myself,  and  you 
know  when  I  begin,  that  I  am  apt  to  be  rather  troublesome." 


SWEENEY  TODD'S  HOUR  HAS  COME. 

u,  A  little,"  said  Lupin.  "Just  a  little.  But  as  I  was  saying,  Jane— you 
and  I  together  migkt  make  a  fortune  quite  easily.  You  are  a  clever  woman.5' 
u  Am  I  really  ?  When  did  you  find  that  out,  you  old  rogue  ?"  ^$#11 
u  Really,  Jane,  it  is  difficult  to  talk  with  you  while  you  are  in  such  a  humour. 
Come,  will  you  take  something  to  drink  ?  Say  you  will,  and  you  shall  have  the 
very  best  I  can  get  you.  Only  you  must  promise  to  take  it  in  moderation,  and 
not  get  much  the  worse  for  it,  Jane/' 

— ' i-rnuB^^i^.    ww  i»m— *m»mm4m*^~m m—mmm w— — — — m*m — -  —   —  m-n  -  itm  ■>nT  MirinnrwrfW  Tii  i '1* ni—r  i    i  ~ m  m  Jr  i  i  iT    n  ~T — "  ''  '  "*  '  "  '*T"#I "— '  "'  11 

No,  58, 


V 


458  THE  STRING  OF  PEMtLS.  ______________ 

"Do  you  think  now  that  I  am  such  an  idiot  as  to  take  a  drain  of  anything  in 
your  place?  No!  I  am  not  quite  so  green  as  that.  Give  me  some  money  and 
I'll  fetch  something,  and  as  long  as  I  have  got  my  hand  on  the  bottle,  where 
I  will  take  good  care  to  keep  it,  I  shall  know  that  I  am  safe  from  you,  but  not 
otherwise.  You  would  like  to  give  me  a  drop  of  the  same  stuff  you  have  set 
the  woman  in  the  next  room  to  sleep  with,  wouldn't  you  now,  my  beauty  ?" 

"  No,  Jane.  Not  you.  You  are  not  such  a  fool  as  to  be  taken  in  as  she  is. 
Such  poor  tricks  won't  do  for  you,  I  know  well.  There  is  money,  and  there  is 
an  empty  bottle.  Go  and  get  what  you  like  for  yourself,  as  you  wish  not  what 
I  may  happen  to  have  in  the  place.  I  will  let  you  in  again,  so  you  need  not  be 
afraid  of  that,  Jane." 

"  Afraid?  Afraid?  That's  a  likely  thing,  indeed.  I  afraid  of  being  kept  out 
by  you?  No,  old  boy,  if  you  did  keep  me  out  one  minute  longer  than  my  patience 
lasted,  and  that  would  not  be  very  long  I  think,  I  would  raise  such  a  racket 
about  your  ears,  that  you  would  wish  yourself  anywhere  but  where  you  are. 
How  did  I  get  in  before,  when  you  would  have  given  one  of  your  ears  to  keep 
me  out?  Why,  by  frightening  you,  of  course,  and  Til  do  it  again.  Give  me 
hold  of  the  bottle.    I  afraid  of  you,  indeed  ?    A  likely  thing." 

The  lady  left  the  room  with  the  bottle  and  half  a  guinea  in  her  hand,  while 
Lupin,  with  affected  solicitude,  lighted  her  to  the  door  of  the  chapel,  and  lin- 
gered until  he  heard  her  footsteps  die  away  right  up  the  dismal  dingy-looking 
court. 

While  Lupin  was  lighting  his  wife  down  the  stairs,  Mrs.  Oakley 
found  a  small  slit  in  the  canvas  that  made  the  division  between  the  two 
rooms,  and  she  industriously  widened  it,  so  that  she  was  enabled  to  see  into 
the  adjoining  apartment.  She  then  waited  in  fear  and  in  trembling  the  return 
of  Lupin. 

The  arch  hypocrite  was  not  many  minutes  in  making  his  appearance.  He 
set  the  candlestick  down  upon  the  table  with  a  force  that  nearly  started  the 
candle  out  of  it,  and  then  in  a  fierce  voice  he  cried— 

"  Done  — she  is  done  at  last!  Ha!  ha!  Jane,  you  are  done  at  last!  I  kept 
that  bottle  for  an  emergency.  It  seemed  empty,  but  smeared  all  around  its 
inner  side  is  a  sufficient  quantity  of  a  powerful  narcotic  to  affect  the  very  devil 
himself  if  he  were  to  drink  anything  that  had  been  poured  into  it.  You  think 
yourself  mighty  clever,  Jane ;  but  you  are  done  at  last.  Now  what  a  capital 
thing  it  is  that  I  have  sent  that  old  fool,  Mrs.  Oakley,  to  sleep,  for  otherwise  I 
should  certainly  be  under  the  necessity  of  cutting  her  throat/' 

Mrs.  Oakley  could  hardly  suppress  a  groan  at  this  intelligence  ;  but  the 
exigences  of  her  situation  pressed  strongly  upon  her,  and  she  did  succeed  in 
smothering  her  feelings  and  keeping  herself  quiet. 

Lupin  paced  the  room  anxiously  waiting  for  his  wife's  return  ;  and  in, 
the  course  of  about  five  minutes,  a  heavy  dab  of  a  single  knock  upon  the 
chapel  door  announced  that  fact.    He  immediately  snatched  up  the  candle  and| 
ran  down  stairs  to  let  her  in,  lest  according  to  her  threat  she  should  get  to  the, 
end  of  her  very  limited  stock  of  patience.    They  came  up  the  stairs  together — 
Jane  was  speaking — 

Brandy!''  she  said;  "I  have  got  brandy,  and  I  mean  to  keep  my  hand 
on  the  bottle,   I  tell  you.    Ah,  I  know  you — no   one   knows  you  better  j 
than  I  do.    You  may  impose  upon  everybody  but  me.     You  won't  find  it: 
so  very  easv  a  thing  to  get  the  better  of  me ;   Til  keep  my  hand  on  the 
bottle/5 

"  How  very  suspicious  you  are/'  said  Lupin,    i:  It's  quite  distressing/' 
"  Is  it  ?    fib  !  ho  !    Well,  I'll  have  my  drop  and  then  I  will  go.    If  you  are 
civil  to  me  whenever  I  choose  to  come  it  will  be  better  for  you  ;   but  I  am  not 
the  sort  of  person  to  stand  any  nonsense,  I  can  assure  you." 

"  No,  Jane,  I  never  said  you  were/'  replied  Lupin  ;  "and  I  hope  that  to- 
night will  see  the  beginning  as  it  were  of  a  kind  of  reconciliation  and  better 
feeling  between  us.   I  am  sure  I  always  thought  of  you  with  ki  ndness." 

■'Mm  — —IT-— «"■       1     I  i'«|Pin  I .  m,  I     'I   Ml.  KHIII  1         Mill  yiil   .1  HU      »l  ■»«»»■  in    i  r..,..  ..    •mi*.,.m-r™*r-~W**™-~* .  f  »■...«  ..•—.  ..■  r.,-.   — 1    — .  u.f   '  »  —  I-*-'""11 


*  ^  k 

if*** 


and  | 
ey-lookii 


In 


an  J  i  it 

at  rtrj  dm 
Ton  ti/oi' 
in  a  capital 


..<:' 


By  this  time  tliey  were  in  the  room,  and  the  lady  half  drew  the  knife  she  had 
before  exhibited  from  the  bosom  of  her  dress,  as  she  said — 

"  Look  at  this — look  at  this !  I  distrust  you  alt  the  more  when  you  talk  as 
you  do  now,  and  I  tell  you  that  ii  I  have  any  of  your  nonsense,  I  will  pretty 
soon  settle  you.  You  mean  something,  I  know,  by  the  twinkle  of  your  eye.  I 
have  watched  you  before,  and  J  know  you." 

"Now,  really,  this  is  too  bad,"  said  Lupin,  as  he  wiped  his  face  with  a  re- 
markably old  handkerchief ;  if  this  is  too  bad,  Jane.  If  I  am  kind  and  civil  to 
you,  that  don't  suit ;  and  if  I  am  rough  and  rather  stern,  you  fly  out  at  that 
too.    What  am  I  to  do  ?    Will  nothing  please  you  ?" 

a  Bah  Is  said  Jane.  "  Hold  your  nonsence.  How  much  money  am  I  to  have 
when  I  have  finished  the  brandy  ?    That  is  the  question  now." 

"  Will  three  guineas  be  enough,  Jane,  just  for  the  present  occasion  i" 
ff  No,  I  must  have  five,  or  if  you  don?t  produce  them,  I'll  make  y*u." 
"  You  shall  have  them,  Jane.    You  see  how  complying  I  am  to  you.  But 
won't  you  give  me  a  drop  of  the  brandy  ?    Y  ou  don't  mean  to  take  it  all  V\ 

"  Yes  I  do.  It's  only  half  a  pint,  and  what's  that  ?  You  can  drink  some 
of  what  you  said  you  had  in  the  place.  I  didn't  go  out  to  buy  for  you.  Besides, 
I  won't  trust  it  a  moment  out  of  my  hands.  You  would  put  something  in  it 
before  I  could  wink." 

"  Really,  really!  What  a  strange  woman.  But  won't  you  have  a  glass, 
Jane,  to  drink  it  out  of?    Let  me  get  you  a  glass  now  ?" 

u  No,  you  would  put  something  in  that  too.  Oh,  I  am  up  to  your  tricks,  J 
am,  old  boy.  You  won't  get  the  better  of  me.  Very  good  brandy  it  is,  too. 
Ah  !  strong  rather." 

Jane  took  a  hearty  pull  at  the  bottle,  so  hearty  a  one  that  two  thirds  of  the 
mixture  vanished,  and  then  with  her  hand  on  the  neck  of  it,  she  sat  glaring 
at  Lupin,  who  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  table,  with  an  awfully  satanic 
grin  upon  his  ugly  features. 

"  It  has  an  odd  taste." 

"An  odd  taste  ?"  cried  Lupin.    t  It's  a  capital  thing  that  you  bought  it  your- 
self, and  kept  your  hand  over  the  bottle.   I'm  very  glad  of  that,  old  woman," 
"  But  I  feel  odd — I — I— ain't  the  thing.    I  don't  feel  very  well,  Lupin." 
V  Ha,  ha,  ha!"  \ 

"  I—  I  feel  as  if  I  were  dying.   I — I  don't  see  tkings  very  clearly.   I  am  ill — 
ill.  Oh,  what  is  this  ?   Something  is  amiss.  Mercy,  mercy  !" 
"Ha,  ha,  ha!" 

M I — I — shall  fall.   Help  !  The  room  swims  round  with  me.    I  am  poisoned. 
I  know  I  am.  Mercy!  help  !  murder !  Oh,  spare  me." 
«  Ha,  ha,  ha !" 

Lupin  rose  and  went  round  the  table.  He  caught  hold  of  the  wretched  woman 
by  the  head,  and  applying  his  mouth  close  to  her  ear,  he  said— 

"Jane  !  There  was  something  in  the  bottle,  and  I  intend  to  cut  your  throat. 
I  hope  the  knife  you  have  got  with  you  has  a  good  edge  to  it  ?" 

She  tried  to  scream,  but  an  indistinct,  strange,  stifled  cry  only  came  from  her 
lips.  She  tried  to  get  up,  but  her  timbs  refused  their  office.  The  powerful 
narcotic  had  taken  effect,  and  she  fell  forward,  her  head  striking  the  table 
heavily,  and  upsetting  the  bottle  with  the  remainder  of  the  drugged  brandy  in 
it  as  she  did  so. 

"  Done  !"  said  Lupin.  "  Done  at  last.  Oh,  how  I  have  watched  for  such  an 
opportunity  as  this.  How  often  I  have  pleased  myself  with  the  idea  of  meeting 
her  in  some  lonely  place  when  she  was  off  her  guard,  and  killing  her,  but  1 
never  thought  that  anything  could  happen  half  so  lucky  as  this.  Let  me  think. 
I  am  quite  alone  in  this  building,  or  as  good  as  alone,  for  Mrs.  Oakely  sleeps 
soundly.  I  can  easily  drag  the  dead  body  down  stairs,  and  place  it  in  one  of  the 
vaults  underneath  the  chapel,  to  which  I  have  the  key.  I  will  wrench  open  some 
coffin  if  that  be  all,  and  cram  her  in  on  the  top  of  the  dead  there  previously. 


i  it! 


i 


460  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


Ah,  that  will  do,  and  then  I  defy  any  circumstances  to  find  me  out.  How  safe 
a— Mur — I  mean  a  death  this  will  be  to  be  sure.    How  very — very  safe/5 

Mrs.  Oakley  shook  in  every  limb,  but  she  kept  her  eyes  steadfastly  fixed  at 
the  small  hole  in  the  canvas,  through  which  she  could  see  into  the  room,  and 
by  a  horrible  species  of  fascination,  she  felt  that  if  she  had  ever  so  much  wished 
to  do  so,  she  could  not  then  have  withdrawn  it.  No  !  she  was  as  it  were  con- 
demned as  a  fiat  of  destiny,  as  a  punishment  for  her  weak  and  criminal  credulity 
regarding  that  man,  to  be  a  witness  to.  the  dreadful  deed  he  proposed  com- 
mitting, within  the  sphere  of  her  observation. 

It  was  dreadful.  It  was  truly  horrible.  But  it  was  not  now  by  any  means 
to  be  avoided. 

Lupin  disappeared  for  a  few  seconds  into  a  room  where  he  usually  himself  slept. 
From  thence  he  returned  with  a  wash-hand  basin  in  his  hand,  which  he  placed 
upon  the  floor.  He  then  fumbled  about  the  clothing  of  his  wife  until  he  found 
the  knife  that  she  had  twice  so  threateningly  exhibited  to  him.  He  held  it  up 
to  the  light  and  narrowly  scrutinised  it. 

« It  will  do  I  think,"  he  said. 

He  tried  its  keenness  upon  the  edge  of  the  sole  of  his  shoe,  and  he  was  satis- 
fied that  it  had  been  well  prepared  for  mischief. 

"  It  will  do  well,"  he  said.  "  Well,  nothing  can  be  better.  From  this  night 
I  shall  be  free  from  the  fears  that  have  haunted  me  night  and  day  for  so  long. 
This  woman  is  the  only  person  in  all  London  who  really  knows  me,  and  who 
has  it  in  her  power  to  destroy  all  my  prospects.  When  she  is  gone,  I  shall  be 
perfectly  easy  and  safe,  and  surely  never  was  such  a  deed  as  this  done  with  so 
much  positive  safety.'1  » 

Mrs.  Oakley  felt  sickened  at  what  she  saw,  but  still  she  looked  upon  it  with 
that  same  species  of  horrible  fascination  which  it  is  said — and  said  truly,  too — 
prevents  the  victim  of  a  serpents  glittering  eye  from  escaping  the  jaws  of  the 
destroyer.  She  saw  it  all.  She  did  not  move — she  did  not  scream — she  did 
not  weep — but  as  if  frozen  to  the  spot,  she,  with  a  statuesque  calmness,  looked 
upon  that  most  horrible  scene  of  blood.  She  was  the  witness  appointed  by 
Heaven  to  see  it  done,  and  she  could  not  escape  her  mission. 

Lupin  twined  his  left  hand  in  the  hair  at  the  back  of  the  head  of  the  wretched 
woman,  and  then  he  held  her  head  over  the  wash-hand  basin.  There  was  a 
bright  flash  of  the  knife,  and  then  a  gushing,  gurgling  sound,  and  blood  poured 
into  the  basin,  hot,  hissing  and  frothing.  The  light  fell  upon  the  face  of  Lupin, 
and  at  that  time  so  changed  was  it,  that  Mrs.  Oakley  could  not  have  recognised 
it,  and,  but  that  she  knew  from  the  antecedants  that  it  was  no  other  than  he,  she 
might  have  doubted  if  some  devil  had  not  risen  up  through  the  floor  to  do  the 
dead  of  blood. 

He  dropped  the  knife  to  the  floor. 

The  murdered  woman  made  a  faint  movement  with  her  arms,  and  then  all 
was  over.  The  blood  still  rolled  forth  and  filled  the  wrash-hand  basin.  Lupin 
caught  the  cover  from  the  table,  throwing  everything  that  was  upon  it  to  the 
floor,  and  wrapped  it  many  times  round  the  head,  face,  and  neck  of  his  victim. 

"  It  is  done  V9  he  said.    "  It  is  done  V9 

He  still  held  the  body  by  the  hair  of  the  head,  and  dragging  it  along  the  floor, 
he  dropped  it  near  the  door  opening  on  to  the  staircase.  He  then  went  to  a 
cupboard  in  the  room,  and  finding  a  bottle,  he  plunged  the  neck  of  it  into  his 
mouth,  and  drank  deeply.  The  draught  was  ardent  spirit,  but  it  had  no  more 
effect  upon  him  at  that  moment  than  as  though  it  had  been  so  much  water  from 
a  spring.  That  is  to  say,  it  had  no  intoxicating  effect.  It  may  have  stilled  some 
of  the  emotions  of  dread  and  horror  which  his  own  crime  must  have  called  up 
from  the  bottom  even  of  such  a  heart  as  his.  He  was  human,  and  he  could  not 
be  utterly  callous. 

Leaning  against  the  cupboard* door  for  a  few  seconds  he  gasped  out— 
"  Yes,  it  is  done.    It  is  quite  done,  and  now  for  the  worst.    Now  for  the 
body,  and  the  vaults,  and  the  dead.    Can  I  do  it?  can  I  do  it?    I  must. 


THE  STRING  OP  PEABLS.  46l_ 

Yes,  I  must.    There  is  no  safety  for  me  if  I  do  not.    I  shall  come  else  to 
the  scaffold.    I  think  already  that  T  see  the  hooting  crowd — the  rope  and 
the  cross-beam.    Now  they  hold  my  arms.    Now  they  tell  me  to  call  upon 
God  for  mercy  to  my  wretched  blood-stained  soul.    Now  the  mob  shouts. 
I  The  hangman  touches  me— I  feel  the  rope  about  my  neck.    They  draw  the 
cap  over  my  face,  and  so  shut  out  the  world  from  me  for  ever.    I  die— I 
;  struggle— I  writhe— I  faint— God — God— God  help  me  !" 
tie  fell  heavily  to  the  floor  of  the  room. 


CHAPTER  CV. 

MRS.  OAKLEY  ESCAPES,  AND  TAKES  A  DIFFERENT  VIEW  OF  THINGS  IN 

GENERAL. 

Mrs.  Oakley  nearly  fainted  herself  afc  this  juncture,  but  she  felt  that  her  I 
life  was  m  jeopardy,  and  by  a  strong  mental  effort,  such  as  she  could  hardly 
have  supposed  herself  capable  of  making,  she  sustained  herself,  and  preserved 
her  senses.  | 

Lupin  lay  for  some  minutes  quite  insensible  upon  the  floor,  but  he  did  not 
lie  long  enough  for  Mrs.  Oakley  to  take  advantage  of  his  temporary  swoon  and 
leave  the  place.  Had  she  perhaps  been  very  prompt  and  resolute,  and  self- 
possessed,  she  might  have  done  so,  but  under  the  whole  of  the  circumstances, 
it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  such  could  be  her  state  of  mind  ;  so  the  slight 
opportunity,  for,  after  all,  it  was  only  a  slight  one,  if  one  at  all,  was  let  slip  by, 
her. 

She  was  just  beginning  to  ask  herself  if  there  was  a  chance  of  getting  away 
before  Lupin  should  recover,  when  he  uttered  a  hideous  groan,  and  moved 
slightly. 

I  After  these  indications  of  recovery,  Mrs.  Oakley  was  afraid  to  move  ;  and 
certainly,  the  slightest  indication  of  her  being  otherwise  than  in  the  state  of  in- 
sensibility which  Lupin  believed  to  be  her  condition,  there  is  very  little  doubt 
it  would  have  been  the  signal  for  her  death. 

The  man  who  commits  a  murder  for  the  attainment  of  any  object  of  im- 
j  portance  to  him,  will  not  scruple  to  commit  another  to  hide  the  first  deed  from 
the  eyes  of  the  world. 

And  now  Lupin  slowly  rose  to  a  sitting  posture,  and  glared  around  him  for  a 
few  moments  in  silence.    Then  he  spoke. 

"  What  is  this  ?"  he  said.  «  What  is  all  this  ?  What  is  the  meaning  of  all 
this  ?  Blood  !— blood !  Is  this  blood  upon  my  hands  ?  No— no — yes,  it  is — it 
lis.    Ah  !  I  recollect." 

j    He  held  his  blood-stained  hands  to  his  eyes  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  as 
he  withdrew  them,  he  slowly  turned  his  eyes  to  where  the  body  lay.    With  ad 
shudder  he  dragged  himself  along  the  floor  further  off  from  it,  gasping  out  as  he 
did  so — 

!    "  Off— off,  horrible  object !— off—  off  I" 
j  |    His  distempered  imagination,  no  doubt,  pictured  the  body  as  following  him. 
!  Is  there  not,  indeed,  a  prompt  retribution  in  this  world? 

I    "Off— off,  I  say!    No  further  !— Not  dead  ?— not  dead  yet?    How  much 
|  blood  have  you  in  you  now  to  shed?  Off — off!" 
j    He  reached  the  wall.    He  could  get  no  further,  and  thus  pursued  still  by  the 
same  wild  insane  idea,  he  sprung  to  his  feet,  and  uttering  a  loud  cry,  he  caught 
up  a  chair  and  held  it  out  at  arm's  length  before  him,  shouting— 
|    44  Keep  away— keep  away  !    Keep  off,  I  say— I— I  did  not  do  it.   Who  shall 
say  I  did  it  ?    Who  saw  me  do  it?" 
He  slowly  dropped  the  chair,  and  then  in  a  more  composed  voice  he  said— 
"  Hush  !  hush!  I  am  mad  to  raise  these  cries,   They  will  alarm  the  court.  I 
am  mad — mad  ! 


462  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Mrs.  Oakley  had  hoped  that  his  ravings  would  reach  some  other  ears  than  her's, 
and  that  his  apprehension,  with  the  bleeding  witness  of  his  crime  close  at  hand, 
would  follow  as  a  thing  of  course,  and  then  how  gladly  would  she  have  flown 
team  her  place  of  concealment,  and  cried  out — 
"  He  did  it !    I  saw  him  !    That  is  the  man  !* 

But  such  was  not  the  case.  Either  he  really  did  not  call  out  loud  enough  to 
make  himself  heard,  or  the  inhabitants  of  the  court  were  too  much  accustomed 
to  all  sorts  of  sounds  to  pay  any  attention  even  to  the  ravings  of  a  murderer! 

No  one  came.  No  one  even  knocked  at  the  chapel -door  to  know  if  anything 
was  amiss,  and  when  she  saw  him  calm,  and  in  a  measure  self-possessed  again, 
her  heart  died  within  her. 

"Murder!  murder!"  he  said;  "I  have  done  murder!  Yes,  I  have  steeped 
my  bands  in  blood— again— again !  It  is  not  the  first  time,  but  one  does  not 
become  familiar  with  murder.  I  did  not  feel  as  I  feel  now  when  I  took  a  life 
before.    Oh,  horror!  horror!" 

He  shook,  but  soon  again  recovered  himself. 

"The  vaults  !  The  vaults  !"  he  said.  "  They  will  hide  the  dead.  Who  will 
look  for  this  woman  ?  What  friends  has  she  ?  Is  there  one  in  all  the  world  who 
cares  if  she  be  alive  or  dead  ?  Not  one.  Is  there  one  who  will  stir  six  steps  to 
find  out  what  has  become  of  her  ?    Not  one," 

Again  he  solaced  himself  with  a  draught  of  brandy,  and  then  he  set  about 
making  his  preparations  for  disposing  of  the  dead  body  of  his  slaughtered  victim. 

From  a  drawer  in  the  room  he  took  a  large  sheet,  and  spread  it  upon  the 
floor.  Then  he  kicked  and  pushed  the  dead  boby  with  his  feet  on  to  it,  and 
then  he  deliberately  rolled  it  up  round  and  round  in  the  sheet,  and  at  each  fold 
feeling  that  it  was  further  removed  from  his  sight,  he  seemed  to  breathe  more 
and  more  freely. 

He  spoke  in  something  like  his  old  tones. 

H  That  will  do — that  will  do.  The  vaults  will  be  the  place.  Was  there  ever 
such  a  cunning  place  for  murder  to  be  done  in  as  a  chapel,  with  its  ready 
receptacles  of  the  dead  beneath  it?  There  let  her  rot.  She  will  never  come  up 
in  judgment  against  me  from  there.  It  is  done  now.  The  deed  that  I  often 
thought  of  doing,  and  yet  never  had  the  courage,  nor  the  opportunity  at  the 
same  time,  to  accomplish  until  to-night  The  vauls— the  vaults.  Ay,  the 
vaults  W 

He  lit  a  lantern  that  betook  from  the  cupboard,  and  then  he  opened  the 
door  that  communicated  with  the  staircase  terminating  in  the  chapel.  He 
listened  as  though  he  fancied  that  some  one  might  be  below  listening  to  the 
deed  of  blood  above, 

ff  All  is  still/'  he  muttered,  "  so  very  still.  It  is  providential.  It  is  the  will 
of  Heaven  that  this  woman  should  die  to  night,  and  after  all  I  am  but  the  in- 
strument of  its  decrees— nothing  more.  That  is  comforting." 

He  now  dragged  the  body  to  the  door  he  had  opened,  but  he  did  not  carry  it. 
When  he  got  it  there  he  overbalanced  it,  and  let  it  fall  down.  Mrs.  Oakley,  even 
from  where  she  was,  heard  the  horrible  smash  with  which  it  reached  the  bottom 
of  the  stairs. 

Lupin  followed  with  the  lantern. 

And  now  it  would  seem  as  if  another  opportunity  had  presented  itself  to  Mrs. 
Oakley  to  escape.  The  staircase  down  whifch  Lupin  had  gone  communicated 
with  the  chapel.  It  was  another  flight  that  led  to  the  ordinary  door  through 
which  any  one  passed  who  might  be  coming  to  the  private  part  of  the  house. 
That  staircase  of  course  she  expected  to  reach  without  going  through  the  room 
in  which  the  murder  was  committed,  as  her  room  and  the  adjoining  one  both 
opened  upon  its  landing  as  well  as  into  each  other. 

Mrs.  Oakley  slowly  rose  from  her  knees. 

"God  help  us,"  she  said,  "and  give  me  strength  to  make  an  attempt  to 
leave  this  frightful  place.  There  will  surely  be  time  while  Lupin  is  in  the  vaults. 
Oh,  yes?  there  will  surely  be  time.5" 


l^HE  S'fBlNG  OF  PEAKLS.  463 


She  tottered  along  with  as  little  strength  as  though  she  had  been  lying  for 
weeks  upon  a  bed  of  sickness,  so  completely  had  she  been  unnerved  by  what  she 
had  seen. 

She  touched  the  handle  of  the  door.  Even  that  was  support.  And  then  she 
turned  it.  The  door  did  not  open.  It  was  locked  ! 

Mrs.  Oakley  felt  as  if  at  that  moment  all  her  chance  of  escape  was  gone.  She 
felt  as  though  she  were  given  over  by  providence  to  Lupin  to  be  murdered 
Why  had  be  locked  the  door,  but  that  if  by  any  rare  chance  she  should  awaken 
from  the  lethargic  sleep  into  which  he  supposed  her  to  be  plunged,  she  should 
have  no  outlet  but  through  the  room  in  which  he  would  be  ?  But  he  was 
not  there  now,  and  the  door  of  communication  between  her  room  and  that  in 
which  the  murder  had  been  done  might  not  be  fast. 

To  try  it  was  the  work  now  of  a  moment ;  Mrs.  Oakley  felt  a  little  more  self- 
possessed  with  the  knowledge  that  Lupin  was  not  close  at  hand,  and  she  opened 
the  door.    It  yielded  readily  enough  to  her  touch. 

She  was  in  the  room  of  murder — in  the  very  atmosphere  of  blood.  She 
glanced  around  her,  and,  although  she  had  seen  all  through  the  opening  in  the 
canvas  partition,  yet  she  was  horrified  to  find  herself  closer  to  the  spot  upon 
wh-ch  the  fearful  deed  had  been  done.  Lupin,  when  he  had  lit  his  lantern 
with  which  to  go  to  the  vaults,  had  not  extinguished  the  ordinary 
light  that  burnt  in  his  room.  That  had  a  long  spectral-looking  wick  ; 
but  it  gave  sufficient  light  to  enable  Mrs.  Oakley  to  see  the  blood   upon  the 

She  sickened  at  the  sight. 

But  if  she  were  to  escape,  it  must  be  done  at  once.  Lupin  would 
not  be  likely  to  linger  longer  by  one  brief  moment  in  the  vaults  than  was 
absolutely  necessary;  and  he  might  return  before  she  had  effected  her  purpose 

She  flew  to  the  door  of  his  room,  which  opened  on  to  the  landing.  She 
made  an  effort  to  open  it.  Alas  !  it  was  in  vain  ;  it,  too.,  was  locked,  and  the 
key  was  gone  ! 

"  I  am  a  prisoner  !"  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  as  she  clasped  her  hands;  "lama 
prisoner  to  this  dreadful  man  !" 

For  some  few  moments  now  she  felt  completely  overwhelmed  by  this  mis- 
fortune. The  only  outlet  from  the  room  that  was  not  fast,  was  that  which 
Lupin  himself  had  taken,  and  which  led  to  the  chapel.  Should  she  venture  that 
way  or  not? — that  was  the  question.  Could  she  resolve  upon  staying  where 
she  was,  and  trusting  to  an  escape  in  the  morning  ?  No,  no;  she  told  herself 
that  would  be  too  horrible.  She  would  have,  then,  to  look  at  Lupin  in  the  face, 
and  to  talk  to  him. 

"No-no-no!  I  cannot  do  that,"  she  said.  "  I  will  go  down  the  stair- 
case that  he  has  gone  down — I  will  pass  through  the  chapel — I  will  try  to  open 
the  chapel  door,  and  then  I  will  rush  out  with  the  cry  of  murder  upon  mv 
hps. 

It  was  a  trembling  anxious  thing  to  follow  the  murderer  and  his  victim  down 
that  staircase ;  but  having  found  all  other  mode  of  egress  denied  to  her,  Mrs. 
Oakley  attempted  it. 

Slowly  she  went,  step  by  step ;  and  eve*r  and  anon  she  paused  to  listen 
for  any  sound  that  should  be  indicative  of  Lupin's  whereabouts — but  she  heard 
nothing. 

"  He  must  be  deep  beneath  the  chapel/'  she  said,  among  the  vaults— 
that  is  where  he  must  be.  I  shall  be  safe  if  I  hasten  now.  Oh,  so  safe— quite 
safe  V 

She  did  hasten,  and  another  moment  brought  her  to  the  foot  of  the 
stairs.  A  door  in  the  chapel-wall  terminated  them..  That  was  the  door 
against  which  Mrs.  Oakley  had  heard  the  dead  body  strike  with  such  a 
frightful  crash  when  Lupin  had  cast  it  down  the  stairs.  It  was  swinging;  open 
now* 


m  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  

      ■  ~" — !  !    It  ,  ~  „'  i 

^Another  moment  and  she  was  in  the  chapel.  I 
From  out  of  the  aperture,  occasioned  hy  the  lifting  up  of  a  large 
square  trap-door  in  the  centre  of  the  chapel  floor,  there  came  a  faint  stream 
of  light.  Mrs.  Oakley  knew  that  that  trap-door  led  to  the  vaults.  She 
knew  that  a  flight  of  steps  was  immediately  beneath  it  which  lead  to  the 
loathsome  receptacles  of  the  dead,  where  the  pious  members  of  Mr.  Lupin's 
flock  were  laid  when  they  and  this  world  had  bidden  each  other  adieu.  She 
knew  that  he  derived  no  despicable  revenue  from  letting  such  lodgings  to  the 
dead. 

And  he  was  down  there  with  his  victim— the  first  person  that  he  ever  per- 
mitted to  lie  there  without  a  fee  ! 

Mrs.  Oakley,  to  reach  the  chapel  door,  must  needs  pass  quite  close  to  the 
open  trap-door ;  and  as  she  neared  it,  a  terrible  curiosity  took  possession  of  her 
—it  was  to  see  what  Lupin  was  doing  below — it  was  to  ascertain  in  what  way 
he  disposed  of  his  victim's  body.  She  thought  that  she  ought  to  see  that.  She 
thought,  then,  that  she  could  tell  all,  and  bring  the  hounds  of  justice  to  the  very  j 
spot  where  the  murdered  woman  lay. 

She  paused  for  a  moment  upon  the  brink  of  the  trap,  and  then,  by  an  impulse 
that  at  the  moment  seemed,  and  was,  irresistible,  she  began  the  descent  among! 
the  vaults.  j 

These  vaults  were  quite  dignified  by  being  so  called.  They  were  nothing 
but  cellars — nothing  in  the  world  but  damp  gloomy  cellars— and  Lupin  made  as 
much  of  them  as  he  did  of  the  chapel  overhead.  The  corpses  lay  there  thick 
and  three-fold.  A  ghostly  company !  and  yet  Lupin  had  many  underground 
lodgings  to  let. 

What  cared  he  if  the  fumes  from  the  dead  came  up,  and  made  havoc  upon  hot 
Sundays  among  the  living  ?  What  cared  he  what  mischief  the  charnel-house ' 
beneath  the  planks  did  to  the  old  and  to  the  young  ?  His  own  constitution,  lie  | 
had  a  strong  impression,  could  be  fortified  by  copious  libations  of  btandy.  Pro-! 
bably  he  was  wrong  in  his  practice,  but  he  had  faith  in  his  remedy,  and  that' 
was  a  great  thing — a  very  great  thing,  indeed. 

Mrs.  Oakley  slowly  crept  down  the  steps  leading  to  the  vaults.    She  was 
guided  by  the  faint  light  of  Lupin's  lantern,  which  was  she  knew  not  where. j 
Twice  she  paused  to  listen  if  he  were  coming,  as  in  such  a  case  she  would  have \ 
flown  back  upon  the  wings  of  terror,  but  she  heard  nothing,  and  she  passed 
onward. 

Twelve  steps  led  to  the  lowest  depth  upon  which  the  vaults  were  situated. 
Then  there  was  a  kind  of  passage,  upon  which  were  flag  stones  very  roughly 
and  clumsily  laid  down.  Right  and  left  of  this  passage  the  vaults  were.  It 
wound  completely  round  the  chapel,  but  she  had  not  to  go  very  far  to  ascertain 
were  Lupin  was  at  work.  The  light  of  the  lantern  guiided  her  to  the  half- open 
door  of  the  vault,  within  which  he  was  at  work. 


CHAPTER  CVI.  I 

MR,  LUPIN  FIN08  HIMSELF  IN  AN  AWKWARD*  PREDICAMENT. 

Mrs.  Oakley  peeped  into  the  vault,  but  she  held  herself  in  readiness  to  fly  j 
at  a  moment's  notice,  and  then  she  thought  she  could  easily  hide  among  the 
pews  in  the  chapel.  Nothing,  she  thought,  could  be  very  well  easier  than  such  a 
course.    Could  she  not  hide  in  the  very  pew  that  she  had  for  a  long  time  called 
her  own  ?    And  then  by  watching  Lupin,  she  should  have  the  advantage  of  see-  j 
ing  in  a  moment  when  he  had  done  his  work,  and  there  would  then  be  little"  j 
trouble  in  eluding  him. 

On  tip-toe,  Mrs.  Oakley  advanced  to  the  half-opened  door  of  the  vault,  and 
peeped  in  upon  the  man,  who  thought  himself  so  very  safe.  The  eye  of  heaven, 


THE  STRING  OF  PIAB1S. 


465 


he  must  have  thought,  saw  him  ;  but  he  would  have  staked  his  life  forthwith 
upon  the  fact,  that  no  human  observation  was  bent  upon  his  actions  ;  and  yet 
there  was  some  one  for  whom  he  entertained  the  greatest  contempt — one  whom 
he  would  have  defied  to  injure  him,  gathering  up  evidence  to  hang  him. 

Go  on,  Lupin.    Bury  you  victim.    But  don't  think  yourself  so  very  safe 


MRS.  LOVETl's  COOK  ASTONISHES  HER  CUSTOMERS.  RATHER. 

just  yet.  It  is  an  old  saying,  that  "  Murder  will  out."  Do  you  think  that 
yours  will  prove  the  exception  ? 

From  a  recess  in  the  wall  Lupin  had  dragged  a  coffin.    It  was  an  old  one  and 
rather  rotten,  so  that  by  the  aid  of  a  small  crowbar  that  he  had  there— what  use 
did  Lupin  find  for  a  crowbar  in  the  vaults  beneath  his  chapel  ?    Was  it  to  rip 
open  the  coffins  and  rob  even  the  dead  ?  Well,  well— by  the  aid  of  this  crowbar 
he  soon  forced  open  the  lid  of  the  coffin.  9 


No,  59. 


466  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 

,    t  ■  1  ;   ■■    v.  a  -—  ■  ■ 

He  stood  in  it  then,  and  stamped  down  the  remains  with  his  feet  to  make  room 
for  the  murdered  body.  * 

Mrs-  Oakley  sickened  at  this  ;  she  had  not  quite  expected  to  see  such  a  horror 
as  that.  It  appeared  to  her  at  the  moment,  to  be  worse  than  the  murder  above 
stairs.    She  really  felt  quite  faint  as  she  saw  him. 

When  he  had  flattened  the  nearly  decayed  body  in  the  coffin  as  much  as  he 
could,  he  lifted  the  corpse  of  his  victim  from  the  floor  of  the  vault.  It  was 
still  closely  enveloped  in  the  large  sheet,  although  at  one  part  the  blood  had 
began  to  make  its  way  through  all  the  folds  upon  folds  of  that  wrapper,  and  he 
threw  it  into  the  coffin.    It  more  than  filled  it. 

j  Poor  Mrs.  Oakley  shut  her  eyes  ;  she  knew  what  he  was  going  to  do.  She 
knew  it  from  what  he  bad  done,  and  she  saw  it  in  his  eyes.  He  was  of  course 
I  going  to  tread  down  the  dead  body  of  her  he  had  murdered,  in  the  same  way 
that  he  had  already  trodden  down  the  half-decomposed  one  in  the  coffin, 
j  Strange  companionship  !  How  little  the  very  respectable  defunct,  who  had 
been  expensively  placed  in  one  of  the  vaults,  could  have  imagined  that  she— it 
was  a  female — that  she  should  be  trodden  down  as  flat  as  any  pancake,  to  make 
room  for  the  Reverend  Josiah  Lupin's  murdered  wife ! 

"  To  what  base  us#s  may  we  come  as  last." 

Mrs.  Oakley  heard  him  treading  and  stamping,  and  then  she  opened  her  eyes, 
and  she  saw  him  fitting  on  the  lid  of  the  coffin  again.  He  had  made  it  hold  its 
double  burthen. 

And  now  she  had  surely  seen  all  that  she  came  to  see,  and  yet  with  a  fright- 
ful fascination  she  lingered  as  though  spell-bound  to  the  spot.  She  thought  that 
she  had  plenty  of  time.  Of  course  Lupin  would  put  the  coffin  into  its  recess 
again,  and  that  would  take  him  some  time.  It  would,  with  its  additional 
weight,  certainly  be  no  easv  task,  but  he  set  about  it,  and  it  is  astonishing  what 
herculean  labours  people  will  perform,  when  their  necks  are  to  answer  for  any 
delay  or  dereliction  of  the  duty.  Lupin  dragged  the  coffin  to  its  receptacle  on  a 
low  shelf,  and  fairly  hitched  one  end  of  it  in  the  aperture  made  for  its  reception. 

By  the  assistance  of  the  lever  he  pushed  it  fairly  in,  and  then  he  paused  and 
wiped  his  brow. 

It  is  done,"  he  said. 

He  leaned  heavily  against  the  damp  wall. 

"  It  is  done — it  is  done.  This  will  be  one  of  the  undiscovered  murders  that 
are  done  in  London.  I  am  safe  now.  Nobody  will  miss  her — nobody  will  look 
for  her— nobody  will  dream  that  this  vault  can  possibly  conceal  such  a  crime  ; 
and  now  that  the  terror  of  it,  and  the  horror  of  doing  it,  is  all  over,  Lfeel  like  a 
new  man,  and  am  much  rejoiced.5' 

"Rejoiced,"  thought  Mrs.  Oakley  with  a  shudder. 

*'  She  was  the  torment  of  my  life,"  added  Lupin.  u  I  knew  no  peace  while 
she  lived.  Success  had  no  charm  for  me.  Go  where  I  would,  think  of  what 
I  would,  do  what  I  would,  I  always  had  the  dread  of  that  woman  before  my 
eyes;  but  now — now  I  am  rid  of  her." 

He  took  up  his  lantern  from  the  floor  of  the  vault. 

Now  it  was  time  for  Mrs.  Oakley  to  fly.  She  turned  and  hastily  ran  up  the 
staircase  of  the  vault.  The  idea  took  possession,  and  it  was  after  all  only  a 
fancy,  that  Lupin  was  pursuing  her  with  the  crow-bar  in  his  hand-  But  how  it 
urged  Iher  on.  What  wings  it  gave  her,  but  confused  her  the  while,  so  that 
instead  of  hurrying  to  the  chapel  door,  and  making  a  bold  effort  to  open  it 
as  she  had  meant  to  do,  she  only  sought  the  door  in  the  wall,  and  the  stair- 
case down  which  she  had  come  to  the  chapel,  nor  did  she  pause  until  she  found 
herself  in  the  murder  room. 

Then  with  a  heart  beating  so  wildly,  that  she  was  fain  to  lay  her  hands 
upon  it. in  the  hope  of  stopping  its  maddening  pulsation,  she  stopped  to  listen. 

It  was  only  fancy.  It  was  a  delusion.  No  Lupin  was  pursuing  her  from 
the  vaujts.  ^  


"'  ii-    in  ,    ,-   "■■**t4ui^^J!;,is»»-   ■" 

THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  467 

"  Thank  Heaven!"  she  said.    Thank  Heaven  !  but  oh,  why  am  I  here?  Why 
have  I  come  here  again,  instead  of  making  my  escape  by  the  chapel  door  ?  This 
is  a  fatal  error.    Oh,  Heaven  save  me  !    Is  there  yet  time  ?    Does  he  lin- 
ger yet  sufficiently  long  in  the  vaults,  to  enable  me  to  take  refuge  among  the 
pews?"  i 
j    These  were  questions  which  the  stillness  in  the  chapel  below  seemed  to 
answer  in  the  affirmative,  and  once  more  Mrs.  Oakley  approached  the  stair- 
case to  descend  it.    She  got  three  steps  down  the  stairs,  and  then  she  heard  a  I 
footstep  below.    It  was  too  late.    Lupin  was  coming  up.    Yes,  it  was  too  late  !  [ 
j    He  approached  with  a  heavy  and  regular  footfall.    That  heaviness  and 
regularity  were  sufficient  evidences  that  he  had  not  heard  her,  and  had  no  sus- 
picion that  she  nor  any  one  else  had  been  a  witness  to  his  crime.    So  fai  she 
was  comparatively  safe,  but  the  blessed  chance  of  escape  without  any  meeting  I 
with  him  was  gone. 

Up— up,  he  came!  Mrs.  Oakley  retreated  step  by  step  as  he  advanced. 
She  passed  into  the  chamber,  which  may  for  distinction's  sake  be  called  her 
own  room,  and  thtre  she  cast  herself  upon  the  couch,  and  closed  her  eyes 
shudderingly. 

She  had  a  presentiment  that  Lupin  would  come  to  look  at  her  to  see  that  she 
still  slumbered.    She  was  right.  1 

He  had  not  been  in  the  room  where  the  deed  of  blood  had  been  committed  j 
many  minutes,  when  he  opened  the  door  of  communication  between  the  two 
apartments,  and  came  in  not  with  the  lantern,  but  with  the  candle  he  had  left 
burning  upon  the  table.    He  did  not  come  above  three  steps  into  the  room, 
and  then  he  spoke — 

"  Sister  Oakley  it  is  time  to  pray/' 

Mrs.  Oakley  moved  not — spoke  not. 

"  Sister  Oakley,  will  you  be  so  good  as  to  rise,  and  go  to  the  corner  of  the! 
next  street  on  a  little  errand  for  me  ?5'  j 

How  tempting  this  was  !  but  Mrs,  Oakley  had  the  discretion  to  imagine  the' 
wolf  in  the  sheep's  clothing  now;  she  saw  in  afl  this  only  a  clear  mode  of  ascer-! 
taining  if  she  were  awake  or  not,  and  she  would  not  speak  nor  move. 

This  was,  in  truth,  a  wise  policy  upon  the  part  of  Mrs.  Oakley.    That  it  was 
so,  became  abundantly  apparent  when  Lupin  spoke  again. 

€t  All  is  right/*  he  said.    u  The  opiate  has  done  its  work  bravely,    I  feel 
easy  now,  and  yet  I  don't  know  how  I  came  for  a  moment  to  feel  otherwise,  or 
to  imagine  for  a  moment  there  was  danger  from  this  woman.    If  I  only  had  any 
proof  that  there  was,  1  would  soon  put  it  beyond  her  power  to  be  mischievous.  ! 
But,  no — no,  she  has  slept  soundly  and  knows  nothing." 

It  required,  indeed,  no  ordinary  nerve  during  this  speech  of  Lupin's,  for  Mrs. 
Oakley  to  preserve  the  stillness  of  apparent  deep  sleep  ;  but  we  none  of  us  know 
what  we  can  do  until  we  are  put  to  it  ;  after  all,  what  a  just  punishment  to  Mrs. 
Oakley  was  all  that  she  was  now  going  through.  She  had  had  more  faith  in 
that  bold,  bad,  mounteback  of  a  parson  than  in  Heaven  itself,  and  she  was  justly 
punished. 

Having  then  made  this  trial  of  her  sleeping  state,  Mr.  Lupin  retired  with  the 
candle  again,  qu  ite  satisfied — at  least  one  would  have  thought  so  ;  and  as  he 
had  talked  of  the  amazing  ease  of  mind  he  felt  now  that  he  had,  murdered  his 
wife,  it  was  rather  surprising  that  he  did  not  go  to  bed  and  sleep  serenely  in- 
stead of  pacing  his  room  to  and  fro  for  more  than  four  hours  mumbling  dis- 
jointed words  and  sentences  to  himself  as  he  did  so,  for  Mrs.  Oakley  heard  him, 
but  she  did  not  dare  to  move. 

Suddenly  he  flung  open  the  door  between  the  two  rooms,  and  in  a  startling 
voice  he  cried — 

"Fire!  fire!" 

It  was  truly  a  wonder  that  upon  this  Mrs.  Oakley  did  not  jump  up,  it  sounded 
so  very  alarming  ;  but  it  was  not  to  be,  and  with  a  presence  of  mind  that  surely 
was  not  all  her  own,  she  yet  remained  profoundly  still. 


468 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


i€  Fool  that  I  am,"  muttered  Lupin,  u  to  be  continually  assailed  by  dread  of 
this  woman,  when  everything  assures  me  that  she  has  been  in  a  sound  sleep 
caused  by  a  powerful  narcotic,  during  the  whole  night ;  but  the  morning  is  now 
near  at  hand,  and  she  will  soon  awaken.  I  have  already  got  what  money  I  can, 
from  her,  and  I  must  give  her  breakfast  and  then  send  her  off*  It  would  be 
useless  to  kill  her." 

The  manner  in  which  Lupin  pronounced  these  last  words  was  very  alarming 
for  it  implied  rather  that  he  was  asking  himself  the  question  whether  it  would 
be  useless  to  kill  her  or  not,  than  the  expression  of  a  decided  opinion;  but  still 
Mrs.  Oakley  moved  not. 

Lupin,  suddenly,  as  though  he  had  quite  made  up  his  mind  not  to  trouble 
himself  about  her  any  more,  slammed  to  the  door  of  communication  between 
the  two  rooms. 

Mrs.  Oakley  breathed  freely  again— that  is,  comparatively  freely;  and  yet 
whata  shocking  agonizing  idea  it  was  that  she  might  have  to  breakfast  with  that 
dreadful  inan.    What  should  she  say  to  him  ? — how  should  she  look  at  him  ? 

The  dawn  was  coming,  and  she  shook  with  apprehension  to  find  that  such 
was  the  fact,  and  Lupin  had  said  that  she  would  soon  awaken  ;  so,  effect  to 
awaken  she  must,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  delusion  ;  but  how  should  she  manage 
then  to  deceive  the  suspicious  vigilance  of  such  a  man  ? 

But  all  this  had  to  be  encountered.  How  was  it  to  be  avoided  ?  She  could 
do  nothing  but  arm  herself  with  such  fortitude  as  she  could  call  to  her  aid. 

Ob,  how  she  wished  herself  in  her  own  parlour  behind  the  shop,  and  upon  her 
knees  asking  the  pardon  of  her  husband  for  all  that  she  had  done,  and  for  all 
that  she  had  not  done  !  What  would  she  have  not  given  even  to  have  seen  the 
honest  face  of  big  Ben,  the  beef-eater ! 

The  light  of  the  coming  day  grew  each  moment  stronger,  and  at  length  Mrs. 
Oakley  thought  it  would  be  prudent  to  seem  to  wake  up,  and  calling  out  "  Mr. 
Lupin  !  Mr.  Lupin  !"  she  rose  from  the  couch. 

Lupin  opened  the  door  of  communication  between  the  two  rooms,  and  glared 
at  her. 

"  Did  you  call,  sister  Oakley  ?" 

i(  Yes,  reverend  sir,  surely  I  have  been  sleeping,  and  have  forgotten  some  of 
the  prayers." 

"  No ;  truly,  sister  Oakley,  I  have  watched  for  you,  and  I  can  assure  you 
that  you  will  enter  into  the  kingdom  always,  provided  that  you  are  regular  in 
your  contributions  to  the  chapel,  for  at  the  last  that  of  a  surety  will  be  de- 
manded to  be  known  of  you,  sister  Oakfey." 

"  I  have  been  thinking  of  that,  brother  Lupin/  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  u  and 
this  day  week  I  will  manage  to  bring  two  pounds." 
Only  two  ?5f 

I  will  make  it  three,  if  I  can,  brother  Oakley  ;  but  my  head  feels  quite  con* 
fused  and  giddy.    It  is  very  strange.3* 

"  Ah,"  whispered  Lupin  to  himself.    "  That  is  the  natural  effect  of  the  nar- 
cotic.   It  has  worked  well.    Then,"  he  said  aloud,  "  sister  Oakley,  I  prav 
you  to  walk  in  to  this  room,  and  I  will  provide  for  you  what  the  profane  world 
call  the  breakfast,  for  although  food  for  the  soul  is  in  alway  preferable  to  food' 
for  the  body,  yet  we  must  not  always  neglect  our  earthly  tabernacle." 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  you,"  said  Mrs.  Oakley.    "  You  mav  de 
my  regular  offerings  to  the  chapel." 


may  depend  upon 


CHAPTER  CVIL 

RETURNS  TO  MRS.  LOVETT,    AND  SHOWS  HOW  SHE  GOT  OUT  O?  THE  RIVER. 

With  trembling  steps,  Mrs.  Oakley  followed  Lupin,  the  murderer,  into  his 
own  room.  Of  course  she  was  resolved  to  see  nothing,  and  to  make  no  remark 
that  could  in  any  way  direct  the  attention  of  Lupin  more  closely  to  her,  and,  oh, 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  469  | 

how  she  panted  for  some  opportunity  of  rushing  into  the  street  and  crying 
aloud  to  the  passers  by,  that  the  pious  hypocrite  was  a  murderer.  But  as  yet 
she  felt  that  her  life  depended  upon  the  manner  in  which  she  played  her  part. 

u  Truly,  sister  Oakley/'  said  Lupin,  "  I  hope  you  passed  a  quiet  and  peaceful 
night.  Amen!" 

"  Very/'  replied  Mrs.  Oakley. 

"  Ah,  I  wish  I  could  say  as  much,  sister  Oakley. " 

€i  And  can  you  not  ?" 

"  Alas  !  no,  I  had  some  dreams— some  very  bad  dreams  ;  but'  Satan  always 
will  be  doing  something,  you  know,  sister.  Do  you  know  I  dreamt  of  a 
murder !" 

As  he  uttered  these  words,  no  Grand  Inquisitor  could  have  looked  more  keenly 
into  the  eyes  of  a  victim,  than  did  Mr.  Lupin  into  the  face  of  Mrs.  Oakley  ; 
but  she  divined  his  motive,  she  felt  that  he  was  trying  her,  but  she  had  even  in 
such  a  moment  sufficient  presence  of  mind  to  keep  her  eyes  steadily  upon  his 
face,  and  to  say  with  seeming  unconcern, 

"  Murder,  did  you  say,  Mr.  Lupin  ?" 

u  Yes,  I  did  say  murder,  and  you  He  pointed  at  her  with  his  finger, 

but  finding  that  she  only  looked  surprised,  rather,  he  added — "  and  you  are  one 
of  the  elect,  I  rejoice  to  say,  sister  Oakley.  Amen !  It  is  a  capital  thing  to  be 
saved !" 

€i  It  is,  indeed,  Mr.  Lupin." 

"Well— well.  Let  us  have  the  carnal  meal,  called  breakfast.  I  will  proceed, 
God  willing,  to  the  corner  of  the  court,  and  purchase  two  eggs,  Mrs.  Oakley,  if 
it  be  pleasing  to  you  " 

"  Anything  you  like,  Mr.  Lupin  ;  I  have  but  a  poor  appetite  in  the  morning, 
always." 

Mr.  Lupin  put  on  his  hat,  and  after  slowly  turning  round  and  casting  an 
anxious  glance  upon  the  room  and  every  object  within,  to  assure  himself  that 
he  had  left  noevidences  of  his  crime  behind  him,  he  slowly  eft  to  get  the  eggs. 

Mrs.  Oakley  heard  him  descend  the  stairs,  and  she  heard  the  door  close  be- 
hind him.  Then  she  asked  herself  if  that  were  really  and  truly  an  opportunity 
of  escape  that  she  dared  attempt  to  avail  herself  of,  or  if  it  were  only  one  in 
seeming,  and  that  if  she  were  upon  its  provocation  to  attempt  to  leave  the  place, 
she  would  only  be  confirming  the  slight  suspicions  that  might  be  in  the  mind  of 
Lupin,  concerning  her  privity  to  his  deed  of  blood. 

He  had  talked  of  only  going  to  the  corner  of  the  court,  and  how  did  she 
know  that  he  had  even  gone  so  far  P  Might  not  the  message  about  the  eggs  be 
merely  a  pretended  one,  to  see  what  she  would  do  ?  This  was  a  consideration 
that  kept  her,  tremblingly,  where  she  was. 

About  five  minutes  elapsed,  and  then  she  heard  a  knock  at  the  door  below. 
Who  could  that  be  ?  Mr.  Lupin  had  a  key  with  which  he  always  let  himself 
in,  so  it  could  not  be  he.  What  was  she  to  think  ?  what  was  she  to  do? 
Suddenly  then  she  heard  the  door  opened,  and  then  after  a  few  moments  delay 
some  footstep  sounded  upon  the  stairs,  but  it  was  very  unlike  that  of  Lupin, 
the  murderer. 

The  delightful  thought  came  over  the  imagination  of  Mrs.  Oakley,  that  some 
one  was  coming  to  whom  she  might  at  once  make  an  avowal  of  all  she  knew 
of  Lupin's  guilt,  and  who  might  be  able  to  protect  her  from  the  vengeance  of 
the  murderer.  She  rose,  and  peeped  through  the  key-hole. 
•  She  saw  Lupin  coming  up  the  stairs.  He  was  making  quite  a  laborious  effort 
to  tread  differently  to  what  was  usual  with  him,  and  from  that  moment  Mrs. 
Oakley  felt  that  she  was  to  be  subjected  to  some  extraordinary  trial  of  her  self- 
possession.    She  crept  back  to  her  seat,  and  waited  in  terror. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  [moments,  Lupin,  after  treading  with  a  heavy  thump 
upon  every  stair,  instead  of  gliding  up  in  his  usual  manner,  reaching  the  door! 
at  which  he  tapped,  and  then  in  an  assumed  voice,  which  if  she,  Mrs.  Oakley, 
had  not  known  he  was  there,  would  have  deceived  her,  he  said — 


470  THE  STRING  OF  PEAELS. 

°  Hilloa!  who's  at  home  ?"  ! 
"  Who's  there  ??'  said  Mrs.  Oakley. 

"  It's  John  Smith/'  cried  Lupin.  4<I  am  an  offier  of  the  police.  Mas  any- 
body anything  to  say  to  me  here  ?  They  tell  me  in  the  court  that  some  odd 
noises  were  heard  in  the  night." 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  it/'  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  "  but  if  you  will  come 
in  and  wait  until  Mr.  Lupin  comes  in,  he  may  like  to  see  you.3' 

"  Oh,  no,  no,  no  !    It's  no  matter.    Good  morning,  ma'am." 

Down  Stairs  went  Lupin,  thinking  he  had  acted  the  officer  to  perfection,  and 
and  making  no  doubt  in  the  world  but  that  he  had  thoroughly  deceived  Mrs. 
Oakley,  who  he  was  now  quite  satisfied  knew  absolutely  nothing  about  the 
murder. 

'     In  the  course  of  a  couple  of  minutes,  Mr.  Lupin  in  his  own  character  came 
gliding  in. 

u  I  am  afraid  I  have  kept  you  waiting,  sister  Oakley.,, 

u  Oh,  not  at  all,  but  there  has  been  a  man  there  who  says  his  name  is  Smith, 
and  he  " 

"  I  met  him!  I  met  him  !  It  is  all  right.  He  heard  something  going  on  in 
the  next  house,  I  suppose,  and  mistook  it  for  this.  Pray  cook  the  eggs  to  your 
liking,  sister  Oakley,  and  help  yourself  to  anything.  Don't  be  particular,  sister 
Oakley,  but  make  yourself  at  home/' 

u  I  will,  reverend  sir,  I  will." 

Mrs.  Oakley  was  really  playing  her  part  very  well,  but  she  fancied  each 
moment  that  the  murderer  would  see  something  in  her  manner  to  give  him  a 
suspicion  that  she  knew  too  much  for  his  safety. 

She  was  wrong  though,  for  upon  the  contrary,  Mr.  Lupin  felt  quite  satisfied 
that  the  secret  of  his  guilt  was  confined  to  his  own  breast  * 

"  I  pray  you,  sister  Oakley/'  he  said,  "  to  eat  freely  of  my  humble  fare,  and 
after  breakfast  we  will  have  a  prayer/' 

It  seemed  to  Mrs.  Oakley,  now  that  she  had  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the 
awful  hypocrisy  of  Mr.  Lupin,  something  very  horrible  for  him  to  talk  of  having 
a  prayer;  but  she  took  care  not  to  show  what  she  felt  in  that  particular. 

?*  How  kind  and  good  of  you/*  she  said. 

"  Ay,  truly,  sister  Oakley,  I  am  kind  and  good,  and  yet  there  are  envious 
folks  in  the  world*  who  I  dare  say  would  not  hesitate  to  give  even  me  a  bad 
name." 

"  Impossible,  surely/' 

"  I  would  it  were,  I  would  it  were,  my  dear  sister  Oakley,  I  would  it  were 
impossible." 

u  It  seems  to  me,  reverend  sir,  as  though  it  would  not  be  in  the  power  of 
poor  human  nature  to  praise  you  too  much  ;  but  it  is  time  that  I  should  think 
of  going  home  now,  if  you  please/' 

"  Well,  sister,  if  you  must  go  home  among  the  heathens  and  the  Philistines, 
I  will  not  hinder  you ;  but  with  the  hope  of  seeing  you  soon  again,  I  will  now 
offer  up  a  prayer.'' 

It  was  truly  sickening  even  to  Mrs.  Oakley,  whose  feelings  the  reader  will 
think  could  not  be  very  fine,  to  see  such  an  arch  hypocrite  offering  up  a  prayer 
to  that  Deity  whom  he  must  so  bitterly  have  offended  by  his  awful  crimes., 

But  Mr.  Lupin  cut  the  prayer  tolerably  short,  and  then  giving  to  Mrs. 
Oakley  what  he  called  the  kiss  of  peace,  and  to  which,  loathsome  as  it  was 
from  him,  she  felt  herself  forced  to  submit,  he  bade  her  good  day. 

And  now,  indeed,  she  began  to  entertain  a  sanguine  hope,  that  she  would  be 
released  from  his  company,  and  she  should  soon  be  in  a  condition  to  denounce 
him  to  justice  -for  the  awful  crime  which  she  had  seen  him  commit.  She 
could  not  possibly  avoid  a  slight  feeling  of  satisfaction  to  appear  upon  her  face. 

"  You  seem  pleased,'1  said  Lupin. 

"I  am,  reverend  sir." 

"  May  I  ask  what  at  ?;> 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  471_ 

"  Ah,  how  can  I  be  otherwise  than  delighted,  when  I  am  assured  by  such  a  j 
saint  upon  earth  as  yourself  that  I  am  one  of  the  elect  ?" 

This  was  an  answer  with  which,  whether  it  was  satisfactory  or  not,  Mr. 
Lupin  was,  as  it  were,  compelled  to  put  up  with  ;  but  taking  up  his  hat,  he 
said-r-  -  •  .  •  _  i  j 

"  Truly,  sister  Oakley,  it  will  become  me  to  see  you  a  part  of  the  way 
I  home/' 

J  !  Mrs.  Oakley  expressed  her  satisfaction  with  the  holy  man's  company,  and  ! 
|  they  both  descended  the  stairs  together.    She  felt,  however,  an  exquisite  pang 

of  alarm  upon  finding  that  Lupin  led  her  down  the  staircase  that  led  to  the  j 

chapel,  and  not  down  the  one  which  would  have  conducted  them  to  the  ordinary 

door  of  exit  from  the  domestic  portion  of  the  building. 

But  even  with  all  the  dread  upon  her  soul  that  he  might  be  meditating  some 

awful  act  in  the  chapel,  she  felt  that  she  must  assume  a  calmness  though  she 

felt  it  not. 

"  Why  this  leads  to  the  chapel/'  she  said.  She  thought  it  would  sound 
more  natural  for  her  to  make  that  remark,  than  to  say  nothing  about  it. 

!?  Yes,  sister  it  does,  and  here  is  the  trap-door  that  conducts  to  the  vaults." 
|    He  suddenly  turned  upon  her,  and  clutched  her  by  the  arm,  as  he  spoke. 
Poor  Mrs.  Oakley  then  really  thought  that  her  last  hour  was  come,  and  that  all 
along  in  pretending  to  have  no  suspicion  of  her,  he  was  only  dissembling.  It 
|  was  a  mercy  she  did  not  at  that  terrible  moment  commit  herself  in  some  way. 
Surely  Heaven  supported  her,  for  she  did  not. 
"  Reverend  sir/'  she  said,  "  what  mean  you  V9 

"  What  mean  I  ?  I  mean  will  you  descend  to  the  vaults  with  me  j 
"  And  pray  ?    Yes,  if  you  wish  it." 

<f  Nothing— nothing,"  muttered  Lupin.  •«  What  a  fool  I  am.  I  might  have 
jbeen  well  convinced  long  ago,  and  yet  I  cannot  forbear  new  trials.  All  is  safe, 
all  is  safe.  This  way,  sister  Oakley,  this  way.  I  will  only  see  you  to  the  corner 
of  your  own  street." 

"  Many  thanks." 

They  both  emerged  from  the  chapel.  Lupin  slammed  the  door  after  him,  and 
arm  in  arm  they  walked  up  the  court  together. 

Poor  Mrs.  Oakley  felt  that  to  be  the  most  trying  moment  of  all  for  her  j 
nerves.  While  she  had  much  to  do— while  she  was  alone  with  Lupin  in  the 
domestic  portion  of  the  chapel,  and  while  she  knew  that  the  least  slip  of  the 
tongue,  or  the  least  want  of  control  over  her  feelings  might  be  her  death — she 
conducted  herself  gallantly  ;  but  now  when  she  was  fairly  in  the  open  air, 
I  now  that  she  was  in  comparative  safety,  her  feelings  almost  got  the  better  of 
her* 

It  was  only  by  a  powerful  effort  that  she  could  at  all  control  them.  * 
She  felt  that  by  suddenly  quitting  the  arm  of  Lupin,  and  making  a  rush  for  it, 
she  might  escape  him,  but  then  she  did  not  want  him  to  escape  the  consequences 
of  his  crime,  for  Mrs,  Oakley  had  a  woman's  sympathy  with  the  fate  even  of  the  > 
not  very  respectable  Mrs.  Lupin.  Besides,  with  all  the  vindictive  hate  chat  he 
might  be  supposed  to  feel  upon  finding  thai  his  guilt  was  known,  he  might  yet 
pursue  her,  and  before  she  could  find  aid,  kill  her. 

€i  I  must  still  dissemble,' '  she  thought,  n  and  speak  this  most  monstrous  villain 
fairly/; 

"Quite  a  charming  morning, reverend  sir/'  she  said. 
"Very,"  said  Lupin. 

"  I  really  am  afraid  that  I  am  sadly  intruding  upon  you:  time,  by  letting  you 
come  with  me  }"  \ 

"Oh,  no — no — no."  - 

He  seemed  to  be  getting  very  thoughtful,  and  Mrs*  Oakley  W&s       portion-  | 
ably  more  and  more  u^on  UJr, guard,  for  she  felt  convinced  that  if  he  really 
thought  she  knew  anything  of  his  guilt  he  would  kiii  fter. 

Now  they  emerged  from  the  court ;  but  it  was  yet  rather  an  early  hour  in 


the  morning,  and  but  very  few  passengers  were  in  the  streets.  The  only 
person  that  was  tolerably  close  to  them  was  an  elderly  woman,  and  Mrs.  Oakley 
much  as  she  panted  for  an  opportunity  of  separating  herself  from  Lupin,  felt  that 
the  time  to  do  so  had  not  yet  come. 

On  they  went,  in  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Oakley's  house,  that  house  that  she 
now  began  to  feel  she  had  so  much  neglected,  to  look  after  what,  in  the  language 
of  scripture,    might  truly  have  been  termed  "Strange  Idols" — that  home 
which  she  now  looked  to  as  a  haven  of  safety  from  the  terror  of  death  itself. 
u  How  silent  you  are.  sister/1  said  Lupin, 
"Yes,  I  was  thinking/' 
<€  Of  what  ?"  he  said,  fiercely. 

u  Of  how  much  I  should  be  able  to  take  from  Mrs.  Oakley's  till,  to  bring  to 
you,  this  day  week." 
"Oh!  oh  !" 

"  You  may  depend,  reverend  sir,  it  shall  be  as  much  as  possible-    Of  course  1 
must  be  cautious,  though." 
"  Oh,  yes — yes.5' 

They  had  now  reached  within  a  few  paces  of  the  corner  of  the  street,  and 
yet  Mrs,  Oakley  had  seen  no  one  upon  whom,  from  their  appearance,  she 
thought  she  could  rely  to  call  to  for  aid  against  the  murderer.  Suddenly  then 
round  the  corner,  there  came  a  bulky  form.  The  heavy  tread  of  some  one  of 
unusual  weight  sounded  upon  the  street  pavement. 

Big  Ben,  the  beef-eater,  with  his  arms'  behind  him,  and  in  a  very  thoughtful 
mood,  came  pacing  slowly  along. 

As  Mrs.  Oakley  said  aftterwards,  her  heart,  at  that  moment,  was  in  her 
mouth. 

She  could  not  dissemble  an  instant  longer  with  Lupin,  but  with  a  loud  shriek 

that  echoed  far  and  wide  in  the  streets,  she  suddenly  sprang  from  him, 
crying — 

"  Ben,  Ben,  dear  strong  Ben,  seize  this  man  !    He  is  a  murderer  1" 
'  D  n !    Done  at  last !"  cried  Lupin. 

He  turned  to  fly,  but  treading  upon  a  piece  of  cabbage-leaf  that  was  upon 
the  pavement,  down  he  fell. 

«*  Easy  does  it,"  said  Ben,  and  he  flung  himself  upon  the  top  of  Lupin, 
spreading  out  his  arms  and  legs,  and;holding  him  by  sheer  weight  as  firmly  to  the 
pavement  as  though  he  had. been  nailed  there. 

"Help,  help,  help!  Murder!  help!"  shouted  Mrs.  Oakley.  ''Murder, 
murder,  murder  !' 

People  began  to  flock  to  them  from  all  parts.  Lupin  suc  ceeded  in  getting  a 
knife  from  his  pocket,  but  Mrs.  Oakley  held  him  by  the  wr  ist  with  both  hands, 
and  in  a  minute  more  he  was  in  the  grasp  of  two  strong  men,  one  of  whom 
was  a  pouce-officer,  and  who  gloried  in  the  job. 


CHAPTER  CVLFX 

MRS.  LOVETT  SHOWS  WHAT  A  WONDMFTffc     "WOMAN  SHE  IS.  j 

Our  readers  have  been  aware  for  a  long  time  past  t%  at  Mrs.  Lovett  was  no 
common,  everyday  sort  of  woman,  and  wbat  we  are  &l  out  to  relate  concern- 

n J«™  '  ft  er  *?r00f  that  wav  tendi0&  if  it  shot*  M  be  bY  any  sceptical 

person  in  any  way  required. 

hoI°fnhaoTaran^  T^dd  \ad  seeu  the  Iast  ®f  lieronth^  river.   But  Todd  was 
Srf£J  th      V,t '  aid  at  tbf  time  he  shou,d  have  lew*  ected  an  old  adage,  to 
We  shall  L  t0  be  hang6d  are  ver^  1  3eldom  drowned' 

the^iwr  w°nnM  g<? \d™n>Ut  as  fort«ne  and-the igly  strong  current  of ! 
l^I^^J^  with  a  barge-  ft    tween  her  and  Todd, 


r 


■  f 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


473 


and  involuntarily  laying  hold  of  the  side  of  the  barge,  there  she  remained,  too 
exhausted  to  cry  out,  until  Todd  was  far  off. 

She  was  seen  at  last  by  a  man  who  was  at  the  window  of  a  public-house, 
and  in  the  course  of  ten  minutes  after  Toad  had  began  to  congratulate  himself 
upon  the  demise  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  she  was  in  a  warm  bed  at  the  public-house,  and 
her  clothes  drying  at  the  kitchen-fire. 


MRS.  L0VETT\S  ESCOIIT  TO  THE  GALLOWS. 

She  had  scarcely  been  for  a  moment  at  all  insensible  ;  and  as  she  lay  in  bed 
she  had  a  most  accurate  perception  of  all  that  happened.  The  reader  may  sup- 
pose that  the  feelings  of  Mrs.  Lovett  towards  Sweeney  Todd,  were  by  no  'means 
ameliorated  by  the  morning's  proceedings. 

And  yet  how  calculating  she  was  in  her  rage  ! 

No,  60. 


474  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  

».  'Ill  I     III  I    I  I    '  ■      '  I  .1 

As  the  effects  of  her  submersion  wore  off,  and  her  ordinary  strength  came 
back  to  her,  he  mind  became  intently  fixed  upon  but  one  object,  and  that  was  i 
how  to  be  completely  and'bitterly  revenged  upon  Todd. 

"  He  shall  hang,"  she  said.  "  He  shall  hang,  but  I  must  think  of  the  means,  ! 
while  I  likewise  take  care  to  avoid  the  gallows  myself ;  but  he  shall  hang,  let  the  | 
consequences  be  what  they  may."  j 
|  The  landlady  of  the  public*house  was  very  assiduous  in  her  attention  to  Mrs.  ! 
Lovett,  and  while  she  was  thus  thinking  of  her  revenge  upon  Todd,  she  (the  I 
landlady)  made  her  appearance  in  the  room  with  a  steaming  glass  of  mulled  and  j 
spiced  wine.  j 
|  "  I  hope  you  are  better/'  she  said  ;  u  and  if  you  will  give  me  the  name  and 
address  of  your  friends,  I  will  send  to  them  at  once/' 

|    "  Friends  !"  said  Mrs.  Lovet^.    rl  How  came  you  to  think  that  I  had  any 
friends  V* 

u  Well,  I  hardly  thought  you  were  without.  Don't  most  folks  have  friends  of 
some  sort  or  another  ?" 

"  Ah,  I  had  forgotten.  I  have  a  friend  with  me— a  very  dear  friend,  who  will 
not  forsake  me.    I  have  more  of  them  at  home — for  I  have  a  home." 

"  Oh  "  thought  the  landlady,  u  she  is  raving." 

"  Bring  me  my  stays/'  sa*d  Mrs.  Lovett. 

The  stays,  which,  together  with  the  rest  of  her  apparel,  now  had  got  quite  dry,  j 
was  brought  to  her,  and  in  a  little  secret  pocket  in  them,  Mrs.  Lovett  dived  with  ! 
jher  two  fingers,  and  found  a  damp  five  pound  note. 

j    "Take  that,"  she  said,  "  for  your  trouble.  I  do  not  want  any  change.  Only 
be  so  good  now  as  to  help  me  to  dress,  and  tell  me  what  the  time  is." 
|    "Three  o'clock,"  said  the  landlady,  "and  I'm  sure  you  can't  think  how 
pleased  I  am  that  you  are  better.  Do  you  really  think  you  are  strong  enough  to 
go  home  yet  ?" 

?*  Yes.   What  1  have  to  do  at  home  will  lend  me  strength,  if  I  wanted  it." 
*  Mrs.  Lovett  was  soon  dressed,  and  at  her  request  a  coach  was  sent  for  ;  and 
in  the  course  of  half-an-hour  from  the  time  that  the  landlady  had  asked  her  if 
she  should  send  for  her  friends,  she,  Mrs.  Lovett,  was  bowling  along  the  dense 
;  thoroughfares  of  the  city  to  her  home.  j 
'    What  pen  could  describe  the  dark  and  malignant  thoughts  that  filled  her 
brain  as  she  proceeded  ?    What  language  would  be  strong  enough  to  depict  the 
j  storm  of  passion  that  raged  in  the  bosom  of  that  imperious  woman  ?  I 
j    It  must  suffice,  that  she  made  herself  a  solemn  promise  of  vengeance  against 
j  Todd,  let  the  risk  or  the  actual  consequences  to  herself  be  what  they  might. 
If  with  perfect  safety  to  herself  she  could  be  revenged  upon  him— of  course  she 
would  ;  but  she  resolved  not  to  hesitate,  even  if  it  involved  a  self-sacrifice,  so  full 
of  the  very  agony  of  rage  was  she.  \ 

"  He  shall  hang — he  shall  hang  !"  \ 

Such  were  the  words  she  uttered  as  the  lumbering  hackney-coach  reached  j 
Fleet  Street.  j 

For  all  she  knew  to  the  contrary,  Todd  might  be  looking  from  his  door,  for 
that  he  had  gone  home  in  great  triumph  at  the  thought  of  having  got  rid  of  her  \ 
she  did  not  doubt ;  and  so  as  it  was  just  then  a  great  object  with  her  to  keep  him 
in  that  pleasant  delusion,  she  got  quite  down  among  the  straw  at  the  bottom  [of  j 
j  the  hackney-coach. 

But  she  kept  her  eyes — those  bright  metallic-looking  eyes,  which,  with  a  j 
;questinable  taste,  had  been  so  much  admired  by  the  lawyers'  clerks  of  the  Temple 
;and  Lincoln's  Inn — she  kept  her  eyes  just  on  the  edge  of  the  coach  window,  so  j 
that  she  might  have  a  passing  glance  at  Todd's  shop. 

Todd  was  at  the  door.  ! 

Howr  pleased  and  self-satisfied  he  looked  !    He  was  rubbing  his  huge  hands 
slowly  together,  and  a  grim  smile  was  on  his  horrible  features. 

Mrs.  Lovett  clinched  her  hands  until  her  nails  made  marks  in  the  palms  of 
them  that  did  not  come  out  for  hours,  and  in  a  harsh  growling  voice,  she  said— 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  _  475_ 

"  Ah,  grin  on,  grin  on,  fiend — your  hours  from  now  shall  be  numbered. 
|  You  shall  hang,  hang,  and  I  shall  hope  to  see  you  in  your  last  agony.    If  any 
bribe  can  induce  the  hangman,  by  some  common  bungling  to  protract  your  pain, 
he  has  but  to  name  his  price  and  he  shall  have  It.** 
|      The  coach  rolled  on. 

I  Mrs.  Lovett  rose  up  from  among  the  straw  with  a  shudder.  The  immersion 
in  the  river  had  not  drowned  her  certainly,  but  it  had  done  her  no  good  ;  and  she 
could  not  conceal  from  herself,  that  a  serious  illness  might  very  probably  result 
from  her  unexpected  cold  bath. 

"  Never  mind  J"  she  said.  "  Never  mind  1  What  care  1  so  that  I  complete 
my  revenge  against  Todd?  If  I  die  after  that  it  will  not  much  matter.  I  will 
have  my  revenge." 

The  coach  stopped  at  the  corner  of  Bell-yard. 

"  That  will  do/'  said  Mrs.  Lovett  as  she  pulled  the  check-string.  "That 
will  do.  I  will  alight  here.*' 

She  paid  the  coachman  double  the  amount  of  his  fare,  so  he  only  muttered  a 
few  curses  between  his  teeth,  and  drove  off. 

|  With  quite  a  staggering  step,  for  Mrs.  Lovett  was  anything  but  well,  she 
walked  to  her  own  shop  .  The  door  was  closed,  and  she  looked  through  the 
upper  half  of  it  which  was  of  glass,  just  in  time  to  see  the  highly  trustworthy 
personage  whom  she  had  left  in  charge  of  the  concern,  place  a  bottle  to  her  lips, 
and  slowly  lift  it  up. 

i  Mrs.  Lovett  opened  the  door,  just  as  the  titillating  contents  of  the  bottle 
were  rippling  over  the  palate  of  the  lady,  who  had  had  such  an  adventure  with 
Todd. 

"  Wretch!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Lovett. 

Down  fell  the  bottle,  and  smashed  into  many  fragments  on  the  floor  of  the 
shop.    An  unmistakable  odour  of  gin  filled  the  air. 

°  So,"  cried  Mrs.  Lovett,  "this  is  the  way  you  employ  your  time  is  it,  while 
■  I  am  away?" 

«  T — T — Tood,"  stuttered  the  woman,  "  T— T— Todd  is  such  a  nice  man/ 

"  Todd,  do  you  say  ?" 

«  Yes— I — I  say — T— Todd  is  a  nice  man." 

"  Answer  me,  wretch,  instantly.  Has  he  been  here  ?  Speak,  or  I  will  shake 
your  wretched  life  out  of  you." 

Mrs.  Lovett  suited  the  action  to  the  word,  and  the  word  to  the  action,  for 
she  clutched  her  substitute  by  the  throat,  and  shook  her  vehemently. 

W  D—D— Don't  Mrs.  L.— I— will— tell  all— all.    I  will  indeed." 

"  Speak  then.  Has  Todd  been  here?" 

"  In  course,  and  quite  a  nice  man— I-  I  may  say— quite  a  gin— I  mean  a 
nice  man— a  cordial  old  Tom.   No!  Cream  of  the— Todd/* 
"  Wretch!" 

Mrs.  Lovett  paced  the  shop  for  a  few  moments  in  an  agony  of  rage.  Todd 
presuming  upon  her  death  had  actually  been  there,  no  doubt  upon  an  expedi- 
tion to  ransac  k  the  place.  A  touch  to  the  lock  of  the  parlour-door,  told  her  at 
once  that  it  was  open,  and  from  that  moment  she  no  longer  could  doubt  but 
that  the  whole  house  had  been  subject  to  the  scrutiny  of  Sweeney  Todd. 

"  The  wretch  !"  she  said.  "  He  thought  to  find  enough  no  doubt  to  reward 
his  pains,  but  he  has  been  deceived  in  that  hope,  I  feel  well  assured.  What  I 
have  here,  I  have  too  well  hidden  for  any  search  of  a  few  hours  to  find  it.  If 
they  were  to  pull  the  house  to  pieces,  brick  by  brick  and  timber  by  timber,  they 
might  find  something  to  pay  them  for  their  labour." 

The  lady  with  the  partiality  for  gin,  now  seemed  to  be  lapsing  into  a  state  of 
somnolency,  but  Mrs.  Lovett  gave  her  rather  a  rough  shake. 

"Tell  me/'  she  said,  "when  did  this  man  come,  and  what  did  he  say  to 
you?" 

"Gin!5'  ' 

"  I  ask  you  what  Todd  said  to  you  ¥' 


i 


476  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 

  _  — —  ,  1 — - —      ■■■■       in  '   ,_ 

<M3h7yes.  I — really— fine  times.   Old  Tom  Todd — cream  of  the  Todd." 

It  was  quite  clear  that  she  was  too  far  gone  in  drunkenness  for  anything 
distinct  or  to  be  relied  upon  to  be  got  from  her,  and  the  only  thing  Mrs.  Lovett 
had  to  do,  was  to  consider  what  to  do  with  her.  If  she  threw  her  out  of  the 
shop  into  the  court,  the  probability  was,  that  a  crowd  would  collect  round  her, 
and  that  was  just  what  Mrs.  Lovett  did  not  want.  Indeed,  for  all  she.  Mrs. 
Lovett  knew,  the  drunken  woman  might  stagger  round  to  Todd's,  and  let  him 
know  what  of  all  things  .  she  wished  to  keep  secret  from  him,  namely,  that 
she  had  returned. 

Mrs.  Lovett  had  not  yet  formed  her  plans,  and  certainly  until  she  had  done 
so,  she  did  not  want  any  premature  knowledge  of  her  rescue  from  drowning 
to  reach  the  ears  of  Todd. 

But  what  to  do  with  the  drunken  woman  was  the  question.  Mrs.  Lovett  had 
to  think  a  little  over  that.  At  length,  however,  she  made  up  her  mind,  and 
approaching  the  lady  who  had  such  a  partiality  for  Old  Tom,  she  said — 

"  Did  you  ever  taste  my  cordial  spirit,  that  I  have  up  stairs  in  my  bed- 
room V 

"Eh?" 

"  Come,  I  will  give  you  a  bottle  of  it,  if  you  will  walk  up  stairs.    Only  try." 

By  the  assistance  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  the  gin  Jheroine  rose  and  tottered  to  the 
staircase ;  Mrs.  Lovett  pushed  her  on,  and  stair  by  stair  she  managed  to  mount 
to  the  first  floor.  It  was  by  far  too  great  a  job  to  get  her  any  further,  so 
opening  the  door  of  the  back-room,  Mrs.  Lovett  pushed  her  in  with  violence, 
and  slammed  the  door  upon  her. 

"  Lie  there  and  rot,"  she  said,  u  so  that  you  are  out  of  my  way.  Lie  there 
and  rot,  idiot." 

Without  then  pausing  to  cast  another  thought  or  look  at  her  victim,  Mrs. 
Lovett  wTalked  down  the  staircase  again  to  the  shop. 

When  there,  she  felt  a  kind  of  faintness  come  over  her,  and  she  was  com- 
pelled to  sit  down  for  a  few  minutes  to  recover  herself. 

"  How  much  I  have  to  think  of,"  she  said,  when  she  had  a  little  recovered. 
1  How  much  I  have  to  think  of,  and  how  little  a  time  in  which  to  think.  Some- 
thing  must  be  done  before  midnight.    Todd  will  fly  if  I  do  not  do  something." 

A  racking  pain  in  her  head,  compelled  her  to  rest  it  upon  her  hands. 

"If  I  thought/'  she  said,  "  that  I  should  get  very  ill — if  I  thought  that 
there  was  any  chance  that  I  should  die,  1  would  go  at  once  to  the  police  office 
and  denounce  him.  But  no — 'tis  only  a  passing  pang,  and  I  shall  soon  be  better 
— shall  soon  be  myself  again."  j 

She  did  not  speak  now  for  some  few  moments,  and  during  that  time  she 
rocked  to  and  fro,  for  the  pain  in  her  head  was  excessive.  It  did  not  last,  how- 
ever, but  gradually  went  off,  leaving  only  a  sensation  of  dulness  behind  it,  with 
some  amount  of  confusion.  ! 

Then  Mrs.  Lovett,  as  well  as  she  was  able,  set  about  thinking  calmly 
and  dispassionately,  as  she  hoped,  about  the  best  means  of  satisfying  her  re- 
venge against  Todd,    That  that  revenge  should  be  complete  and  ample,  she  was' 
resolved. 

Gradually  she  began  to  work  out  a  plan  of  operations,  and  as  she  did  so,  her' 
eyes  brightened,  and  something  of  her  old  expression  of  bold  confidence  came 
back  to  her. 

She  rose  and  paced  the  shop. 

u  Yes,  the  villian  shall  die,"  she  said,  H  by  the  hands  of  the  executioner— I 
swear  it!    And  he  shall  know,  too,  that  it  is  I  who  have  doomed  him  to  such 
a  death.    He  shall  feel  that,  had  he  kept  faith  with  we  all  would  have  been 
well;  but  now  he  shall  hang—hang  !— and  1  shall  look  on  and  sqe  his' 
torments  !" 


  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  477 

r  i  ■      >    ■■    ■■  ■  4     ■  i      ■       ■        ■   i  ■  ■■■■  ■■  .i  ■  ■         , ,  ,t  >  ,   

CHAPTER  CIX. 

JOHANNA  HAS    PLENTY    OF    COMPANY  AT  TODD's. 

We  return  to  Johanna,  whom  for  a  few  hours,  owing  to*  the  pressure 
of  other  circumstances,  we  have  been  compelled,  with  all  manner  of  reluctance, 
to  neglect. 

j  Recent  events,  although  they  had  by  no  manner  of  means  tended  to  decrease 
the  just  confidence  which  Johanna  had  in  her  own  safety,  had  yet  much  agitated 
her;  and  she  at  times  feared  that  she  should  not  be  able  to  carry  on  the  farce  of 
composure  before  Todd  much  longer. 

!  .  "  Charley,  my  dear  boy,"  said  Todd,  "  you  are  a  very  good  lad,  indeed,  and  I 
like  you." 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  you  say  so,  sir — very  glad." 

u  That  is  right ;  but  when  I  say  I  like  any  one,  I  do  not  confine  myself 
to  that  mere  expression  of  liking,  and  there  an  end.    Of  course,  as  a  re- 
ligious man,  I  love  my  enemies,  and  feel  myself  bound  to  do  so— eh 
Charley  ?" 

H  Of  course,  sir." 

Poor  Johanna  had  no  resource  but  to  seem  to  be  deceived  by  this  most  dis- 
gusting hypocrisy. 

|  *'  But  although,"  continued  Todd,  waving  a  razor  in  the  air;  <r  although  1 
may  love  my  enemies,  I  need  not  to  go  out  of  my  way,  you  know,  Charley, 
to  do  good  things  to  them  as  I  would  to  my  friends  ;  but  you  I  will  do  all  1 
can  for ;  and  as  it  may  very  materially  help  you  to  get  an  honest  independence 
in  the  course  of  a  little  time,  I  will  manage  to  accommodate  you  with  sleeping 
here  to-night  and  all  nights  henceforth," 
"  How  kind  of  you,  sir  l" 

"  I  am  glad  you  appreciate  it,  Charley  ;  and  I  feel  quite  sure  that  your 
slumber  will  be  most  profound." 

Todd,  upon  this,  made  one  of  his  diabolical  faces,  and  then,  taking  his  hat, 
he  marched  out,  merely  adding  as  he  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  door — 
j       I  shall  not  be  long  gone,  Charley.3' 

j  The  day  was  on  the  decline,  and  a  strong  impression  came  over  Johanna's 
mind  that  something  in  particular  would  happen  before  it  wholly  passed  away 
into  darkness.  She  almost  trembled  to  think  what  that  something  could  be,  and 
that  she  might  be  compelled  to  be  a  witness  to  violence,  from  which  her  gentle 
spirit  revolted ;  and  had  it  not  been  that  she  had  determined  nothing  should 
stop  her  from  investigating  the  fate  of  poor  Mark  Ingestrie,  she  could  even  then 
have  rushed  into  the  street  in  despair. 

|  But  as  the  soft  daylight  deepened  into  the  dim  shadows  of  evening,  she  grew 
more  composed,  and  was  better  able,  with  a  calmer  spirit,  to  wait  the  progress 
of  events. 

<4I  am  alone  once  more,"  said  Johanna,  <r  in  this  dreadful  place.  Again 
he  leaves  me  with  all  my  dark  and  terrible  thoughts  of  the  fate  of  him 
whom  I  have  so  fondly  loved  thronging  around  my  heart;  and  this  night, 
no  doubt,  he  thinks  to  kill  me !  Oh,  Mark  Ingestrie !  if  I  were  only  but 
!  quite  sure  that  you  had  gone  to  that  world  from  whence  there  is  no  return, 
1  think  I  could,  with  scarce  a  sigh,  let  this  dreadful  man  send  me  after 
you!" 

I    Johanna^rested  her  head  upon  her  hands,  and  wept  bitterly, 
;    Suddenly  a  voice  close  to  her  said — 
"  St.  Dunstan" 

She  sprang  from  the  little  low  seat  upon  which  she  was,  and,  with  a  cry  of 
alarm,  was  about  to  make  a  rush  from  the  shop,  when  the  intruder  eaught  her 
by  the  arm,  saying— 

"  Don't  you  know  me,  Johanna  V9 


I 


"  Ah,  Sir  Richard  !  my  dear  riend,  it  is,  indeed,  you,  and  I  am  safe  again-— I 
am  safe  1" 

"  Certainly  you  are  safe  ;  and  permit  me  to  say  that  you  have  all  along  been 
tokrably  safe,  Johanna.  But  how  very  incautious  you  are,  Here  I  have  come 
into  the  shop,  and  actually  stood  by  you  for  some  few  moments,  you  knowing 
nothing  of  it  I   What  now  if  Todd  had  so  come  in  ?" 

"  He  would  have  killed  me." 

"  He  might  have  done  so.    But  now  all  J  anger  is  quite  over,  for  you  will 
have  protectors  at  your  hand.    Do  you  know  where  Todd  has  gone  V9 
"  I  do  not." 

"Well,  it  don't  matter.  Let  me  look  at  this  largest  cupboard.  I  wonder  if 
it  will  hold  two  of  my  men  ?  Let  me  see.  Oh,  yes,  easily  and  comfortably.  I 
will  be  back  in  a  moment/' 

He  went  no  further  than  the  door,  and  when  he  came  back,  he  brought 
with  him  Mr.  Crotchet  and  another  person,  and  pointing  to  the  cupboard,  he 
said — 

"You  will  stow  yourselves  there,  if  you  please,  and  keep  quiet  until  I 
call  upon  you  to  come  out." 

"  I  believe  you,"  said  Crotchet.  "  Lord  bless  you,  we  shall  be  snug  enough. 
How  is  you,  Miss  O.  ?    I  suppose  by  this  time  you  feels  quite  at  home  in  your 

breech-  "  j 

"  Silence  V'  said  Sir  Richard.    "  Go  to  your  duty  at  once,  Crotchet.  Miss 
Oakley  is  in  no  humour  to  attend  to  you  just  now/' 

Upon  this,  Mr.  Crotchet  and  the  other  man  got  into  the  cupboard,  and  a  chair 
was  placed  against  it ;  and  then  Sir  Richard  said  to  Johanna — 

"I  will  come  in  to  be  shaved  when  I  know  that  Todd  is  here,  and  your  trials 
will  soon  be  over." 

"  To  be  shaved  ?— By  him  ?" 

"  Yes.  But  believe  me  there  is  no  danger.  Any  one  may  come  here  now  to 
be  shaved  with  perfect  safety.  I  have  made  such  arrangements  that  Todd  can- 
not take  another  life." 

"  Thank  Heaven!" 

«  Here  is  a  letter  from  your  friend,  Miss  Wilmot,  which  I  promised  her  I 
would  deliver  to  you.  Be  careful  how  you  let  Todd  see  it.  Read  it  at  once, 
and  then  you  had  better  destroy  it  at  once.  I  must  go  now  ;  but,  of  course,  if 
you  should  be  in  any  danger,  call  upon  my  men  in  the  cupboard  to  assist  you, 
and  they  will  do  id  at  once,  although  it  may  spoil  my  plot  a  little/ ' 
\   "  Oh  !  how  much  I  owe  you." 

u  In  ay,  nay,  no  more  upon  that  head.  Farewell  now,  for  a  brief  space.  We 
shall  very  soon  meet  again.  Keep  a  fair  and  agreeable  face  to  Todd,  if  you  can, 
for  I  do  not  wish,  if  it  can  possibly  be  helped,  anything  to  mar  the  plot  I  have 
got  up  for  his  absolute  conviction  upon  abundant  testimony." 

Sir  Richard  shook  hands  with  Johanna,  and  then  hastily  left  the  shop,  for  he 
did  not  wish  just  kthen  to  be  found  there  by  Todd,  who  might  return  at  any  ^ 

moment.  I 

The  moment  he  was  gone  Johanna  eagerly  opened  the  letter  that  had  been 
brought  to  her,  and  found  it  to  contain  the  following  words  : — 

"  My  Dear  Johanna, — This  is  a  selfish  letter  ;  for  as  I  cannot  see  you,  I 
think  I  should  go  mad  if  I  did  not  write  to  you  ;  so  I  do  so  for  the  ease  of  my 
own  heart  and  brain.  For  the  love  of  Heaven,  and  for  the  love  of  all  you  hold 
dear  in  this  world,  get  away  from  Todd  as  quickly  as  you  can;  and  when  I  see 
you  again,  I  shall  have  something  to  say  to  you  which  will  give  yqp  more  plea- 
sure than  ever,  with  my  bad  advice,  I  have  given  you  pain. 

u  Sir  Richard  Blunt  has  kindly  promised  to  give  this  to  you,  and  you  know 
thatl  am — Your  ever  affectionate  Arabella." 

"  Yes,5'  said  Johanna,  when  she  had  finished  the  epistle.  "  In  truth  I  know 
you  are  ever  my  affectionate  Arabella,  and  I  am  most  happy  in  such  a  friend. 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  479 

1 .   .   ,   -  j 

But  this  must  not  meet  Todd's  eye.   Ah!  that  footstep,  I  know  it  too  well. 
He  comes — he  comes/'  j  j 

She  had  just  hidden  the  letter,  when  Sweeney  Todd  made  his  appearance.      j  j 

"  Anybody  been  V  he  asked. 

"Yes,  one  man,  but  he  would  not  wait."  | 

•<Ah,  wanted  to  be  shaved,  I  suppose;  but  no  matter — no  matter;  and  I 
hope  you  have  been  quiet,  and  not  been  attempting  to  indulge  your  curiosity  in 
any  way,  since  I  have  been  gone.  Hush  !  here's  somebody  coming.  Why,  j 
it's  old  Mr.  Wrankley,  the  tobacconist,  I  declare.  Good-day  to  you,  sir- 
shaved,  I  suppose  ?  I'm  glad  you  have  come,  sir,  for  I  have  been  out  till  this 
moment.    Hot  water,  Charley,  directly,  and  hand  me  that  razor." 

Johanna,  in  handing  Todd  the  razor,  knocked  the  edge  of  it  against  the  chair,  j 
and  it  being  uncommonly  sharp,  cut  a  great  slice  of  the  wood  off  one  of  the  arms 
of  it.  ! 

*  What  shameful  carelessness,"  said  Todd;  "I  have  half  a  mind  to  lay  the 
strop  over  your  back,  sir  ;  here  you  have  spoilt  a  capital  razor — not  a  bit  of 
edge  left  upon  it."  %  j 

"  Oh,  excuse  him,  Mr.  Todd-- excuse  him,"  said  the  old  gentleman  ;  "he's 
only  a  little  lad,  after  ail.    Let  me  intercede  for  him/' 

"  Very  good,  sir;  if  you  wish  me  to  look  over  it,  of  course  I  will;  and,| 
thank  God,  we  have  a  stock  of  razors,  of  course,  always  at  hand.  Is  there  any 
news  stirring,  sir  ?" 

"Nothing  that  I  know  of,  Mr.  Todd,  except  it's  the  illness  of  Mr.  Cummings, 
the  overseer.    They  say  he  got  home  about  twelve  to  his  own  house,  in 
Chancery-lane,  and  ever  since  then  he  has  been  as  sick  as  a  dog,  and  all  they  can 
get  him  to  say  is,  '  Oh,  those  pies — oh,  those  pies  !' " 
j    "Very  odd,  sir." 

I  V  Very.  I  think  Mr.  Cummings  must  be  touched  in  the  upper  story,  do  you 
know,  Mr.  Todd.  He's  a  very  respectable  man,  but,  between  you  and  I,  was 
never  over  bright." 

"  Certainly  not,  sir— certainly  not.  But  it's  a  very  odd  case.  What  pies 
can  he  possibly  mean,  sir  ?    Did  you  call  when  you  came  from  home  ?" 

u  No.  Ha,  ha !  I  cant  help  laughing ;  but,  ha,  ha !  i  have  come  away  from 
home  on  the  sly,  you  see.  The  fact  is,  my  wife's  cousin — hilloa ! — I  think  you. 
have  cut  me." 

|    "  No,  no — we  can't  cut  anybody  for  three-halfpence,  sir.    I  think  I  will  just 

give  you  another  lather,  sir,  before  I  polish  you  off.    And  so  you  have  the 

pearls  with  you ;  well,  how  odd  things  come  round,  to  be  sure." 

)    "  What  do  you  mean  ?" 

"  This  shaving-brush  is  just  in  a  good  state  now.  Always  as  a  shaving-brush  is 

on  the  point  of  wearing  out,  it's  the  best.    Charley,  you  will  go  at  once  to  Mr. 

Cummings,  and  ask  if  he  is  any  better  ;  you  need  not  hurry,  that's  a  good  lad. 

I  am  not  at  all  angry  with  you  now.  And  so,  sir,  they  think  at  home  that  you 

have  gone  after  some  business  over  the  water,  do  they,  and  have  not  the  least 

idea  that  you  have  come  to  be  shaved  ?    There,  be  off,  Charley — shut  the  door, 

that's  a  good  lad,  bless  you." 

*  *  *  *  #  *  * 

When  Johanna  came  back,  the  tobacconist  was  gone, 
|  *  t  u  Well,"  said  Sweeney  Todd,  as  he  sharpened  a  razor  very  leisurely,  f  how  is 
Mr.  Cummings  ?" 

!    "I  found  out  his  house,  sir,  with  some  difficulty,  and  they  say  he  is  better, 
having  gone  to  sleep." 

'*  Oh,  very  good!;  I  am  going  to  look  over  some  accounts  in  the  parlour,  so 
don't  choose  to  be  disturbed,  you  understand  ;  and  for  the  next  ten  minutes,  if 
anybody  comes,  you  will  say  I  am  out." 

!  Sweeney  Todd  walked  quite  coolly  into  the  parlour,  and  Johanna  heard  him 
lock  the  door  on  the  inside ;  a  strange,  undefined  sensation  of  terror  crept  over 
her,  she  knew  not  why,  and  she  shuddered,  as  she  looked  around  her.  The 


480 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


cupboard  door  was  not  close  shut,  and  she  knew  not  what  prompted  her  to  ap- 
proach and  peep  in.  On  the  first  shelf  was  the  hat  of  the  tobacconist :  it  was 
rather  a  remarkable  one,  and  recognised  in  a  moment. 

41  What  has  happened?  Good  God!  what  can  have  happened  ?"  thought 
Johanna,  as  she  staggered  back,  until  she  reached  the  shaving- chair,  into  which 
she  cast  herself  for  support.  Her  eyes  fell  upon  the  arm  which  she  had  taken 
such  a  shaving  off  with  the  razor,  but  all  was  perfectly  whole  and  correct ;  there 
was  not  the  least  mark  of  the  cut  that  so  recently  had  been  given  to  it ;  and  lost 
in  wonder,  Johanna,  for  more  than  a  minute,  continued  looking  for  the  mark  of 
the  injury  she  knew  could  not  have  been,  by  any  possibility,  effaced. 

And  yet  she  found  it  not,  although  there  was  the  chair,  just  as  usual,  with  its 
wide  spreading  arms  and  its  worn,  tarnished  paint  and  gilding.  No  wonder  that 
Johanna  rubbed  her  eyes,  and  asked  herself  if  she  were  really  awake  ? 

What  could  account  for  such  a  phenomenon?  The  chair  was  a  fixture  too, 
and  the  others  in  the  shop  were  of  a  widely  different  make  and  construction,  so 
it  could  not  have  been  changed. 

"  Alas !  alas  !"  mourned  Johanna,  H  my  mind  is  full  of  horrible  surmises,  and 
yet  I  can  form  no  rational  conjecture.  I  suspect  everything,  and  know  nothing* 
What  can  I  do  I  What  ought  I  to  do,  to  relieve  myself  from  this  state  of 
horrible  suspense  ?  Am  I  really  in  a  place  where,  by  some  frightful  ingenuity, 
murder  has  become  bold  and  familiar,  or  can  it  be  all  a  delusion  ?" 

She  covered  her  face  with  her  hands  for  a  time,  and  when  she  uncovered  them, 
she  saw  that  Sweeney  Todd  was  staring  at  her  with  looks  of  suspicion  from  the 
inner  room. 

The  necessity  of  instantly  acting  her  part  came  over  Johanna,  and  she  gave  a 
loud  scream. 

*'  What  the  devil  is  all  this  about?"  said  Todd,  advancing  with  a  sinister  ex- 
pression.   V  What's  the  meaning  of  it  ?    I  suspect 


Yes,  sir/'  said  Johanna,  "and  so  do  I;  I  must  to-morrow  have  it  out." 
H  Have  what  out  Y9 

"My. tooth,  sir — it's  been  aching  for  some  hours;  did  you  ever  have  the 
toothache  ?  if  you  did,  you  can  feel  for  me,  and  not  wonder  that  I  lean  my  head 
upon  my  hands  and  groan." 

Todd  looked  about  half  satisfied  at  this  excuse  of  Johanna's,  and  for  a  few 
moments  as  he  looked  at  her,  she  thought  that  after  all  she  should  have  to  call 
upon  her  friends  in  the  cupboard  to  save  her  from  the  danger  that  his  eyes,  in 
their  flashing  ghastliness,  threatened.  Another  moment,  and  her  lips  would 
have  parted  with  the  shrill  cry  of  *\  Murder  !"  upon  them,  and  then  Heaven  only 
knovv»  what  might  have  been  the  result ;  but  he  turned  suddenly,  and  went  into 
the  parlour,  muttering  to  himself — 

V  It  is  not  worth  while  now,  and  this  night  ends  it  all— yes,  this  night  ends  it 
all." 

He  slammed  the  door  violently  behind  him,  and  Johanna  was  relieved  from 
the  horror  which  his  yaze  h»d  awakened  in  Her  heart.  She  stood  still,  but 
gradually  she  recovered  her  former  calmness — if  calmness  it  could  at  all  be 
called,  seeing  that  it  was  on'y  a  stiller  species  of  agitation. 

But  she  now  bes:an  to  recall  the  words  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  to  the  effect 
that  measures  had  been  taken  that- no  more  murders  could  be  committed  by 
Todd,  and  she  began  to  feel  comforted. 

"  There  is  something  that  I  do  not  know  yet,"  she  said  ;  "  Sir; Richard  should 
have  told  me  how  there  could  be  no  more  murders  done  here,  and  then  I  should 
not  have  suffered  what  I  did,  and  what  I  still  suffer  with  the  thought  that  almost 
before  my  eyes  a  fellow  creature  has  been  hurried  into  eternity ;  and  yet  I  ought 
to  have  faith,  and  in  defiance  of  all  the  seeming  evidences  of  a  horrible  deed 
about  me,  I  ought,  I  suppose,  to  believe  that  it  has  been  prevented  in  some  most 
strange  and  miraculous  way.'' 

The  more  Johanna  thought  over  this  promise  of  Sir  Richard  B  hint's  the  more 
she  became  convinced  that  he  would  never  have  given  utterance  to  it  if  he  had 


C3 


■» 


I 


I 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


not  felt  perfectly  sure  it  would  be  fulfilled,  and  so  she  got  comforted,  and  once 
again  resolved  to  play  her  part  in  that  dreadful  drama  of  real  life,  in  the  vortex 
of  which,  with  the  purest  and  the  holiest  of  motives,  she  had  plunged  recklessly, 
we  will  admit,  but  yet  from  motives  entitling  her  to  svmpathy  on  earth,  and 
protection  in  heaven. 


TUB  MEETING  OF  MARK  AND  JOHANNA. 

Todd  remained  for  a  considerable  time  in  the  parlour  ;  and  when  he  came 
out,  Johanna  saw  that  he  had  made  some  alteration  in  his  apparel.  The  first 
words  he  uttered  were — 

"  Keep  a  good  fire,  Charley/' 

"  Yes,  sir." 

<f  Did  you  ever  see  a  house  on  fire,  my  boy  V" 


No.  61 


u  I  never  did,  sir. 

" Ah !  It  must  be  an  amusing  sight— a  very  amusing  sight,  especially  if  the 
conflagration  spreads,  and  one  has  an  opportunity  of  viewing  it  from  the  water. 
Talking  of  water,  the  lady  who  w&s  here  this  morning— Mrs.  Lovett— was  very 
fond  of  water,  and  now  she  has  got  plenty  of  it.    Ah  !" 

u  Really,  sir  ?    Has  she  gone  to  the  sea-side  ?" 

Johanna  looked  Todd  rather  hard  in  the  face  as  she  spoke  these  words,  and 
the  close  observation  seemed  to  anger  him,  for  he  spoke  hastily  and  sharply-— 

"  What  is  it  to  you  J  Get  out  of  my  way,  will  you?  and  you  may  begin  to 
think  of  shutting  up,  I  think,  for  we  shall  have  no  more  customers  to-night.  I 
am  tired  and  w7eary.    You  are  to  sleep  under  the  counter,  you  know." 

"  Yes,  sir,  you  told  me  so.    I  daresay  I  shall  be  very  comfortable  there.5' 

"  And  you  have  not  been  peeping  and  prying  about,  have  you  ?" 

"  Not  at  all." 

"  Wot  looking  even  into  that  cupboard,  I  suppose,  eh?  It's  not  locked,  but 
that's  no  reason  why  you  should  look  into  it —not  that  there  is  any  secrets  in 
it ;  but  I  object  to  peeping  and  prying  upon  principle/' 

Todd,  as  he  spoke,  advanced  towards  the  cupboard,  and  Johanna  thought 
that  in  another  moment  a  discovery  would  undoubtedly  take  place  of  the  two 
officers  who  were  there  concealed ;  and  probably  that  would  have  been  the  case, 
had  nott  he  handle  of  the  shop  door  been  turned  at  that  moment,  and  a  man  pre- 
sented himself,  when  Todd  turned  quickly,  and  saw  that  he  was  a  substantial- 
looking  farmer,  with  dirty  top-boots,  as  if  he  had  just  come  off  a  journey. 

"  Well,  master/'  said  the  visitor,  "  I  wants  a  clean  shave." 

"Oh/  said  Todd,  not  in  the  best  of  humoufs,  "it's  rather  late;  but  I  sup- 
pose you  would  not  like  to  wait  till  morning,  for  I  don't  know  if  I  have  any  hot 
water/* 

"  Oh,  cold  will  do/' 

"  Cold  ?  Oh,  dear  no  ;  we  never  shave  in  cold  water ;  and  if  you  must,  you 
must ;  so  sit  down,  sir,  and  we  will  soon  settle  the  business/9 

"Thank  you,  thank  you.  I  can't  go  to  bed  comfortable  without  a  clean 
shave,  do  yotf  see  ?  1  have  come  up  from  Braintree  with  beasts  on  commission, 
and  Fm  staying  at  the  Bull's  Head,  you  see/' 

"Oh,  indeed/'  said  Todd,  as  he  adjusted  the  shaving  cloth,  "the  Bull's 
Head." 

"  Yes,  master  ;  why  I  brought  up  a  matter  6*  220  beasts,  I  did,  do  you  see, 
and  was  on  my  pooney,  as  good  a  stepper  as  you'd  wish  to  see ;  and  I  sold  'em 
all,  do  you  see,  for  550  pwi.  Ho,  ho  !  good  work  that,  do  you  see,  and  only 
forty-two  on  'em  was  my  beasts,  do  you  see ;  I've  got  a  missus  at  home,  and  a 
daughter  ;  my  girl's  called  Johanna — a-hem  !" 

Up  to  this  point  Johanna  had  not  suspected  that  the  game  had  begun,  and 
that  this  was  no  other  than  Sir  Richard  himself,  most  admirably  disguised,  who 
had  come  to  put  an  end  to  the  mal-practices  of  Sweeney  Todd  ;  but  his  marked 
pronunciation  of  her  name  at  once  opened  her  eyes  to  that  fact,  and  she  knew 
that  something  interesting  must  soon  happen. 

"And  so  you  sold  them  all  ?"  said  Todd. 

"Yes,  master, "t  did,  and  I've  got  the  money  in  my  pocket  now,  in  bank- 
notes ;  1  never  leaves  my  money  about  at  inns,  do  you  see,  master  ;  safe  bind, 
safe  find,  you  see ;  I  carries  it  about  with  me/' 

"A  good  plan,  too,"  said  Todd  ;  "Charley,  some  hot  water;  that's  a  good 
lad — and— and — Charley  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir/' 

"While  I  am  finishing  off  this  gentleman,  you  may  as  well  just  run  to  the 
Temple  to  Mr.  Serjeant  Toldrunis  and  ask  for  his  wig ;  we  shall  have  to  do  it 
in  the  morning,  and  may  as  well  have  it  the  first  thing  in  the  day  to  begin  upon  ; 
and  you  need  not  hurry,  Charley,  as  we  shall  shut  up  when  you  come  back. " 

"Very  good,  sir." 

J ohanna  walked  out,  but  went  no  further  than  the  shop  window,  close  to 


■        ■■    — ^  ■  ....       -.        -■■  -■  .  ■       ■  ,.    -■'       ■        "       " MM  -».'-.    ■     ■■  ■  Will 

 i  ,  —  —  '  —f 

THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  483 

    __,   _-  ■  ■      '    ■         L,-"t     "    »  1 1 

i  -  *  -~ —   J  ■ 

which  she  placed  her  eyes,  so  that,  between  a  pomatum  jar  and  a  lot  of  hair 
brushes,  she  could  clearly  see  what  was  going  on. 

"  A  nice-looking  little  lad,  that,"  said  Todd's  customer. 

"Very,  sir;  an  orphan  boy;  I  took  him  out  of  charity,  poor  little  fellow; 
but  then,  we  ought  to  try  to  do  all  the  good  we  can." 

"Just  so ;  I'm  glad  I  have  come  to  be  shaved  here.  Mine's  rather  a  strong 
beard,  I  think,  do  you  see." 

«  Why,  sir,  in  a  manner  of  speaking,0  replied  Todd,  €<  it  is  a  strong  beard. 
I  suppose  you  didn't  come  to  London  alone,  sir  ?" 


CHAPTER  CX. 

todd's  hour  has  come. 

The  hideous  face  that  Todd  made  above  the  head  of  his  customer  at  this 
moment,  was  more  like  that  which  Mephistopheles  might  have  made,  after 
achieving  the  destruction  of  a  human  soub  than  anything  human.  Sir  Richard 
Blunt  quickly  replied  to  Todd's  question,  by  saying — 

<c Oh,  yes,  quite  alone;  except  the  drovers  I  had  no  company  with  me;  why 
do  you  ask 

"  Why,  sir,  I  thought  if  you  had  any  gentleman  with  you  who  might  be 
waiting  at  the  Bull's  Head,  you  would  recommend  him  to  me  if  anything  was 
wanting  in  my  way,  you  know,  sir;  you  might  have  just  left  him,  saying  you 
were  going  to  Todd,  the  barber's,  to  have  a  clean  shave,  sir/' 

"  No,  not  at  all  ;  the  fact  is,  I  did  not  come  out  to  have  a  shave,  but  a  walk, 
and  it  wasn't  till  I  gave  my  chin  a  stroke,  and  found  what  a  beard  I  had,  that 
I  thought  of  it ;  and  then  passing  your  shop,  in  I  popped,  do  you  see." 
"  Exactly,  sir,  I  comprehend ;  you  are  quite  alone  in  London?'' 
"Oh,  quite  ;  but  when  I  come  again,  I'll  come  to  you  to  be  shaved,  you  may 
depend,  and  I'll  recommend  you,  too." 

"  I'm  very  much  obliged  to  you,"  said  Todd,  as  he  passed  his  hand  over  the 
chin  of  his  customer,   "  I'm  very  much  obliged  ;  I  find  I  must  give  you  another 
|  lather,  sir,  and  I'll  get  another  razor  with  a  keener %dge,  now  that  1  have  taken 
off  all  the  rough,  as  one  may  say,  in  a  manner  of  spfeaking." 
"  Oh,  I  shall  do/' 

"No,  no,  don't  move,  sir,  I  shall  not  detain  you  a  moment ;  I  have  my  other 
razors  in  the  next  room,  and  will  polish  you  off  now,  sir,  before  you  will  know 
|  where  you  are  ;  you.  know,  sir,  you  have  promised  to  recommend  me,  so  I  must 
do  the  best  I  can  with  you." 

u  Well,  well,  a  clean  shave  is  a  comfort,  but  don't  be  long,  for  I  want  to  get 
back,  do  you  see." 

"  Not  a  moment,  not  a  moment." 

Sweeney  Todd  walked  into  his  back-parlour,  conveying  with  him  the  only 
light  that  was  in  the  shop,  so  that  the  dim  glimpse  that,  up  to  this  time,  Johanna 
from  the  outside  had  contrived  to  get  of  what  was  going  on,  was  denied  to  her  ; 
and  all  that  met  her  eyes  was  impenetrable  darkness. 
I  |  Oh,  what  a  world  of  anxious  agonising  sensations  crossed  the  mind  of  the 
young  and  beautiful  girl  at  that  moment.  She  felt  as  if  some  great  crisis  in  her 
history  had  arrived,  and  that  she  was  condemned  to  look  in  vain  into  darkness 
to  see  of  what  it  consisted. 
■  |  We  must  not,  however,  allow  the  reader  t">  remain  in  the  same  state  of  mys  - 
tification,  which  came  over  the  perceptive  faculties  of  Johanna  Oakley  ;  but  we 
shall  proceed  to  state  clearly  and  distinctly  what  did  happen  in  the  barbers  shop 
while  he  went  to  get  an  uncommonly  keen  razor  in  his  back-parlour. 

The  moment  his  back  was  turned,  the  seeming  farmer  who  had  made  such  a 
!  good  thing  of  his  beasts,  sprang  from  the  shaving  chair,  as  if  he  had  been 
electrified ;  and  yet  he  did  not  do  it  with  any  appearance  of  flight,  nor  did^he 


484  THE  STRING  Off  PEARLS. 


J^^Ta^noise-  It  was  only  astonishingly  quick,  and  then  he  placed  him- 
self close  to  the  widow,  and  waited  patiently  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  chair, 
to  see  what  would  happen  next.  r  ^ 

In  the  space  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  minute,  there  came  from  the  next  room 
a  sound  like  the  rapid  drawing  back  of  a  heavy  bolt,  and  then  in  an  instant,  the 
shaving  chair  disappeared  beneath  the  floor ;  and  the  circumstances  by  which 
Sweeney  Todd's  customers  disappeared  was  evident. 

There  was  a  piece  of  the  flooring  turning  upon  a  centre,  and  the  weight  of  the 
chair  when  a  bolt  was  withdrawn  by  means  of  simple  leverage  from  the  inner 
room,  weighed  down  one  end  of  the  top,  which,  by  a  little  apparatus,  was  to 
swing  completely  round,  there  being  another  chair  on  the  under  surface,  which 
thus  became  the  upper,  exactly  resembling  the  one  in  which  the  unhappy  cus- 
tomer was  supposed  to  be  '  polished  off/  t 

Hence  was  it  that  in  one  moment,  as  if  by  magic,  Sweeney  Todd's  visitors 
disappeared,  and  there  was  the  empty  chair.  No  doubt,  he  trusted  to  a  fall  of 
about  twenty  feet  below,  on  to  a  stone  floor,  to  be  the  death  of  them,  or,  at  all 
events,  to  stun  them  until  he  could  go  down  to  finish  the  murder,  and— to  cut 
them  up  for  Mrs  Lovett's  pies!  after  robbing  them  of  all  the  money  and  valua- 
bles they  might  have  about  them. 

In  another  moment,  the  sound  as  of  a  bolt  was  again  heard,  and  Sir  Richard 
Blunt,  who  had  played  the  part  of  the  wealthy  farmer,  feeling  that  the  trap 
was  closed  again,  seated  himself  in  the  new  chair  that  had  made  its  appearance 
with  all  the  nonchalance  in  life,  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

It  was  a  full  minute  before  Todd  ventured  to  look  from  the  parlour  into  the 
darkened  shop,  and  then  he  shook  so  that  he  had  to  hold  by  the  door  to  steady 
himself. 

"  That's  done/'  he  said.  '*  That's  the  last,  I  hope.  It  is  time  I  finished  ;  I 
never  felt  so  nervous  since  the  first  time.  Then  I  did  quake  a  little.  How 
quiet  he  went :  I  have  sometimes  had  a  shriek  ringing  in  ray  ears  for  a  whole 
week." 

It  was  a  large  high-backed  piece  of  furniture  that  shaving  chair,  so  that,  when 
Todd  crept  into  the  shop  with  the  light  in  his  hand,  he  had  not  the  remotest 
idea  it  was  tenanted  ;  but  when  he  got  round  it,  and  saw  his  customer  calmly 
waiting  with  the  lather  upon  his  face,  the  cry  of  horror  that  came  gurgling  and 
gushing  from  his  throat  was  horrible  to  hear. 

"  Why,  what's  the  matter,"  said  Sir  Richard, 

"  O  God,  the  dead  !  the  dead  !  O  God!"  cried  Todd,  "  this  is  the  beginning 
of  my  punishment.  Have  mercy,  Heaven  !  oh,  do  not  look  upon  me  with  those 
dead  eyes." 

"  Murderer  I"  shouted  Sir  Richard,  is  a  voice  that  rung  like  the  blast  of  a 
trumpet  through  the  house. 

In  an  instant  he  sprang  upon  Sweeney  Todd,  and  grappled  him  by  the  throat. 
There  was  a  short  struggle,  and  they  were  down  upon  the  floor  together,  but 
Todd's  wrists  were  suddenly  laid  hold  of,  and  a  pair  of  handcuffs  most 
scientifically  put  opon  him  by  the  officers  who,  at  the  word  '  muiderer,'  that 
being  a  preconcerted  signal,  came  from  the  cupboard  where  they  had  been  con- 
cealed. 

"  Secure  him  well,  my  men/'  said  the  magistrate,  "  and  don't  let  him  lay 
violent  hands  upon  himself." 

Johanna  rushed  into  the  shop,  and  clung  to  the  arm  of  Sir  Richard, 
crying— 

"  Is  it  all  over !  Is  it  indeed  all  done  now  r" 
"  It  is,  Miss  Oakley. 

The  moment  Todd  heard  these  few  words  addressed  to  Charley  Green  as  he 
thought  him,  he  turned  his  glassy  blood-shot  eyes  upon  Johanna,  and  glared  at 
her  for  the  space  of  about  half  a  minute  in  silence.  He  then,  although  hand- 
cuffed, made  a  sudden  and  violent  effort  to  reach  her,  but  he  was  in  too  expe- 
rienced hands,  sftid  he  was  held  back  most  effectually 


I 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


485 


He  struck  his  forehead  with  his  fettered  hands,  making  a  gash  in  it  from  which 
I  the  blood  flowed  freely,  as  in  infuriated  accents,  he  said — 
I    "  Oh  fool — fool,  to  be  cheated  by  a  girl !  I  had  my  suspicions  that  the  boy  was 
a  spy,  but  I  never  thought  for  one  moment  there  was  a  disguise  of  sex.  Oh, 
idiot !  idiot !  And  who  are  you,  sir  ? ' 
j    "  I  am  Sir  Richard  Blunt/' 

Todd  groaned  and  staggered.  The  officers  would  have  let  him  sit  down  in  the 
.shaving  chair  for  a  moment  or  two  to  recover  from  the  shock  his  mind  had  sus- 
|  taiued  by  his  capture,  but  when  he  found  that  it  was  the  shaving  chair  he  was 
|  led  to,  he  shuddered,  and  in  a  waiiiag  voice,  said — 

"  No — no  !  not  there — not  there  !  Anywhere  but  there.  I  dare  not  sit 
there  V' 

u  It  is'nt  worth  while  sitting  at  all,"  said  Crotchet.  ,c  I'm  blowed  if  I  ain't 
all  crumpled  up  in  a  blessed  mummy  by  being  in  that  cupboard  so  jolly  long. 
All  my  joints  is  a-going  crinkley-crankley." 

Todd  looked  in  the  face  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  in  a  faint  voice  spoke — 

"  I — I  don't  feel  very  well.  There's  a  little  drop  of  cordial  medicine  that  I 
often  take  in  my  coat  pocket.  You  see  I  can't  get  at  it,  my  hands  being 
manacled.    I  only  want  to  take  a  drop  to  comfort  me." 

"  Get  it  out,  Crotchet,"  said  Sir  Richard. 

"  Here  ye  is/'  said  Crotchet,  as  he  produced  a  little  bottle,  with  a  pale  straw- 
I  coloured  liqaid  in,  from  Todd's  pocket. 

"  Give  it  to  me.  Oh,  give  it  to  me,"  said  Todd.  "  I  will  thank  you  much. 
It  will  recover  me.    Give  it  to  me  !'* 

"  No,  Todd/5  said  Sir  Richard,  as  he  took  the  little  bottle  and  put  it  in  his 
own  pocket.  "  I  do  not  intend,  if  I  can  help  it,  to  permit  you  to  evade  the  law 
by  poisoning  yourself." 

Finding  himself  thus  defeated  in  his  insidious  attempt  upon  his  own  life, 
Todd  got  quite  frantic  wit  a  rage,  and  had  a  grand  struggle  with  the  officers,  in 
his  endeavours  to  get  at  some  of  the  razors  that  were  near  at  hand  in  the  shop  ; 
but  they  effectually  prevented  him  from  doing  so,  and  finally  he  became  too 
much  exhausted  to  make  any  further  efforts.  j 

"  My  curses  be  upon  you  all !"  he  said.  H  May  you,  and  all  who  belong 
to  you  "  \   9  \ 

But  we  cannot  transcribe  the  horrible  denunciations  of  Todd.  They  were 
toe  horrible  even  for  the  officers  to  listen  to  with  patience,  and  Sir  Richard 
Blint,  turning  to  Johanna,  said—  j 

'  Run  over  the  way  to  your  friends  at  the  fruiterer's.  All  is  over  now,  and 
yoar  disguise  is  no  longer  needed." 

Johanna  did  not  pause  another  moment,  but  ran  over  the  way,  and  in  the 
coirse  of  a  few  moments  she  was  in  the  arms  of  the  fruiterer's  daughter,  where 
shj  relieved  her  overcharged  heart  by  weeping  bitterly. 

"Shut  up  the  shop,  Crotchet,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "  and  then  get  a 
coich.  I  will  lodge  this  man  at  once  in  Newgate,  and  then  we  will  see  to 
M;s.  Lovett." 

At  this  name  Todd  looked  up. 

"  She  has  escaped  you/'  he  said. 

ff  I  don't  think  so,"  responded  Sir  Richard. 

" But  I  say  she  has— she  is  dead:  she  fell  into  the  Thames  this  morning 
aid  was  drowned." 

u  Oh,  you  allude  to  your  pushing  her  into  the  river  this  morning  near 
London-bridge?0  said  Sir  Richard.  "  I  saw  that  affair  myself.0 
Todd  glared  at  him. 

"  But  it  was  not  of  much  consequence.  We  got  her  out,  and  she  is  all  right 
sjain  now  at  her  shop  in  Beli-yarcL" 

Todd  held  his  hands  over  his  eyes  for  some  moments,  and  then  he  said  in  a- 
Iw  voice — 

"  It  is  all  d,  dream,  or  1  am  mad." 


m  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


CrotchetTinotedience  to  the  orders  he  had  received,  put  up  the  shutters  of 
Todd's  shop,  and  then  fetched  a  coach,  during  the  whole  of  which  time,  Sir 
Richard  Blunt  himself  kept  his  hand  upon  Todd's  collar,  so  that  he  could 
control  him  if  he  should  again  become  so  violent  as  he  had  been. 

The  spirit  to  struggle  was,  however,  gone  from  Todd  for  the  time  being. 
Indeed,  he  seemed  to  be  completely  stunned  by  his  capture,  and  to  be  able 
only  to'see  things  darkly.  He  was  yet  to  awaken  to  a  full  consciousness  of 
his  situation,  and  let  that  awakening  be  when  it  would,  it  was  sure  to  be 

awful.  ,  _  .  ,         :  i  . 

"  All's   right/'  said    Crotchet.    "  Here's  the  vehicle,   and  the  crib  is 

shut  up.1' 
tc  Crotchet!3' 

"  Yes,  your  worship.  What  is  it  ?  Why,  you  never  looked  at  a  feller  in 
that  sort  of  way  before/' 

"  I  never  did  have  anything  so  important  to  say  to  you,  Crotchet,  nor  did  I 
ever  place  in  your  hands  so  important  a  trust.  It  is  one  that  will  make  you 
or  mar  you,  Crotchet.  I  have  myself  important  business  here,  or  I  would 
myself  take  this  man  to  Newgate.  As  it  is,  Crotchet,  I  wish  to  entrust  you 
with  that  important  piece  of  duty,  and  I  rely  upon  you,  Crotchet,  for  keeping  an 
eye  upon  him,  and  delivering  him  in  safety." 

"  It's  as  good  as  done,"  said  Crotchet.  u  If  he  gets  away  from  me,  he  has 
only  another  individual  to  do,  and  that's  the  old  gent  as  is  down  below,  with  the 
long  tail.  Lor'  bless  you,  sir,  didn't  I  say  from  the  first,  as  Todd  smugged  the 
people  as  corned  to  him  to  be  shaved  ?" 

"You  did,  Crotchet/' 

€t  Werry  good.  Then  does  yer  think  as  I'm  the  feller  all  for  to  let  him  go 
when  once  I've  got  a  hold  of  him  ?    Rather  not  I* 

"  I  entrust  you  with  him  then,  Crotchet.  Take  him  away.  I  give  him  entirely 
into  your  hands." 

Upon  this,  Crotchet  slid  his  arm  beneath  that  of  Sweeney  Todd,  and  looking 
ir\  his  face  with  a  most  grotesque  air  of  satisfaction,  he  said,  "  kirn  up— kirn  up !" 

He  then,  by  an  immense  exertion  of  strength,  hoisted  Todd  completely  over 
the  door  step,  after  which,  catching  him  with  both  hands  about  the  small  of  his 
back,  he  pitched  him  into  the  coach. 

"  My  eye/'  said  the  coachman,  "  has  the  gemman  had  a  drop  too  much  ?| 

«  He  will  have/'  said  Crotchet,  "some  o>  these  odd  days.  To  Newgate— to 
Newgate." 

Crotchet  rode  inside  along  with,  Todd  "  for  fear  he  should  be  dull,"  he  said, 
and  the  other  officer  got  up  outside  the  coach,  and  then  off  it  went  to  that  dread- 
ful  building  that  Todd  had  often  grimly  smiled  at  as  he  passed,  but  into  wlich 
as  a  resident  he  had  never  expected  to  enter. 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  remained  in  the  shop  of  Sweeney .  Todd.  The  oil  lanp 
that  hung  by  a  chain  from  the  ceiling  shed  a  tolerable  light  over  all  objects,  anc  no 
sooner  had  the  magistrate  fastened  the  outer  door  after  the  departure  of  Crotchet 
with  Todd,  than  he  stamped  three  times  heavily  upon  the  floor  of  the  shop. 

This  signal  was  immediately  answered  by  three  distinct  taps  from  underneath 
the  floor,  and  then  the  magistrate  stamped  again  in  the  same  manner. 

The  effect  of  all  this  stamping  and  counter-signals  was  immediately  vry 
apparent.  The  great  chair  which  has  played  so  prominent  a  part  in;he 
atrocities  of  Sweeney  Todd  slowly  sunk,  and  the  revolving  plank  hung  suspenied 
by  its  axle,  w7hile  a  voice  from  below  called  out — 

"  Is  all  right,  sir  ?" 

"  Yes,  Crotchet  has  taken  him  to  Newgate.    I  am  now  alone.    Come  up/ 
"  We  are  coming,  sir.    We  all  heard  a  little  disturbance,  but  the  floor  is  vu-y 
thick  you  know,  sir.    So  wre  could  no  take  upon  ourselves  to  say  exactly  wiat 
was  happening." 

Oh,  it's  all  right.  He  resisted,  but  by  this  time  he  is  within  the  stone  wallsof 
Newgate.    Let  me  lend  you  a  hand." 


■ 


1 


S 


H 


till 


is? 

M 

ft 
-to 


I 

til 


3 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


487 


Sir  Richard  Blunt  stooped  over  the  aperture  in  the  floor,  and  the  first  person 
that  got  up  was  no  other  than  Mr.  Wrankley  the  Tobacconist 

"  How  do  you  feel  after  your  tumble  I"  said  Sir  Richard. 

"  Oh,  very  well.  The  fact  is  they  caught  me  so  capitally  below  that  it  was 
quite  easy.  Todd  did  not  think  it  worth  his  while  to  come  down  to  see  if  I  were 
alive  or  dead." 

"Ah,  that  was  the  only  chance  ;  but  of  course  if  he  had  done  so  he 
must  have  been  taken  at  once  into  custody — that  would  have  been  all.  Come 
on,  my  friends,  come  on.    Our  trouble  with  regard  to  Todd  is  over  now,  I  think." 

The  two  churchwardens  of  St.  Dunstan's  and  the  beadle,  and  four  of  Sir  Richard 
Blunt's  officers,  and  the  fruiterer  from  opposite,  now  came  up  from  below  the  shop 
of  Sweeney  Todd,  where  they  had  been  all  waiting  to  catch  Mr.  Wrankley  when 
the  chair  should  descend  with  him. 

u  Conwulsions !"  said  the  beadle,  "I  runned  agin  everybody  when  I  seed 
him  a-coming.  I  thought  to  myself,  if  a  parochial  authority  had  been  served 
in  that  'ere  way,  there  would  have  been  an  end  of  the  world  at  once." 

Cf  1  had  some  idea  of  asking  you  at  one  time  to  play  that  little  part  for  me," 
said  Sir  Richard. 

€i  Conwulsions  !  had  you,  sir?'' 

*l  Yes.  But  now,  my  friends,  let  us  make  a  careful  search  of  this  house  ; 
and  among  the  first  things  we  have  to  do  is,  to  remove  all  the  combustible 
materials  that  Todd  has  stowed  in  various  parts  of  it,  for  unless  I  am  much  de- 
ceived, the  premises  are  in  such  a  state  that  the  merest  accident  would  set  them 
in  a  blaze." 

u  Conwulsions !"  then  cried  the  beadle.  "  I  ain't  declared  out  of  danger 
yet  then ! " 


CHAPTER  CXI. 

MRS.  LOVETT?  JOINS  HER  OLD  FRIEND  IN  NBWG-AM. 

We  hasten  to  Bell  Yard  again. 

Mrs.  Lovett's  immersion  in  the  Thames  had  really  not  done  her  much  harm. 
Perhaps  the  river  was  a  little  purer  than  we  now  find  it,  and  probably  it  had 
not  entirely  got  rid  of  its  name  of  the  i€  Silver  Thames" — an  appellation 
that  now  would  be  really  out  of  place,  unless  we  can  imagine  some  silver 
of  a  much  more  dingy  hue  than  silver  ordinarily  presents  to  the  eye  of  the 
observer. 

She  soon,  we  find,  settled  in  her  own  mind  a  plan  of  action,  notwithstanding 
the  rather  complicated  and  embarrassing  circumstances  in  which  she  found 
herself  placed.  That  plan  of  action  had  for  its  basis  the  impeachment  of  Todd 
as  a  murderer,  at  the  same  time  that  it  looked  forward  to  her  own  escape  from 
the  hands  of  justice.  Her  first  action  was  to  quiet  the  cook  in  the  regions 
below,  for  if  she  did  not  take  some  such  step,  she  was  very  much  afraid  her 
establishment  might  come  to  a  stand-still  some  few  hours  before  she  intended 
that  it  should  do  so. 

With  this  object,  she  wrote  upon  a  little  slip  of  paper  the  following  words, 
and  passed  it  into  the  cellar  through  an  almost  imperceptible  crevice  in  the 
flooring  of  the  shop — 

"  Early  to-morrow  morning  you  shall  have  your  liberty,  together  with  gold  \p 
take  you  where  you  please.  All  I  require  of  you  is,  that  you  do  your  ordinary 
duty  to-night,  and  send  up  the  nine  o'clock  batch  of  pies." 

This,  she  considered,  could  not  but  have  its  due  effect  upon  the  discontented 
cook  ;  and  having  transmitted  it  to  him  in  the  manner  we  have  described, 
she  sat  down  at  her  desk  to  write  the  impeachment  of  Todd.  In  the  course 
of  an  hour,  Mrs.  Lovett  had  filled  two  pages  of  writing  paper  with  a 
full  account  of  how  persons  met  their  death  in  the  barber's  shop.  She  sealed 
the  letter,  and  directed  it  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt  in  a  bold  free  hand. 


488  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  j 

€i  It  is  done,"  she  said.  "  When  I  am  far  from  London,  as  I  can  easily  find 
the  means  of  being,  this  will  reach  the  hands  of  the  magistrate  to  whom  it  is 
addressed,  and  who  has  the  character  of  being  sharp  and  active."  (Mrs.  Lovett 
did  not  know  how  sharp  and  active  Sir  Richard  had  already  been  in  her  affairs !) 
<*  He  will  act  upon  it.  Todd,  in  the  midst  of  his  guilt,  with  many  evidences 
of  it  about  him,  will  be  taken,  and  I  shall  escape !  Yes,  I  shall  escape, 
with  about  a  tithe  of  what  I  ought  to  have — but  I  shall  have  revenge  t*  i 

On  one  of  the  shelves  of  the  shop — certainly  out  of  reach,  but  only  just  so- 
stood  an  old  dirty-looking  tin  jar,  such  as  fancy  biscuits  might  be  kept  in.  No  j 
one  for  a  moment  would  have  thought  of  looking  for  anything  valuable  in  such 
a  place ;  and  yet,  keeping  the  shop  door  locked  the  while,  lest  any  intruder 
should  at  unawares  pop  in  and  see  what  she  was  about,  it  was  to  this  tin  can 
upon  its  dirty  shelf  that  Mrs.  Lovett  cautiously  went. 

"  Those  who  hide  can  find,"  she  muttered.  "  I  warrant  now  that  Todd  had 
searched  in  every  seemingly  cunning  and  intricate  hiding-place  in  this  whole 
house,  and  he  has  gone  away  disappointed.  The  secret  of  hiding  anything  is 
not  to  try  to  find  some  place  where  people  may  be  baffled  when  they  look,  but 
to  light  upon  some  place  into  which  they  will  not  look  at  all/' 

With  these  words,  Mrs.  Lovett  took  down  the  tin  can,  and  having  from  the 
upper  portion  of  it  removed  some  dusty,  mouldy  small  biscuits,  she  dived  her 
hand  into  it,  and  fished  up  a  leathern  bag.  The  tape  that  held  its  mouth 
together  was  sealed,  and  a  glance  sufficed  to  convince  Mrs,  Lovett  that  it  had 
not  been  touched. 

"  Safe,  safe!"  she  muttered.  "It  is  but  a  thousand  pounds,  but  it  is  safe, 
and  it  will  enable  me  to  fly  from  this  place — it  will  enable  me  to  have 
vengeance  upon  Todd  ;  and  small  a3  the  sum  is.  in  some  country,  where 
money  is  worth  more  than  it  is  in  pampered  England,  I  shall  yet  be 
able  to  live  upon  it.  I  will  not  complain  if  i  have  but  the  joy  of 
reading  an  account  of  the  execution  of  Todd.  I  fear  I  must  deny  myself  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  that  sight."  "  I 

The  little  leathern  bag  she  hid  about  her,  and  then  she  careful ly  replaced  the 
tin  case  upon  the  shelf  whence  she  had  taken  it,  to  disburthen  it  of  its  costly 
contents.  j 

After  this  Mrs  Lovett  got  much  calmer.    She  had  not  the  least  apprehension 
now  of  a  visit  from  Todd.    She  saw  by  the  state  o;  the  house  that  his  search 
jhad  been  a  prolonged  one,  and  until  he  shut  up  his  own  shop,  she  did  not  expect 
[that  he  would  again  think  of  coming  to  Bell  Yard,  and  as  that  would  be  ten  j 
o'clock,  she  fullv  believed  that  before  then  she  would  be  far  awav. 

And  then  she  sat  behind  her  counter,  looking  only  a  slude  or  bo  paler  than 
was  her  wont,  and  moving  her  lips  slightly  now  and  then  as  she  settled  in  her  j 
own  mind  the  course  that  she  would  take  so  as  to  baffle  all  pursuit.  j 
\*  With  no  luggage  but  my  gold  and  notes/  she  muttered,     I  will  leave  this  j 
place  at  half  past  nine,  by  which  time  the  last  batch  of  pies  will  have  been  up  j 
and  sold,  and  all  will  be  quiet.    That  will  be  a  little  more  money  to  me.   Then  ! 
on  foot  I  will  take  my  way  to  Highgate — yes,  to  Highgate,  and  I  will  trust  no  j 
|  conveyance,  for  that  might  be  a  ready  means  of  tracing  me.    I  will  go  on  j 
foot.    Then  passing  Highgate,  I  will  go  on  foot  upon  tht?  Great  North  Road  j 
j  until  some  coach  overtakes  me.    It  will  not  matter  whither  it  be  going,  so  that  ! 
jit  takes  me  on  that  road  ;  and  by  one  conveyance  and  another,  I  shall  at  length 
[reach  Liverpool,  from  which  port  I  shall  find  some  vessel  starting*  to  some 
j  place  abroad,  where  I  can  live  free  from  the  chance  of  detection.    Yes,  that  is 
the  plan  !  That  is  the  plan  f 

Mrs.  Lovett  was  a  woman  of  some  tac',  and  the  plan  of  operations  she  had 
chalked  out  was  all  very  well,  provided  such  very  malapropos  proceedings  had 
|  not  taken  place  at  Sweeney  Todd's  in  the  meantime.    Little  did  Mrs.  Lovett 
suspect  what  was  there  transpiring. 

And  now  we  will  leave  her  for  a  brief  space  behind  her  counter,  ruminating, 


~"ri"r~    "  "        U"""'"  ""  '  II—— mtmmt^^m mmmni  I      m    i      i       ■  m     i     ■■  1111          ifc^W      ■■■    i       i    nlii  mill  ■  ■         H  niMiillili  nim    i  ir~*»    iiiia    !■■■>■   ■■!<■  i—  ill*  »  i  »  I  irVfrnfmpn  i.  mi  milliner 

J* ■  — ■'    ■  ■"  1  ■  i.   ■  .,        ■  -.-i- — ,  —  .     .   .     _  -    .         -  •  ,  -  -  .    -  — - 1         ii  i   ii  i  i  r  *i  -   •   ■  '  1 

-,    THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  489 

—  ■  -  ■  r  -  -.  .    .    -  _  _  _  .  _.  ..  .t_j  _-,  •        -  -   1 

and  at  odd 'times  smiling  to  herself  in  a  ghastly  fashion,  while  we  pop  down 
to  the  cellars,  and  take  a  glance  at  the  impatient  imprisoned  cook. 
W  About  ten  minutes  before  he  received  the  letter — if  letter  the  little  flattering 
memorandum  of  Mrs.  Lovett  could  be  called — from  his  mistress,  the  cook  had 
been  a  little  alarmed  by  a  noise  in  the  stone  pantry,  where  the  mysterious  meat 


TOBIAS  AND  MINNA  REJOICE  AT  THE  CAPTURE  OF  TODD  AND  MRS.^OVETT. 

used  to  make  its  appearance.  Upon  proceeding  to  the  spot  with  a  light,  he 
found  lying  upon  the  floor  a  sealed  paper,  upon  lifting  which  he  saw  was 
addressed  to  himself,  and  at  one  corner  was  written  the  following  words — 

u  Definitive  instructions  for  to-night  from  Sir  Richard  Blunt." 

To  tear  open  the  letter  and  to  read  it  with  great  care,  was  the  work  of  a  few 
moments  only,  and  then  drawing  a  long  breath,  the  cook  said— 

No.  62. 


490  THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


I 


"  Thank  God  !  1  shall  not  stop  another  night  in  this  place.  I  shall  be  free 
before  midnight.  Oh,  what  an  oppressive— what  an  overpowering  joy  it  will  be 
to  me  once  more  to  see  the  sky— to  breathe  pure  fresh  air,  and  to  feel  that  I 
have  bid  adieu  for  ever  to  this  dreadful— dreadful  place." 

The  poor  cook  looked  around  him  with  a  shudder,  and  then  he  had  hardly 
placed  the  magistrates  letter  securely  in  his  bosom,  when  the  little  missive  from 
Mrs.  Lovett  came  fluttering  to  his  feet,  through  the  crack  in  the  roof. 

"  'Tis  well/'  he  said,  when  he  had  read  it.  "  'Tis  very  well.  This  will  chime 
in  most-  admirably  with  my  instructions  from  Sir  Richard  Blunt.  Mrs.  Lovett 
I  thank  you.  You  shall  have  the  nine  o'clock  batch.  Oh,  yes,  you  shall  have 
them.  I  am  all  obedience.  Alas,  if  she  whom  I  loved  bad  not  been  false  to 
me,  I  might  yet,  young  as  I  am,  feel  the  sunshine  of  joy  in  the  great  world  again. 
But  I  can  never  love  another,  and  she  is  lost— lost  to  me  for  ever.  Ay,  for 
ever !" 

With  this  the  poor  cook,  who  but  a  few  moments  before  had  been  so  elated  by 
the  thoughts  of  freedom,  sat  himself  down,  and  in  quite  a  disconsolate  manner 
rested  his  head  upon  his  hands,  and  gave  himself  up  to  bitter  fancy, 

"  That  she  should  be  false  to  me/'  he  said  mournfully.  "  It  does  indeed  almost 
transcend  belief.  She,  so  young,  so  gentle,  so  innocent,  and  so  guileless.  If  an 
angel  fromH  eaven  had  come  and  told  me  as  much  I  should  have  doubted  still ;  but 
I  cannot  mistrust  the  evidence  of  my  own  senses.  I  saw  her.  Yes,  I  saw  her  V\ 

The  cook  rose  and  paced  the  gloomy  place  to  and  fro  in  the  restlessness  of  a 
blighted  heart,  and  no  one  to  look  at  him  could  for  a  moment  have  supposed 
that  he  was  near  his  freedom  from  an  imprisonment  of  the  most  painful  and 
maddening  description  to  one  of  his  impatient  temperament.  But  so  it  is  with 
us  all;  no  sooner  do  we  to  all  appearance  see  the  end  of  one  evil,  than  with  an 
activity  of  imagination  worthy  to  be  excited  in  better  things,  we  provide  our- 
selves with  some  real  or  unreal  reason  for  the  heartache. 

"  I  will  so  contrive/'  said  the  cook,  "  that  before  I  leave  for  ever  the  land  of 
my  birth,  I  will  once  more  look  upon  her.  Yes,  I  vi  ill  once  again  drink  in,  from 
a  contemplation  of  her  wondrous  beauty,  most  delicious  poison;  and  then  when 
I  have  feasted  my  eyes,  and  perchance  grieved  my  heart,  I  will  at  once  go  far 
away,  and  beneath  the  sun  of  other  skies  than  this,  I  will  wait  for  death." 

The  more  the  poor  cook  thought  of  this  unknown  beauty  of  his,  who  stirely 
had  behaved  to  him  very  ill,  or  he  could  not  have  spoken  of  her  in  such  terms, 
the  more  sorrow  got  upon  his  countenance,  and  imparted  its  sad  sweetness  to 
his  tones.  Surely  the  time  had  not  been  very  far  distant  when  that  young  man 
must  have  been  in  a  widely  different  sphere  of  life  to  that  limited  one  in  which 
he  now  moved. 

Suddenly,  however,  he  was  recalled  to  a  consciousness  of  what  he  had  to  do,  by 
the  clock  striking  seven.  He  counted  the  strokes,  and  then  pausing  before  one 
of  the  large  ovens,  he  said — 

u  The  time  has  now  come  when  I  must  cease  to  be  making  preparations  to 
obey  the  mandate  of  my  imperious  mistress.  She  will  not  now  be  content  merely 
to  have  issued  her  orders,  but  she  will  keep  an  eye  upon  me  to  see  that  they  are 
being  executed,  and  unarmed  as  I  am,  and  without  the  knowledge  of  what 
power  of  mischief  she  may  have,  I  feel  that  it  would  not  be  safe  yet  to  provoke 
her.  No — no.  I  must  seem  to  do  her  bidding.0 

With  this,  the  cook  set  about  the  manufacture  of  the  pies  ;  and  as  it  would 
really  have  been  much  more  troublesome  to  sham  making  them  than  to 
make  them  in  earnest,  he  really  did  manufacture  a  hundred  of  them. 

But  it  was  after  all  with  a  very  bad  grace  that  the  poor  imprisoned  cook  now 
made  the  pies ;  and  probably  so  very  indifferent  a  batch  of  those  delicious 
pieces  of  pastry  had  never  before  found  its  way  into  the  ovens  of  Mrs.  Lovett. 
The  cook  was  not  wrong  in  his  idea  that  his  imperious  mistress  would  take 
a  peep  at  him  before  nine  o'clock.  At  about  eight,  the  little  grating  in 
the  high-up  door  was  tapped  by  something  that  Mrs.  Lovett  had  in  her  hand, 


v 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


491 


with  which  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  cook.  He  looked  up,  and  saw  her 
dimly. 

"  Are  you  busy  ?"  she  said. 

"  Yes,  madam,  as  busy  as  the  nine  o'clock  batch  usually  makes  me.    Do  you 
not  hear  the  oven  % 
«  J  do— 'tis  well." 

€i  Ah,  madam/'  said  the  dissembling  cook,  u  it  will  be  well,  indeed,  if  you 
keep  your  word  with  me,  and  set  me  to-night  at  freedom/' 
"  Do  you  doubt  it?" 

" 1  have  no  particular  reason  to  doubt  it,  further  than  that  the  unfor- 
tunate are  always  inclined  to  doubt  too  good  news.    That  is  ail,  madam/* 

"  If  you  doubt,  you  will  be  agreeably  disappointed,  for  I  shall  keep  my  word 
with  you.  You  have  done  for  me  much  better  than  I  ever  expected,  and  I  will 
be  grateful  to  you  now  that  you  are  going.  I  have  said  that  you  shall  not  go 
without  means,  and  you  shall  have  a  purse  of  twenty  guineas  to  help  you  on 
your  way  wherever  you  wish/' 

iC  How  kind  you  are,  madam !  Ah,  I  shall  be  able  now  to  forgive  you 
for  all  that  I  have  suffered  in  this  place — and,  after  all,  it  has  been  a  refuge 
from  want." 

"  It  has.  No  one  can  be  better  pleased  than  I  am  to  find  you  view  things 
so  reasonably.  Send  up  the  nine  o'clock  batch  ;  and  then  wait  patiently  until  I 
come  to  you." 

"I  will."  |» 
«  Till  then,  good-night  !" 

Mrs.  Lovett  left  the  grating  ;  and  as  she  went  up  to  the  shop,  she  muttered 
to  herseF — 

"  They  will,  when  they  find  him  here,  suspect  he  is  an  accomplice.  Well,  let 
them  hang  him,  for  all  I  care.    What  can  it  matter  to  me  ?" 


CHAPTER  CXIL 

MRS.  LOVETT  FINDS  THAT  IT  IS  EASIER  TO  PLAN  THAN  TO  EXECUTE. 

It  wants  five  minutes  to  nine,  and  Mrs.  Lovetfs  shop  is  filling  with  persons 
anxious  to  devour  or  to  carry  away  one  or  more  of  the  nine  o'clock  batch  of 
savoury,  delightful,  gushing  gravy  pies. 

Many  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  customers  paid  her  in  advance  for  the  pies,  in  order 
that  they  might  be  quite  sure  of  getting  their  orders  fulfilled  when  the  first  batch 
should  make  its  gracious  appearance  from  the  depths  below. 

**  Well,  Jiggs,"  said  one  of  the  legal  fraternity  to  another,  "  how  are  you  to- 
day, old  fellow?  What  do  you  bring  it  in  V 

«  Oh !  I  aint  very  blooming.  The  fact  is,  the  count  and  I,  and  a  few  others, 
made  a  night  of  it  last  evening  ;  and  somehow  or  another  I  don't  think  whiskey- 
and-water,  half-and-half,  and  tripe,  go  well  together." 

"  I  should  wonder  if  they  did." 

"  And  so  I've  come  for  a  pie  just  to  settle  my  stomach  ;  you  see  I'm  rather 
delicate.*' 

u  Ah  !  you  are  just  like  me,  young  man,  there,"  said]  an  elderly  personage  ; 
"  I  have  a  delicate  stomach,  and  the  slightest  thing  disagrees  with  me.  A  mere 
idea  will  make  me  quite  ill." 

"  Will  it,  really  ?* 

u  Yes  ;  and  my  wife,  she  " 

*  Oh,  bother  your  wife !  It's  only  five  minutes  to  nine,  don't  you  see  ?  What 
a  crowd  there  is,  to  be  sure.  Mrs.  Lovett,  you  charmer,  I  hope  you  have 
ordered  enough  pies  to  be  made  to-night  ?  You  see  what  a  lot  of  customers  you 
have/' 


492  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Oh,  there  will  be  plenty. '  T  v  ,i  a    u  ± 

"  That's  right.  I  say,  don't  push  so ;  you'll  be  in  time,  I  tell  you  ;  don  t  be 
pushing  and  driving  in  that  sort  of  way— I've  got  ribs." 

<•  And  so  have  I.  Last  night  I  didn't  get  a  pie  at  all,  and  my  old  woman  is 
in  a  certain'  condition,  you  see,  gentlemen,  and  won't  fancy  anything  but 
one  of  Lovett's  veal  pies ;  so  I've  come  all  the  way  from  Kevvington  to  get  one 
for  " 

"  Hold  your  row,  will  you  ?  and  don't  push." 
«  For  to  have  the  child  marked  with  a  pie  on  its— — " 

"  Behind  there,  I  say;  don't  be  pushing  a  fellow  as  if  it  were  half  pri  e  at  a 
theatre  5 

Each  moment  added  some  new  comers  to  the  throng,  and  at  last  any  strangers 
•who  had  known  nothing  of  the  attractions  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  pie-shop,  and  had 
walked  down  Bell  Yard,  would  have  been  astonished  at  the  throng  of  persons 
there  assembled— a  throng  that  was  each  moment  increasing  in  density,  and  be- 
coming more  and  more  urgent  and  clamorous. 

%  ♦  *  *  *  *  * 

One,  two,  three,  four,  five,  six,  seven,  eight,  nine  !  Yes,  it  is  nine  at  last. 
It  strikes  by  old  St.  DunstanV  church  clock,  and  in  weaker  strains  the  chro- 
nometical  machine  at  the  pie-shop  echoes  the  sound.  What  excitement  there  is 
to  get  at  the  pies  when  they  shall  come  !  Mrs.  Lovett  lets  down  the  square  , 
moveable  platform  that  goes  on  pull  ies  in  the  cellar;  some  machinery,  which 
only  requires  a  handle  to  be  turned,  brings  up  a  hundred  pies  in  a  tray.  These 
are  eagerly  seized  by  parties  who  have  previously  paid,  and  such  a  smacKing  of 
lips  ensues  as  never  was  known. 

Down  goes  the  platform  for  the  next  hundred,  and  a  gentlemanly  man 

says— 

"Let  me  work  the  handle,  Mrs.  Lovett,  if  you  please;  it's  too  much  for  you 
I'm  sure.*' 

"  Sir,  you  are  very  kind,  but  I  never  allow  anybody  on  this  side  of  the  counter 
but  my  own  people,  sir.  I  can  turn  the  handle  myself,  sir,  if  you  please,  with 
the  assistance  of  this  girl.  Keep  your  distance,  sir,  nobody  wants  your 
help." 

«  But  my  dear  madam,  only  consider  your  delicacy.  Really  you  ought  not  to 
be  permitted  to  work  away  like  a  negro  slave  at  a  winch  handle.  Really  you 
ought  not/3 

The  man  who  spoke  thus  obligingly  to  Mrs.  Lovett,  was  tall  and  stout,  and 
the  lawyers  clerks  repressed  the  ire  they  otherwise  .would  probably  have  given 
utterance  to  at  thus  finding  any  one  quizzing  their  charming  Mrs.  Lovett. 

"Sir,  I  tell  you  again  that  I  djon'twant  your  help  ;  keep  your  distance,  sir, 
if  you  please,5' 

*'  Now  don't  get  angry,  fair  onW  said  the  man.  "  You  don't  know  but  I 
might  have  made  you  an  offer  before  I  left  the  shop/' 

44  Sir,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  drawing  herself  up  and  striking  terror  into  the 
hearts  of  the  limbs  of  the  law.  "  Sir !  What  do  you  want  ?  Say  what  you  want, 
and  be  served,  sir,  and  then  go.    Do  you  want  a  pie,  sir?5' 

"A  pie?  Oh,  dear  no,  I  don't  want  a  pie.  I  would  not  eat  one  of  the 
nasty  things  on  any  account.  Pah  !"  Here  the  man  spat  on  the  floor.  "  Oh, 
dear^  don't  ask  me  to  eat  any  of  your  pies.5' 

'*  Shame,  shame,"  said  several  of  the  lawyers  clerks. 

u  Will  any  gentleman  who  thinks  it  a  shame,  be  so  good  as  to  step  forward 
and  say  so  a  little  closer  ?'' 

Everybody  shrunk  back  upon  this,  instead  of  accepting  the  challenge,  and 
Mrs.  Lovett  soon  saw  that  she  must,  despite  all  the  legal  chivalry  by  which  she 
was  surrounded,  fight  her  battles  herself.  With  a  look  of  vehement  anger, 
she  cried—  i 

"  Beware,  sir,  I  am  not  to  be  trifled  with.  If  you  carry  your  jokes  too  far, 
you  will  wish  that  you  had  not  found  your  way,  sir,  into  this  shop.5' 


-11    -rr-..         -    -  -       ,„.,,  -,  r-r      .-     -■  -      -   w.-    „■       -.,  ....       -  -      -i  i  -  -  — -   "-         •  — - — 

■  ■   ■  ■  *1  ■  .       _  lmn  .mu.  -in  i    .  •  ■  ■  -   "■■  '    ■         ■   i  . 

THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  493 

"  That,  madam/5  said  the  tall  stout  man,  "is  not  surely  possible,  when  I 
have  the  beauty  of  a  Mrs.  Lovett  to  gaze  upon,  and  render  the  place  so  ex- 
quisitely attractive  ;  but  if  you  will  not  permit  me  to  have  the  pleasure  of 
helping  you  up  with  the  next  batch  of  pies,  which,  after  all,  you  may  find  heavier 
than  you  expect,  I  must  leave  you  to  do  it  yourself." 

"  So  that  I  am  not  troubled  any  longer  by  you,  sir,  at  all,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett, 
u  I  don't  care  how  heavy  the  next  batch  of  pies  may  happen  to  be,  sir/' 

"  Very  good,  madam/' 

"  Upon  my  word/'  said  a  small  boy,  giving  the  side  of  his  face  a  violent  rub 
with  the  hope  of  finding  the  ghost  of  a  whisker  there,  "  it's  really  too  bad." 
"  Ah,  who's  that  ?    Let  me  get  at  him  !" 

"  Oh,  no,  no,  I— -mean— that  it's  too  bad  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  my  dear  sir.  Oh, 
don't." 

"  Oh,  very  good  ;  I  am  satisfied.   Now,  madam,  you  see  that  even  your  dear 
friend's  here,  from  Lincoln's  Inn — Are  you  from  the  Inn,  small  boy  ?" 
"  Yes,  sir,  if  you  please." 

€i  Very  good.  As  I  was  saying,  Mrs.  Lovett,  you  now  must  of  necessity 
perceive,  that  even  your  friends  from  the  Inn,  feel  that  your  conduct  is  really 
too  bad,  madam.5'  \ 

Mrs.  Lovett  was  upon  this  so  dreadfully  angry,  that  she  disdained  any  reply 
to  the  tall  stout  man,  but  at  once  she  applied  herself  to  the  windlass,  which 
worked  up  the  little  platform,  upon  which  a  whole  tray  of  a  hundred  pies  was 
wont  to  come  up,  and  besan  to  turn  it  with  what  might  be  called  a  vengeance. 

How  very  strange  it  was — surely  the  words  of  the  tali  stout  impertinent 
stranger  were  prophetic,  for  never  before  had  Mrs.  Lovett  found  what  a  job 
it  was  to  work  that  handle,  as  upon  that  night.  The  axle  creaked,  and  the 
cords  and  the  pullies  strained  and  wheezed,  but  she  was  a  determined  woman, 
and  she  worked  away  at  it. 

'*  I  told  you  so,  my  dear  madam/'  said  the  stranger ;  "it  is  more  evidently 
than  you  can  do." 

M  Peace,  sir." 

"Iam  done;  work  away  ma'am,  only  don't  say  afterwards  that  I  did  not 
offer  to  help  you,  that's  all." 

Indignation  was  swelling  at  the  heart  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  but  she  felt  that  if  she 
wasted  her  breath  upon  the  impertinent  stranger,  she  should  have  none  for  the 
windlass  ;  so  setting  her  teeth,  she  fagged  at  it  with  a  strength  and  a  will  that 
ifshehadnot  been  in  a  right  royal  passion,  she  could  not  have  brought  to 
bear  upon  it  on  any  account. 

There  was  quite  an  awful  stillness  in  the  shop.  All  eyes  were  bent  upon 
Mrs.  Lovett,  and  the  cavity  through  which  the  next  batch  of  those  delicious 
pies  were  coming.  Those  who  had  had  the  good  fortune  to  get  one  of  the  first  lot, 
had  only  had  their  appetities  heightened  by  the  luxurious  feast  they  had  partaken 
of,  while  those  who  had  had  as  yet  none,  actually  licked  their  lips,  and  snuffed 
up  the  delightful  aroma  from  the  remains  of  the  first  batch. 

"Two  for  me,  Mrs.  Lovett,"  cried  a  voice.  "One  veal  for  me.  Three 
porks— one  pork." 

The  voices  grew  fast  and  furious. 

"  Silence !"  cried  the  tall  stout  man.  "  I  will  engage  that  everybody  shall  be 
fully  satisfied,  and  no  one  shall  leave  here  without  a  thorough  conviction 
i  that  his  wants  in  pies  has  been  more  than  attended  to.* 

The  platform  could  be  made  to  stop  at  any  stage  of  its  upward  progress,  by 
means  of  a  ratchet  wheel  and  a  catch,  and  now  Mrs.  Lovett  paused  to  take 
breath.  She  attributed  the  unusual  difficulty  in  working  the  machinery  to  her 
own  weakness,  contingent  upon  her  recent  immersion  in  the  Thames. 

"  Sir,"  she  said  between  her  clenched  teeth,  addressing  the  man  who  was 
such  an  eye-sore  to  her  in  the  shop.  "  Sir,  I  don't  know  who  you  are,  but  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  show  you  when  I  have  served  these  gentlemen,  that  even  I 
am  not  to  be  insulted  with  impunity/' 

— - -   "MP    '  '  1     1  1  1    1  1      "   r         i  i   ,  ,.( 


m  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  Anything  you  please,  madam,"  he  replied,  "  in  a  small  way,  only  don't 
exert  yourself  too  much." 

Mrs.  Lovett  flew  to  the  windlass  again,  and  from  the  manner  in  which  she 
now  worked  at  it,  it  was  quite  clear  that  when  she  had  her  hands  free  from  that 
job,  she  fully  intended  to  make  good  her  threats  against  the  tali  stout  man. 
The  young  beardless  scions  of  the  law,  trembled  at  the  idea  of  what  might 
happen. 

And  now  the  tops  of  the  pies  appeared.  Then  they  saw  the  rim  of  the  large 
tray  upon  which  tliey  wrere,  and  then  just  as  the  platform  itself  was  level 
with  the  floor  of  the  shop,  up  flew  tray  and  pies,  as  if  something  had  exploded 
beneath  them,  and  a  tail  slim  man  sprung  upon  the  counter.  It  was  the  cook, 
who  from  the  cellars  beneath,  had  laid  himself  as  flat  as  he  could  beneath  the 
tray  of  pies,  and  so  had  been  worked  up  to  the  shop  by  Mrs.  Lovett ! 

44  Gentlemen,"  he  cried,  "I  am  Mrs.  Lovett's  cook.  The  pies  are  made  of 
human  Jlesh !  ° 

*  *  *  *  #  * 

We  shrink,  we  tremble  at  the  idea  of  attempting  to  describe  the  scene  that 
ensued  in  the  shop  of  Mrs.  Lovett  contingent  upon  this  frightful  apparition,  and 
still  more  frightful  speech  of  the  cook  ;  but  duty — our  duty  to  the  public — re- 
quires that  we  should  say  something  upon  the  occasion. 

If  we  can  do  nothing  more,  we  can  briefly  enumerate  what  did  actually  take 
place  in  some  instances. 

About  twenty  clerks  rushed  into  Bell  Yard,  and  there  and  then,  to  the  intense 
surprise  of  the  passers-by,  became  intensely  sick.  The  cook,  with  one  spring, 
cleared  the  counter,  and  alighted  amongst  the  customers,  and  with  another 
spring,  the  tall  impertinent  man,  who  had  made  many  remarks  to  Mrs.  Lovett 
of  an  aggravating  tendency,  cleared  the  counter  likewise  in  the  other  direction, 
and,  alighting  close  to  Mrs.  Lovett,  he  cried— 

"  Madam,  you  are  my  prisoner  ! - 

For  a  moment,  and  only  for  a  moment,  the  great — the  cunning,  and  the 
redoubtable  Mrs.  Lovett,  lost  her  self-possession,  and,  staggering  back,  she 
lurched  heavily  against  the  glass-case  next  to  the  wall,  immediately  behind  the 
counter.  It  was  only  for  a  moment,  though,  that  such  an  effect  was  produced 
upon  Mrs.  Lovett ;  and  then,  with  a  spring  like  an  enraged  tigress,  she  caught 
up  a  knife  that  was  used  for  slipping  under  the  pies  and  getting  them  cleanly 
out  of  the  little  tins,  and  rushed  upon  the  tall  stranger. 

Yes,  she  rushed  upon  him;  but  for  once  in  a  way,  even  Mrs.  Lovett  had 
met  with  her  match.  With  a  dexterity,  that  only  long  practice  in  dealings  with 
the  more  desperate  portion  of  human  na  ure  could  have  taught  him,  the  tall 
man  closed  with  her,  and  had  the  knife  out  of  her  hand  in  a  moment.  He  at 
onee  threw  it  right  through  the  window  into  Bell  Yard,  and  then,  holding  Mrs. 
Lovett  in  his  arms,  he  said — 

"My  dear  madam,  you  only  distress  yourself  for  nothing ;  all  resistance  is 
perfectly  useless.  Either  I  must  take  you  prisoner,  or  you  me,  and  I  decidedly 
incline  to  the  former  alternative." 

The  knife  that  had  been  thrown  through  the  window  was  not  without 
its  object,  foi  in  a  moment  afterwards  Mr.  Crotchet  made  his  appearance  in  the 
ihop. 

"  All  right,  Crotchet,"  said  he  who  had  captured  Mrs.  Lovett ;  u  first  clap  the 
bracelets  on  this  lady." 

"  Here  yer  is/'  said  Crotchet.  "  Lor,  mum !  I  had  a  eye  on  you  months  and 
months  agone.  How  is  you,  mum,  in  yer  feelin's  this  here  nice  evening?— 
E^pi,  mum  ?" 

<  A  knife— a  knife  !    Oh,  for  a  knife  !"  cried  Mrs.  Lovett, 
f<  Ex-actly,  mum/3  added  Crotchet,  as  he  with  professional  dexterity  slipped 

the  handcuffs  on  her  wrists.  "  Would  you  like  one  with  a  hivory  handle,  mum  ? 

or  would  anything  more  common  do,  mum  ?" 
Mrs.  Lovett  fell  to  the  floor,  or  rather  she  cast  herself  to  it,  and  began 


 THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS,    493 

voluntarily  beating  her  head  against  the  boards.  They  quickly  lifted  her 
up ;  and  then  the  tali  stranger  turned  to  the  cook,  who,  after  leaping  over 
the  counter,  had  sat  down  upon  a  chair  in  a  state  of  complete  exhaustion,  and 
he  said — 

"  Do  you  know  the  way  to  Sir  Richard's  office,  in  Craven  Street  ?  He  ex- 
pects you  there,  I  believe  }'* 

f*  Yes,  yes.    But  now  that  all  is  over,  I  feel  very  ill." 

?c  In  that  case,  I  will  go  with  you,  then.  Crotchet,  who  have  you  got  out- 
side?". 

"  Only  two  of  our  pals,  Muster  Green  ;  but  it's  ail  right,  if  so  be  as  you  leaves 
the  lady  to  us." 

"  Very  well.  The  warrant  is  at  Newgate,  and  the  governor  is  expecting 
her  instant  arrival.  You  will  get  a  coach  at  the  corner  of  the  yard,  and  be  off 
with  her  at  once.'* 

"  All's  right,"  said  Crotchet.  "  I  knowed  as  she'd  be  nabbed,  and  I  had  one 
all  ready,  you  sees." 

"  That  was  right,  Crotchet.  How  amazingly  quick  everybody  has  left  the 
shop.    Why— why,  what  is  all  this?" 

As  the  officer  spoke,  about  half  a  dozen  squares  of  glass  in  the  shop  window 
of  the  house  were  broken  in,  and  a  ringing  shout  from  a  dense  mob  that  was 
rapidly  collecting  in  the  yard,  came  upon  the  ears  of  the  officer.  The  two  men 
whom  Crotchet  had  mentioned,  with  difficulty  pressed  their  way  into  the  shop, 
and  one  of  them  cried — 

"  The  people  that  were  in  the  shop  have  spread  the  news  all  over  the  neigh- 
bourhood, and  the  place  is  getting  jammed  up  with  a  mob,  every  one  of  which 
is  mad,  I  think,  for  they  talk  of  nothing  but  of  the  tearing  of  Mrs.  Lovett  to 
pieces.  They  are  pouring  in  from  Fleet  Street  and  Carey  Street  by  hundreds 
at  a  time." 


CHAPTER  CXIIL 

THK  ROUTE  TO  NEWGATE. — MRS.  LOVETT's  DANGER  FROM  THE  MOB. 

Mrs.  Lovett,  upon  hearing  these  words,  turned  ghastly  pale,  but  she  did 
not  speak.  The  officers  looked  at  each  other  with  something  like  dismay,  and 
then  before  either  of  them  could  say  another  word,  there  arose  a  wild  pro- 
longed shout  from  without. 

"  Out  with  her — out  with  her  !  Kill  her !  Tear  her  to  bits  and  hang  her  on 
the  lamp-post  in  the  middle  of  Bell  Yard  !  Out  with  her !  Drag  her  out ! 
Hang  her  !  hang  her  !* 

u  The  coach  you  say  is  waiting,  Crotchet }"  said  the  officer,  who  had  been 
intrusted  by  Sir  Richard  Blunt  with  the  conduct  of  the  whole  business  con- 
nected with  Mrs.  Lovett's  capture. 

"  It  were/'  said  Crotchet,  "and  that  coachman  ain't  the  sort  of  fellow  to  move 
on  till  J  tell  him.  I  knows  him." 

"  Very  good,  then  we  must  make  a  dash  for  it,  and  get  her  away  by  main 
force.  It  must  be  done,  let  the  risk  and  the  consequences  be  what  they  may, 
and  the  sooner  the  better,  too.    Come  on,  madam.5' 

"  Death— death !"  said  Mrs.  Lovett.  "  Kill  me  here,  some  of  you,  kill  me 
at  once ;  but  do  not  let  me  be  torn  to  pieces  by  a  savage  mob.  Oh,  God, 
they  yell  for  my  blood!  Save  me  from  them,  and' kill  me  here.  A  knife  !  oh, 
for  a  knife  l" 

"  And  a  fork  too,  mum."  said  Crotchet;  « in  course,  if  you  wants  'em.  I  tells 
you  what  it  is,  Mr.  Green,  that  there  mob  is  just  savage,  and  we  have  about  as 
much  chance  of  getting  her  down  to  Fleet  Street  with  her  head  on  her  shoulders, 
as  all  of  us  have  of  flying  over  the  blessed  house  tops." 

"  We  must.  It  is  our  duty,  and  if  we  fail,  they  must  kill  us,  which  I  don 't 
think  they  will  do.    Come  on/' 


496  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  

v<fj  will  go  with  you,"  said  the  cook,  starting  up  from  the  chair  upon  which 
he  had  on  account  of  his  weakness  been  compelled  to  seat  himself,  u  I  will  go  with 
you,  and  implore  the  people  to  let  the  law  take  its  course  upon  this  woman/ 

"  In  the  cupboard,  in  the  parlour/'  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  speaking  in  a  strange 
gasping  tone,  "  there  is  a  letter  addressed  by  me  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt.  It  will 
be  worth  your  while  to  save  it  from  the  mob.  Let  me  show  you  where  to  lay 
your  hands  upon  it,  and  if  you  have  any  wish  to  take  a  greater  criminal  than  I, 
go  to  the  shop  of  one  Sweeney  Todd,  a  barber,  in  Fleet  Street.  His  number  is 
sixty  nine.  Seize  him,  for  he  is  the  head  of  all  the  criminality  you  can  possibly 
impute  to  me.    Seize  him,  and  I  shall  be  content/' 

"  Fhemm)Ou  mention/'  said  Mr  Green,  u  has  been  in  Newgate  an  hour 
nearly/ 

"  Newgate  ?" 

Cl  Yes.    We  took  him  first,  and  then  attended  to  you.'* 

"Todd — captured — in  Newgate — and  I  in  fancied  security  here  remained 
wasting  the  previous  moments  upon  which  hung  my  life.  Oh,  fool — fool— dolt 
— idiot.  A  knife!  Oh,  sirs,  I  pray  you  to  give  me  the  means  of  instant  death. 
What  can  the  law  do,  but  take  my  life  ?  What  have  you  all  come  here,  and 
plotted  and  planned  for,  but  to  take  my  life  ?  i  will  do  it.  Oh,  I  pray  you  to 
give  me  the  means,  and  I  will  satisfy  you  and  justice,  and  die  at  once." 

Another  loud  roar  from  the  infuriated  people  without,  drowned  whatever  the 
officer  might  have  said  in  reply  to  this  appeal  from  Mrs.  Lovett,  and  again  arose 
the  wild  shouts  of — 

"  Out  with  her !— Out  with  her  ! — Hang  her! — Hang  the  murderess  ! — Hang 
her  in  the  yard  ! — Out  with  her !" 

"  Forward  !"  cried  Mr,  Green.  iC  To  hesitate  is  only  to  make  our  situation 
ten  times  worse.    Forward  !° 

€t  Hold  a  bit/'  cried  Crotchet,  u  let  me  speak  to  the  people ;  I  knows  how  to 
humour  'em.  Only  you  see  if  I  don't  get  her  along.  Come,  mum,  just  step 
this  a-ways  if  yer  pleases.    Open  the  door,  Mr.  Cook,  and  let  me  out  first." 

The  cook  opened  the  door,  and  before  the  mob  could  rush  into  the  place, 
Crotchet  stepped  on  to  the  threshold  of  the  shop,  and  in  a  tremendous  voice 
that  made  itself  heard  above  all  others,  he  cried — 

44  Hurrah !    Hurrah  V* 

Nothing  is  easier  than  to  throw  a  cry  into  a  crowd,  and  to  get  it  echoed  to 
your  heart's  content ;  and  so  some  couple  of  hundred  voices  now  immediately 
cried — "  Hurrah  !"  and  when  the  vast  volume  of  sound  had  died  awav,  Crotchet 
in  such  a  voice  that  it  must  have  been  heard  in  Fleet  Street  quite  plainly, 
said — 

"  My  opinion  is,  that  Mrs.  Lovett  ought  to  be  hung  outright,  and  at  once 
without  any  more  bother  about  it." 

"  Hurrah  ! — Hang  her! — Hang  her  Vf  shouted  the  mobs 

"And,"  added  Crotchet,  "I  propose  the  lamp-post  at  the  top  of  Fleet  Market 
as  a  nice  public  sort  of  place  to  do  the  job  in.  She  says  she  won't  walk,  but  I 
have  a  coach  in  Fleet  Street,  and  we  will  pop  her  into  that,  and  so  take  her 
along  quite  snug." 

cc  yes,  yes,"  cried  the  people.    "  Bring  her  along,  that  will  do." 

<;  Oh,  will  it  ?"  muttered  Crochet  to  himself.  <fc  What  a  precious  set  of  ninnies 
you  are.  If  I  get  her  once  in  the  coach,  and  she  gets  out  again  except  to  step 
into  the  stone  jug,  may  I  be  hanged  myself." 

"  I  think  you  have  managed  it,  Crotchet,"  whispered  Mr*  Green,  "  I  think 
that  will  do." 

"  To  be  sure  it  will,  sir.  Alls  right.  Bless  your  heart,  mobs  is  the  stupidest 
beasts  as  is.  You  may  do  anything  you  like  with  them  if  you  will  only  let 
them  have  their  own  way  a  little,  but  if  so  be  as  you  trys  to  fight  'em,  they  is 
all  horns  and  porkipines,  quills  and  stone  walls,  and  iron  rails,  they  is  !" 

'4  You  are  right  enough,  Crotchet ;  and  now  then  let  Smith  stay  here  and 
mind  the  house,  and  shut  it  all  up  snug  till  the  morning,  when  it  can  be  tho- 


In ' 


i 1  s 


I  pajr 


adjust  fit 
sf  oat  ^ 

■D  tie  pltt 


t  Ate  pi 


4>  flu-* 


tfe*4fl 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


497 


roughly  searched,  and  you  and  I  ar.d  Simmons  here  will  go  with  Mrs# 
Lovett." 

u  And  I  too/'  said  the  cook.    t€  We  can  go  to  Sir  Richard's  afterwards." 
u  So  we  can — so  we  can.    Come  on,  now/' 

"  You  will  deliver  me  up  to  the  mob/'  screamed  Mrs.  Lovett.    "  Mercy  ! 


« i-  >  n  r  ttTi  ii  tint , 

m  » n  i  < \  I H  i " 
UlHimUli 


'1 


ir.it  nMfl'll 


i  i  '  \  i «  n.  r  i  . 
(i  i  r  m i i  1 1  (  | 


liii|,UVy| 


1  i: '  ( 


'  HI  I  l| 
iii 


III  I  n; 


I  1 1  H  <  v  i  ; 


1  I! 


[I 


/  l  I  i  ■  •  i    !  i  « 


•  Mil-' 

u»  i  .  •  •  *  i  I  |  (  i  i  .  I  I.  1  I  I  I 


Villi  |  . 
\[\\\lt  '  » 


s 


\ 


« t 


III-' 


! » ■  *  « 


TODD  IN  NEWGATE,  TRIES  TO  COMMIT  SUICIDE. 

Mercy  !  I  shall  be  torn  limb  from  limb.  Oh,  what  a  death  !  Are  you  men  or 
fiends  that  you  will  condemn  me  to  it?    Mercy! — mercy  !° 

This  sudden  passion  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  was  the  very  thing  the  officers  would 
have  desired,  inasmuch  as  it  materially  helped  to  deceive  the  mob,  and  to  prevent 
any  idea  upon  the  part  of  the  infuriated  people,  that  there  was  any  collusion 
between  the  officers  and  Mrs.  Lovett,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  her  safely  to 
prison. 


JSTo,  63, 


493  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


They  dragged  her  out  into  Bell  Yard,  and  then  the  shouts  that  the  mob  set 
Up  was  truly  terrific. 

**  Lights  !  Links !"  cried  a  voice.  "  Let's  show  her  the  way  I" 
In  a  moment  an  oiUshop  opposite  to  Mrs.  Lovett's  was  plundered  of  a  score 
or  two  of  links,  and  being  lighted  with  great  rapidity  from  the  solitary  oil-lamp 
that  there  stood  in  the  middle  of  Bell  Yard,  they  sent  a  bright  lurid  glare  upon 
the  sea  of  heads,  that  seemed  so  close  they  might  have  been  walked  upon  all  the 
way  to  Fleet  Street.  Another  shout  echoed  far  and  near,  and  then  Crotchet 
took  hold  of  one  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  arms,  and  Mr.  Green  hold  of  the  other,  and 
the  cook  and  the  other  officers  following,  they  all  began  slowly  to  make  way 
through  the  mob. 

«  Let's  get  along  with  her,"  cried  Crotchet.  "  I  have  her  tight.  She  won't 
get  away.  Some  of  you  get  a  good  stout  rope  ready,  and  make  a  noose  in  it. 
We  will  hang  her  on  the  lamp-post  at  the  top  of  the  market.  Bring  her  along. 
Make  way  a  little.    Only  a  little  m 

Mrs.  Lovett  shrieked  as  she  saw  the  sea  of  angry  faces  before,  behind,  and 
on  all  sides  of  her.  She  thought  that  surely  her  last  hour  was  come,  and  that 
a  far  more  horrible  death  than  any  she  had  ever  calculated  upon  in  her  worst 
moments  of  depression,  was  about  to  be  hers.  Her  eyes  were  blood-shot — 
she  bit  her  under  lip  through,  and  the  blood  poured  from  her  mouth — she 
each  moment  that  she  could  gather  breath  to  do  so,  raised  a  fearful  shriek, 
and  the  mob  shouted  and  yelled,  and  swayed  to  and  fro,  and  the  links  were 
tossed  from  hand  to  hand,  flashing,  and  throwing  around  them  thousands  of 
bright  sparks,  and  people  rapidly  joined  the  mob. 


CHAPTER  CXIV. 

THE  COOK  WAITS  UPON  SIR  RICHARD  BLUNT  AND  HEARS  NEWS. 

It  took  a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  reach  the  coach  from  the  door  of  Mrs.  [ 
Lovett's  shop,  a  distance  that  in  twenty  steps  any  one  might  have  traversed  ; 
and,  oh  !  what  a  quarter  of  an  hour  of  horrible  suffering  that  was  to  the  wretched 
woman,  whose  crimes  had  so  infuriated  the  populace,  that  with  one  voice 
they  called  for  her  death  ! 

The  coach  door  ^as  opened,  and  Crotchet  pushed  his  prisoner  in.  Mr. 
Green,  and  the  othe?  officer  and  the  cook,  followed  her. 

u  I  will  go  on  the  box/'  said  Crotchet. 

"  Very  well, "  said  Green,  "  but  be  mindful  of  your  own  safety,  Crotchet/' 
"  All's  right.  There  ain't  any  more  o*  my  sort  in  London,  and  I  know  I  am 

rather  a  valuable  piece  o1  goods.   Has  anybody  got  the  rope  ready  for  the 

lady?" 

"  Here  you  are/'  said  a  man,  "  I  have  one." 

€i  You  get  up  behind  then/'  said  Crotchet,  °  for  of  course  you  know  we 
shall  soon  want  you/' 

€(  \  es,  I  will.  That's  right !  It's  all  right,  friends.  I  am  to  get  up  behind 
with  the  rope.  Here's  the  rope  !" 

46  Three  cheers  for  the  rope !"  cried  somebody,  and  the  cheers  were  given 
with  deafening  violence.  What  will  not  a  mob  give  three  cheers  for — ay, 
or  any  number  of  cheers  you  like  to  name  ?  A  piece  of  poor  humanity  in  tinsel 
and  fine  linen,  called  a  king  or  queen — a  popular  cry — a  murderess— a  rope 
— anything  will  suffice.  Surely,  Mr.  Crotchet,  you  know  something  of  the 
people  ! 

"  Now,"  said  Crotchet  to  the  coachman,  "  are  you  as  bold  as  brass,  and  as 
strong  as  an  iron  file  ip% 
The  coachman  looked  puzzled,  b«t  Mr.  Crotchet  pursued  his  queries. 
"  Will  these  'osses,  if  they  is  frightened  a  bit,  cut  along  quick?" 


 THE  STRING  Off  PEARLS.   499  j 

- 

u  Rather/'  said  the  coachman.  "  The  bles&ed  fact  is,  that  they  won't  cut  | 
!  along  unless  you  do  frighten  them  a  bit ;  and  as  for  me  being  an  old  file  and  I 
I  having   lots   o'  brass,  I  doesn't   consider   as  I'm  a  bit  wor3er  nor  my  ! 
neighbours." 

<r  You  is  as  hignorant  as  a  badger !"  said  Crotchet.  "  Make  yourself  easy  j 
and  give  me  the  reins.  The  mobs  o'  peopie  thinks  as  we  is  a  going  to  hang  the 
woman  at  the  corner  of  Fleet  Market,  but  if  I  lives  another  ten  minutes,  she 
will  be  in  Newgate.  There  may  be  something  of  a  scuffle,  and  if  anything 
happens  to  you,  or  to  the  coach  or  the  'osses,  the  county  will  pay  handsomely, 
so  now  give  me  the  reins.  You  may  not  like  to  whip  through  them,  but  I 
haven't  the  least  objection.'' 

The  coachman  looked  scared  and  nervous,  but  he  gave  up  the  reins  and  the 
whip  to  Crotchet,  and  then  leaning  back  on  the  box,  he  waited  with  no  small 
trepidation  the  result  of  the  expected  disturbance,  while  he  had  only  Mr. 
Crotchet's  word  that  the  county  would  pay  for  handsomely 

The  short  distance  from  the  corner  of  Bell  Yard  to  the  end  of  Fleet 
Market  was  rapidly  traversed,  and  when  that  interesting  point  was  reached, 
the  dense  mass  of  people  set  up  another  shout,  and  began  to  surround  the  lamp* 
post  that  was  there,  and  to  fill  up  all  the  avenues. 

"  Get  the  rope  up,"  said  Crothet. 

ic  Yes,  yes  Hurrah  !  hurrah  !  Pull  her  out,  and  hang  her !" 
The  highly  interesting  process  of  getting  the  rope  fixed  upon  the  little  pro- 
jecting piece  of  iron,  upon  which  the  lamplighter  was  wont  to  rest  his  ladder, 
had  the  effect  that  Crotchet  expected,  namely,  to  attract  general  attention  ;  and 
then,  taking  advantage  of  the  moment,  he  seized  the  whip  and  used  it  with  such 
effect  upon  the  horses,  that,  terrified  and  half  maddened,  they  set  off  with  the 
coach  at  a  tearing  gallop. 

For  a  moment  or  two — and  in  that  moment  or  two  Mr.  Crotchet  with 
his  prisoner  got  to  the  corner  of  the  Old  Bailey — the  mob  were  so  staggered 
by  this  unexpected  elopement  of  the  hackney-coach,  that  not  a  soul  followed 
it.  The  idea  that  the  horses  had  of  their  own  accord  started,  being  pro- 
bably alarmed  at  the  links,  was  the  first  that  possessed  the  people,  and  many 
votees  called  out  loudly — 
*\  Pull  'em  in — pull  e'm  in  !    Saw  their  heads  off  V9 

But  when  they  saw  Mr.  Crotchet  fairly  turn  into  the  Old  Bailey,  the  trick 
that  had  been  played  upon  them  became  apparent ;  and  one  yell  of  indignation 
and  rage  burst  from  the  multitude. 

The  pursuit  was  immediate  ;  but  Mr.  Crotchet  had  too  much  the  start  of  the 
mob,  and  long  before  the  struggling  infuriated  people,  impeding  each  other  as 
they  tore  along,  had  reached  the  corner  of  the  Old  Bailey,  Mrs.  Lovett  was  in 
the  lobby  of  the  prison,  and  the  officers  safely  with  her. 

She  looked  like  a  corpse.    The  colour  of  her  face  was  that  of  soiled  white 

But  mobs,  if  they  cannot  wreak  their  vengeance  upon  what  may  be,  for  dis- 
tinction's sake,  called  the  legitimate  object  of  their  displeasure,  will  do  so  upon 
something  else  ;  and  upon  reaching  the  door  of  Newgate,  and  finding  there 
was  no  sort  of  chance  of  getting  hold  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  they  took  the  horses  out 
of  the  hackney-coach,  and  started  them  off  through  the  streets  to  go  where 
they  liked ;  and  then,  dragging  the  coach  to  Smithfield,  they  then  and 
there  made  a  bon-fire  of  it,  and  were  very  much  satisfied  and  delighted, 
indeed. 

"  Now,  mum,5'  said  Crotchet  to  Mrs,  Lovett,  "  didn't  I  say  I'd  bring  yer  to 
the  old  stone  jug  as  safe  as  ninepence  ?" 

She  only  looked  at  him  vacantly ;  and  then,  glaring  around  her  with  a 
shudder,  she  said — 

Si  And  this  is  Newgate  V 
"  Just  a  few/'  said  Crotchet. 

The  governor  at  this  moment  made  his  appearance,  and  began  to  give  orders 


500 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


^^^T^^  be  placed.    A  slight  change  of  colour  came  over 

her  face,  as  she  said— 
"  Shall  I  see  Todd  I » 

"Not  at  present,"  said  the  governor.  .  _ 

" 1  should  like  to  see  him  to  forgive  him  :  for  no  doubt  it  is  to  him  that  I 
owe  this  situation.    He  has  betrayed  me  I"  ' 

The  look  which  she  put  on  when  she  uttered  the  words  "  I  should  like  to  see 
him  to  forgive  him,"  was  so  truly  demoniac,  that  it  was  quite  clear  if  she  did 
see  Todd,  that  whether  she  were  armed  or  not,  she  would  fly  upon  him,  and  try 
to  take  his  life  ;  and  although  in  that  she  might  tail,  there  would  be  very  little 
doubt  but  that,  in  the  process  of  failure,  she  would  inflict  upon  him  some  very 

serious  injury.  ;  '  " .  '  , 

It  was  not  likely,  though,  that  the  officials  of  Newgate  would  indulge  her 

with  an  opportunity.  ,   tr    n    i  i.  l 

"  You  had  better  all  of  you  wait  here,"  said  the  governor  to  Mr.  Crotchet, 

and  the  officers,  and  the  cook,  "  until  the  mob  is  gone." 

"  The  street  is  quite  clear,  sir,"  said  a  turnkey.  ';  They  have  taken  the  coach 
to  knock  it  to  pieces,  I  suppose,  sir."  .    .     , .    ,     ,     .  , 

"  And  I'm  done  up  at  last !"  said  the  coachman,  wringing  his  hands,  for  he 
had,  in  fear  for  his  own  safety,  made  his  way  into  the  lobby  of  Newgate  along 
with  Mr.  Crotchet ;  "  I'm  done  up  at  last !"  '   •  . 

«  Not  at  all,"  said  the  governor.  "  We  would  not  have  lost  such  a  prisoner 
as  this  Mrs.  Lovett.  for  the  worth  of  fifty  coaches.  Every  penny  of  your  loss 
will  be  made  good  to  you.  There  is  a  guinea,  in  the  meantime— go  home,  and 
do  not  distress  yourself  upon  the  subject,  my  good  fellow.]'  — 

Upon  this  the  coachman  was  greatly  comforted,  and  with  Mr.  Crotchet  and 
the  officers,  he  left  the  lobby  of  Newgate  at  the  same  moment  that  Mrs.  Lovett 
was  led  off  into  the  interim  of  that  gloomy  and  horrible  abode. 

The  object  of  the  officer  was  now  to  get  to  the  private  office  of  Sir  Richard 
Blunt  as  soon  as  possible,  and  let  him  know  of  the  successful  capture  of  Mrs. 
Lovett.  Sir  Richard,  too,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  left  a  special  message 
with  the  cook  to  repair  to  his  office  as  soon  as  he  could  after  his  release  from 
his  bondage  in  Bell  Yard,  so  that  the  liberated  cook,  who  felt  that  he  owed  that 
liberation^  the  advice  and  assistance  of  Sir  Richard,  did  not  scruple  to  obey 
the  directions  of  the  magistrate  at  once.  . 

The  private-office  of  Sir  Kichard,  it  will  be  recollected,  was  in  Craven  Srreet, 

at  the  bottom  of  the  Stand.  .... 

Upon  the  route  there,  Mr.  Crotchet  and  the  cook  held  a  long  and  very  serious 
discourse  about  the  proceedings  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  and  if  the  cook  was  able  to  tell 
the  active  and  enterprising  Crotchet  much  that  was  curious  regarding  the 
underground  operations  at  Mrs.  Lovett's,  he,  in  return,  received  some  curious 
edifying  information  concerning  the  lady's  business  connexion  with  bweeney 
Todd,  with  the  particulars  of  which  the  cook  had  been  completely  ignorant. 

By  the  time  they  reached  Craven  Street,  therefore,  the  cook's  eyes  were  con- 
siderably opened,  and  many  matters  that  had  been  to  him  extremely  obscure, 
became  all  at  once  quite  clear,  so  that  he  was  upon  the  whole  far  from  sorry 
for  the  companionship  of  the  eccentric  Crotchet  on  the  road  down  the  Strand  to 
the  magistrate's  private  office.  .,  -  . 

Sir  Kichard  was  at  home,  and  anxiously  expecting  them,  so  that  upon  the 
first  hint  of  their  presence  they  were  introduced  to  him,  and  he  received  the 
report  of  the  officer  with  evident  satisfaction. 

"Thank  God,"  he  said,  "two  of  the  greatest  malefactors  the  world  ever  saw 
are  now  in  the  hands  of  justice." 

"  Yes,"  said  Crotchet.    "  Thev  are  cotched." 

"  You  may  depend  all  of  you,"  added  Sir  Richard,  "that  your  conduct  and 
great  skill  in  exertions  in  this  affair  shall  be  by  me 

of  State,  who  will  not  leave  you  unrewarded.  Pray  wait  for  me  in  the  outer 
room,  I  have  some  private  business  with  this  gentleman." 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  501 

The  officers  were  a  little  surprised  to  hear  Sir  Richard  Blunt  call  Mrs  Lovett  s 

cook,  c<  this  gentleman but  they  of  course  took  no  notice  of  the  circumstance 

[    while  in  the  presence  of  their  principal,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  magistrate 

1    was  alone  with  the  cook, 
i  I  _____ 

From  a  cupboard  in  his  room,  then  Sir  Richard  Blunt  took  wine  and  other 
refreshments,  and  laid  them  before  the  cook,  saying — 
I      "  Refresh  yourself,  my  friend ;  but  for  your  own  sake*  as  your  fare  has  been  but 
I  indifferent  for  some  time,  I  beg  you  to  be  sparing,0 
j     u  I  will,  sir.    I  owe  you  much — very  much  V' 

"You  are  free  now." 

u  I — am — sir." 

u  And  yet  you  are  very  unhappy." 

The  cook  started  and  changed  colour  slightly.    He  filled,  for  himself,  a  glass 
j    of  wine,  and  after  drinking  it  he  heaved  a  sigh,  as  he  said — 
|       "  Sir,  I  am  unhappy.    I  do  not  care  how  soon  the  world  and  I  part,  sir. 
The  hope — the  dream  of  my  life  has  gone  from  me.    All  that  I  lived  for — all 
that  I  cherished  as  the  brightest  expectation  of  joy  in  this  world  has  passed 
away  like  a  vapour,  and  left  not  a  rack  behind.    I  am  unhippy,  and  better,  far 
!    better,  would  it  have  been  for  me  if  Sweeney  Todd  had  taken  my  life,  or  if  by 
j    some  subtle  poison,  Mrs.  Lovett  had  shuffled  me  out  of  the  world — I  am  un- 
happy/' 

"  Indeed  !  And  you  really  think  you  have  nothing  in  this  world  now  to  liye 
for?" 

u  I  do.  But  it  is  not  a  thought  only.  It  is  a  knowledge — it  is  a  fact  that 
I  cannot  be  gainsaid  or  controverted,  I  tell  you,  sir,  that  I  can  never  now  hope  to 
realise  the  happiness  which  was  the  day-dream  of  my  existence,  and  which 
has  passed  from  me  like  a  dream,  never — never  to  come  again.  Tt  was  in 
the  despair  contingent  upon  such  thoughts  and  feelings,  that  I  went  to  Mrs. 
Lovett  and  became  her  slave  ;  but  now  I  will  be  off  far  away  from  England,  and 
on  some  foreign  shore  I  will  lay  my  bones. 9 

"  But,  my  good  sir,  you  will  be  wanted  on  the  trial  of  your  old  friend,  Mrs. 
Lovett." 

u  Cannot  you  hang  the  woman  without  my  help  Y v 

"  Yes,  I  think  we  might,  but  so  material  a  witness  to  her  infamy  as  yourself 
cannot  be  dispensed  with.    Of  course  I  do  not  pretend  to  be  a  conjuror,  or  to 
;  say  to  any  man — 6  You  shall  be  happy  in  spite  of  all  your  prognostications  to 
|  the  contrary but  from  what  you  have  told  me  of  your  story,  I  must  confess  that 
to  my  perception  you  take  much  too  gloomy  a  view  of  your  condition." 

"Too  gloomy  V3  exclain  ed  the  cook,  as  he  filled  himself  up  another  glass  of 
wine.    "  Too  gloomy!    My  dear,  sir,  you  don't  know  how  I  loved  that  girl— 
!  you  don't  know  how  I — I — But  it  is  no  matter  now — all  that  is  past.  Oh  God  ! 
that  she  should  be  false  to  me — she  of  all  persons  in  the  great  world  1" 

"And  so  you  wall  let  this  little  disappointment  of  the  heart,  place  you  in 
your  youth  quite  beside  all  possible  enjoyment?    Is  this  wise,  sir  ?    Is  it  even 
j  manly  ?" 

The  poor  cook  was  silent  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  in  a  voice  of  deep 
emotion,  he  said  — 

"  Sir,  you  don't  know  how  much  I  loved  her.  You  do  not  know  how  I  pic- 
tured to  myself  happiness  with  her  alone.  You  do  not  know,  sir,  how,  even 
when  death  stared  me  in  the  face,  I  thought  of  her  and  her  only,  and  how — But 
no  matter — no  matter,  sir.  She  is  false,  and  it  is  madness  to  speak  of  her.  Let 
her  go,  sir.  It  is  just  possible  that  in  the  time  to  come,  I  may  outlive  the 
despair  that  now  fills  my  heart." 
j      "  You  surely  will" 

j      u  I  do  not  think  it.    But  I  will  hope  that  I  may." 

I  4  "  And  have  you  really  no  hope— no  innate  lurking  supposition  in  your  mind, 
that  you  may  be  doing  her  an  injustice  in  your  suspicions  of  her  faith  V\ 
"  Suspicions  V* 


502  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"Ay,  sir,  suspicions,  for  even  you  must  admit  that  you  know  nothing." 
"  Know  nothing,  sir?" 

ri  Absolutely  nothing  You  will  find,  if  you  come  to  consider  the  affair,  that, 
as  I  say,  you  know  nothing,  but  suspec  t  much  ;  and  so  upon  mere  suspicion  you 
will  make  your  future  life  miserble.  I  would  not  so  bend  to  circumstances  if  the 
whole  world  stood  up  before  me,  and  told  me  I  was  right  in  my  dread  thoughts 
of  one  whom  I  had  loved." 

The  poor  cook  glanced  at  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  for  the  space  of  about  half  a 
minute,  not  one  word  passed  between  them.  Then  in  a  low  voice,  the  cook 
said — 

"  You  have  read  Romeo  and  Juliet,  sir 
"  Yes— what  then  ?" 
There  is  one  line  there,  in  which  we  read  that 

*  He  jests  at  scars  who  never  felt  a  wound.'  " 

"Well,  how  would  you  apply  that  line  to  the  present  circumstances  }' 
"  I  would  say  you  have  never  loved,  sir,  and  T  have  loved.5' 
"  A  broad  assumption  that,  my  friend/5  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "  a  very  broad 

*  assertion,  indeed.  But  come,  I  have  to  spare  a  short  time.  Will  you,  in  recom- 

*  pense  for  what  I  have  done  for  you,  relate  to  me  more  fully  than  you  have  done, 
how  it  is  that  you  suspect  her  whom  you  love  of  falsehood  to  you  ?" 

66  Do  not  say  loved,  sir ;  I  love  her  still." 

«  I  am  glad  to  hear  it.  I  pray  you  to  go  on,  and  tell  me  now  all,  if  you  feel 
that  you  can  have  sufficient  confidence  in  me,  and  that  you  can  view  me  with  a 
sufficient  friendly  feeling." 

"  Oh,  sir,  why  do  you  doubt  me  ?  Do  I  not  owe  to  you  my  life  ?  Do  I  not 
owe  it  to  you  that  I  escaped  the  death  that  without  a  doubt  was  designed  forme 
by  Todd  ?  and  was  it  not  by  your  persevering,  that  at  length  I  had  patience 
enough  to  wait  until  the  proper  time  had  come  for  my  release,  when  it  could  be 
accomplished  without  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  as  to  the  result  V3 

"  Well,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  with  a  smile,  "  1  hope  then  that  I  have 
established  some  claim  upon  you  ;  so  now  tell  me  your  story,  my  friend,  and  at 
the  end  of  it  I  will,  from  my  experience,  do  what  I  can  to  bring  you  substantial 
comfort/' 

"  You  shall  hear  all,  sir,"  said  the  cook,  "but  comfort  and  I  have  parted  long 
since,  I  fear,  from  each  other  for  ever  " 


CHAPTER  CXV. 

THE  COOK  BECOMES  A  VERY    IMPORTANT  PERSONAGE. 

At  this  last  delaration  of  Mrs.  Lovett's  late  cook,  regarding  the  tender  adieu 
that  he  and  comfort  had  taken  of  each  other,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  only  smiled 
faintly,  and  slightly  inclined  his  hand  as  much  as  to  say —  j 

"  That  is  all  very  well,  but  I  am  waiting  to  hear  your  story,  if  you  please."  I 

"Well,  sir,"  added  the  cook.  "  You  already  know  that  I  am  not  exactly 
what  I  seem,  and  that  my  being  in  that  most  abominable  woman's  employment 
as  a  cook,  was  one  of  those  odd  freaks  of  fortune,  which  will  at  times  detract 
the  due  order  of  society,  and  place  people  in  the  most  extraordinary  positions." 

"Exactly." 

"  I  am,  sir,  an  orphan,  and  was  brough  up  by  an  uncle  with  every  expecta- 
tion that  he  would  be  kind  and  liberal  to  me  as  1  progressed  in  years  ;  but  he 
had  taken  his  own  course  and  had  made  up  his  mind  as  to  what  1  was  to  be,  ! 
how  I  was  to  look,  and  what  I  was  to  say  and  to  do,  without  asking  himself  . 
the  question,  if  nature  was  good  enough  to  coincide  with  him  or  not.    The  j 

,  n  i—,.  ..  ,.  ..  —  u.'   1   '    vL.  "*"   __T„, 


 THE  STRING^OF  PEARLS.   503 

consequence  was  then,  that  directly  he  found  me  very  different  from  what  he 
wished  me  to  be,  he  was  very  angry  indeed,  and  then  I  put  the  finishing  stroke 
to  his  displeasure,  by  committing  the  greatest  crime  that  in  his  eyes  I  could 
commit:  I  fell  in  love/' 

« Humph!"  sui 

"  Yes,  sir,  that  was  just  what  he  d  at  first,  when  some  officious  friend  told 
of  it,  and  sending  for  me  he  said — r  You  must  give  up  all  love  nonsense  if  you 
wish  to  preserve  my  favour/ upon  which  I  said— ' Sir,  did  you  never  love?' 
'That  is  not  the  question,'  he  said.  1  It  is  of  your  follies  now,  not  miaej  that  we 
are  speaking/  and  so  he  turned  me  out  of  the  room." 

"And  what  did  you  do  ?    Did  you  give  up  your  love  ?" 
11"  No,  sir  ;  if  he  had  asked  me  to  give  up  my  life  that  would  have  been  much 
easier  to  me/' 

"  Go  on.    What  then  happened  ?" 

"  Why,  sir,  my  uncle  and  I  met  very  seldom,  but  there  was  one  upon  my 
track  that  he  paid  to  follow  me,  and  to  report  my  actions  to  him;  and  that  spy— 
oh,  that  I  had  caught  him!  that  spy  made  my  uncle  acquainted  with  the  fact,  that 
I  continued,  despite  his  prohibition,  to  meet  with  the  only  being  who  ever 
awakened  in  my  bosom  a  tender  feeling;  and  so  I  was  abandoned  by  my  relative, 
and  left  penniless  almost." 

"  But  you  had  youth  and  health  ?" 

"  I  had,  and  I  resolved  to  make  use  of  those  advantages  as  best  I  might,  by 
endeavouring  while  they  lasted,  frail  and  fluttering  possessions  as  they  are,  to 
make  a  home  for  myself  and  for  her  whom  I  loved." 

"  The  feeling,  I  presume,  was  reciprocal 

"  I  thought  so." 

"  Was  it  only  a  thought,  then  ?" 

"  Alas !  no.  It  was  a  certainty ;  and  if  an  angel  with  wings  fresh  spread  from 
Heaven,  and  carrying  upon  them  the  soft  light  of  an  eternal  world,  had  come  to 
me  and  told  me  that  she  would  be  false  to  me,  I  would  not  have  believed  as 
much." 

«  And  yet-  M 

u  And  yet,  as  you  say,  T  have  found  her  false.  Well— well,  Sir  Richard — let 
me  proceed.  The  thought  of  her  unmans  me  at  moments,  but  in  time  I  may 
recover  from  such  feelings /' 

«  Most  unquestionably  you  will ;  and  then  you  will  look  to  your  present  con- 
dition of  mind  with  such  a  smile  of  incredulity,  and  only  a  faint  faith  in  your 
own  memory  that  paints  you  such  feelings." 

"  1  cannot  say,  sir,  that  it  will  not  be  so,  but  I  do  not  think  so.  To  proceed, 
however.  I  heard  that  an  expedition  was  about  to  start  to  explore  some  rich 
islands  in  the  Southern  Sea.  If  successful,  every  one  who  took  part  in  it  would 
be  enriched ;  and  if  unsuccessful,  I  could  not  lose  my  life  in  a  better  cause  then 
in  trying  to  make  a  happy  home  for  her  whom  1  love.  I  at  once  embraced  the 
proposition,  and  became  one  of  the  adventurers,  much  against  the  inclination 
of  the  gentle  girl  whom  I  loved,  and  who  in  imagination  pictured  to  herself  a  j 
thousand  dangers  as  involved  in  the  enterprise." 

"You  went ?" 

u  I  did,  and  with  every  kope  of  returning  in  about  a  year  an  independent 
man.  I  thought  little  of  the  perils  I  was  about  to  encounter  in  my  voyage.  I 
and  the  fair  girl  upon  whom  I  had  fixed  my  best  hopes  and  affections  partqd, 
after  many  tears  and  protestations  of  fidelity.    I  kept  my  faith." 

"  And  she?" 

"  Broke  hers." 

"  As  you  think — as  you  think.  You  cannot  be  loo  cautious,  my  young  friend, 

in  making  assertions  of  that  character/ 

€i  Cautious,  sir  ?    Am  I  to  believe  the  evidence  of  my  own  eyes,  or  am  I  not  in 
"Not  always/  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  calmly.     "  But  I  pray  you  go  on  \ 

with  your  narrative.3^  (I 


501  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS, 


Twill.  The  principal  object  of  the  voyage  failed  entirely;  but  by  pure 
accident  I  got  possession  of  a  String  of  Pearls,  of  very  great  value  indeed,  which, 
provided  I  could  get  home  in  safety,  would  value  in  Europe  quite  a  sufficient 
sum  to  enable  us  to  live  in  comfort.  But  the  dangers  of  the  deep  assailed  us. 
We  were  wrecked  ;  and  fully  believing  that  I  should  not  survive,  I  handed  the 
pearls  to  a  stronger  comrade,  and  begged  him  to  take  them  to  her  whom  I  had 
loved,  to  tell  herself  my  fate,  and  to  bid  her  not  weep  for  me,  since  I  had  died 
happy  in  the  thought  that  I  had  achieved  something  for  her  ;  and  so,  my  friend 
and  I  parted.  I  was  preserved  and  got  on  board  a  merchant  vessel  bound  for 
England,  where  I  arrived  absolutely  penniless.  But  I  had  a  heart  full  of  hope  and 
joy ;  for  if  I  could  but  find  my  poor  girl  faitful  to  me.  I  felt  that  me  might  yet 
be  happy,  whether  my  comrade  had  lived  to  bring  to  her  the  pearls  or  not." 
"  And  you  found  her  V9 

"  You  shall  her,  sir.  I  walked  from  Southampton  to  London,  subsisting  on 
the  road  as  best  I  could.  Sometimes  I  met  with  kind  treatment  at  farm-houses, 
and  sometimes  with  quite  the  reverse,  until  at  length  I  reached  London  tolera- 
bly exhausted,  a3  you  may  suppose,  and  in  anything  but  a  good  plight/' 

u  Well,  but  you  found  your  girl  all  right,  I  suppose  ?" 

"  No.  I  walked  up  the  Strand ;  and  as  some  of  our  happiest  interviews  had 
taken  place  in  the  Temple  Gardens,  I  could  not  resist  turning  aside  for  a 
moment  to  look  at  the  old  familiar  spot,  when  what  do  you  think  was  the  sight 
that  met  my  eyes  ?" 

"  I  really  can't  say/5 

"I  will  tell  you,  sir.  I  saw  her  whom  I  loved — the  young  and  beautiful 
girl  for  whom  I  had  gone  through  so  much — the  being  upon  whose  faith  and 
constancy  I  would  at  any  time  have  staked  my  life— the,  as  I  thought,  most 
innocent,  guileless  creature  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  :  " 

**  Well,  well,  my  good  friend,  what  did  y<  u  see  this  paragon  of  perfection 
about?7' 

u  You  will  not  believe  it,  sir." 

u  Oh,  yes,  I  shall  — do  not  be  afraid  of  that — I  shall  beHeve  it.  Your  narra- 
tive bears  too  much  the  stamp  of  truth  about  it  for  me  to  doubt  it  for  a  moment. 
I  pray  you  to  go  on/' 

"I  will  then,  The  first  object  that  met  my  eyes  in  that  Temple  Garden  was 
the  being  whom  1  loved  so  fondly  leaning  upon  the  arm  of  a  man  in  a  military 
undress — leaning,  did  I  say,  upon  his  arm?  she  was  almosf  upon  his  breast,  and 
he  was  actually  supporting  her  with  one  of  his  arms  round  her  waist/' 

"Weil?" 

€t  What,  sir!  Is  that  all  you  can  say  to  it?  Would  you  say*  Well?' if 
you  saw  the  only  creature  you  ever  loved  in  such  a  situation,  sir  ?  Well, 
indeed  !'* 

"  My  dear  friend,  do  not  get  excited,  now/* 
u  Oh,  sir,  it  would  excite  a  stick  or  a  stone/* 

ie  Excuse  me,  then,  for  having  said  *  Well/  and  go  on  with  your  story.  What 
did  she  say  to  excuse  herself  to  you  ?" 

"  JTis  well,  sir — of  course,  I  cannot  expect  others  to  feel  as  I  do  upon  such  an 
occasion.  1  did  not  speak  to  her,  sir.  The  sight  of  such  perfidy  was  enough 
for  me.  From  that  moment  she  fell  from  thp  height  I  had  raised  her  to  in  my 
imagination,  and  nothing  she  could  say,  and  nothing  I  could  say,  would  raise 
her  up  again.0 

u  And  you,  then,  only  walked  away  V9  \\ 
€i  That  is  all.    With  such  a  pang  at  my  heart  at  the  moment  as  I  wonder  did  [| 
not  kill  me,  1  walked  away,  and  left  her  to  her  own  conclusions/' 

(t  Then — then,  my  young  friend,  you  did  the  very  reverse  of  what  I  should 
have  done,  for  you  should  have  gone  up  to  her,  and  politely  taken  leave  of  her, 
so  as  to  let  her  know  at  all  events  that  you  were  aware  of  her  perfidy.  I  should 
not  have  been  content  to  let  her  have  the  satisfaction  of  thinking  I  was  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea  while  she  was  enjoying  a  flirtation  with  her  officer  ;  but,  of 


THE  STRING  OF  PE1RLS.  505 


course,  different  people  take  different  courses  upon  emergencies.    There  is  one 
thing,  however,  that  I  wonder  you  did  not  inquire  about." 
*  What  was  that  V 

u  Your  String  of  Pearls.  How  could  you  tell  but  that  your  friend  had  got 
to  London,  and  had  actuaMy  given  her  the  Pearls  with  your  message  appended 


|  to  them  ?  I  really  am  surprised  that  you  did  not  step  forward  and  say,' ' Oblige 
I     me,  mks,  with  my  pearls,  if  you  no  longer  favour  me  with  your  affections  !' " 

4  No,  no.  To  tell  the  truth,  I  was  too  heart-broken  at  the  time  to  care  about 
anything  in  all  the  world ;  I  had  lost  her  who  was  to  me  the  greatest  jewel  it 
had  ever  contained,  and  I  cared  for  nothing  else.  I  do  believe  I  was  a  little 
mad,  for  I  walked  about  the  rest  of  that  day,  rot  knowing  where  I  went  to,  and 


.   I   i^g-  i   ■  ■   ■  ~^~-^*rtl  


m  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


nTT^tTlbund"  myself,  tired,  worn  out,  famishing,  opposite  to  Mrs.  Lovett's 
«hon  window,  and  the  steam  of  those  abominable  pies  began  to  tempt  me,  so 
much  that  1  went  into  the  shop,  and  after  some  talk,  I  actually  accepted  the 
situation  of  cook  to  her,  and  there,  but  for  you,  I  should  have  breathed  my  last." 

"Not  a  doubt  of  it.  And  now,  my  young  friend,  you  know  that  I  am  a 
Dolice-magistrate,  and  I  dare  say  you  have  heard  a  great  deal  about  my  sources 
of  information,  and  the  odd  way  in  which  I  find  out  things  when  folks  think 
they  keep  them  a  profound  secret.  You  have  told  me  all  your  history,  but  you 
have  thought  proper,  as  you  were,  if  you  pleased,  quite  justified  in  doing,  to 

withhold  your  name."  .  ■ 

"  I  have  done  so,  but  I  hardly  know  why.   I  will  tell  it  to  you,  however, 


now.'* 

"  Hold,  I  know  it." 


"  You  know  it,  sir  V* 
"  Yes,  your  name  is  Mark  Ingestne ! 

"It  is,  indeed.    But  how  you  came  to  know  that,  sir,  is  to  me  most 

mysterious."  .  ,  . 

''Oh,  I  know  more  than  that.  The  name  of  the  young  lady  who,  you  be- 
lieve, played  you  such  a  trick,  is  J ohanna  Oakley 

Mark  Ingestrie,  for  it  was  indeed  no  other,  sprang  to  his  feet,  exclaiming— 
"  Are  you  man  or  devil,  that  you  know  what  I  have  never  breathed  to  you  V 
"  Don't  be  surprised,  my  young  friend.  I  can  tell  you  a  little  more  than  that 
even.     The  friend  to  whom  you  intrusted  your  String  of  Pearls,  was  named 
Francis  Thornhill ;  and  his  dog— let  me  see— Oh,  his  large  dog  was  called 

Mark  lngestrie  trembled  excessively,  and  sinking  back  in  his  seat,  he  turned 

Ve'^his'  must  be  a  dream,"  he  said,  "  or  you,  sir,  get  your  information  from 

the  spirits  of  the  dead."  , 

•|  Not  at  all.  But  have  you  faith  in  my  inspiration  now  sufficient  to  induce 
you  to  believe  anything  that  I  may  tell  you  V 

ft  In  good  tiuth,  I  have :  and  1  may  well  have,  for  after  what  you 
have  already  told  me,  your  power  of  knowledge  cannot  by  me  be  for  one  moment 

d°"bVery  well,  then.  In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Francis  Thornhill  reached  London 
in  safety." 

"  He  did  r"  . ,  _  .       .  _    ,    .  , . 

"  I  tell  you  so.  He  arrived  in  London  with  your  String  of  Pearls  in  his 
pocket,  fie  fully  believed  you  were  dead.  Indeed,  he  fancied  that  he  had  seen 
the  last  of  you,  and  was  quite  prepared  to  say  as  much  to  Miss  Johanna 

°"And  he  did  ?   That  will  be  some  excuse  for  her,  if  she  thought  that  I  was 

£?  One." 

"  No,  he  did  not.  On  his  route  he  turned  into  the  shop  of  Sweeney  Todd  to 
be  shaved,  and  there  he  was  murdered/' 

"Murdered!"  .         0J.  .  ■ 

"  Yes,  most  foully  murdered ;  and  the  String  of  Pearls  got  into  the  possession 
of  that  man,  proving  ultimately  one  of  the  means  by  which  his  frightful  villan- 
ous  crime  came  to  light.  The  dog  remained  at  Todd's  door  seeking  for  its 
master,  to  the  great  discomfiture  of  the  murderer,  who  made  every  effort  within 
his  power  for  its  destruction,  in  which  however  he  did  not  succeed." 

"  Gracious  Heaven !  my  poor  friend  Thornhill  to  meet  with  such  a  fate  ! 
Oh  God!  and  all  on  account  of  that  fatal  String  of  Pearls!  Oh,  Thornhill 
—Thornhill !  rather  would  I  have  sunk  for  ever  beneath  the  wave,  than  such  a 
dreadful  end  should  have  been  yours/' 

"The  past  cannot  be  recalled,"  said  Sir  Richard.  "It  is  only  with  the 
present,  and  with  the  future,  that  we  have  anything  to  do  now.  Would  you 
like  to  hear  more  V9 


1 1 


Hi 


London 


■  s 


"  More  ?  Of  whom  ?  Is  he  not  dead? — my  poor  friend  ?  H 
"Yes,  he  is  dead  ;  but  I  can  tell  you  more  of  other  people.  I  can  tell 
you  that  Johanna  Oakley  was  faithful  to  you.  I  can  tell  you  that  she 
mourned  your  loss  as  you  would  wish  her  to  mourn  it,  knowing  how  you 
would  mourn  hers.  I  can  tell  you  that  the  gentleman's  arm  she  was  leaning 
upon  was  only  a  dear  friend,  and  that  the  fact  of  her  having  to  be  sup- 
ported by  him  at  the  unlucky  moment  when  you  saw  this  was  solely  owing 
to  the  deep  grief  she  was  plunged  into  upon  your  account.*' 
"Oh  no— no— no!" 

"  I  say  yes.  It  was  so,  Mr.  Ingestrie ;  and  if  you  had  at  that  moment 
stepped  forward,  you  would  have  saved  yourself  much  misery,  and  you  would 
have  saved  her  such  heart-breaking  thoughts,  and  such  danger,  as  it  will  frighten 
you  to  listen  to.'* 


CHAPTER  CXVl.1 

JOHANNA  IS  AMPLY  PAID  FOR  HER  BRIEF  SERVICE  AT  TODD'S. 

Upon  hearing  all  this,  poor  Mark  Ingestrie  turned  very  faint  and  fell  back  in 
his  chair,  looking  so  pale  and  wan,  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  compelled  to  go 
across  the  room  to  hold  him  up.  After  giving  him  a  glass  of  wine,  he  recovered, 
and  with  a  deep  sigh  he  said — 

"  And  so  I  have  wronged  her  after  all !    Oh,  my  Johanna,  I  am  unworthy 

of  you !" 

"That,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "is  a  subject  entirely  for  the  young  lady's  own 
consideration. — N.  O.  W." 

Mark  Ingestrie  looked  curiously  in  the  face  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  as  with 
marked  emphasis  upon  each  letter  he  said,  "N.  O.  W  !"  But  he  had  not  to 
wait  long  for  an  explanation  of  what  it  meant.  A  door  at  the  back  of  the  room 
was  flung  open,  and  Johanna  sprung  forward  with  a  cry  of  joy.  In  another 
moment  she  was  in  the  arms  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  and  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  left 
the  room. 

It  would  be  quite  impossible,  if  we  had  the  will  to  attempt  it,  for  us  to  go 
through  the  scene  that  took  place  between  Johanna  Oakley  and  Mark  Ingestrie 
in  the  magistrate's  parlour.  For  about  half  an  hour  they  quite  forgot  where 
they  were,  or  that  there  was  any  one  in  the  world  but  themselves.  At  the  end 
of  that  period  of  time,  though,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  gently  walked  into  the  room. 

"  Well/'  he  said,  "  have  you  come  to  any  understanding  about  that  military 
man  in  the  Temple  Gardens*?'' 

Johanna  sprang  towards  the  magistrate,  and  placing  her  arms  upon  his  breast, 
she  kissed  him  on  the  cheek. 

"  Sir,"  she  said,  "  you  are  our  very  dear  friend,  and  I  love  you  as  I  love  my 

father." 

«  God  bless  you  1"  said  Sir  Richard,   f1  You  have,  by  those  few  words,  more 
then  repaid  me  for  all  that  I  have  done.    Are  you  happy }" 
"  Very,  very  happy" 

"  So  very  happy,  sir,"  said  Ingestrie,  as  his  eyes  glistened  through  tears  of 
joy,  "  that  I  can  hardly  believe  initsr  eality." 

"  And  yet  you  are  both  so  poor.'* 

t€  Ah,  sir,  what  is  poverty  when  we  hall  be  together  V 

«  We  will  face  that  foe,  Mark,  t  nk,"  said  Johanna,  with  a  smile,  "  and  he 
shall  not  extort  a  tear  from  us." 

"  Well,*  said  Sir  Richard,  as  he  opened  his  desk,  u  since  you  are  not  to  be 
knocked  down  by  poverty,  what  say  you  to  riches  ?   Do  you  know  these,  Mr. 

Ingestrie  ?" 
«  Why,  that  is  my  String  of  Pearls." 


z 


I 


I 


I 


508  THE  STRING  OF  PEAltLS. 

"Yes.  I  look  this  from  loads  cscntoir  myself,  and  they  are  yours  and 
Johanna's*    Will  you  permit  me  always  to  call  you  Johanna  V*  ,  (  t> 

u  Oh,  yes — yes.    Do  so.  All  who  love  me  call  me  Johanna/* 

"  Very  welL  This  String  of  Peals,  I  have  ascertained,  is  worth  a  sufficient 
sum  to  place  you  both  veiy  far  above  all  the  primary  exigences  of  life.  It  will 
be  necessary  to  produce  them  at  the  trial  of  Swreeney  Todd,  but  after  that  event 
they  will  be  handed  to  you  to  do  what  you  please  with  them,  when  you  can  realise 
them  at  at  once,  and  be  happy  enough  with  the  proceeds." 

"If my  poor  friend,  Thornhill,"  sighed  Mark  Ingestrie,  "could  but  have 
lived  to  see  this  day !" 

"That,  indeed,  would  have  been  a  joy,"  said  Johanna. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  magistrate  ;  "  but  the  grave  has  closed  on  his  poor  remains — 
at  least,  I  may  say  so  figuratively.  He  was  one  of  Todd's  victims,  one  of  his 
numerous  victims ;  for  I  do  believe  that,  for  a  long  time,  scarcely  a  week 
passed  that  did  not  witness  somi  three  or  four  murders  in  that  man  s  shop." 

"  Horrible  1" 

"  ¥ou  may  well  use  that  expression,  in  speaking  of  the  career  of  Sweeney 
Todd.  It  has  been  most  horrible ;  but  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  of  his  expiating  hfs 
crimes  upon  the  scaffold,  together  with  his  partner  in  guilt,  Mrs.  LoTett.,, 

Mark  Ingestrie  gave  a  shudder  as  that  woman's  name  was  mentioned,  for  it 
put  him  in  mind  of  the  cellar  where  he  had  lived  so  long,  and  where  it  was  only 
by  the  most  good  fortune  that  he  had  not  terminated  his  career. 

Before  they  could  say  any  more,  one  of  the  officers  in  attendance  upon  Sir 
Richard,  announced  Colonel  Jeffery. 

"  Ah,  that  is  your  dreadful  military  iivaV'  said  Sir  Richard  to  Ingestrie. 
"That  is  the  gentleman  whom  you  saw  in  the  garden  of  the  Temple  with 
Johanna." 

"  I  have  much  to  thank  him  for.  His  conduct  to  Johanna  has  been  most 
noble.1 ' 

The  colonel  smiled  when  he  saw  Mark  Ingestrie  and  Johanna,  for  he  well 
knew,  from  private  information  he  had  got  from  the  magistrate,  that  Mark 
Ingestrie  and  Mrs.  Lovett's  cook  were  identical ;  and  holding  out  his  hand  to 
the  young  man,  he  said — 

"Accept  of  my  best  and  sincerest  wishes,  Mr.  Ingestrie." 

"And  you,  sir,"  said  Mark;  ''accept  of  my  best  thanks.  Our  gratitude  is 
largely  due  to  you,  sir," 

"  I  am  quite  repaid  by  this  very  happy  result;  and  I  have  the  pleasure  of 
informing  you,  Sir  Richard,  that  poor  Tobias  is  very  much  better  indeed." 

"  Which  I  am  rejoiced  to  hear,"  said  Sir  Richard.  "  And  now,  my  dear 
Johanna,  it  is  time  for  you  to  go  home.  You  will  hear  from  me  in  the  morn- 
ing, for  I  intend  to  do  myself  the  pleasure  of  calling  upon  your  lather,  and  ex- 
plaining all  to  him  ;  for  there  are  some  circumstances  that  he  is  yet  in  ignorance 
of,  and  particularly  concerning  Mr.  Ingestrie." 

"  I  will  walk  with  you  to  your  door,  Johanna,"  said  Mark  rising  and  totter- 
ing* * 

•*  No/  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt ;  "that  must  not  be  to-night.  Do  not  let  him, 
Johanna.  He  is  by  far  too  weak  and  unwell  to  do  anything  of  the  kind.  A  calm 
and  long  nights  rest  here  will  do  him  a  world  of  good.  Business  prevents  me 
from  leaving  the  office  ;  but  I  daresay  the  colonel  will  see  Johanna  in  safety/' 

"  With  pleasure,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  "  if  Mr.  Ingestrie  has  no  objection  to 
my  doing  so." 

"  Sir,"  said  Mark,  "  there  is  no  one  in  all  the  world  that  I  would  more 
cheerfully  see  protecting  my  Johanna.  I  feel  that  I  am  in  too  great  a  state  of 
exhaustion  to  go  out.  I  leave  her  to  your  care,  sir." 

"  That  is  right,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt.  "Now,  good-night,  Johanna,  and 
God  bless  you.  You  will  see  me  in  the  morning,  recollect.'' 

Mark  Ingestrie  took  a  parting  embrace  of  Johanna,  and  then  she  went  off  with 
the  colonel,  who,  on  their  road  home,  told  her  how  he  and  Arabella  had  got  so 

"  ,u  1      *  ■  1 1 "    "  j  ■'  ■ —    

Ef^a— 1^ ^««— n— MUHI««n«m— — — — — . _ _■ _____  .  .  ,"•  .  

'    ~'"    —————— .   -  ii  W»«WW«»«W»WI>W«W~«W^WWW»«IIW WII»'WI> 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  509 


far  as  to  fi£  their  wedding  day,  and  how  he  should  not  feel  at  all  happy  unless 
both  she  and  Mark  Ingestrie  were  at  the  ceremony.  ; 

u  Indeed,  he  hoped,"  he  said,  iS  that  they  might  give  the  ^parson  only  one 
trouble,  by  being  married  upon  the  same  occasion/*  * 

Johanna  warded  this  last  part  of  the  colonel's  speech ;  but  she  was  fervent  in 
her  hopes  that  he  and  Arabella  would  be  so  very  happy,  and  in  her  praises  of 
her  young  friend ;  so  in  very  pleasant  discourse  indeed,  they  reached  the  old 
spectacle- makers  shop,  and  then  the  colonel  shook  hands  with  Johanna,  and 
bade  her  a  kind  and  friendly  adieu,  and  she  was  let  in  by — to  her  immense  sur- 
prise— her  mother ! 

Mrs.  Oakley  fell  upon  Johanna's  neck  in  a  passion  of  tears,  crying — 
f<  Come,  my  child — come  to  your  mother's  heart,  and  tell  her  that  you  for- 
give her  for  much  past  neglect  and  unkindness." 

"  Oh,  mother,"  said  Johanna,  u  do  not  speak  so.  There  is  nothing  to  for- 
give ;  and  if  you  are  happy  and  we  are  all  good  friends,  we  will  never  think  of 
the  past. 

u  That's  right,  my  dear/' said  Mr.  Oakley,  from  the  passage;  u  that's  right, 
ray  love.  Come  inf  both  of  you.  But  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  briefly 
state  how  it  was  that  this  wonderful  change  in  the  behaviour  of  Mrs,  Oakley 
came  about,  and  for  that  purpose  we  must  retrace  our  steps  a  little. 

The  reader  will  be  so  good  as  to  recollect  that  the  la^t  time  Mrs.  Oakley  was 
introduced  to  his  notice  she  was  encumbered  by  Mr.  Lupin,  and  had  the  pleasure 
of  introducing  that  gentleman  to  the  notice  of  Big  Ben  the  beef-eater,  who  had 
quickly  put  all  idea  of  escape  out  of  the  question,  ^s  regarded  that  highly  reli- 
gious personage. 

At  that  point  the  presence  of  other  events  compelled  us  to  leave  the  lady, 
and  nepair  to  Todd's  shop,  and  to  Mrs.  Lovetfc's  little  concern  in  Bell  Yard. 

The  appearance  of  Lupin's  face  when  he  found  that  he  was  in  the  grasp  of 
Big  Ben,  would  have  been  quite  a  study  for  a  painter.  It  transcended  all  de- 
scription, and  for  the  moment  seemed  as  if  he  were  bidding  farewell  to  this  world 
and  to  all  his  iniquities  in  it,  without  the  intervention  of  the  law.  But  in  a 
few  moments  he  recovered  from  this  condition,  and  sliding  on  to  his  knees,  and 
in  a  whining  tone,  he  cried — 

"  Mercy,  Mercy  !    Oh,  let  me  go  V 

€i  At  the  end  of  a  rope,"  said  Big  Ben.  "  Easy  does  it*  What  has  he  been  and 
done,  Mrs.  O.  t" 
"  Murder,  murder !" 

A  cro  wd  of  people  soon  began  to  collect  around  them,  and  then  Lupin  made 
an  effort  to  thrust  himself  out  of  the  gra«p  of  Big  Ben,  but  the  only  result  of  the 
effort  was  very  nearly  to  strangle  himself. 

u  You  are  killing  the  man,  you  great  brute  V  cried  a  woman.  "You  are 
throttling  the  poor  man." 

"  He  will  be  murdered,"  shouted  another  female.  *•  Oh,  you  great  wretch, 
do  you  want  to  take  his  life  ?" 

"  Listen  to  me,"  said  Mrs.  Oakley.  "  He  has  murdered  his  poor  wift,  and 
that  is  the  reason  I  have  asked  that  he  should  be  held  tijjht." 

11  Murdered  his  wife  J"  exclaimed  about  twelve  females  in  chorus.  "  Murdered 
his  wife  t  Then  hanging  is  a  great  deal  too  good  for  him*  Hold  him  tight, 
sir,  do.    Oh,  the  wretch  !" 

The  tide  of  popular  feeling  fairly  turned  against  Mr.  Lupin,  and  Big  Ben  had 
as  much  difficulty  now  in  preserving  the  half  dead  wretch  from  popular  fury  as 
if  he  had  been  accused  of  any  other  crime,  he  might  have  had  to  prevent  popular 
sympathy  from  aiding  his  escape. 

u  Oh!"  cried  one  lady,  of  rather  extensive  proportions,  who  was  the  wife  of  a 
baker,  u  I  should  like  to  have  him  in  a  brisk  oven  for  an  hour  and  a  half." 

"And  I,"  said  the  lady  of  a  butcher,  "  would  see  him  slaughtered  without 
so  much  as  winking  at  him." 

"  And  serve  him  right,  the  wagabone  !"  cried  Big  Ben.    u  Come  along,  will 


you,  y  ou  ill-lookingscarecrow  !   Easy  does  it.    Will  you  walk  ?  Oh,  very  well, 
don't.    Who  are  you?" 
A  little  man  with  a  constable's  staff  in  his  hand,  rushed  before  Ben,  crying 

out—  * 
"  What  is  it  ?  what  is  it  ?    I'm  a  constable.    What  is  it  i'? 

"  Murder !"  said  Mrs.  Oakley.  "  I  give  that  man  in  charge  for  murdering 
his  wife.    I  saw  him  do  it." 

"  That  will  do,"  said  the  constable.  "  Give  him  to  me.  Til  take  him.  He 
dare  not  resist  me.    I'll  have  him." 

Big  Ben  looked  at  the  constable  and  then  he  shook  his  head,  as  he  said  very 
gravely— 

4i  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  my  little  man,  you  ain't  fit  to  tussle  with  such  a  fellow 
as  this— I'll  take  him  along  for  you.    Where  is  he  to  go  ?" 

"  To  the  round-house,  in  course ;  but  Fm  a  constable.  I  must  take 
him— I  will  take  him!  Give  him  to  me,  sir,  directly — I  will  have  him— I 
must  go  with  him !" 

"  Wait  a  minute,"  said  Ben.  €i  Easy  does  it !  You  must  go  with  him,  you 
say  ?    Very  good — easy  does  everything !" 

With  this,  Ben  grasped  Mr.  Lupin  round  the  middle,  and  placed  him  under 
his  left  arm,  and  suddenly  pouncing,  then,  upon  the  constable,  he  caught  him 
up  and  placed  him  under  the  right  arm ;  and  then  away  he  walked,  to  the  ad- 
miration of  the  populace,  and  paying  about  as  much  attention  to  the  kicking  of 
the  constable  and  the  kicking  of  Mr.  Lupin,  as  though  they  were  two  dogs  that 
he  was  carrying  home. 

And  so  the  murderer  was  taken  to  the  round-house,  where  Mrs.  Oakley  duly 
preferred  the  charge  against  him,  and  promised  to  substantiate  it  before  a  magis- 
trate when  called  upon  so  to  do. 


CHAPTER  CXVII. 

SHOWS    HOW   MllS.  OAKLEY    RECONCILED   HERSELF   VO   EVERYBODY  AT 

HOME. 

When  Ben  and  Mrs.  Oakley  had  thus  disposed  of  Mr.  Lupin,  and  left 
him  to  his  solitary  and  not  very  pleasant  reflections  in  a  cell  of  the  round-house, 
they  found  themselves  together  in  the  open  street,  and  Ben,  as  he  cast  a  woeful 
glance  at  her,  said— - 

"  Well,  how  does  yer  feel  now  ?  Easy  does  it !  Oh,  you  aint  a-been  and 
behaved  yourself  properly  lately— you  is  like  the  old  bear  as  we  calls*  Nosey. 
He's  always  a-doing  what  he  shouldn't,  and  always  a-never  doing  what  he 
should." 

"Ben?" 

"  Well,  blaze  away.   What  is  yer  going  to  say  now  ?* 

u  1  feel,  Ben,  that  I  am  a  very  different  woman  from  what  I  was — verv 
different."  * 

"  Then  you  must  have  gained  by  the  exchange,  for  you  was,  I  will  say  it, 
anything  but  a  pleasant  bit  o'  goods.  There's  poor  old  Oakley  a-making  of 
spectacles  all  days,  and  a-wearing  of  his  old  eyes  out— and  there's  Miss 
Johanna,  bless  her  heart !  as  wise  a  little  bit  o'  human  nature  as  you'd  wish  to 
see,  whether  she's  in  petticoats  or  the  other  things  ;  and  yet  you  neglects  'em 
both,  all  for  to  run  arter  a  canting  snivelling  wagabone  like  this  Lupin,  that  we 
wouldn't  have  among  the  beasteses  at  the  Tower,  if  so  be  he'd  come  and  offer 
himself," 

'*  1  know  it,  Ben— I  know  it.'* 

u  You  know  it !    Why  didn't  you  know  it  before  ?" 

«  I  don't  know,  Ben ;  but  my  eyes  are  open  now.  I  have  had  a  lesson 
that  to  my  dying  day  1  shall  never  forget.  I  have  found  that  piety  may  only 
be  a  cloak  with  which  to  cover  up  the  most  monstrous  iniquity.'1 


ii 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  511 


"  0hf  you  have  made  that  discovery,  have  you  ?" 
u  I  have,  indeed,  Ben." 

"Well,  I  knowed  as  much  as  that  when  I  was  a  small  baby.    It  only 
shows  how  backward  some  folks  is  in  coming  forward  with  their  edication." 
"  Yes,  Ben." 

iC  Well,  and  what  is  you  going  to  be  arter  now  V* 

"1  wish  to  go  home,  and  I  want  you  to  come  with  me,  and  to  say  a  kind 
word  for  me  ;  I  want  you  to  tell  them  how  I  now  see  the  error  of  my  ways, 
and  how  I  am  an  altered  woman,  and  mean  to  be  a  very — very  different  person 
than  I  was." 

Here  Mrs.  Oakley's  genuine  feelings  got  the  better  of  her,  and  she  began  to 
weep  bitterly;  and  Ben,  after  looking  at  her  for  a  few  moments,  cried  out— 

"  Why,  it's  real,  and  not  like  our  hyena  that  only  does  it  to  gammon  us  ! 
Come,  mother  Oakley,  just  pop  your  front  paw  under  my  arm,  and  Til  go  home 
with  you  ;  and  if  you  don't  get  a  welcome  there,  I'm  not  a  beef-eater.  Why, 
the  old  man  will  fly  right  bang  out  of  his  wits  for  joy.  You  should  only  see 
what  a  house  is  when  the  mother  and  the  wife  don't  do  as  she  ought. 
Mother  O.,  you  should  see  what  a  bit  of  fire  there  is  in  the  grate,  and  what  a 
hearth."     r  . 

|   "  I  know  it— I  ought  to  know  it.1' 

41  You  ought  to  know  it  !n  added  Ben,  putting  himself  into  an  oratorial  atti- 
tude. You  should  only  see  the  old  man  when  dinner  time  comes  round.  He 
goes  into  the  parlour  and  he  finds  no  fire ;  then  he  says—*  Dear  me  !' 11 

uYes — yes." 

"  Then  he  gives  a  boy  a  ha'penny  to  go  and  get  him  something  that  don't 
do  him  no  sort  of  good  from  the  cook's  shop,  and  sometimes  the  boy  nabs  the 
ha'penny  and  the  shilling  both,  and  ain't  never  heard  of  again  by  any  means  no 


more/' 


M  No  doubt,  Ben." 

■  11  Then,  when  tea  comes  round,  it  don't  come  round  at  all,  and  the  old 
man  has  none  ;  but  he  takes  in  a  ha'porth  of  milk  in  a  jug  without  a 
spout,  and  he  drinks  that  up,  cold  and  miserable,  with  a  penny-loaf,  you  see." 
"  Yes— yes." 

u  And  then  at  night,  when  there  ought  to  be  a  little  sort  of  comfort  round  the 
fireside,  there  ain't  none." 

"  But  Johanna,  Ben— there  is  Johanna  ?" 
u  Johanna  ?" 

"  Yes.  Is  she  not  there  to  see  to  some  of  her  father's  comforts  ?  She  loves 
him — I  know  she  does,  Ben  !" 

Ben  placed  his  finger  by  the  side  of  his  nose,  and  in  an  aside  to  himself,  he 
said —  I 

"Now  I'll  touch  her  up  a  bit — now  I'll  punish  her  for  all  she  has  done,  and 
it  will  serve  her  right."  Then,  elevating  his  voice,  he  added — "  Did  you  mention 
Johanna?* 

"  Yes,  Ben,  I  did/ 

"  Then  I'm  sorry  you  did.  Perhaps  you  think  she's  been  seeing  to  the  old 
man's  comforts  a  little— airing  his  night-cap,  and  so  on~Eh  ?  Is  that  the 
idea?" 

t  ¥'  Yes,  I  know  that  she  would  do  anything  gladly  for  her  father.    She  was 
always  most  tenderly  attached  to  him." 
"Humph!" 

"  Why  do  you  say,  Humph,  Ben  ?" 

i€  Just  answer  me  one  question,  Mrs.  O.  Did  you^ever  hear  of  a  young  girl 
as  was  neglected  by  her  mother— her  mother  who  of  all  ought  to  be  the  person 
to  attend  to  her—turning  out  well  ?" 

"  Do  not  terrify  me,  Ben." 

"  Well,  all  I  have  got  to  say  is,  that  Johanna  can't  be  in  two  places  at  once, 


m  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS, 


and  as  she  isn't  at  home,  how,  I  would  ask  any  reasonable  Christian,  can  she 
attend  to  the  old  man  ?" 
"  Not  at  home,  Ben  }* 
"  Not— at — home  !" 

"  Oh  Heaven  !  why  did  I  not  stay  in  that  dreadful  man's  house,  and  let  him 
murder  \ne  !  Why  did  I  not  tell  him  at  once  that  I  knew  of  his  crime,  and 
implore  him  to  make  me  his  next  victim !  Oh,  Ben,  if  you  have  any  compassion 
in  your  disposition  you  will  tell  me  all,  and  then  I  shall  know  what  to  hope, 
and  what  to  dread/' 

•<  Well/'  said  Ben,  H  here  goes  then/' 
"  What  goes  ?" 

"  I  mean  Tm  a-going  to  tell  you  a'1,  as  you  seem  as  if  you'd  like  to 

know  it." 
"Do!  Oh,  do!" 

"Then  of  course  Johanna  being  but  a  very  young  piece  of  goods,  and  not 
knowing  much  o'  the  ways  o*  this  here  world,  and  the  habits  and  manners  o' 
the  wild  beasteses  as  is  in  it,  when  she  found  as  the  old  house  wasn't  good 
enough  for  her  mother,  she  naturally  enough  thought  it  wasn't  good  enough 
for  her,  vou  know." 

"  Oh,  this  is  the  most  dreadful  stroke  of  all !" 

"  I  should  say  it  were/'  said  Ben,  quite  solemnly.  "  Take  it  easy  though, 
and  you'll  get  through  it  in  the  course  of  time.  Well  then,  when  Johanna  found 
as  everything  at  home  was  sixes  and  sevens,  she  borrowed  a  pair  of  what  do 
call  'ems  of  some  boy,  and  a  jacket,  and  off  she  went.'1 

"  She  what  ?" 

u  She  put  on  a  pair  of  thingumys — well,  breeches  then,  if  you  must  have  it— 
and  away  she  went,  and  the  last  I  saw  of  her  was  in  Fleet  Street  with  'em  on." 
€i  Gracious  Heaven !" 

"  Very  likely,  but  that  don't  alter  the  facts  of  the  case,  you  know,  Mrs.  O. 
On  she  had  'em,  and  all  I  can  say  is  that  you  might  have  knocked  me  down 
flat  to  see  her,  thtt  you  might.  I  didn't  think  I  should  ever  have  got  home  to 
the  beasteses  in  the  Tower  again,  it  gave  me  such  a  turn." 

"Lost!  Lost!" 

u  Eh  ?  What  do  you  say  ?  What  have  you  lost  now  V* 
"  My  child  !   My  Johanna !" 

"  Oh !  Ah,  to  be  sure.  But  then  you  know,  Mrs.  O.,  you  ought  to  have  staid 
at  home,  and  gived  her  ever  so  much  good  advice,  you  know  ;  and  when  you  saw 
she  was  bent  upon  putting  on  the  boy's  things,  you  as  a  mother  ought  to  have 
said,  'My  dear,  take  your  legs  out  of  that  if  yer  pleases,  and  if  yer  don't,  Til 
pretty  soon  make  you/  and  then  staid  and  gived  the  affair  up  as  a  bad  job  that 
wouldn't  pay,  aad  took  to  morals." 

«  Yes— yes.  *Tis  I,  and  I  only,  who  am  to  blame.  I  have  been  the  destruction 
of  my  child.  Farewell,  Ben.  You  will  perhaps  in  the  course  of  time  not  think 
quite  so  badly  of  me  as  you  now  do.   Farewell !" 

u  Hold  !"  cried  Ben  as  he  clutched  the  arm  of  Mrs.  Oakley  only  the  more 
tightly  in  hit  own.  "What  are  you  at  now  ?'* 

"  Death  is  now  my  only  resource.  My  child  is  lost  to  me,  and  I  have  driven 
her  by  ray  neglect  to  such  a  dreadful  course.  I  cannot  live  now.  Let  me  got, 
Ben.  You  will  never  hear  of  me  again." 

<l  If  I  let  you  go  may  I  be — Well,  no  matter— no  matter.  Come  on.  It's  all 
one,  you  know,  a  hundred  years  hence." 

**  fiut  at  present  it  is  madness  and  despair.  Let  me  go.  I  say.  The  river  is  not 
far  off,  and  beneath  its  waters  I  shall  at  least  find  peace  for  my  breaking  heart. 
Let  mv  death  be  considered  as  some  sort  of  expiation  of  my  sins," 
"  Stop  a  bit." 
"  No— no— no.'* 


"  But  I  say,  yes.  Things  ain't  quite  so  bad  as  you  think  'em,  only  it  was 
ight  o'  me,  you  know,  just  to  let  you  know  what  they  might  have  been." 


 1  ■■  *-UJ  '    ""   '  i    i   ii   i     H  i   »>    iMiiii  "  ■  ■  ,11  .i   

-^^-jjniiirTMifi — nrnrTTfHrrr~trMTBT^T^H?HTmM — rrrn~i'nT      ■  -  ■  i  '  -■  ..       .       .  — .  -   -  —  ...  ,   ,    .  ,„  . — 

_  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  513 

7?  What  do  you  tell  me  ?" 

"  Why  that  there  ain't  a  better  girl  than  Johanna  in  all  the  world,  and  that  if 
all  the  mothers  that  ever  was  or  ever  will  be,  had  neglected  her  and  set  her  all 
their  bad  examples  in  the  universal  world,  she  would  still  be  the  little  angel  that 
she  is  now,  and  no  mistake. " 


MRS.  LOVETT  MAKES  HER  CONFESSION  TO  THE  GOTERNOR  OF  NEWGATE. 

*  Then  she  is  not  from  home  ?  It  is  all  a  fable  ?*' 

"Not  quite,  Mrs.  O.  just  you  trot  on  now  comfortably  by  the  side  of  me,  and  I 
will  tell  you  the  whole  particulars,  and  then  you  will  find  that  there  ain't  no 
occasion  to  go  plumping  into  the  river  on  Johanna's  account/' 

Poor  Mrs.  Oakley,  with  delight  beaming  upon  every  feature  of  her  face,  now 
listened  to  Ben  while  he  explained  the  whole  matter  to  her,  as  far  as  he  himself  was 


cognisant  of  it ;  and  if  he  did  not  offer  to  be  very  explicit  in  minor  details,  she  at^ 
all  events  heard  from  him  quite  enough  to  convince  her  that  Johanna  was  all  * 
that  the  tenderest  mother  could  wish. 

"Oh,  Ben/'  she  said,  as  the  tears  coursed  each  other  down  her  cheeks,  °  how 
could  you  torture  me  as  you  have  done  V9 

"  All  for  your  own  good,"  said  Ben.  "  It  o  ily  lets  you  see  what  might 
have  happened  if  Johanna  had  not  been  the  good  little  thing  that  she  is,  that's 
all." 

"Well,  perhaps  it  is  for  the  best  that  I  should  have  suffered  such  a  pang,  and 
1  only  hope  that  Heaven  will  accept  of  it  as  some  sort  of  expiation  of  my 
wickedness.  If  you  had  not  held  me,  Ben,  I  should  certainly  have  taken  my 
life." 

u  Not  a  doubt  about  it,*  said  Ben  ;  u  and  a  pretty  kittle  of  fish  you  would 
then  have  made  of  the  whole  affair.  Howevei,  that's  all  right  enough  now,  and 
as  for  old  Oakley,  all  you  have  got  to  do  is  to  go  into  the  shop  and  say  to 
him.  i  Here  I  am,  and  I  am  sorry  for  the  past,  which  I  hope  you  will  forgive,  and 
for  the  future  I  will  strive  to  be  a  good  wife/  " 

H  Must  I  say  that,  Ben  T 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure.  If  you  are  ashamed  to  say  what's  right,  you  may  depend 
upon  it  you  haven't  much  inclination  to  do  it." 

"  You  have  convinced  me,  Ben.  I  will  humble  myself.  It  is  fit  and  proper 
that  I  should.  So  I  will  say  as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect  just  what  you  have  told 
me  to  say/' 

*  You  can't  do  better ;  and  here  we  are  at  the  corner  of  the  street.  Now  if 
you  would  rather  go  in  by  yourself  without  me,  only  say  the  word,  and 
I'm  off." 

Mrs.  Oakley  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and  then  she  said— 
46  Yes,  Ben,  I  would  rather  go  alone." 

"  Very  good.  I  think  it's  better  too,  sogood-by;  and  I'll  call  to-morrow  and 
see  how  you  are  all  getting  on." 

"  Do  so,  Ben.  No  one  can  possibly  be  more  welcome  than  you  will  be.  You 
will  be  sure  to  come  to-morrow  r1 

"  Rather." 

With  this  Ben  walked  away,  and  Mrs.  Oakley  entered  the  house.  What 
then  passed  we  do  not  feel  that  we  ought  to  relate.  The  humiliations  of  human 
nature,  although  for  the  best  of  purposes,  and  for  the  ultimate  happiness  of  the 
parties  themselves,  are  not  subjects  for  the  pen  of  the  chronicler.  Suffice  it,  that 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oakley  were  perfectly  reconciled,  and  were  happy  upon  that 
day. 


CHAPTER  CXVIII. 

TAKES  A  PEEP  AT   TOBIAS  AT  THE  COLONEl/s  HOUSE. 

The  more  stirring  events  of  our  story,  have  compelled  us  in  some  measure  to 
neglect  poor  Tobias.  He  had  suffered  very  much  from  that  visit  of  Tidd's  to  the 
colonel's  house,  and  it  had  a  very  prejudicial  effect  upon  his  mind  too,  inasmuch 
as  it  deprived  him  of  that  feeling  of  security,  which  had  before  possessed  him 
beneath  that  roof. 

The  colonel  felt  this  very  acutely,  and  he  could  not  help  perceiving  by  Tobias's 
manner,  that  the  faith  he  put  in  his  assurance  that  Todd  could  not  possibly 
again  come  near  him,  was  not  full  and  complete.  Under  these  circumstances, 
then,  it  was  a  very  great  satisf  action  to  the  colonel  to  be  able  to  make  the 
gratifying  communication  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  make  to  Tobias,  on  the 
morning  following  the  arrest  of  Todd  and  Mrs.  Lovett. 

The  illness  contingent  upon  the  fright  that  Todd  had  given  the  poor  boy,  or 
the  relapse  as  we  might  call  it,  had  in  a  great  measure  worn  off,  and  if  Tobias's 


mind  could  have  been  quite  at  ease,  his  recovery  would  have  been  as  rapid  as 
%iny  one  could  possibly  have  wished  or  expected. 

As  soon  as  he  was  up  and  about  upon  the  following  morning,  then,  after  the 
arrests,  the  colonel  sought  Tobias's  room,  and  with  a  cheerful  smile  upon  his 
face  he  said— 

"  Well,  Tobias,  I  come  to  bring  you  good  news." 

"  Indeed,  sir?"  said  Tobias  his  colour  coming  and  going  in  flushes.  u  I  am 
very  weak,  and — and  if      "  ? 

"  Come,  come,  Tobias.  What  I  am  going  to  tell  you  will  strengthen  you,  I 
know.    Todd  is  in  Newgate  !" 

Tobias  drew  a  long  breath. 

u  Todd  is  in  Newgate  V'  he  replied,  "Todd  is  in  Newgate  ?  The  walls  are 
very  thick.    I  am  safe  now." 

*'  Yes,  you  are,  indeed,  Tobias.  The  walls  of  Newgate  are  thick,  and  the 
doors  are  massive  and  well-guarded.  Be  assured  that  Todd  will  never  issue  out 
at  them  but  to  his  execution.  Your  old  cunning  enemy  is  at  length  more 
powerless  by  a  gi eat  deal  than  you  are,  and  from  this  moment  you  may  com- 
pletely banish  all  fear  from  your  mind  upon  his  account.'* 

u  And  the  woman,  sir,  Mrs.  Lovett  V 

"  She  is  in  Newgate  likewise." 

°  Both,  both,  and  their  crimes  then  are  all  known  at  last,  and  there  will  be 
no  more  murders,  and  no  more  poor  boys  driven  mad  as  I  was  !  Oh,  God  be 
thanked,  it  is  indeed  all  over  now,  all  over." 

With  this  Tobias  burst  into  tears,  and  relieved  his  surcharged  heart  of  a  load 
of  misery.  In  the  course  of  about  five  minutes  he  looked  up  with  such  a  great 
smile  of  happiness  upon  his  face,  that  it  was  quite  a  joy  to  see  it. 

"  And  you,  sir,  you,"  he  said,  "  my  dear  friend  have  done  all  this  !" 

"  Not  all,  Tobias.  I  have  helped  in  every  way  that  lay  in  my  power  to  bring 
the  sjffair  about,  but  it  is  Sir  Richard  Blunt  the  magistrate,  who  has  toiled  day 
and  night  almost  in  the  matter,  and  who  has  at  last  brought  it  to  so  successful 
an  issue,  that  the  guilt  of  both  Todd  and  Mrs.  Lovett  can  be  distinctly  and 
clearly  proved,  without  the  shadow  of  a  doubt." 

u  Unhappy  wretches  !* 

u  They  are,  indeed,  Tobia3,  unhappy  wretches,  and  may  Heaven  have  mercy 
upon  them.  Some  other  old  friends  of  yours,  too,  will,  before  nightfall  I  think, 
find  a  home  in  Newgate." 

** Indeed,  sir,  whom  mean  you?" 

i(  The  folks  at  the  madhouse  at  Peckham.  Sir  Richard  would  have  had  them 
apprehended  some  time  ago,  but  he  was  afraid  that  it  might  give  the  alarm  to 
Todd,  before  the  affair  was  ripe  enough  to  enable  him  to  be  arrested,  with  a 
certainty  of  his  crimes  being  clearly  understood  and  brought  home  to  him.  Now, 
however,  that  is  all  over,  and  they  will  be  punished.'' 

"  They  are  very,  very  wicked.  I  think,  sir,  they  are  almost  worse  than 
Sweeney  Todd." 

"  They  are,  if  anything  ;  but  they  will  meet  with  their  deserts,  never  fear;  and 
as  Minna  Gray  is  expected  every  moment,  so  your  mother  tells  me,  I  will  not 
deprive  you  of  the  gratification  of  giving  her  the  piece  of  news  yourself.  Of 
course,  all  the  town  will  know  it  soon  through  the  medium  of  the  press ;  and 
Sir  Richard  Blunt,  too,  will  be  here  in  the  course  of  the  morning,  to  arrange  with 
you  concerning  your  evidence/* 

4<  My  evidence  ?    Shall  I  be  wanted  ?" 

u  Yes,  Tobias.  Surely  you  would  not  like  so  notorious  a  criminal  to  find  a 
loop-hole  of  escape,  from  the  waafc  of  your  evidence  V* 

«  Oh,  no,  no— I  will  go.  I  have  only  to  tell  the  truth,  and  that  should  never 
be  denied  /or  or  against.   I  will  go,  sir." 

"  You  are  right,  Tobias.  It  is  a  duty  you  owe  to  society.  If  some  one 
long  ago,  and  before  you  even  had  the  evil  fortune  to  go  into  his  shop,  had 


■vmm 


THE  STEING  OF  PEARLS^ 

found  ouT^^d~exposed  the  iniquities  of  Sweeney  Todd,  how  much  misery 
would  have  been  spared  in  this  world  both  to  you  and  to  others  V* 

"Ah,  yes,  sir;  and  yet  " 

"  Yet  what,  Tobias  ?" 

"  I  was  only  thinking,  sir,  that  what  at  times  seems  like  our  very  worst  mis- 
fortunes,  at  times  turn  out  to  be  the  verv  things  that  are  the  making  of  us." 
"  Indeed,  Tobias  ?" 

"Yes,  sir.  If  I  had  not  been  Sweeney  Todd's  boy,  and  if  he  had  not  per- 
secuted me  in  the  way  he  did,  I  should  never  have  known  what  it  was  to  have 
the  friend  I  now  have  in  you,  sir ;  and  perhaps  she  whom  I  love  so  dearly,  would 
not  have  thought  so  much  of  me,  if  she  had  not  deeply  pitied  me  for  all  that  I 
suffered." 

''There  is  profound  philosophy  in  what  you  say,  my  poor  boy/*  replied  the  j 
colonel;  u  and  if  we  could  only  bring  ourselves  to  think,  when  things  apparently 
go  wrong  with  us,  that  after  all  it  is  for  the  best,  we  should  bs  much  happier 
than  we  are  now ;  but  with  cur  short-sighted  wisdom,  we  hastily  take  upon 
ourselves  to  decide  upon  matters  concerning  the  issues  of  which  we  know  nothing, 
and  so  by  anticipation  we  make  ourselves  pleased  or  sorrowful,  when  the  precise 
contrary  may  be  the  real  result/9 

4i  Yes,  sir/'  said  Tobias,  i€  I  have  had  time  to  think  of  that,  and  of  many  other 
strange  things,  as  I  lay  here." 

"  Then  you  have  done  yourself  some  good,  Tobias.  But  I  hear  a  light  footstep 
upon  the  stairs,  and  I  will  now  leave  you,  for  Fcan  guess  by  that  heightened 
colour  that  you  hear  it  likewise,  a;nd  I  know  that  two  may  be  good  company 
but  three  none." 

Tobias  would  have  said  something  deprecatory  of  the  colonel  leaving  him, 
and  he  did  begin,  but  with  a  smile  his  kind  and  hospitable  friend  took  his  leave, 
and  Tobias  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  relating  to  the  young  girl,  whom  he  was 
so  tenderly  attached  to,  that  nothing  further  was  now  to  be  feared  from  Sweeney 
Todd  or  from  Mrs.  Lovett.  *  j 

We  may  now  leave  Tobias  in  good  company  ;  and  it  was  really  surprising  to 
those  who  have  not  made  a  habit  of  noting  the  intimate  connection  there  is 
between  the  mind  and  the  body,  to  see  how  from  the  very  moment  that  he  felt 
assured  there  was  nothing  further  to  apprehend  from  Sweeney  Todd,  Tobias's 
health  picked  up  and  improved.  The  absolute  dread  with  which  that  bold 
impious  bad  man  had  inspired  the  boy,  bad  been  the  sole  cause  of  keeping  him 
in  so  delicate  a  state.  His  dreams  had  been  all  of  Todd;  but  now  that  word 
Newgate,  in  conjunction  wth  Todd's  name,  was  a  spell  that  brought  with  it 
peace  and  security.  i 

Tobias,  as  he  sat  with  the  hand  of  the  young  and  fair  girl  who  had  pleased  his 
boyish  fancy  in  his  own,  was  now  truly  happy.  j 

When  Johanna  got  home,  after  being  escorted  from  Sir  Richard  Blunt's  house 
in  Craven  Street  by  Colonel  Jeffery,  she  found  her  mother  at  home,  and  not  a  , 
little  surprised  was  she  to  find  herself  suddenly  clasped  in  that  mother's  arms,  a 
most  unwonted  process  for  Mrs.  Oakley  to  go  through.  ( 

"  Oh,  my  child,  my  dear  child  !"  sobbed  the  now  repentant  woman.  ''Can 
you  forgive  me  as  your  father  has  done 

"  Forgive  you,  mother?    Oh,  do  not  speak  to  me  in  such  a  way  as  that.  It 
is  quite  a  joy  to  find  you — you  are  really  my  mother  ?'* 

44  You  might  well  doubt  it,  my  dear  child ;  but  the  future  is  before  us  all,  and 
then  you  will  find  that  it  was  only  when  I  could  not  have  been  in  my  right 
mind,  that  I  prefered  any  place  to  my  own  home." 

Old  Oakley  wiped  his  eyes  as  he  said  to  Johanna —  1 

"  Yes,  my  darling,  your  mother  has  come  back  to  us  now  in  every  sense  of 
the  word,  and  all  the  past  is  to  be  forgotten,  except  such  of  it  as  will  be  pleasant 
to  remember.    Your  good  friend,  and  I  may  say  the  good  friend  of  us  all,  Sir  I 
Richard  Blant,  sent  us  a  letter  to  say  that  you  would  be  here  to-night,  and  God 
bless  him  my  child,  for  watching  over  you  as  he  .did/9  \ 


B  ■  M 


riliai  kg, 
"Hear 


Lib- 

liaSn 

ria/pTtfiujIo 
cm  fa  is 
ttiitted 
%  Urn 
i  that  W  / 

f  that  noil 

p  itt  it 


_  »dnot  a 
itfcef  *s  anus, 1 


It  lliif 


MW  ifti  


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


517 


■     w  —    --^  - 


"  Oh,  how  perilous  an  enterprise  you  went  upon,  my  darling/'  said  Mrs. 
Oakley. 

The  door  of  the  adjoining  room  was  partially  open,  and  from  it  now  stepped 
forward  Arabella,  saying — 

"4It  is  I  who  ought  to  ask  pardon  of  you  all  for  advising  that  step  ;  and  you 
will  grant  me  that  pardon  I  am  sure,  if  upon  no  other  ground,  upon  that  that 
I  have  suffered  greatly  for  my  folly  and  precipitation." 

11  My  dear  Arabella,"  said  Johanna,  "  you  must  not  blame  yourself  in  such  a 
way.  How  pleased  I  am  to  find  you  here,  my  dear  friend.  Ah!  at  one  time 
how  little  did  we  ever  expect  to  meet  all  thus,  in  this  little  room  !" 

Johanna  and  Arabella  embraced  each  other,  and  while  they  were  so  occupied, 
big  Ben  came  out  of  the  room  from  whence  Arabella  had  proceeded,  and  flinging 
his  arms  round  them  both,  he  made  a  great  roaring  noise,  in  imitation  of  the 
largest  of  the  bears  in  the  Tower  collection. 

At  the  moment,  Johanna  was  alarmed,  and  could  not  conceive  what  it  was  ; 
but  Arabella,  who  knew  that  Ben  had  been  in  the  room,  waiting  for  some  oppor- 
tunity of  coming  out  in  a  highly  practical  manner,  only  laughed,  and  then 
Johanna  knew  in  a  moment  who  it  was,  and  she  cried — 

"  Ben,  it  is  you  V* 

«  Yes,  it's  me,"  said  Ben,  "  and  I'm  only  astonished  at  you  two  girls  fancying 
I  was  going  to  be  quiet,  and  see  all  that  kissing  and  hugging  going  on,  and  not 
come  in  for  any  of  it.  Don't  kick^iow,  for  I  must  kiss  you  both,  and  there's  an 
end  of  it.    It's  no  use  a-  kicking." 

To  the  credit  of  both  Arabella  and  Johanna  we  may  state,  that  they  neither 
of  them  kicked,  but  very  quietly  let  Ben  kiss  them  both. 

€t  Well/1  said  Ben  as  he  plumped  himself  down  upon  a  chair  after  the  salute. 
€i  Well! — Murder  !  Where  am  I  going  to  now  ?" 

"  Dear  me/'  said  Mrs.  Oakley.  "  All  four  legs  of  the  chair  are  broken  off, 
and  Ben  is  on  the  floor." 

" Really,  Ben/'  said  Mr.  Oakley,  "you  ought  to  be  perfectly  careful  when 
you  sit  down." 

"  Easy  does  it,"  said  Ben.  "  I  really  thought  I  was  going  to  kingdom  come. 
Pull  me,  Johanna,  my  dear.  Pull  me  up." 

Johanna  shook  her  head,  and  declined  the  Herculean  attempt,  so  that  Ben 
had  to  scramble  to  his  feet  the  best  way  he  could,  and  then  as  he  sat  down  upon 
the  sofa  which  was  sufficiently  strong  to  withstand  any  shocks,  Mrs.  Oakley 
asked  him  what  it  was  he  had  been  upon  the  point  of  saying,  when  the  chair 
had  so  very  unceremoniously  given  way  with  him  ;  but  Ben  had  quite  forgotten 
it,  only  he  said  he  recollected  something  else  that  was  quite  as  good,  and  that 
was  that  he  ordered  to  come  about  that  hour  a  foaming  tankard  of  mulled  wine, 
and  then  he  winked  at  Mrs.  Oakley  and  hoped  she  had  no  medicine  in  the  house 
to  put  in  it. 

u  Oh,  no,  Ben/'  she  said,  u  and  if  there  isn't  a  knock  at  the  door  ;  and  if  you 
ordered  it  at  the  Unicorn's  Tail,  you  may  depend  that's  it/' 

"  Very  good,"  said  Ben,  and  then  he  proceeded  to  the  door  and  found  that 
it  was  the  boy  from  the  Unicorn's  dorsal  appendage  with  the  spiced  wine;  and 
after  whispering  to  bring  a  similar  quantity  in  half  an  hour,  and  to  keep  on  at 
it  every  half  hour  until  further  orders,  Ben  took  it  into  the  parlour,  and  a 
happier  party  than  was  there  could  not  have  been  found  in  all  London. 


CHAPTER  CXIX. 

THE  CRIMINALS  IN  NEWGATE. — TODD's   ATTEMPT  AT  SUICIDE. 

It  is  grievous  to  turn  from  the  contemplation  of  so  pleasant  and  grateful  a 
scene  as  that  that  was  taking  place  at  the  old  spectecle-maker's  house,  to  dive 
into  the  interior  of  Newgate.  But  thither  it  is  that  now  we  would  conduct  the 
reader. 


MM 


51S 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


The  state  of  mind  that  Todd  was  in  after  his  arrest,  was  one  that  such  a 
man  with  such  strong  passions  as  he  had  was  exceedingly  unlikely  to  come  to. 
It  is  difficult  to  describe  it,  but  if  we  say  that  he  was  mentally  stunned,  we 
shall  be  as  near  the  mark  as  language  will  permit  us  to  be. 

He  walked,  and  looked,  and  spoke  very  much  like  a  man  in  a  dream  ;  and  it 
is  really  doubtful  whether,  for  some  hours,  he  comprehended  the  full  measure  of 
the  calamity  that  had  befallen  him  on  his  apprehension. 

At  Newgate  they  are  quite  accustomed  to  find  this  unnatural  calmness  in  great 
criminals  immediately  after  their  arrest,  so  they  take  their  measures  accordingly. 

Sir^Richard  Blunt  had  given  some  very  special  instructions  to  the  Governor 
of  Newgate  concerning  his  prisoner,  when  he  should  arrive  and  be  placed  in  his 
custody,  so  everything  was  ready  for  Todd.  How  little  he  suspected  that  for  two 
days  and  two  nights  the  very  cell  he  was  to  occupy  m  Newgate  had  been  actually 
pointed  out,  and  that  the  irons  in  which  his  limbs  were  to  be  encompassed  were 
waiting  for  him  in  the  lobby ! 

He  was  placed  in  a  small  stone  room  that  had  no  light  but  what  came  from  a 
little  orifice  m  the  roof,  and  that  was  only  a  borrowed  light  after  all,  so  that  the 
cell  was  in  a  state  of  semi-darkness  always. 

Into  this  place  he  was  hurried,  and  the  blacksmith  who  was  in  the  habit  of 
officiating  upon  such  occassions,  ri vetted  upon  him,  as  was  then  the  custom,  a 
complete  set  of  irons. 

All  this  Todd  looked  at  with  seeming  indifference.  His  face  had  upon  it  an 
unnatural  flush,  and  probably  Todd  had  never  looked  so  strangely  well  in  health 
as  upon  the  occasion  of  the  first  few  hours  he  spent  in  Newgate. 

"Now,  old  fellow, "  said  one  of  the  turnkeys,  «'  I'm  not  to  be  very  far  off,  in 
case  you  should  happen  to  want  to  say  anything  ;  and  if  you  give  a  rap  at  the 
door.  111  come  to  you."  jo  r 

"  In  case  I  want  to  say  anything  ?"  said  Todd. 
"  Yes,  to  be  sure.   What,  are  you  asleep }" 
"Ami  asleep?"  3  * 

"Why,  he's  gone  a  little  bit  out  of  his  mind,"  said  the  blacksmith,  as  he 
gathered  up  his  tools  to  be  gone. 
The  turnkey  shook  his  head. 

"  Are  you  quite  sure  you  have  made  a  tight  job  of  that  P" 
fj  Sm.e  ?Tt  Ay>  JJat  I  ara-   If  he  gets  out  of  them,  put  me  in  'em/  that's  all. 
Un,  no !    It  would  take— let  me  see-it  would  take  about  half  a  dozen  of  him 
to  twist  out  o'  that  suit  of  armour.   They  are  just  about  the  best  we  have  in 
the  old  stone  jug. 

"  Good." 
Yes,  they  are  good." 

I  mean  very  well.  And  now  Mr.  Sweeney  Todd,  we  will  leave  you  to  your 


hearted,  as  any  little  chick,  I  was." 

Todd  waHloVe116  triple  l0cks  Were  shot  into  their  ho0Vs' 

of  ?»„hwS?  d°J?  Tn  a  St001  that  was  in  the  cel1  i  a*d  that  stool,  with  a  sort 
sat for  Wal^  W-aS  .  furnitu"  *  stained ;  and  there  he 

chan/eslhat  ever  Ll  dur.m^hl?  time  <™  of  the  most  extraordinary 
changes  that  ever  took  place  m  the  face  of  any  human  being,  took  place 

and  inThai  dS^^f^  °f  had  been  concentrated  into  minutes ; 
and  in-  that  short  space  of  time  he  passed  from  a  middle  aged,  to  be  an  old 

Then  reflection  came ! 

"Newgate  V  he  cried 1  as  he  sprang  to  his  feet 
The  chains  rattled  and  clanked  together. 


! 


"Chains — Newgate — a  cell— death!  Found  out  at  last!  At  the  moment 
of  my  triumph — defeated — detected !    Newgate — chains— death  !" 

He  fell  back  upon  the  stool  again,  and  sat  for  the  space  of  about  two  minutes 
in  perfect  silence.   Then  he  sprang  up  again  with  such  a  wild  yell  of  rage  and 
mental  agony,  that  not  only  the  cell,  but  the  whole  of  that  portion  of  the  prison, 
echoed  again  with  it. 
!|      The  turnkey  opened  a  small  wicket  in  the  door,  which  when  it  was  opened 
from  without,  still  was  defended  by  iron  bars  across  it,  and  peering  into  the 
cell,  he  said— 
"  Hilloa !  What  now  ?" 
44  Hilloa !"  shouted  Todd.  "  Air— air !" 

"  Air  ?  Why  what  do  you  mean  by  gammoning  a  fellow  in  that  sort  o'  way 
for,  eh  ?  Haven't  you  got  lots  o*  air  ?  Well,  of  all  the  unreasonable  coves  as 
ever  I  corned  across,  you  is  the  worstest.    Be  quiet,  will  you  V9 

44  No — no !  Death— death !  Give  me  the  means  of  instant  death.  I  am  going 
mad — mad — mad  V9 

44  Oh,  no  yer  ain't.  It's  only  yer  first  few  hours  in  the  sione-jug  that  has 
corned  over  you  a  little,  that's  all,  old  fellow.  You'll  soon  pick  up,  and  behave 
yourself  like  any  other  christian.  All  you  have  got  to  do  is  never  to  mind,  and 
then  it's  nothink  at  all,  old  chap." 

Clap  went  shut  the  little  wicket  door  again. 

"  Help !  Help  !"  shouted  Todd.  "  Take  these  irons  off  me.  It  is  only  a  dream 
after  all.  Back,  back  you  grinning  fiends — why  do  you  look  at  me  when  you 
know  that  it  is  not  real  ?  No— no,  it  cannot  be,  you  know  that  it  cannot  be 
real." 

€€  Be  quiet  will  you  ?M  shouted  the  turnkey. 

44  Keep  off,  I  say.  Ail  is  well.  Mrs.  Lovett  dead— quite  dead.  The  boy  to  die 
too.  The  house  in  a  blaze— all  is  well  arranged.  Why  do  you  mock  and  joke 
at  me  ?,f 

"  Well,  I  never  !"  said  the  turnkey.  "  I  do  begin  to  think  now  that  he's 
getting  queer  in  the  upper  story.  I  have  heard  of  its  driving  some  of  'em  mad 
to  be  bowled  out  when  they  didn't  expect  it,  more  'special  when  it's  a  hanging 
affair.   I  wonder  what  he  will  say  next?  He's  a  regular  rum  un,  he  is." 

"What  have  I  done  ?"  shouted  Todd.  "What  have  I  done?  Nothing- 
nothing.  The  dead  teli  no  tales.  All  is  safe — quite  safe.  The  grave  is  a 
good  secret  keeper.  I  think  Tobias  is  dead  too — why  not  ?  Mrs.  Lovett  is 
dead.  This  is  not  Newgate.  These  are  not  chains.  It  is  only  the  nightmare. 
Ha  !  ha  !  ha!    It  is  only  the  nightmare — I  can  laugh  now  !" 

44  Oh,  can  you  V*  said  the  turnkey.  44  If  s  rather  an  odd  sort  o'  laugh  though, 
to  my  thinking.  HowsomdeVer,  there's  no  rule  agin  grinning,  so  you  can  go  on 
at  it  as  long  as  you  like*" 

"Mercy !"  suddenly  shrieked  Todd,  and  then  down  he  fell  upon  the  floor  of 
the  cell,  and  lay  quite  still.  The  turnkey  looked  curiously  in  at  him,  through 
the  little  grating. 

"  Humph  F*  he  said,  "  I  must  go  and  report  him  to  the  Governor,  and  he  will 
do  whatsomdever  he  likes  about  him ;  but  I  suppose  as  they  will  send  the 
doctor  to  him,  and  all  that  ere  sort  o*  thing,  for  it  won't  do  to  let  him  slip  out 
o'  the  world  and  quite  cheat  the  gallows ;  on  dear  no." 

Muttering  these  and  similar  remarks  to  himself,  the  turnkey  went,  as  he  was 
bound  in  duty  to  do  upon  any  very  extraordinary  conduct  upon  the  part  of  any 
prisoner  in  his  department,  to  report  what  Todd  was  about  to  the  Governor. 

**  Ah  l*9  said  that  functionary,  the  surgeon,  "  and  I  will  soon  come  to  him.  I 
fully  expected  we  should  have  some  trouble  with  that  man.    It  really  is  too 
bad,  that  when  people  come  into  the  prison,  they  will  not  be  quiet.   It  would 
be  just  as  well  for  them,  and  much  more  comfortable  for  me." 
"  Werry  much,  sir,"  said  the  turnkey. 
"  Well— well,  he  shall  be  attended  to.3' 
"Werry good,  sir.* 


—I  I 


520  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


The  turnkey  went  back  and  took  up  his  post  again  outside  Todd's  door,  and 
in  the  course  often  minutes  or  so,  without  making  the  least  hurry  of  the  sub-, 
ject,  the  Governor  and  the  jail  surgeon  arrived  and  entered  the  cell. 

Todd  was  picked  up,  and  then  it  was  found  that  he  had  struck  his  head 
against  the  stone  floor,  and  so  produced  a  state  of  insensibility,  but  whether  he 
had  done  it  on  purpose  or  by  accident,  they  could  come  to  no  opinion. 

"  Lay  him  on  the  bench/'  said  the  surgeon,  "I  can  do  nothing  with  him. 
He  will  come  to  himself  again  in  a  little  while,  I  daresay,  and  be  all  right  again 
in  the  morning/ 

u  He  seems  really,  indeed,  to  be  a  very  troublesome  man,"  said  the  Governor 
to  the  surgeon. 

"  Very  likely.  Have  you  a  mind  for  a  game  of  cribbage  to-night,  Governor  ?  I 
suppose  this  fellow  will  hang  ?" 

4<  Yes,  I  don't  mind  a  game.    Yes,  they  will  tuck  him  up/' 

With  this  they  left  Todd's  cell,  and  the  turnkey  closed  the  door,  and  made  the 
highly  philosophical  remark  to  himself  of — 

"  Werry  good/' 

Todd  remained  until  the  morning  in  a  state  of  insensibility,  and  when  he 
awakened  from  it  he  was  very  much  depressed  in  strength  indeed.  He  lay  for 
about  two  hours  gazing  on  the  ceiling  of  his  cell,  and  then  the  door  was  opened, 
and  the  turnkey  appeared  with  a  bason  of  milk-and-water  and  a  lump  of  coarse 
bread. 

"  Breakfast     he  cried. 

Todd  glared  at  him. 

"  Breakfast;  don't  you  understand  that,  old  cocL?  However,  it's  all  one  to 
me.    There  it  is — take  it  or  leave  it/' 

Todd  did  not  speak,  and  the  not  over  luxurious  meal  was  placed  on  the  table, 
or  rather  upon  the  end  of  the  bench  upon  which  he  lay,  and  which  served  the 
purpose  of  a  table. 

The  moment  Todd  heard  the  door  of  the  cell  closed  behind  the  turnkey,  he 
rose  from  his  recumbent  posture,  and,  although  he  staggered  when  he  got  to  his 
feet,  he  seized  the  basen,  and  at  once,  without  tasting  any  of  its  contents,  broke 
it  against  the  corner  of  the  bench  to  fragments. 

<k  I  shall  elude  them  yet  lyt  he  said.  "They  think  they  have  me  in  their  toils 
— but  I  shall  elude  them  yet  P 

He  selected  a  long  jagged  piece  of  the  broken  bason,  and  dragging  down 
his  cravat  with  one  hand,  he  was  upon  the  very  point  of  plunging  it  into  his 
throat  with  the  other,  when  the  turnkey  sprang  into  the  cell. 

u  Hold  a  bit !"  he  cried.  i€  We  don't  allow  that  sort  of  thing  here  with  any 
of  our  customers.  You  should  have  thought  of  those  games  before  you  got 
into  the  stone  jug  !* 

With  one  powerful  blow,  the  turnkey  struck  tie  piece  of  the  broken  bason 
from  the  hand  of  Todd,  and  with  another  he  felled  him  to  the  floor. 

"  None  o'  your  nonsense,"  he  said  ;  and  then  he  carefully  collected  the  pieces 
of  the  broken  bason. 

"  Why  should  you  grudge  me  the  means  of  death/*  said  Todd,  "  when  you 
know  that  you  have  brought  me  here  among  you  to  die  ?" 

u  Contrary  to  rules." 

"  In  mercy,  I  ask  you  only  to  give  me  leave  to  take  my  own  life,  for  I  have 
failed  in  the  object  of  my  living.'1 
"  Contrary  to  rules/' 

The  turnkey  left  the  cell,  then,  as  coolly  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  and 
carefully  locked  the  door  again,  while  he  went  to  report  the  attempted  suicide  of 
the  prisoner  to  the  proper  quarter. 

Foiled,  then,  in  every  way,  Todd  looked  round  the  cell  for  some  means  of 
ridding  himself  of  his  life  and  his  troubles  together  ;  but  he  found  none.  He 
then  paced  the  cell  to  and  fro  like  a  maniac,  as  he  muttered  to  himself— 

"All  lost— lost— lost— all  lost!    Foiled,  too,  at  the  moment  when  I  thought 


»~     '  .  


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  621 

y  ; ;* ""  jWITTii'MT  r  - 1         i   iiiiilniil  n    1 .  _  ■  -  l'"._L~!TilLJ-H^L   "—*   * — — ■  "■  ■"    '      ■      .  —      '  '  '  '*  '""'"TT'inr  lr-*"^***"  "'"ill  «■■''" 

myself  most  secure—when  I  had  made  every  preparation  to  leave  England  for 
ever  !  Oh,  dolt  that  I  was,  not  to  have  done  so  long  ago,  when  I  had  half— ay, 
when  I  had  only  a  quarter  of  the  sum  that  I  should  this  day  have  fled  with  I . 
In  my  dreams  I  have  seen  myself  as  I  am  now,  and  the  sight  has  shaken  me  9 


TODD  GOES  TO  TAKE  HTS  tfRIAI,, 


but  I  never  thought  to  be  so  in  reality.  Is  there  any  hope  for  me?  What  do 
they  know  ? — what  can  they  know 

Upon  these  questions,  Todd  paused  in  his  uneasy  walk  in  the  cell,  and  sat 
down  upon  the  low  stool  to  think.  His  head  rested  upon  his  breast,  and  he  was 
profoundly  still. 


522    *»  THEJSTRING  OE  PEARLS, 


CHAPTER  CXX. 

A  LUNCHEON  AT  SIR  KICRARD  BLUNT's.— THE  DOG  AND  HIS  OLD  FRIENf). 

We  willingly  leave  Todd  to  his  own  reflections  upon  the  disastrous  state  of 
his  affairs,  while  we  solicit  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  the  private  house  and 
office  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  again,  in  Craven  Street. 

The  worthy  magistrate  had  quite  a  party  to  lunch  on  that  day,  and  he  had 
fixed  the  hour  as  eleven  when  he  wished  to  see  his  friends. 

Those  friends  consisted  of  Johanna  Oakley,  Mark  Ingestrie,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Oakley,  Colonel  Jeffery,  Arabella  Wiltnot,  and  Big  Ben,  who  was,  at  the  special 
request  of  Johanna,  gladly  included  in  the  party. 

A  happier  party  than  that  could  not  very  well  have  been  found  throughout 
the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  London  ;  and  there  was  but  one  slight  shade 
of  disquietude  upon  the  face  of  Johanna,  when  she  at  times  thought  that  at  one 
o'clock  she  would  have  to  attend  the  police-office  at  Bow  Street  to  give  her  tes- 
timony against  Todd  the  murderer. 

"  Well/'  said  Ben,  H  here  we  are  alive — all  alive,  and  as  merry  as  so  many 
grigs ;  and  all  I  can  say  is,  my  tulips,  that  I  will  show  the  wild  beastesefc 
to  anybody  as  likes  to  come  to  the  Tower,  free,  gratis  and  for  nothing. 
Take  it  easy,  Mr.  Ingestrie,  and  don't  be  casting  sheep's-eyes  at  Johanna.  The 
little  love  of  a  thing  ain't  at  all  used  to  it— indeed,  she  ain't ;  and  the  only  person 
as  she  lets  love  her  above  a  bit,  and  takes  it  easy  with,  is  me;  so  don't  come  any 
nonsense/' 

"  But,  Mr*  Ben/'  said  Mark,  "  I  may  look  sometimes  ?" 
"  Yes,  now  and  then,  if  you  take  things  easy." 

Old  Mr.  Oakley  had  got  on  his  spectacles,  and  seemed  as  if  he  could 
not  be  done  looking  at  Mark  Ingestrie ;  and  more  than  once,  or  twice,  or 
thrice,  the  old  gentleman  would  shake  hands  with  him,  telling  him  that  he 
looked  upon  him  quite  as  one  risen  up  from  the  dead,  in  a  manner  of 
speaking* 

"  Yes,  sir,  you  may  well,  indeed,  look  upon  me  as  such  ;  but  I  hope  now  for 
long  life  and  happiness." 

A  glance  at  Johanna  w7as  sufficiently  expressive  of  with  whom  he  hoped 
for  happiness — and  that  glance  was  returned  with  one  of  those  sweet  en- 
dearing looks  that  only  those  who  truly  love  can  cast  one  upon  another. 

"  And  I,  too,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  u  put  in  my  claim  to  the  happiness 
of  the  future,  for  am  I  not  blessed  with  one  whom  I  feel  that  I  can  love  !" 

"  Stop !"  said  Arabella.  9i  We  won't  have  any  conversation  of  this  sort 
before  company,  colonel,  if  you  please  ;  so  I  will  trouble  you  to  be  quiet." 

t(  I  am  all  submission,"  said  the  colonel ;  "  and  I  hope  my  humble  conduct 
upon  this  occasion  will  be  to  yoxi  all,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  a  good  example  of 
what  I  shall  be  when  I  am  married/1 

This  was  said  in  so  comical  a  manner  that  the  whole  party  laughed  amazingly, 
and  then  Sir  Richard  Blunt  said  rather  gravely — 

u  I  expect  two  old  friends  here  this  morning." 

"  Old  friends  t*  said  everybody,  in  surprise. 

"  Yes.  The  one  is  the  captain  of  the  ship  which  brought  poor  Mr.  Thornhill 
and  his  dog  home,  and  who  has  been  to  Hamburgh  with  his  vessel,  and  the  other 
is  the  dog  himself." 

At  this  moment  an  officer,  for  Sir  Richard  was  quite  wholly  attended  upon  by 
the  police  at  that  private  office  of  his,  came  in  to  say  that  a  gentleman  wanted 
to  see  him. 

"It  is  the  worthy  captain,"  said  Sir  Richard  ;  "show  him  in  at  once/' 
u  If  you  please,  Sir  Richard/'  added  the  officer,  "  there  is  a  man,  too,  with  a 
great  dog  who  wishes  to  see  you,  and  the  dog  has  been  in  the  hall  once,  and 
walked  off  with  a  plate  of  cheese-cakes  and  a  pickled  tongue  that  Were  coming 
in  to  your  worship/' 


I 
1 


A  roar  of  laughter  testified  to  the  amusement]  which  this  freak  of  Hector's 
caused,  and  Sir  Richard  said— 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  any  one  who  was  so  much  entitled  to  be  invited  to 
lunch  as  Hector,  and  no  doubt  he  thought  so  too ;  and  as  we  had  not  the 
courtesy  to  open  the  door  for  him,  and  properly  accommodate  him,  he  has 
helped  himself  on  the  road,  that's  all/' 

u  Shall  I  admit  him,  sir  V 

u  Yes,  and  the  man  who  is  with  him.  He  is  one  of  the  witnesses  who 
I  trust  will  help  to  bring  Todd  to  justice.    Show  them  all  in/' 

In  a  very  few  minutes  the  captain  of  the  vessel,  with  whom  the  reader 
had  some  slight  acquaintance  at  the  beginning  of  this  most  veritable  narra- 
tive, made  his  appearance,  and  Colonel  Jeffery  warmly  shook  hands  with 
him.  The  dog  knew  the  colcnol  and  the  captain  likewise,  and  was  most  voci- 
ferous in  his  joy  to  see  them. 

It  was  an  affecting  thing  then  to  see  the  creature  pause  suddenly  in  his 
manifestations  of  delight,  and  look  sad  and  solemn,  after  which  he  uttered  a 
dismal  howl,  and  catching  the  colonel  by  the  skirt  of  his  coat,  he  tried  to 
pull  him  towards  the  door  of  the  room. 

"Poor  fellow/'  said  the  captain,  "he  does  not  forget  his  master  vet,  I 
see* 

u  No,5'  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  "  nor  never  will.  If  he  had  his  own  way  now, 
and  we  would  follow  him,  Hay  any  wager  he  would  take  us  to  Sweeney  Todd  s 
shop." 

"In  course  he  would,  sir/  said  the  ostler.  "In  course  he  would.  Lord 
bless  you,  gemmen,  if  this  here  dog  as  I  calls  Pison,  cos  why  he  was  pisoned, 
was  only  to  get  hold  of  Todd,  I  would  not  give  much  for  his  chances.  You 
sees,  gemmen,  as  I  have  kept  him  in  good  condition." 

M  He  does  look  well,"  said  the  captain. 

* 4  Indeed  it  does  you  great  credit,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery  ; c<  but  his  keep  must 
cost  something.    There  is  my  guinea  towards  it." 

The  colonel  placed  a  guinea  in  the  ostler's  hand,  and  his  example  was  followed 
by  all  present,  so  that  the  ostler  found  himself  growing  quite  a  man  of  substance 
when  he  least  expected  it. 

"  Lor,  Pison,"  he  said,  "you'll  be  a  fortin  for  a  fellow  yet,  you  will.  But 
I  hope,  gemmen,  as  you  don't  mean  to  take  him  away,  cos  if  that's  the 
caper,  here's  the  money  agin,  and  I'd  rather  keep  Pison.  He's  got  fond  o' 
me  by  this  time,  poor  fellow,  and  I  have  got  fond  on  him,  as  1  hav'nt  no 
other  brothers  and  sisters  or  family  of  my  own." 

M  It  would  indeed  be  unfair,"  said  the  colonel,  "  to  deprive  you  of  him.  But 
tell  me,  are  you  comfortable  in  your  situation?" 

u  Lor  bless  you,  sir,  it  ain't  much  of  a  situation.  Lots  of  hard  work,  and 
werry  little  for  it." 

"  Well,  if  you  like  to  come  into  my  service  and  bring  Hector  with  you — you 
are  welcome." 

"  Oh,  won't  I,  sir,  above  a  bit.  Why,  Pison,  we  is  promoted,  old  fellor.  We 
is  a  going  to  a  new  place,  where  there  will  be  no  end  of  grub,  old  chap." 

"  You  shall  not  have  any  complaints  to  make  in  that  deparment,"  said  the 
colonel. 

u  So  then,"  said  the  captain,  "  it  is  quite  clear  that  Mr.  Thornhill  was  mur- 
dered by  that  rascal  of  a  barber  ?" 

"  Quite/'  replied  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "  and  it  is  for  that  murder  we  mean  to 
try  Todd.  If,  however,  by  any  chance,  he  should  escape  conviction  upon  that, 
we  will  be  provided  with  two  more  indictments  against  him,  so  that  he  is  tolera- 
bly well  cared  for  ;  but  the  murder  of  Mr.  Thornhill  is  what  we  mean  ostensi- 
bly to  go  upon." 

"  That's  right,  sir,"  said  the  ostler,  "  and  I'll  bring  Pison  as  a  witness  to  all 
the  blessed  facts.  He'll  settle  the  business,  even  if  the  jury  is  half  as  stupid 
agin  as  usual." 


1 
II 


ii 


n 

m 

1 


'Mi 


524  *  THE  STRING :0P  PEARLS. 


4i  He  will  be  committed  for  trial  this  morning,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  **  for 
the  murder  of  Mr.  Thornhill;  and  that  woman,  Mrs.  Lovett,  will  he  arraigned 
as  an  accessary  before  the  fact,  so  that  there  can  be  very  little  douht  of  the 
fate  of  both  of  them  ;  and  if  ever  two  notorious  criminals  deserved  that  the  last 
dread  sentence  of  the  law  should  be  carried  out  against  them,  Sweeney  Todd 
and  Mrs.  Lovett  are  those  two." 

"  They  could  not  be  worse,"  said  the  captain. 

"No,  that  would  be  impossible,5'  remarked  the  colonel.  "I  shall  be  glad 
when  this  gloomy  tragedy  is  over  though.  The  public  mind  will  soon  be  filled 
wich  it,  and  we  shall  hear  of  nothing  but  of  Sweeney  Todd  and  Mrs.  Lovett, 
with  all  their  sayings  and  doings,  for  the  next  few  months  to  come." 

"  That  is  true  enough/'  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt.  "  But  I  don't  think  you  will 
find  any  but  one  feeling  upon  the  subject,  and  that  will  be  one  of  universal 
condemnation." 

"  Not  a  doubt  of  it." 

«  There  is  another  too  who  will  suffer  the  just  reward  of  his  crimes,"  said  the 
magistrate  glancing  at  Mrs.  Oakley. 

She  shook  her  head  and  sighed,  for  she  shrunk  naturally  from  the  awfully 
responsible  share  she  was  condemned  to  have  in  the  conviction  of  Mr.  Lupin. 

"  I  will  do  my  duty,"  she  said,  "  in  that  dreadful  piece  of  business.  The 
guilt  of  Lupin,  although  not  so  extensive  as  Todd's,  is  to  the  full  as  great/ 

49  It  is  indeed,  madam." 

9i Ah,  yes !"  said  Ben.  9i  They  are  a  bad  lot  altogether,  and  the  sooner  they 
are  hung  up  like  a  rope  of  ingions  the  better.  Bless  me,  I  always  was  delicate, 
and  so  was  obliged  to  take  things  easy  ;  but  I  have  more  than  once  looked  into 
that  horrid  pie  shop  in  Bell  Yard,  and  thought  I  should  like  a  smack  of  about 
fifteen  or  twenty  of  them,  just  to  stay  my  stomach  till  I  got  home  to  the  Tower  ; 
and  what  a  mercy  it  was  I  never  bought  'em." 

u  It  was,  indeed,  my  friend,"  Sir  Richard  said. 

°  Yes,  you  may  say  that,  my  dear,  sir — you  may  say  that.  With  my  very 
delicate  stomach,  I  should  have  been  as  good  as  done  brown  if  I  had  had  'em. 
I  should  have  fallen  a  victim  to  the  wild^beasteses,  the  very  next  time  as  I  went 
a-near  'em  ;  and  all  I  can  say  is,  as  I  shall  be  uncommon  glad  to  show  these 
creatures  to  any  of  this  company,  as  will  come  to  the  lower  at  feeding 
time.5' 

Ben  had  made  this  liberal  offer  so  often  that  the  company  left  off  thanking  him 
for  it  >;  but  the  ostler  whispered  to  him — 

€t  I'll  come  and  bring  Pison." 

4i  No,  will  you  though  ?"  said  Ben.  ^'fT 
I"  Yes,  to  be  sure  I  will.  Who  knows  but  he'd  like  to  see  them  wild  beasteses, 
as  perhaps  he  has  only  heard  of  'em  in  a  wery  promiscous  sort  o*  way." 
|  u  Not  a  doubt  of  it,"  cried  Ben,  M  not  a  doubt  of  it— only  when  he  does  come 
you  must  tell  him  to  take  things  easy,  and  not  be  discomposed  at  any  of  the 
roaring  and  bellowing,  as  the  creatures  sets  up  at  times." 

"  Oh,  I'll  hold  him."  w^ 

¥  You  needn't  go  for  to  hold  him.^  Just  you  impress  upon  him  afore  he 
comes  that  easy  does  it,  that's  all  you  need  do,  and  thea  he'll  know  very  well 
what  to  do."  g 

¥  Wont't  I  !" 

The  conversation  was  rather  breaking  up  into  small  fragments,  when  the 
magistrate  rose  from  his  seat. 

"  Now  then,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "  it  is  time  for  us  to  go  to  Bow 
Street,  where  I  appear  as  a  witness  to-day,  instead  of  aa  a  magistrate." 

As  he  spoke,  the  clock  in  the  office  sounded  the  half-past  twelve. 

All  the  guests  of  the  magistrate  rose,  for  they  knew  that  his  duties  were 
imperative.  There  was  a  tone  of  great  gravity  now  about  Sir  Richard  Blunt 
as  he  spoke— 

&  "  I  fully  expect,"  he  said,    that  Todd  will  be  committed  for  trial  and  Mrs. 


Lovett  likewise.  Already  she  has  made  repeated  applications  to  her  attendants 
in  prison,  to  be  permitted  to  become  evidence  against  Todd." 

u  Which  will  surely  not  be  permitted  V9  said  the  colonel. 

<f  Certainly  not ;  the  evidence  against  him  is  quite  clear  enough  without  the 
assistance  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  while  the  proofs  of  her  criminality  with  him,  are  of 
too  stong  a  character  for  her  to  be  given  any  chance  of  escape." 

"  She  is  a  dreadful  woman." 

€i  She  is,  indeed  ;  but  you  will  all  of  you  soon  dee  how  she  conducts  herself 
now,  for  she  will  be  brought  up  with  Todd/' 


CHAPTER  CXXI. 

TODD  IS  COMMITTED  FOR  TRIAL,  AND  EXPECTS  THE  WORST. 

By  the  time  the  police  office  at  Bow  Street  opened  upon  the  morning,  a  wild 
vague,  and  uncertain  sort  of  rumour  had  spread  itself  over  London,  concerning 
the  discoveries  that  had  been  made  at  Todd's  house  in  Fleet  Street,  and  at  Mrs. 
Lovett's  in  Bell  Yard,  Temple  Bar. 

Of  course,  the  affair  had  lost  nothing  from  many-tongued  rumour,  and  the 
popular  belief  was,  that  Todd's  house  had  been  found  full  of  dead  bodies  from 
the  attics  to  the  cellars,  while  Mri#  Lovett  had  been  actually  detected  in  the 
very  act  of  scraping  some  dead  man's  bones,  for  tid-bits  to  make  a  veal  pie  of. 

A  dense  crowd  had  assembled  in  Fleet  Street,  to  have  a  look  at  Tood's  now 
shut-up  house,  and  that  thoroughfare  very  soon,  in  consequence,  became  no 
thoroughfare  at  all.  Bell  Yard  too  was  so  completely  blocked  up,  that  the  lawyers 
who  were  in  the  habit  of  using  it  as  a  short  cut  from  the  Temple  to  Lincoln's 
Inn,  were  forced  to  take  the  slight  round  of  Chancery  Lane  instead  ;  and  the 
confusion  and  general  excitement  in  the  whole  of  the  neighbourhood  was 
immense. 

But  it  was  in  Bow  Street,  and  round  the  doors  of  the  police-office,  that  the 
densest  crowd,  and  the  greatest  excitement  prevailed.  There  it  was  only  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  officers  and  others  officially  connected  with  the 
public  office  could  get  in  and  out  of  it  as  occasion  required  ;  and  the  three  or 
four  magistrates  who  thought  proper  to  attend  upon  that  occasion,  had  quite  a 
struggle  to  get  into  the  court  at  all. 

By  dint  of  great  perseverance,  our  friends,  with  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  at  length 
succeeded  in  forcing  a  passage  through  the  crowd,  to  the  magistrates  private 
entrance,  and  having  once  passed  that,  they  were  no  longer  in  the  smallest 
degree  incommoded. 

"  Well,  Crotchet,"  said  Sir  Richard,  as  he  encountered  that  individual. 
"  Have  you  been  to  Newgate  this  morning  ?" 
"Rather,  Sir  Richard/ ' 
"  Any  news  ¥' 

"  No.  Only  that  Todd  has  been  a  trying  it  on  a  little,  that's  all." 
"What  do  you  mean  ¥* 

"  Why  he's  only  petikler  anxious  to  save  Jack  Ketch  any  trouble  on  his 
account,  that's  all,  Sir  Richard ;  so  he's  been  trying  to  put  himself  out  o'  this 
here  world,  and  shove  himself  into  t'other,  without  going  through  all  the  trouble 
of  being  hung,  that's  all,  sir." 

"  I  fully  expected  that  both  Todd  and  Mrs,  Lovett  would  make  some  such 
attempts ;  but  I  hope  the  governor  of  Newgate  has  been  sufficiently  careful  to 
prevent  the  possibility  of  either  oi  them  succeeding." 

"It's  all  right/'  added  Crotchet.  I  seed  'em  both,  and  they  is  as  lively 
as  black  beetles  as  has  been  trod  on  by  somebody  as  isn't  a  very  light 
weight/' 

The  doors  of  the  court  had  not  been  opened,  but  when  they  were,  the 

,.„«.    .'.    ^  .  .^m^S^mv  »n>    ■  .     V"'u.i    .  .  -■■..■■..■mil  .«.,UU.i.>w>..»Jlia  I    ,m;,  .  .      'M-l'         ■.     .  LjMJ.y   (»H  ■  -'. ■  JUU.  jJBtf  U I J  ■  J   J  M  U         1    1     '   M'    "'  '  '    ■  iWgJ 

—  -  —  -"^a-'-1   ■  »■   >«--     -----  ,  i  I  Tf  itwriWyVTiii-r.iMtto.' i  -lit'  —MMiiM— tun*.  '•■■»  ■■■  .  — <  <■—■  »-^.  «•    ■■"  n..<  m«  ,*,,«,ti-tewt*'**i»*££~*>~ma*'..  «"»  >>*  »«»■»«,■»  '»»  ■ «»'  >*tt'?!k!e*1!'+i*W*IVl#f'0mii  tlfc. 


526  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


struggle  for  admission  was  tremendous,  and  it  required  the  utmost  exertions  of 
the  officers  of  the  establishment  to  kept  anything  like  a  semblance  of  order.  The 
few  night  charges  weie  rapidly  disposed  of,  and  while  a  gentleman  who  looked 
very  foolish,  was  fined  five  shillings  for  being  drunk  and  disorderly  the  evening 
previous,  a  roaring  shout  from  the  mob  in  the  street  proclaimed  the  arrival  of 
the  two  important  prisoners  from  Newgate. 

Up  to  some  time  after  his  arrest,  Todd,  notwithstanding  some  stray  words  that 
would  indicate  a  contrary  state  of  things,  fully  believed  that  he  had  succeeded 
in  murdering  Mrs.  Lovett,  and  it  was  not  until  the  morning  that  he  became 
aware  of  her  escape  from  drowning  in  the  Thames* 

It  did  not  require  a  conjuror  to  tell  the  authorities  that  there  would  be  some 
trouble  in  getting  the  prisoners  to  Bow  Street,  so  it  was  thought  better  to  make 
one  job  of  it,  and  to  place  Todd  and  Mrs,  Lovett  in  the  same  coach  along  with 
four  officers. 

With  this  intent  the  coach  was  brought  close  to  the  wicket-gate  of  Newgate, 
and^Todd  and  Mrs.  Lovett,  well  guarded,  were  brought  to  the  lobby  at  the  same 
moment.  The  moment  Todd  caught  sight  of  Mrs.  Lovett,  a  kind  of  spasm  seemed 
to  shake  his  frame,  and  pointing  to  her,  he  cried — 

<f  Does  that  woman  indeed  live,  or  is  she  but  some  fiend  in  the  shape  of  such 
a  one  come  to  torment  me 

M  That  is  Mrs.  Lovett/5  said  the  Governor. 

"  Oh,  no— no— no/1  added  Todd,  "  it  is  not  so— it  cannot  be.  The  dark 
rolling  river  cannot  so  give  up  its  dead." 

H  You  were  well  disposed  that  it  should  not,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  bending  upon 
Todd  a  most  ferocious  glance. 

"  She  is  saved  V9  gasped  Todd. 

"  Yes,  I  am  saved  to  your  confusion.  I  call  you  all  to  witness,"  she  then 
added  in  a  loud  voice,  "  that  I  had  no  idea  of  the  extent  of  Todd's  iniquity  ;  but 
what  I  do  know  1  will  freelv  tell  as  evidence  for  the  crown  against  him." 

Mrs.  Lovett  looked  peculiarly  at  the  Governor  while  she  uttered  these  words, 
for  she  was  anxious  to  know  what  he  thought  of  them ,  but  that  functionary  took 
not  the  remotest  notice. 

At  this  moment  one  of  the  warders  announced  the  sheriff,  and  one  of  the 
Sheriff's  of  London  with  his  gold  chain  of  office  on,  appeared  in  the  lobby.  To 
him  Mrs.  Lovett  immediately  turned,  saying-— 

"  Sir,  I  offer  myself  as  king's  evidence.    Do  you  understand  me  V9 

11  Perfectly,  madam  ;  but  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter." 

"  Nothing  to  do,  sir  ?  Then  why  do  you  wear  that  bauble  ?" 

u  My  office,  so  far  as  you  are  concerned,;  madam,  will  be  to  keep  you  in  safe 
custody,  and  see  that  the  sentence  of  the  law  is  carried  into  effect  upon  you, 
in  case  you  should  be  convicted  of  the  crimes  laid  to  your  charge/' 

M  But  1  turn  king's  evidence.  It  is  quite  a  common  thing  that  you  have  all 
heard  of  that  often  enough.''  * 

"Now,  madam,  the  coach  is  fi^i^l's CSI^4 ^ At^nnke^. 

"  Where  are  you  going  to  take  me?    Is  not  this  Newgate  ?'? 

"Yes,  but  you  must  undergo  an  examination  at  the  police-office  in  Bow 
Street." 

Without  any  further  ceremony,  Mrs.  Lovett  wasp  handed  into  the  coach,  and 
Todd  after  her.  She  was  at  first  placed  ia  th«  §eat  immediately  opposite  to  him, 
but  she  insisted  upon  changing  itr  saying,  that  she  could  not  bear  to  look  at 
him  all  the  way  that  she  went ;  and  as  it  was  a  matter  of  no  moment  which  way 
she  sat,  the  officers  so  far  indulgedi  her  as  to  permit  her  to  change  her  place. 

In  this  way  then,  both  of  them  upon  the  same  seat,  while  three  officers  sat 
opposite  to  them,  and  one  with  them,  dividing  them,  they  arrived  at  Bow 
Street,  and  were  met  by  that  roaring  shout,  that  everybody  had  heard,  from 
without  th€  court. 

Of  course  every  precaution  had  been  taken  to  prevent  the  mob  from  wreaking 
their  vengeance  upon  the  criminals,  which  they  were  well-disposed  to  do.  A 


2C 


I 


M  ■ 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


627 


number  of  people  were  knocked  down  and  some  of  the  officers  rather  roughly 
treated ;  but  the  result  was,  that  Todd  and  Mrs.  Lovett  was  got  into  the  office  in 
safety. 

Sweeney  Todd,  as  he  ascended  the  steps  of  the  office,  turned  his  head  for  a 
moment,  and  looked  at  the  sea  of  angry  faces  that  was  in  the  street.  He  shud- 
dered and  passed  on.    Mrs.  Lovett  did  not  look  round  at  all. 

With  great  difficulty  the  door  of  the  office  was  closed,  and  then  in  a  few 
moments  Todd  and  Mrs*  Lovett  were  placed  side  by  side  at  the  bar  of  justice. 

There  was  one  person  sitting  on  the  bench  near  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  upon 
whom  Todd  fixed  his  eyes  in  amazement.  That  person  was  Johanna  Oakley. 
The  features  came  at  once  to  his  recollection,  and  as  though  he  really  doubted 
if  he  were  awake  or  not,  he  more  than  once  pressed  his  hand  upon  his  eyes. 

His  and  every  one  elses  attention  were,  however,  speedily  taken  up  by  the 
conduct  of  Mrs.  Lovett.  The  moment  comparative  order  was  restored  in  the 
crowded  court;  so  that  what  she  said  could  be  distinctly  and  clearly  heard,  she 
6poke — 

,!I  am  willing  to  turn  king's  evidence  upon  this  occasion,  and  to  declare  all 
I  know  of  Todd's  nefarious  transactions.  I  am  quite  willing  to  tell  all— I  don't 
perhaps  know  the  full  extent  of  Todd's  guilt,  but  I  repeat  I  will  turn  king's  evi- 
dence, and  tell  all  I  do  know.5' 

A  gentleman,  plainly  dressed  in^black,  rose  now,  and  in  a  calm,  assured  voice, 
said — 

"  Upon  the  part  of  the  crown  I  reject  the  offer  of  the  female  prisoner.  Any- 
thing she  may  say  will  be  used  as  evidence  against  her,  if  it  bear  that  construc- 
tion." 

"  Reject  ?"  cried  Mrs.  Lovett.  "  And  pray,  sir,  who  are  you  that  you  dare 
reject  such  a  proposition  for  furthering  the  ends  of  justice?'* 

"  That,  madam,  is  the  Attorney- General,"  said  an  officer. 

u  Oh,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  "  and  am  I  to  understand  that  I  am  accused  of  any 
participation  in  Todd's  crimes  ?" 

(i  You  will  find  by  the  evidence  that  will  be  adduced  against  you  of  what  you 
are  accused,"  said  the  magistrate.  u  You,  1  believe,  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  give  these 
people  in  charge  r1 

"  Yes/'  said  Sir  Richard  rising.  *rl  charge  them  with,  in  the  first  place,  the 
wilful  murder  of  Charles  James  Thornhill.  If  your  worship  should  think  fit, 
form  the  evidence  that  will  be  brought  forward,  to  commit  them  upon  that  charge, 
I  shall  not  at  present  trouble  you  with  any  others,  although  lam  fully  prepared 
with  several." 

"  What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  V9  cried  Mrs.  Lovett.    "  I  will  be  heard." 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  paid  no  manner  of  attention  to  her,  but  brought  before 
the  magistrate  quite  sufficient  evidence  to  warrant  him  in  committing  both  the 
prisoners  for  trial. 

The  only  great  effect  that  the  proceedings  seemed  to  have  upon  Todd  consisted 
in  his  surprise  when  Johanna  Oakley  came  forward,  and  to  her  examintion  he 
listened  attentively  indeed.  When  she  related  how,  under  the  name  of  Chales 
Green,  she  had  taken  the  situation  of  errand  boy  at  Todd^s  shop,  and  been  in 
daily  communication  with  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  Todd  dashed  his  clenched  fist 
against  his  own  head,  crying — 

"  Dolt — Idiot — idiot !  and  I  did  suspect  i  once  V 

Johanna  went  on  then  to  state  how  in  hunting  over  Todd's  shop  and  house 
for  some  vestige  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  the  sleeve  of  a  seaman's  jacket  was  found, 
which  she  had  thought  belonged  to  him,  but  which  would  be  identified  by  the 
captain  of  the  ship  as  having  been  part  df  Mr.  Thornhill's  apparel  when  he 
went  on  shore  upon  that  fatal  morning  of  his  murder,  no  doubt  by  Todd. 

The  evidence  against  Mrs.  Lovett  consisted  of  the  fact  of  there  being  an 
underground  communication  all  the  way  frbtn  the  Mlars  Of  Todd'fc  house  to  her 
cooking  concern  ;  and  Mark  Ingestrie  had  quite  enough  to  tell  of  that  to  make 
it  tolerably  clear  they  acted  in  concert. 


4 


i 


\ 


528 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"~6f"coufc  there  could "be  but  one  opinion  in  the  minds  of  all  present  of  the 
Jit  of  the  prisoners  ;  but  it  was  necessary  that  that  guilt  should  be  legally  as 
well  as  morally  Droved,  and  hence  the  evidence  was  very  carefully  arranged  to 
meet  the  exigencies  of  the  case.  .  _ 

"  Have  you  any  legal  adviser  ?"  said  the  Magistrate  to  I  odd. 

«  No,"  was  the  brief  response.  .'•„,.'-  j  a. 

The  same  question  wasjmt  to  Mrs.  Lovett,  but  she  did  not  answer,  and  the 
death-like  paleness  of  her  countenance  sufficiently  testified  that  it  was  out  of  her 
power  to  do  so.  In  another  moment,  overcome  by  dread  and  chagrin,  she 

fainted.  • 
"Is  she  dead?"  said  Todd. 
No  one  replied  to  the  question,  and  he  added — 

"  Look  to  her  well  or  she  will  yet  baffle  you.  If  ever  the  spirit  of  a  fiend 
found  a  home  in  any  human  brain  it  is  in  that  woman's.  I  say  to  you,  look  to  her 
well,  or  she  will  still  baffle  you  all  by  some  rare  device  you  little  dream  of.' 

Mrs.  Lovett  in  her  insensible  state  was  carried  from  the  court,  and  a  surgeon 
was  in  prompt  attendance  upon  her.  It  was  found  that  there  was  nothing  the 
matter  with  her ;  she  had  merely  fainted  through  sheer  vexation  of  spirt  at  find- 
ing that  her  overtures  to  be  evidence  against  Todd  were  not  attended  to  in  the 
way  she  had  wished  ;  for  now,  with  the  loss  of  everything  but  life,  how  glad  she 
would  have  been  to  back  out  of  those  odious  transactions  which  clung  to  her. 

Todd  was  asked  if  he  had  anything  to  say, 

"  Really,"  he  said.  "  I  do  not  know  what  it  is  all  about.  I  am  a  poor 
humble  man,  who  get  but  a  scanty  living  by  shaving  any  kind  customer,  and  all 
this  must  be  some  desperate  conspiracy  against  me  on  the  part  of  the  Roman 
Catholic,  I  think." 

"  The  Roman  Catholics  ?" 

"  Yes,  your  worship.  I  never  would  shave  or  dress  the  hair  of  a  Roman 
Catholic  if  I  knew  it,  and  more  than  one  of  that  religion  have  sworn  to  be  avenged 
upon  me." 

"  And  is  this  your  defence  V* 

**  Yes,  exactly ;  it  is  all  I  can  say  J  and  if  I  perish,  it  will  be  as  one  of  the  most 
nnocent  of  men  who  ever  was  persecuted  to  death." 

"  Well,"  said  the  magistrate,  "  I  have  heard  many  a  singular  defence,  but 
never  one  like  this." 

"  It's— it's  truth,"  said  Todd,  "  that  staggers  your  worship." 

"Well,  you  can  try  what  effect  it  will  have  upon  a  jury.  I  commit  you  for 
trial  on  the  charge  of  wilful  murder." 

"  Murder  of  whom  ?" 

**  Charles  James  Thornhili." 

"  Oh,  your  worship,  he  is  alive  and  well,  and  now  in  Havannah.  If  I  have 
murdered  him,  where  is  the  body  ?" 

"  We  are  prepared,"  said  the  Attorney  General,  "with  that  objection.  At 
the  trial  we  will  tell  the  jury  where  the  body  is." 

Mrs.  Lovett,  now  having  sufficiently  recovered,  was  brought  into  court  to 
hear  that  she  was  committed  for  trial,  but  she  made  no  remark  upon  that  cir- 
cumstance whatever ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  moments  another  shout  from 
the  multitude  without  announced  that  the  prisoners  were  off  to  Newgate. 


S 
a 


CHAPTER  CXXII. 

A  LARGE  PARTY  VISITS  BIG  BEN  AND  THB  LIONS  IN  TH1  TOWRR. 

On  the  morning  following  the  committal  of  Mrs.  Lovett  and  Sweeney  Todtl 
to  Newgate  for  trial,  a  rather  large  party  met  at  the  office  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt, 
in  Craven  Street,  Strand.  The  fact  was  that  after  the  proceedings  at^the  police- 
office,  Big  Ben  had  earnestly  besought  them  all  to  name  the  day  to  visit  him 


THE  STRING  Oi1  PEARLS.  529 


and  the  liors  in  the  Tower,  and  as  no  day  was  so  convenient  to  Sir  Richard  as 
that  immediately  following,  it  was  arranged  that  they  were  all  to  meet  at  the 
private  office  in  Craven  Street,  and  go  there  by  water  to  the  Tower. 

The  sun  shone  beautifully  ;  and  to  look  at  that  party  no  one  would  have  sup- 
posed that  there  had  ever  been  such  persons  as  Sweeney  Todd  and  Mrs.  Lovett 
in  the  world. 


MRS.  LOVETT  IN  KEWGATE.— IS  CONSCIeNCE-STFIcKEN. 


The  party  consisted  of  Colonel  Jeffery,  Tobias,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oaklev,  Minna 
C*ray,  Johanna,  Mark  Ingestrie,  Arabella  Wilmot,  and  the  fruiterer's  daughter 
from  1-  leet  Street,  who  had  been  so  kind  to  Johanna  during  that  very  sad  and 
anxious  time  that  she  had  passed  while  in  the  temporary  service  of  Todd. 

So  happy-looking  and  smiling  a  party  surely  could  not  have  been  found  in  all 


'mm* 

No.  67. 


530 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


< 


London7as  they  made  up.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  were  no  lass  than  three 
couples  intent  upon  matrimony,  for  although  it  was  understood  that  Tobias  was 
to  wait  two  years  yet  before  he  married,  he  looked  as  happy  as  the  rest 

A  large  eight-oared  barge  was  at  the  stairs  at  the  bottom  of  the  street  to 
convey  them,  and  as  they  all  walked  to  it  arm  in-arm,  and  in  couples,  everybody 
who  met  them  would  have  it  that  it  was  a  wedding,  and  many  jocular  remarks 
were  made  to  them  by  thG  way, 

"Upon  my  word,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "  I  shall  be  considered  a  match-maker, 
and  folks  will  say  that  I  keep  this  office  of  my  own  only  as  a  matrimonial 
speculation." 

"  You  certainly,"  said  the  colonel,  "have  been  the  cause  of  two  or  three 
matches,  at  all  events,  for,  but  for  you,  1  doubt  if  any  of  us  would  have  felt  as 
we  feel  to  day,  Sir  Richard." 

c  He  has  restored  Mark  Ingestrie  to  me,"  said  Johanna. 
'  And  my  Johanna  to  me,"  said  Ingestrie. 
"  And  my  dear  Minna  to  me,"  cried  Tobias. 
"  Stop — stop  !"  cried  Sir  Richard. 

"And  I  am  quite  certain,"  said  the  colonel,  "  that  I  owe  to  him  the  joy  of 
calling  Arabella  mine.'9 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  came  now  to  a  halt,  as  he  said — 

"  Stop,  all  of  you,  or  I  will  not  go  one  step  further.  If  we  get  into  this  kind 
of  talk,  who  is  to  say  where  it  will  end  ?  Let  us  enjoy  ourselves,  and  make  it  a 
rule  to  say  anything  but  revert  to  the  past.  It  has  its  joys  and  its  sorrows, 
but  it  had  better  upon  this  occasion  be  left  to  itself/' 

"Agreed — agreed,"  said  everybody. 

The  barge  was  a  very  handsome^  one.  Indeed  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had 
borrowed  it  of  one  of  the  city  companies  for  the  occasion,  and  beneath  the  gay 
awning  they  could  all  sit  with  perfect  ease. 

And  now  in  the  course  of  another  five  minutes  they  were  going  down  the 
river,  quite  at  a  slashing  pace,  towards  the  old  Tower  ;  and  as  they  were  animated 
by  the  many  pleasing  sights  upon  the  river,  their  conversation  soon  became 
animated  and  spirited. 

"  What  is  that? — A  wherry  coming  towards  us  from  the  Temple-stairs,"  said 
the  colonel. 

All  eyes  were  bent  upon  the  wherry,  which  shot  out  from  the  little  landing* 
place  by  the  side  of  the  Temple  Gardens,  ai\d  presently  they,  with  one  accord, 
cried  out— 

"Its  Hector!" 

In  truth  Hector  was  there,  but  with  him  was  the  colonel's  new  groom,  the 
late  ostler,  who  had  been  so  efficient  a  protector  to  the  dog,  and  the  captain  of 
the  ship,  whom  he  knew  bo  well. 

"  Barge  a-hoi  V  cried  the  captain. 

"Ay~ay!"  shouted  Ingestrie  in  reply,  and  the  wherry  shot  alongside  the 
barge. 

"  Well,0  said  the  captain,  "  I  do  think  for  you  all  to  go  on  such  a  party  as 
this,  and  not  ask  me  and  Hector,  is  too  bad** 

"But/1  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "you  told  me  you  were  going  to  be  very 
busy  at  the  docks." 

"  So  I  did,  but  I  found  our  owner  had  not  come  to  town,  and  I  have  nothing 
to  do  to-day.  I  called  at  your  house,  colonel,  hoping  to  be  in  time  to  come  with 
you,  but  you  had  gone.  Hector,  however,  saw  me,  and  made  such  a  racket  j  was 
forced  to  bring  him." 

w  And  no  one  can  be  more  glad  to  see  you  and  Hector  than  %*  cried  the 
colonel. 

"  And  I  didn't  like,  sir/'  said  the  ostler,,  "  not  for  to  come  for  to  go,  when 
Pison  said  as  hs'd  like  to  come." 
"  Very  good,"  said  the  colonel  smiling.    "  Come  on  boatd.'' 
The  waterman  who  was  with  the  wherry  laid  it  alongside  the  barge,  and 


i 


i 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  531 

-  "  ■■.  •>  "■'  i "  .  '  ■     ■  ■■■■>■■'  ■   1  i —  «  i  ,  "■  ■ 

having  been  liberally  paid  for  his  freight,  rowed  off  again,  leaving  with  the  barge 
party,  his  two  customers  and  the  dog. 

The  Tower  was  aoon  in  sight/ for  at  that  time  there  were  not  by  any  means 
so  many  obstructions  to  the  navigation  of  the  River  Thames  as  are  to  be  found 
now,  and  the  stream  too  was  very  much  clearer  than  now  it  can  boast  of  being. 
The  host  of  manufactories  that  have  since  risen  upon  its  banks  were  not  then 
thought  of. 

u  I  do  think,"  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  "  that  I  can  see  our  friend  Ben  at  the 
landing  place.    Look,  Mr.  Oakley,  is  that  not  Ben  ?"  I 
j      "Bless  you,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Oakley,  "I  couldn't  see  "so  far  if  you  would 
I  make  me  king  tf  England  for  doing  so.    Johanna,  my  love,  you  have  young  eyes, 
|  and  know  Ben  well."  "  j 

j.     "  Yes,  pa,  it  is  Ben,  and  he  is  waving  his  hand  to  us,  and  looks  so  pleased."  j 
|      u  He  is  a  most  worthy  honest  fellow,5'  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt.    H  I  like  him 
i  very  much,  from  what  little  1  have  seen  of  him.    He  has  the  simplicity  of  a 
!  child."    f  j 
j      99  Yes,"  added  the  colonel,  M  and^the  candour  and  honesty  of  a  lover  of  human 
nature.    I  believe  a  better  heart  than  Ben's  never  beat  in  human  bosom/5  j 

"  I  am  quite  sure  of  it,"  said  Johanna.  "  I  love  Ben  very  much  indeed.  He 
has  been  ever  a  kind  and  indulgent  friend  to  me/3 

99  Do  you  hear  that,  Mr.  Ingestrie?"  said  Arabella.  ! 
':  Yes,3'  laughed  Mark,    but  I  decline  investing  Ben  with  any  of  the  attributes 
of  a  rival.    Now,  I  love  you,  Miss  Wilmot  very  much  indeed,  because  you  have 
always  been  such  a  dear  kind  friend  to  Johanna;  and  1  daresay  the  colonel  will 
permit  me  to  do  so." 

4<To  be  sure  I  will — at  a  distance,"  said  the  colonel.  j 
Everybody  laughed  at  this,  and  then  as  the  rowers  increased  their  exertions 
to  come  in  to  the  Tower  stairs  with  some  eclat,  the  barge  soon  wras  safely  moored 
at  the  landing  place. 

4<  Here  you  are  all  of  you/'  cried  Ben,  capering  in  his  huge  delight.  "  Here 
you  all  are.    Come  along.  Ob,  how  hungry  1  am." 

"That  sounds  as  if  you  meant  to  eat  us,  Ben,"  said  Sir  Richard,  as  he 
stepped  from  the  barge.  \ 

99  Oh,  dear  no.    Only  I  have  got  a  little  bit  of  hinch  ready  for  you  all,  and  as 
I  helpea  to  place  it  on  the  table  it  made  me  so  hungry  that  I've  been  half  mad 
j  ever  since,  and  I'm  as  thirsty  too  as  can  be.    Oh,  Mr.  Jeffery,  I  often  think 
if  the  Thames  were  only  strong  ale,  what  a  place  the  Tower  would  be." 

"You  may  depend, "  said  Sir  Kichard,  "if  it  were,  the  government  would 
pretty  soon  bottle  it  all  off."  j 

Johanna  was  goi%  to  step  on  shore,  but  Ben  made  a  dash  at  her,  and  lifting 
her  up  as  you  would  some  little  child,  he  seated  her  on  his  left  arm,  and  so 
fairly  carried  her  into  the  Tower.  j 
99  You  wait,  Miss  Arabella,"  he  cried.  99  111  come  for  you."  ! 
This  so  alarmed  Miss  Wilmot  that  she  sprang  on  shore  in  a  moment,  and  all 
the  party  laughed  heartily  to  see  Mark  Ingestrie  flying  along  after  Ben,  and 
shouting  as  he  wrent —  j 

"  Put  her  down~put  her  down  !  Ben! — Ben!  She"d  rather  walk.  Put  her 
down  IV 

Ben  paid  no  manner  of  attention  to  any  of  these  remonstrances,  but  carried 
Johanna  right  into  the  Tower  before  he  set  her  upon  her  feet  again,  which 
|  he  then  did  as  tenderly  as  though  she  had  been  some  infant,  only  just  learning 
to  walk.  | 

"  Mind  how  you  go,"  he  said.    u  Take  it  easy.    Easv  does  it." 

"  But  I  can  wralk,  Ben." 

"  Very  good.  Mind  how  you  does,  you  nice  little  tiling.  Oh,  I  likes  you  a  j 
great  deal  better  in  the  petticots  and  not  the  breeches."  \ 

14  Well,  Ben,"  said  Mark  Ingestrie,  69 I  am  certainly  very  much  obliged  to  H 
you— very  much,  indeed." 


532 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


^^U^tion  it,  my  boy/'  replied  Ben,  totally  oblivious  of  the  manner  in 
which  Mark  Ingestrie  uttered  the  words— a  manner  which  betrayed  some  little 
pique  upon  the  occasion.  Th«?  laughter  of  Johanna  and  his  friends,  however, 
soon  chased  away  the  temporary  cloud. 

"  Where's  the  t'toher  little  one  V*  said  Ben. 

"  I  am  here/'  cried  Arabella,  laughing^ 

"Oh,  you  got  on  without  me,  did  you?  Very  good  :  only  if  you  had  only 
waited,  I  shouldn't  have  thought  it  no  trouble  at  all,  whatsomedever.  Easy 
does  it,  you  know." 

"  Thank  you,  Ben.  I'd  just  as  soon  walk,  and  a  little  rather,  perhaps,  of  the 
two.    It  was  quite  amusing  enough  to  see  you  carry  Johanna." 

«  Well— well,  there  ain't  much  gratitude  "in  this  world.  Come  on,  all  of  you, 
for  you  must  be  famished ;  and  as  for  me,  I  haven't  had  a  bit  of  anything  to 
eat  for  a  whole  hour  and  a  half,  and  then  it  was  only  a  pound  and  three  quarters 
of  beef,  steak,  and  a  half  quartern  loaf  !" 

"But  we  are  none  of  us  hungry,"  said  Johanna. 

"  Never  mind  that,"  replied  Ben,  "you  don't  know  what  you  may  be  ;  so 
always  eat  when  you  can  get  it.  That's  my  maxim,  and  I  find  it  answers  very 
well."  Plenty  to  eat  and  drink,  and  taking  things  easy,  is  how  I  get  through  the 
world,  and  you'll  all  on  you  find  it  the  best  in  the  long  run.'* 

"  There  are  worse  philosophies  than  that  going,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt  to 
Colonel  J  effery. 

u  Very  much  worse,"  laughed  the  colonel. 

Ben  now  led  the  way  along  a  narrow  arched  passage,  and  through  two  rather 
gloomy  corridors  to  a  stone  room,  with  a  grand  arched  roof,  in  the  ancient 
fortress  ;  and  there,  sure  enough,  they  found  the  little  snack,  as  he  called  it, 
laid  out  very  nicely  for  their  reception. 

A  table  ran  along  the  centre  of  the  room,  and  at  one  end  of  it  there  was 
placed  an  immense  round  of  corn  beef.  At  the  other  was  a  haunch  of  mutton, 
weighing  at  least  thirty  pounds.  Somewhat  about  the  middle  of  the  table  was 
an  enormous  turkey ;  and  those  dishes,  with  a  ham  and  four  tongues,  made  up 
a  tolerable  repast. 

Six  half-gallon  flagons,  filled  with  old  Burton  Ale,  stood  at  regular  distances 
upon  the  table. 

"  It's  only,"  said  Ben,  "a slight  snack,  after  all ;  but  I  hope  you  will  be  just 
able  to  find  enough." 

*5  Enough  !"  cried  Sir  Richard.    "  Why,  there's  enough  for  fifty  people." 

"There's  almost  enough  for  a  regiment  f"  said  the  colonel. 

"Oh,  you  are  joking,"  said  Ben  ;  "but  come,  sit  £$>wn.  You,  father 
Oakley,  sit  here  by  this  little  bit  of  mutton,  and  I'll  cut  up  the  beef." 

After  considerable  laughing  they  were  all  seated  ;  and  then  Ben,  finding  that 
Johanna  was  on  one  side  of  him,  and  Miss  Wdmot  on  the  other,  declared  that 
he  was  quite  satisfied. 

He  cut,  first  of  all,  a  cold  tongue  in  halves  down  the  middle  lengthways,  and 
placed  one  half  upon  a  plate  for  Johanna,  and  the  other  on  a  plate  for  Arabella. 
Then  upon  the  tongue  in  each  plate,  he  placed  about  a  pound  of  ham. 

"Take  that,  my  little  dears,"  he  said,  "to  begin  with,  and  don't  be  sparing 
now,  for  there's  the  turkey  and  the  mutton,  you  know,  to  fall  back  upon.  Easy 
does  it." 

The  room  resounded  with  shrieks  of  laughter  at  the  looks  of  ulter  distressful 
dismay  which  Johanna  and  Arabella  cast  upon  their  plates;  and  Ben  looked 
from  one  face  to  another  in  perfect  astonishment,  for  he  could  not  see  any  joke 
for  the  life  of  him. 

"Dear  Ben/'  said  Johanna,  "  do  you  really  imagine  we  can  eat  a  tenth  part 
of  all  this?"  v 

0  Do  I  imagine  ?— In  course  I  does.  Only  you  begin.  Lord  bless  you,  that 
ain't  much.    Come—  come,  you  want  your  ale,  I  suppose.  So  here  it  is." 


IT 


i  minim. 


uc'r 


then 

never  spr: 
Batiti 


Mil 


1U|W 

eictpt 
any  mort, 

of  sontth 
"No- 


rod 


"fen 

m 

'MB  Id  [|a 


Mb 


Hen 


S2\ 


few* 


'  - . o  tlG  rfc 
1  Ifl  to  III 


iiir,  mk  up 
i  filibeg 


Voa,  father 


JAMS 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


533 


Upon  this,  Ben  poured  them  each  out  about  a  quart  of  the  strong  ale,  and 
requested  them  to  take  an  easy  pull  at  that. 

They  found  that  it  was  of  no  use  requesting  Ben  to  diminish  the  quantity  he 
helped  them  to  ;  so  they  just,  as  he  advised,  took  it  easy,  and  ate  what  they  had 
a  mind  to  do. 

As  for  Ben  himself,  he  cut  one  large  slice  off  the  round  of  beef,  and  then 
placed  upon  it  two  slices  of  ham,  so  that  the  thickness— for  he  was  not  a 
delicate  carver — was  about  three  inches  ;  and  so  he  set  to  work,  every  now  and 
then  taking  up  one  of  the  half-gallon  ale  flagons,  and  pledging  the  company  all 
round. 

Probably,  rough  and  homely  as  was  Ben's  lunch,  not  one  of  them  present  had 
ever  enjoyed  such  a  meal  more  than  they  this  did  ;  and  if  we  might  judge  by 
the  loud  laughter  that  echoed  about  the  old  arched  roof,  a  merrier  hour  was 
never  spent  than  in  the  Tower  with  Big  Ben. 

But  it  was  a  sadness  to  Ben  to  find  that  such  little  progress  was  made  in  the 
consumption  of  his  eatables  'and  drinkables ;  and  he  uttered  many  groans  as 
he  watched  Johanna  and  Arabella. 


CHAPTER  CXXIIf. 

MRS.  LOVETT  GIVES  JUSTICE  A  LESSOX,  AND  ESCAPES. 

All  good  things  must  have  an  end,  and  Ben's  lunch  in  the  Tower  was  not 
any  exception  to  the  rule.  At  last  even  he  was  satisfied  that  nobody  would  eat 
any  more,  although  he  was  very  far  indeed  from  being  satisfied  that  they  had  had 
enough. 

"  Won't  anybody  be  so  good,0  he  said,  "  as  just  to  try  and  pick  a  little  bit 
of  something  ?** 

i(  No — no  !"  was  the  general  response. 

"Indeed,  Ben/'  said  Colonel  Jeffery,  "if  we  take  any  more  we  shall 
positively  be  ill,  and  I'm  sure  you  don't  wish  that." 

"Oh,  dear,  no/'  groaned  Ben;  "but  it's  quite  clear  to  me,  of  course,  that 
you  don't  like  the  lunch,  or  else  you  could  not  have  took  it  so  very  easy." 

With  one  accord  upon  this,  everybody  declared  that  they  had  liked  it 
amazingly  well. 

"  Then  you  will  all  try  a  drop  more  ale  ?" 

Upon  this,  they  rose  from  the  table,  for  they  had  a  well-grounded  suspicion 
that  if  they  staid  any  longer,  Ben  would  try  to  force  something  down  their 
throats,  whether  they  would  or  not. 

"  Ah,  well,"  said  Ben,  with  a  sigh,  when  he  found  that  they  would  not  be 
j  prevailed  upon  to  take  anything  else.  41  Then  we  may  as  well  go  and  see  the 
1  lions  in  the  Tower." 

"Oh,  yes,"  added  Johanna,  UI  have  heard  so  much  of  them,  that  I  quite 
long  to  see  them.'* 

"  Should  you,  ray  duck  ?"  cried  Ben;  "  then  come  along." 
Here  Ben  would  have  carried  Johanna  again,  for  somehow  he  had  got  the 
idea  fixed  in  his  head  that  the  kinedst  thing  he  could  possibly  do  as  regarded 
Johanna  was  to  prevent  her  from  using  her  feet ;  but  Mark  Ingestrie  interposed, 
saying — 

"  Ben,  she  would  much  rather  walk.  You  forget,  my  kind  friend,  that  she  is 
no  longer  now  a  child." 

4'  Oh,  dear,"  said  Ben,  with  a  look  of  profound  wisdom,  "if  you  come  to 
that,  we  are  all  children.    Look  at  me,  I'm  only  a  fine  baby." 

Everybody  laughed  at  this  sally  of  Ben's,  as  well  they  might  •  and  then,  being 
fully  convinced  that  no  more  eating  nor  drinking  was  at  all  practicable,  Ben 
proceeded  to  lead  the  way  to  the  lions. 

"  Is  there  any  danger  ?"  said  Arabella.  "  I  hope  you  will  not  let  any  of 
them  out  of  their  cages,  Mr.  Ben.* 


1 1 


11 


1 


■ 


534  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS; 


"Oh,  dear,  no,  there's  no  danger,  and  we  don't  let  any  of  them  out.  We 
only  pokes  them  up  a  bit  with  a  long  pole,  to  make 'em  rather  lively  to  visitors, 

"And  have  no  accidents  ever  happened  ?"  said  Johanna. 

a  Lor(j  bless  you,- no.  To  be  sure  one  of  the  warders,  who  was  rather  a  new 
hand,  would  put  his  hand  in  between  the  bars  of  the  lion's  den  and  get  it 
snapped  off;  and  once  a  leopard  we  had  here  broke  loose,  and  jumped  on  the 
back  of  a  sentinel,  and  half  eat  him  up  ;  but  we  haven't  had  any  accidents.  ' 

"  Why,  what  do  you  call  them,  Ben  ?" 

"Oh,  nothing  at  all."  J         _  l 

"  I  dare  say/'  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt  "  that  the  poor  warder  and  the 

sentinel  would  have  called  those  little  incidents  something." 

"  Well,  perhaps  they  might/'  said  Ben.  "  In  course  people  will  think  of 
themselves  before  anybody  else ;  but,  howsomdever,  don't  you  be  after  going 
to  be  afeard,  my  little  dears  ;  and  if  any  of  the  beasteses  was  to  get  out,  always 
recollect  that  easy  does  it,  and  it's  no  use  making  a  fuss/' 

"I  suppose  you  think,  Ben,  that  if  we  are  to  be  eaten  up  by  a  lion  or  a  leo- 
pard, there's  no  such  thing  as  avoiding  our  fate/'  said  the  colonel,  M  Is  that  your 
idea  ?" 

"Well,  I  hardly  know/'  said  Ben.  "  But  one  day  we  had  a  young  chap— 
a  new  warder — who  came  here  out  of  tJie  country,  and  he  said  he  had  had  a 
dream  the  night  before  he  came  that  he  should  be  devoured  by  a  wolf.  Now 
we  hadn't  a  wolf  in  the  Tower  collection  at  all,  so,  in  course,  we  all  laughed  at 
him,  and  told,him  he  would  have  to  go  to  foreign  parts  to  bring  his  dream  true. 
But  you'd  hardly  believe  it,  that  very  day  afore  the  young  fellow  had  been  one 
hour  in  the  Tower,  there  comes  a  boat  to  the  stairs,  with  an  officer,  and  he  asks 
to  see  the  keeper  of  the  beasts,  and  he  says  to  him—*  My  ship  is  lying  at  the 
Nore,  apd  we  have  brought  from  Friesland  one  of  the  largest  wolves  as  ever  was 
known  for  the  Tower  collection/  says  he,  1  and  he's  in  a  large  bag  we  made  on 
purpose  to  hold  him  in  the  boat/  Well,  when  the  young  warder  heard  this  he 
gaid — <  That's  my  wolf.  He  has  come  for  me  I'  and  off  he  set  a  trembling  like 
anything.  The  wolf  was  brought  in  in  a  coal  sack,  and  we  got  him  into  an  empty 
den  that  was  shut  up  with  a  chain  and  a  staple  only;  but  as  all  the  fastenings 
were  out  of  his  reach,  he  could  not  interfere  with  it  if  he  was  ever  so  cunning. 
Well,  night  came,  and  we  all  took  it  easy,  and  went  to  bed ;  but  in  the  middle 
of  the  night  what  should  we  hear  but  the  most  horrid  howling  that  ever  you 
could  think  of,  and  when  we  ran  to  the  Lion  Tower,  where  it  came  from,*  wre 
found  the  iron  door  of  the  wolfs  den  open,  and  the  young  warder  lying,  half  in 
and  half  out  of  it,  stone  dead.    The  wolf  had  had  him  by  the  throat.'* 

"And  what  became  of  the  wolf?"  said  Johanna. 

u  He  was  gone,  and  we  never  so  much  as  heard  of  him  from  that  day  to  this." 

**  Well,  Ben/  said  the  colonel,  "that  is  a  very  good  story  of  the  lions  in  the 
Tower,  aad  here  we  are,  I  think,  close  to  them." 

A  terrific  roar  at  this  moment  proved  the  colonel's  words  to  be  tolerably  true. 

**  Ah,  they  are  feeding  some  ou  'em,"  said  Ben.  H  It  just  the  time,  and  they 
will  not  be  convinced  as  easy  does  it/' 

"It  is  hard  enough,  Ben/'  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "to  convince  human 
beings  of  that  piece  of  philosophy,  to  say  nothing  of  lions  and  tigers." 

u  Oh,  but,"  said  Ben,  with  great  gravity,  "  lions  and  tigers  is  generally  much 
more  reasonable  than  human  beings." 

Another  roar  from  the  menagerie  joined  in  as  bass  to  the  laugh  writh  which 
this  piece  of  philosophy  from  so  unlikely  a  person  as  Ben  was  received, 

"Come  on,"  he  said  ;  "  come  on.  They  can  make  a  noise,  but  that's  just 
about  all  they  can  do.  Come  on,  my  little  dears— and  if  you  fell  at  all  afeard, 
all  you  have  got  to  do  is  to  take  hold  of  the  lion  by  the  nose,  and  then  you'll  find 
he  looks  upon  you  as  one  of  them  as  takes  things  easy,  and  he  won't  say  another 
word  to  you  anyhow." 

"  We  will  leave  that  to  you,  Ben,"  said  Johanna,  "  and  in  the  meantime.  I 
will  keep  close  to  you,  you  know." 


'<8 

Hi. 


Girder 


to; 


tig 

byt  tot  J 

ml  Mi 


W»0  18  CTO'il 

LI*  .11 

i  iflf/i  stn  Pit 

iUIV  flu  l»'L 

iO  CQDB{ 

tbe  mid'k 
t  ever  |g 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


535 


"Do,  my  little  duck;  and  Til  just  carry  vou." 
u  No—no— no!" 

Johanna  darted  away  ;  for  if  she  had  not  done  so,  Ben  would  inevitably  have 
had  her  up  in  his  arms  by  way  of  showing  his  affection  for  her.  It  was  a  fixed 
idea  of  his,  and  was  not  to  be  shaken  by  any  denials  or  remonstrances. 

And  now  in  a  few  minutes,  after  traversing  the  highly  picturesque  and  antique 
passages  of  the  Tower,  the  little  party  arrived  at  wkere  the  lions  were  kept. 

The  colonel  gave  a  caution  to  the  late  ostler  of  tke  inn  in  Fleet  Street  to  keep 
an  eye  over  Hector,  who  not  being  accustomed  to  an  introduction  to  such 
animals  as  he  was  about  to  see,  might  fancy  himself  called  upon  to  do  something 
out  of  theway  upon  the  occasion. 

"  Oh,  Til  watch  him,  sir/'  said  the  man.  c|  Come  kere,  Pison,  will  you  ?  and 
don't  you  be  after  going  and  interfering  with  wild  beasteses.  Lor  bless  you,  sir, 
he'll  be  quite  glad  to  see  'em,  and  will  go  on  speaking  of  'em  for  ever  afterwards 
— I  know  he  will." 

"Here  you  are,"  said  Ben,  as  he  halted  opposite  the  door  of  a  lordly  lion. 
They  all  looked  at  the  immense  creature  with  a  vast  amount  of  interest,  for  such 
creatures  were  rather  rarities  at  that  time  in  London. 

While  our  friends  are  thus  examining  the  king  of  the  forest,  as  he  crunches  a 
huge  beef  bone  with  his  formidable  jaws,  we  may  give  a  brief  account  of  the  I 
wild  creatures  that  in  old  times  were  kept  in  the  tower.    There  was  Pedore,  a 
beautiful  lioness,  brought  from  Senegal,  and  presented  to  the  king  by  Governor 
Y.  Harora. 

Caesar,  brother  to  Pedore,  brought  from  the  same  place,  and  presented  to  his 
majesty,  by  Captain  Haycraft.  He  has  been  in  the  Tower  about  eight  months, 
is  three  years  and  a  half  old,  and  supposed  to  be  the  finest  lion  ever  seen  in 
England.  His  looks  strike  the  stoutest  beholder  with  astonishing  awe.  His 
head  is  large,  being  covered  with  a  long  shagged  mane  that  reaches  to  his 
shoulders,  and  adds  rather  to  the  terror  than  majesty  of  his  countenance;  for  his 
eyes  being  very  fiery,  and  darting,  as  it  wers,  a  kind  of  red  flame  through  his 
long,  shaggy,  and  dishevelled  hair,  raises  such  an  idea  of  fierceness  as  cannot  be 
excited  in  a  mind  unaccompanied  with  fear,  nor  can  we  conceive  it  possible  for 
human  courage  to  encounter  a  creature  of  such  a  dreadful  aspect,  without  the 
intervention  of  some  lucky  circumstance,  notwithstanding  the  stories  that  have 
been  related  of  men  killing  lions  in  equal  combat.  His  mouth  opens  wide,  and 
discovers  a  frightful  set  of  teeth  ;  and  when  he  roars  he  may  be  heard  a£a  great 
distance. 

Miss  Jane,  a  beautiful  lioness,  about  six  years  old,  brought  from  the  coast  of 
Barbary,  by  Sir  Jacob  Wyatt. 

Phillis,  a  large  wolf,  brought  from  Boulogne,  in  France,  and  presented  to  his 
majesty  by  Colonel  Hollingworth.  It  is  in  form  not  unlike  a  dog  of  a  mixed 
breed,  and  has  been  in  the  Tower  about  five  years.  These  are  very  ravenous 
creatures,  which  inhabit  the  immense  forests  in  France  and  other  parts,  and  are  a 
terror  to  men  and  cattle.  In  the  severe  season  of  the  year  they  come  from  the 
woods  and  fall  ravenously  upon  every  living  thing  they  meet,  and  have  been 
known  to  enter  houses  in  search  of  food. 

Sukey,  a  North  American  bear,  brought  over  by  Lord  Bruce.  She  has  been 
in  the  Tower  about  twelve  months. 

Hector,  a  most  beautiful  lion,  sent  from  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  as  a  present 
to;  his  majesty.  He  is  fourteen  years  old,  and  has  been  in  the  Tower  about  ten. 
He  greatly  resembles  Caesar. 

Helena,  companion  to  Hector,  a  very  handsome  lioness,  and  presented  also  by 
the  Emperor  of  Morocco. 

Miss  Gregory,  a  beautiful  leopardess,  about  twenty  years  of  age.  She  was 
sent  co  his  late  majesty  by  the  Dey  of  Algiers,  and  presented  by  the  late  Algerine 
Ambassador. 

Sir  Robert,  a  fine  leopard,  of  a  shining  yellow  colour  intermixed  with  bright 
spots.    He  was  brought  from  Senegal  by  — —  Touchit,  Esq*    He  has  been  in 


MM 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


5 


his  present  situation  about  eight  years,  during  which  he  has  had  seven  young 
ones  by  two  different  leopardesses.  The  young,  however,  all  died  soon  after 
bein<r  whelped,  except  one  which  lived  about  ten  months. 

JVltss  Nancy,  a  very  beautiful  lioness,  brought  from  Senegal,  and  presented 

to  his  majesty  by  Brady,  Esq.   She  has  been  here  only  about  nine  months, 

is  not  quite  two  years  old,  and  seems  very  tractable. 

A  lion  monkey.  This  beast  is  of  a  black  colour,  with  very  shaggy  hair- 
It  was  brought  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  has  been  here  about  four 
months. 

An  American  black  bear,  lately  brought  over  by  Colonel  Clarke. 

A  racoon,  brought  from  Norway  by  Colonel  Clarke.  This  is  a  very  small 
beast,  and  exceedingly  harmless.  It  lives  on  the  sea-sands,  and  chiefly  on  shell 
fish,  which  it  takes  in  a  very  safe  and  dexterous  manner ;  for  whenever  the  fish 
opens  its  shell  to  receive  either  air  or  nourishment,  this  creature,  we  are  told, 
puts  a  small  pebble  in,  so  that  the  shell  may  not  close  again,  and  picks  out  the 
fish  with  its  claws. 

Rose,  a  large  Norway  wolf,  presented  about  four  years  since  by  Herr  Widder- 
man.    He  is  about  six  years  old,  and  appears  very  fierce  and  ravenous. 

Miss  Sally,  a  beautiful  leopardess,  presented  by  the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  and 
brought  over  in  the  same  ship  with  Hector. 

These  were  the  principal  inhabitants  of  what  was  called  the  Lion's  Tower; 
and  Ben,  who  was  never  so  much  in  his  glory  as  when  he  was  describing  the 
creatures  arid  commenting  upon  them,  went  through  the  list  of  them  with  com- 
mendable accuracy. 

It  was  quite  impossible  but  that  the  party  should  very  much  admire  these 
wild  inhabitants  of  the  woods  and  wastes  of  nature,  and  Ben  was  wonderfully 
gratified  at  the  fearless  manner  in  which  both  Johanna  and  Arabella  approached 
tte  dens. 

The  inspection  of  the  beasts  lasted  more  than  an  hour,  and  then,  as  Sir 
Richard  Blunt  had  no  more  time  at  his  disposal,  they  all  again  proceeded  to  the 
barge  that  was  waiting  for  them.  Ben  accompanied  the  party  from  the  Tower, 
as  the  Oakleys  had  invited  him  to  dine  with  them. 

u  Ah,"  he  said,  11  by  the  time  we  get  to  your  house,  cousin  Oakley,  I  shall  be 
half  famished.  Thank  goodness!  I  have  ordered  something  to  eat  to  be  put  on 
board  the  barge,  in  case  we  should  be  sharp  set." 


CHAPTER  CXXIV.  • 

RETURNS  TO  NEWGATE,  AND  THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF    MRS.  LOVKTT. 

While  those* persons,  in  whose  happiness  we  and  our  readers,  no  doubt, 
likewise  feel  a  kindly  ihterest,  are  thus  in  the  happy  society  of  each  other,  com- 
pensating themselves  for  many  of  the  mischances  and  deep  anxieties  of  the  past, 
some  events  were  taking  place  in  Newgate  of  a  character  well  worth  the  re- 


cording. 


Mrs.  Lovett,  when  she  found  that  her  proposition  to  turn  evidence  against 
Todd  would  not  be  listened  to,  but  that  it  was  the  fixed  determination  of  the 
authorities  to  include  her  in  the  prosecution,  became  deeply  despondent.  Upon 
being  taken  back  to  Newgate,  she  did  not  say  one  word  to  any  one;  but  when 
she  was  placed  in  her  cell,  she  paced  to  and  fro  in  its  narrow  confines 
with  that  restless  perturbed  manner  which  may  be  noticed  in  wild  animals  when 
caged. 

After  about  an  hour,  then,  she  called  to  one  of  the  attendants  of  the  prison, 
saying —  ■ 

|  1  wish  to  speak  to  some  one  who  has  authority  to  hear  what  I  may  choose 
to  relate. 


_         THE  STJ&1NG  OF  PEAKLS.  537 
"The  chaplain  Will  come,"  was  the  reply. 

"The  chaplain !"  repeated  Mrs.  Lovett  with  a  burst  of  rage,  "what  do  I  want 
with  chaplains?  Do  I  not  know  perfectly  well  that  when  a  person  is  found 
too  idiotic  for  ordinary  duties  he  is  made  a  chaplain  of  a  jail?  No  !  I  will  not 
speak  to  any  of  your  chaplains." 


TODD,  ON  HIS  THIAL,  ATTEMPTS  TO  KILL  BIB  RICHA&D  BLUNT. 


"  Well,  I  never  !"  said  the  turnkey.  "  Our  chaplain  for  certain  ain't  a  conjuror, 
but  I  never  heard  afore  that  he  was  sent  here  on  account  of  being  weak  in  the 
upper  story.  It's  likely  enough  though  for  all  that.  Perhaps  Mrs.  Lovett,  you'd 
like  to  see  the  Governor  V9 

"  Yes,  he  will  do  much  better." 

"  Very  good." 


No.  68, 


538  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Such  a  prisoner  as  Mrs.  Lovett  could  command  an  interview  with  the 
Governor  of  Newgate  at  any  reasonable  periods  ;  and  that  funetionary  having 
been  apprised  of  her  wish  to  see  him,  together  with  what  she  had  said  of  the 
chaplain,  repaired  to  her  cell  with  an  ill-concealed  smile  upon  his  face,  for  in 
his  heart  he  perfectly  agreed  in  Mrs.  Lovett's  estimation  of  jail  chaplains. 

«  Well,  madam/'  he  said.   "  What  have  you  to  say  to  me  ?" 

"  In  the  first  place,  sir,  I  am  here  without  other  clothing  then  that  which  I 
now  wear.  Is  it  inconsistent  with  your  regulations  for  me  to  have  a  box  of 
clothes  brought  me  from  my  home  V 

"  Oh  no— you  can  have  them.    I  will  get  an  order  from  the  committing 
magistrate  for  you  to  have  your  clothes  brought  here.    Of  course  they  will  be 
scrupulously  examined  before  they  reach  you." 
What  for  ?" 

tr  It  is  our  custom,  that's  all.'' 

"  You  are  afraid  that  I  should  escape?" 

"  Oh,  no — no  !  No  woman  ever  yet  escaped  from  Newgate,  and  I  don't 
think  any  man  ever  will  again." 

"  Perhaps  not.  For  my  part,  I.  care  not  how  many  men  escape,  so  that 
you  take  good  care  Sweeney  Todd  does  not." 

"  You  may  make  yourself  easy  upon  that  score." 

"  Good— then  when  I  get  my  clothes  here,  I  will  make  a  full  confession  of 
all  I  know,  regarding  Todd's  crimes." 
"And  your  own?" 

"  Yes,  if  you  like.   And  my  own.   Be  it  so.    But  mark  me,  I  will  have  no 

fettifogging,  prying,  canting  parsons  in  the  cell.  If  you  bring  your  chaplain  here 
am  mute." 

"Very  well,  I  will  say  as  much.    Of  course,  if  you  are  inclined  to  make  a 
confession,  you  can  make  it  to  whom  you  please." 
"  I  should  presume  so.*' 

With  this,  the  Governor  left  Mrs.  Lovett,  and  she  commenced  again  her 
uneasy  pacing  of  the  cell.  In  about  two  hours,  a  large  box  was  brought  to  her 
with  nearly  the  whole  of  her  clothes  from  her  house  in  Bell  Yard.  She  selected 
a  dress,  with  a  number  of  heavy  flounces,  and  put  it  on,  appearing  to  be  much 
better  satisfied  than  she  had  been. 

««  Ah,"  said I  the  turnkey,  "that's  the  way  with  women.  Give  them  dress, 
and  even  in  Newgate  they  .feel  comfortable,  bat  make  'em  go  shabby,  and  you 
had  much  better  hang  them  outright." 

Another  hour  passed,  and  then  the  Governor,  with  a  magistrate  and  writing 
materials,  came  to  the  cell  of  the  wretched  woman. 

"  If  Mrs.  Lovett,"  he  said,  "  you  still  think  proper  to  persevere  in  your  in- 
tention of  making  a  confession,  this  gentleman,  who  is  a  magistrate,  will  in  his 
official  capacity  receive  it,  and  I  will  witness  it :  but  you  do  it  entirely  at  your 
own  r  sk  and  peril." 

"I  know  it,"  replied  Mrs.  Lovett,  "arid  I  likewise  do  it  to  the  risk  of  the 
peril  of  Sweeney  Todd." 

"You  can  make  what  statement  you  please.  How  far  it  will  be  taken  as 
evidence  against  another,  will  depend  entirely  upon  how  it  is  in  essentials 
corroborated  by  others,"  aaid  the  magistrate. 

"I  am  content.  Now,  sir,  will  you  listen  to  me  V 

"  Most  certainly." 

i;Ji%GT&VernTr  arJan??d.  his  writinS  materials,  and  while  the  magistrate 
listened,  Mrs.  Lovett  said  in  a  calm  clear  voice—- 

T«LBfiHe/inS  1  »P<>n  the  brink  of  the  grave,  I  make  this  statement. 
carr?P<f "  fC°nw1VKd  thwV^a  °/  that  mutual  S'oilt  which  we  have  both  since 
S2J  J  a\  Hf.bought  the  house  in  Bell  Ya*d,  as  likewise  the  one  in  Fleet 
hT™li 7       ™n  **elUoa*>        excavated  an  underground  connection 

^^fSef^°!i?mmS«rrt.18h5.u^der  St*  D«°stan's  church,  and  through  the 
vaults  of  that  building.  When  he  had  completed  all  his  arrangements,  he  came  to 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  539 

Jfl  ...      ...  ..  .■■    I        ii          i  ny^j>— mtmmm  ■  n  i  mm— 

me,  and  cautiously  made  his  offer;  but  he  did  not  tell  me  that  those  arrangements 
were  then  complete,  as  that  he  doubtless  thought  would  have  placed  him  too 
much  in  my  power,  in  the  event  of  my  refusing  to  co-operate  with  him  in  his 
iniquity.  He  need  not  have  given  himself  that  amount  of  trouble  :  I  was  willing. 
The  plan  he  proposed  was,  that  the  pie-shop  should  be  opened,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  getting  rid  of  the  bodies  of  people,  whom  he  might  think  proper  to 
murder,  in  or  under  his  shop.  He  said  that  fearing  nothing,  and  believing 
nothing,  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  money  was  the  great  thing  to  be 
desired  in  this  world,  inasmuch  as  to  it  he  had  found  that  all  people  bowed 
down.  He  said  that  after  the  murder  of  any  one,  he  would  take  the  flesh  from 
the  bones  quickly,  and  convey  to  the  shelves  of  the  bake-house  in  Bell  Yard 
the  pieces,  as  materials  for  the  pies.  Minor  arrangments  he  left  to  me.  He 
murdered  many.  The  business  went  on  and  prospered,  and  we  both  grew  rich. 
He  refused  me  my  share  of  the  spoil ;  and  so  I  believe  we  both  fell  to  our  present 
state/' 

i*  Have  you  any  more  to  add  ?*•  said  the  magistrate. 

"  Nothing.  But  I  will  answer  you  any  question  you  may  choose  to  ask  of 
me  upon  the  subject." 

"  No.  It  is  not  my  province  to  ask  anything.  This  is  clearly  a  voluntary 
statement  and  confession.  No  questions  need  be,  or  ought  to  be,  asked  con- 
cerning it  at  all/5 

"  Very  well." 

"  You  are  aware  that  it  will  be  used  against  you/' 
"  And  against  Todd  ?" 

"  Yes,  it  is  a  strong  corroboration  of  the  evidence  against  him ;  and  as  such,  if 
there  had  been  any  doubt,  would  have  gone  far  towards  making  his  conviction 
certain/* 

"  Then  I  am  satisfied,  sir/' 

The  magistrate  slightly  inclined  his  head  and  left  the  cell  with  the  Governor. 
When  they  were  outside  he  said  to  the  latter — 

u  I  would  advise  you  to  keep  a  sharp  watch  upon  that  woman.  My  firm 
opinion  is,  that  she  contemplates  suicide,  and  that  this  statement  is  merely  made 
for  the  purpose  of  damaging  Todd  as  much  as  possible/' 

"  No  doubt,  sir.  You  may  depend  upon  our  keeping  a  good  watch  upon, 
her.  It  is  quite  impossible  she  can  do  herself  a  mischief.  There  is  literally 
nothing  in  the  cell  for  her  to  convert  to  any  such  use  besides,  1  doubt  if  really 
great  criminals  ever  have  the  courage  to  die  by  their  own  hands/* 

"  Well,  it  may  be  so ;  of  course  your  experience  of  these  people  is  very  consi- 
derable, I  only  tell  you  my  impression/' 

€i  For  which,  sir,  I  am  much  obliged,  and  will  be  doubly  cautious/* 
Mrs.  Lovett,  when  she  was  once  more  alone,  paced  her  cell  in  the  same  rest* 
less  manner  that  she  had  done  before.  It  was  not  then  so  much  as  it  is  now 
the  custon  in  Newgate  to  keep  such  a  strict  watch  upon  prisoners  before  con- 
viction, and  with  the  exception  that  there  was  a  man  in  the  passage  close  at 
hand,  boxed  up  in  a  sentry-box,  and  whose  duty  it  was  now  and  then  to  open 
i  the  small  square  wicket  in  the  cell  door,  and  see  that  the  prisoner  was  all  right, 
Mrs.  Lovett  had  no  surveillance  over  her.  g 
As  she  paced  to  and  fro,  she  muttered  to  herself— 

"  Yes,  I  will  do  it.  They  think  that  I  would  go  through  the  formal  *  parade 
of  a  trial.  They  think  that  I  will  stand  in  one  of  their  courts  shrinking  before 
a  jury ;  but  I  will  not — I  will  not.  Oh  no,  Todd  may  do  all  that.  It  is  fitting 
that  he  should  ;  but  I,  having  failed  in  my  one  great  enterprise,  will  bid  adieu 
to  life/' 

She  paused,  for  the  man  was  at  the  wicket. 
€i  Do  you  want  anything  ?"  he  said. 
*'No,  my  friend.    Only  the  poor-  privilege  of  being  alone/' 
€i  Humph !  I  thought  1  heard  you  speaking." 
u  I  was  only  rehearsing  my  defence/' 
-  — 1 — 1  1  »  "  — - —         ■'  '■  '■■      —  - —   -   .\i 

 ,  — , — — . —     .   \z~ — m — : — rssBB^ 


6  i0  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  

"Oh^ell;  that's  a  new  dodge  anyhow.    You  take  it  easy,  Ma'am  Lovett,  if 

anybody  ever  did/'  h 
(i  Innocence,  my  friend,  should  be  composed. 

The  turnkey  stared  at  her  through  the  little  bars  that  crossed  even  that  small 
orifice  in  the  door,  and  then  closed  it  without  another  word.  He  was  scarcely 
used  to  such  an  amount  of  cool  effrontery  as  he  found  exhibited  by  Mrs.  Lovett. 

**  Alone  again,"  she  said.  "Alone  again.  I  must  be  cautious,  or  they  will 
suspect  my  purpose.  I  must  only  converse  with  myself  in  faint  whispers.  I  would 
not  be  thwarted  willingly  in  this  my  last  and  boldest  act  ;  and  I  am  resolved 
♦•hat  I  will  not  live  to  look  upon  the  light  of  another  day.  I  am  resolved,  and 
wound  up  to  my  purpose.  Oh,  what  poor  fools  they  are  to  fancy  they  can 
prevent  such  a  one  as  I  am  from  dying  when  and  how  I  wish  !  They  have 
unwittingly  supplied  me  with  the  ready  means  of  death  to-day/" 

These  words  were  spoken  so  low,  that  if  the  turnkey  had  been  listening  with 
all  his  might  on  the  other  side  of  the  door  he  could  not  possibly  have  overheard 
them.  The  recent  visit  of  that  functionary,  if  the  peep  through  the  little 
opening  in  the  door  could  be  called  a  visit,  had  taught  Mrs.  Lovett  to  be  more 
cautious  how  she  trusted  the  air  of  her  cell  with  the  secret  resolves  of  her 
teeming  brain. 

But  now  that  she  had  really  and  truly  made  up  her  mind  to  commit  suicide, 
all  the  worst  passions  of  her  nature  seemed  to  be  up  in  arms  and  to  wage  wild 
war  in  her  heart  and  brain;  whi'e  amid  them  all  was  the  intense  hatred  of  Todd, 
and  the  hope  that  she  should  be  ;  cvenged  upon  him,  by  his  being  brought  to 
death  upon  the  scaffold,  triumphant  over  every  other. 

"I  had  hoped,"  she  said ;  "oh,  how  I  had  hoped,  that  I  might  have  had  the 
satisfaction  of  witnessing  such  a  scene — but  that  is  past  now.  I  must  go  before 
him  ;  but  still  it  is  with  the  conviction  that  die  he  must,  I  feel,  I  know  that  he 
will  not  have  the  courage  to  do  as  I  am  about  to  do,  and  if  he  had,  I  am  certain 
he  has  not  provided  himself  with  the  means  of  success  as  I  have  provided 
myself." 

These  last  words  she  scarcely  whispered  to  herself,  so  very  fearful  was  she 
that  they  might  be  overheard  by  the  turnkey  who  was  so  close  at  hand. 

And  now  a  fear  came  over  her  that  he  was  watching  her  through  some 
little  hole  or  crevice  of  the  door,  and  the  very  thought  was  sufficient  to  make 
her  wonderfully  uneasy.  If  it  were  so,  there  was  quite  sufficient  reflected  light 
in  the  cell  to  make  every  one  of  her  actions  easily  observable,  and  so  her 
cherished  design  of  taking  her  own  life  would  be  defeated  completely. 

In  lieu  of  a  piece  of  whalebone  in  the  back  of  her  dress,  there  was  a  small 
tin  tube,  soldered  perfectly  tight  against  the  escape  of  any  fluid,  and  made  fast 
at  each  end.  That  tin  tube  had  been  in  the  dress  she  now  selected  for  many 
months,  and  it  was  filled  with  a  subtle  liquid  poison,  a  very  fewr  drops  of 
which  would  prove  certainly  fatal. 

She  dreaded  that  she  should  be  observed  to  take  this  ingenious  contrivance 
from  her  dress  and  pounced  upon  before  she  could  break  it  open  and  make  use 
of  its  contents. 

She  sat  down  on  the  miserable  kind  of  bench  which  served  as  a  bed,  and  in  a 
very  low  whisper  to  herself  she  said— 

"  I  must  wait  till  night— yes,  I  must  wait  till  night !" 

She  knew  well  that  the  indulgence  of  a  light  would  be  denied  to  her,  and 
she  smiled  to  herself,  as  she  thought  how  that  mistaken  piece  of  prison  policy 
would  enable  her  to  free  herself  from  what  now  was  the  bitter  encumbrance  of 
existance. 

"The  twilight/'  she  muttered,  u  will  soon  creep  into  this  gloomy  place,  and 
it  will  be  my  twilight,  too— the  twilight  of  my  life  before,  and  only  just  before, 
the  night  of  death  begins.  That  night  will  know  no  dawn— that  long,  long 
sleep  which  will  know  no  waking  S  Yes,  I  will  then  escape  from  this  strong 
prison  V 


rrr^m^,.,-,^     -       11  —   «  , 

  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  541 

CHAPTER  CXXV. 

MRS*  LOVETT  SEES  SOME  TWILIGHT  SPECTRES  IN  HER  CELL. 

After  she  had  sat  for  some  time  in  this  state  of  feeling,  and  just  before  the 
darkness  got  so  apparent  that  but  little  could  be  seen  of  the  few  articles  that 
the  place  contained,  she  heard  the  door  open. 
A  flash  of  light  came  into  the  place. 
u  W  ho  is  that  ?M  she  cried. 

"  Oh,  you  needn't  think  as  it's  robbers— it's  only  me,1'  said  a  voice.  €C  You 
are  quite  safe  here,  ma'am.  That's  one  good  of  being  in  the  stone  jug :  you 
needn't  be  afraid  of  thieves  breaking  into  your  place." 

She  saw  that  it  was  the  turnkey  whose  duty  it  was  to  keep  watch  in  the 
passage  outside  her  cell, 

**  What  do  you  want  here  she  said,  n  Cannot  I  have  the  poor  privilege  of 
being  left  alone  ?" 

u  Oh,  yes,  only  it's  your  rations'  time,  and  here's  your  boiled  rice  and  water, 
and  here's  your  loaf,  mum.  In  coui§e,  that  ain't  exactly  the  sort  of  thing  you 
have  been  accustomed  to  ;  but  it's  all  the  county  allows — only  between  you 
and  me  and  the  post,  Mrs*  Lovett,  as  they  say  you  have  got  a  pretty  heavy 
purse,  you  can  have  just  what  you  like." 

" Indeed !" 

I     "  Yes,  in  a  moderate  way  you  know.    You  have  only  to  pay,  and  you  can 
have  anything." 

\  "  Then  even  Newgate  is  like  the  rest  of  the  world.  Money  rules  even  here, 
;  does  it?" 

"  Why,  in  a  manner  of  speaking,  a  guinea  is  worth  twenty-one  shillings  here, 
I  just  the  same  as  it  is  outside,  ma'am." 
I      "  Then  how  much  will  purchase  my  liberty  ?* 
I      The  turnkey  shook  his  head. 

I  u  There,  ma'am,  you  ask  for  an  article  that  1  don't  deal  in.  My  shop  don't 
j  keep  such  a  thing  as  liberty.  What  I  mean  is,  that  you  may  have  just  what 
]  you  like  to  eat  and  drink." 

"  Very  well.    In  the  morning  you  can  bring  me  what  I  order,'* 
u  Oh,  yes— yes." 

"  I  will  pay  handsomely  for  what  I  do  order,  for  I  have,  as  you  say,  a  heavy 
purse.    Much  heavier,  indeed  it  is,  than  any  of  you  imagine,  my  friends/ 
"  Your  humble  servant,  ma'am.    I  only  wish  Newgate  was  full  of  st 
you." 

gi  Ah,  I  hear  a  footstep.  Who  is  it  that  is  about  to  intrude  upon  me  to- 
night?" 

"  It's  the  chaplain." 

g§  The  chaplain  (  I  thought  he  understood  that  I  declined  his  visits  com- 
pletely." 

u  Why,  you  see,  ma'am,  so  you  did,  but  it's  his  duty  to  go  the  round  of  all 
the  cells  before  the  prison  shuts  up  for  the  night,  so  he  will  come,  you  see ;  and 
if  I  might  advise  you,  ma'am,  I  should  say  be  civil  to  him  whatever  you  may 
think,  for  he  can  do  you  an  ill  turn  if  he  likes  in  his  report.  He  has  more 
underhanded  sort  of  power  than  you  are  aware  of,  Mrs.  Lovett ;  *o  you  had 
better,  as  I  say,  be  civil  to  him,  and  keep  your  thoughts  to  yourself.  Where's 
the  odds,  you  know,  ma'am  ?" 

4<  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  this  advice,  and  I  will  pay  you  for  it.  There 
is  a  couple  of  guineas  for  you  as  a  slight  remembrance  of  me,  and  let  others  say 
what  they  will,  you  at  least  will  not  accuse  me  of  ingratitude  for  any  benefit 
conferred  upon  me." 

!     u  That  I  won't,  ma'am  5  but  here  he  comes.    Mum  is  the  word  about  what  I 

have  said,  or  else  my  place  would  not  be  worth  much,  I  can  tell  you." 

'  ■"'  *  ■  *  "  ■  ■■  ■  "■■  1 1» 


such  as 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS: 


-  ; 


^S^wifta  great  show  of  respect,  backed  out  of  the  cell  as  the 

^^Cm^W^  ^mmm  individual,"  I  hope  to  find  you  in  a 
better  frame  of  mind  than  upon  my  last  visit  to  you." 

"Sir  "  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  !'  if  you  will  come  to  me  at  your  own  hour  in  the  morn- 
ing I  shall  then  present  myself  to  you  in  a  different  manner,  and  I  shall  no 
longer  object  to  anything  you  may  be  pleased  to  say  to  me. 

^What  a  blessed  conversion.  Really,  now,  this  is  very  satisfactory  indeed. 
Mrs.  Lovett,  of  course  you  are  a  very  great  sinner,  but  if  you  attend  to  me,  1  can 
warrant  your  being  received  in  the  ether  world  by  ten  thousand  angels. 

«  i  thank  you,  sir.   Half  the  number  would  be  quite  sufficient,  I  feel  assured, 

"^no!  ten  thousand— ten  thousand.  Not  one  less  than  that  number.  But 
if  you  have  any  doubts  about  the  reality  of  flames  everlasting,  I  shall  have 
great  satisfaction  in  removing  them,  by  holding  your  hand  for  a  few  moments 

in  the  flame  of  this  candle."  ■ 

«  You  are  very  kind,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett,  "  but  I  shall  be  quite  as  well  con- 
vinced  if  you  hold  yours,  as  I  shall  then  I  hope  see  the  agony  depicted  in  your 

countenance."  ,  .,      ...  ii'. 

m  Humph  !— ah !  No,  I  would  rather  not  exactly.  But  quite  rejoicing  that 
you  are  in  so  very  pious  a  frame  of  mind,  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
you  to-morrow  morning  at  eleven  o'clock." 

"  That  will  do  very  well,"  said  Mrs.  Lovett. 

The  chaplain,  thinking  he  had  made  quite  a  wonderful  convert  in  Mrs.  .Lovett, 
and  with  serious  thoughts  of  getting  somebody  to  write  a  tract  for  him  on  the 
subject,  left  the  cell,  little  suspecting  how  he  was  to  be  duped. 

♦'Well,  you  did  gammon  him,"  said  the  turnkey,  "I  will  say  that  for  you. 

"  Can  you  not  leave  me  a  light  ?" 

«  Agin  the  rules.   Can't  do  it ;  but  I'll  wait  till  you  have  put  the  mattress  to 

rights,  if  you  like."  , 
*  Oh,  no.    It  will  do  very  well.    Good  night. 

ft  Good  night,  Ma'am  Lovett,  and  thank  you  for  me.  They  may  say  what 
they  likes  about  you,  but  I  will  stick  up  for  you,  so  far  that  you  are  liberal 
with  your  tin,  and  that's  a  very  good  thing  indeed.  I  ain't  quite  sure  that  it 
isn't  everything,  as  this  here  world  goes." 

The  door  of  the  cell  was  closed,  and  the  last  rays  of  the  turnkeys  candle 
disappeared.    Mrs.  Lovett  was  alone  again  in  her  dreary  cell. 

The  darkness  now  was  very  intense,  indeed  :  for  during  the  few  minutes  that 
she  had  been  conversing  with  the  chaplain,  the  twilight  had  almost  faded  away, 
dropping  quite  into  night,  so  that  net  an  object  was  visible  in  the  cell.  She 
heard  the  turnkey's  footsteps  die  away  in  the  distance,  and  then  indeed  she  felt 
truly  alone. 

"And  I  shall  not  seethe  sunlight  of  another  day,"  she  said.  "My  pil- 
grimage is  over." 

She  pronounced  these  words  with  a  shudder,  for  even  she  could  not  at  such 
a  moment  feel  quite  at  ease.  She  held  in  her  hands  the  means  of  death,  and  yet 
she  hesitated— not  that  she  had  the  remotest  intention  of  foregoing  her  fixed  re- 
solve ;  but  feeling  that  at  any  moment  she  had  it  in  her  power  now  to  carry  it 
out,  she  lingered  there  upon  the  shores  of  life. 

*'  And  it  has  come  to  this,"  she .  said.  "  After  all  my  scheming— after  all 
my  resolves,  it  has  come  to  suicide  in  a  felon's  cell.  Well,  I  played  a  daring 
game,  and  for  heavy  stakes,  and  I  have  lost,  that  is  all." 

She  covered  her  eyes  with  her  hands  for  several  minutes,  and  slowly  rocked 

to  and  fro. 

Who  shall  say  what  thoughts  crossed  that  bold  bad  woman's  soul  at  that  time? 
Who  shall  say  that  in  those  few  moments  her  memory  did  not  fly  back  to  some 
period  when  she  was  innocent  and  happy?— for  even  Mrs.  Lovett  must  have  been 


mam 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  543 

innocent  and  happy  once  ;  and  the  thought  that  such  had  been  her  blessed  state, 
compared  to  what  it  was  now,  was  enough  to  drive  her  mad — quite  mad. 

When  she  withdrew  her  hands  from  before  her  eyes  she  uttered  a  cry  of  terror. 
Memory  had  conjured  up  the  forms  of  departed  spirits  to  her  ;  and  now  so  strong 
had  become  the  impression  upon  her  mind  in  that  hour  of  agony,  that  she  thought 
she  saw  them  in  her  cell. 

"  Oh,  mercy— mercy  V9  she  said.  "  Why  should  I  be  tortured  thus  ?  Why 
should  I  suffer  such  horrors  ?  Why  do  you  glare  at  me  with  such  fiery  eyes 
for,  horrible  spectres  V9 

She  covered  up  her  eyes  again ;  but  then  a  still  more  terrible  supposition  took 
possession  of  her,  for  instead  of  fancying  that  the  spectres  were  in  the  darkness 
of  the  cell  at  some  distance  from  her,  she  thought  that  they  all  came  crowding 
up  to  within  an  inch  of  her  face,  gibing  and  mocking. 

"  Off—  oft!"  she  cried,  as  she  suddenly  stretched  out  her  arm.  <rDo  not 
drive  me  quite  mad." 

Her  eyes  glared  in  the  darkness  like  those  of  some  wild  animal.  They  looked 
phosphorescent,  and  for  some  time  such  was  the  agony  and  the  thraldom  03  r 
feelings,  that  she  quite  forgot  she  had  the  means  of  death  in  her  hands. 

She  began  to  question  the  spirits  that  fancy  presented  in  the  darkness  as 
thronging  her  cell. 

"  Who  are  you  V9  she  said.  "  I  know  you  not.  I  did  not  kill  you  !  Why 
do  you  glare  at  me?  And  you,  with  your  face  matted  with  blood,  I  did  not  kill 
you.  Who  are  you,  too,  with  those  mangled  limbs  ?  I  killed  none  of  you.  Go 
to  Sweeney  Todd  —go  to  Sweeney  Todd  \" 

She  kept  her  hands  stretched  out  before  her,  and  she  fancied  that  it  was  only 
by  such  an  action  that  she  kept  them  from  touching  her  very  face.  Then  she 
dropped  upon  her  knees,  and  in  the  same  wild  half-screaming  voice  she  spoke 
again,  crying— 

"  Away  with  you  all !  Todd  it  was  that  killed  you — not  I.  He  would  have 
killed  me,  too.  Do  you  hear,  that  he  tried  to  kill  me  ?  but  he  could  not.  What 
boy  are  you  ?  Oh,  I  know  you  now.  He  sent  you  to  the  madhouse.  You  are 
George  Allan.  Well,  I  did  not  kill  you.  I  see  that  there  is  blood  upon  you ! 
But  why  do  you  all  come  to  me  and  leave  Todd's  cell  tenantless,  except  by  him- 
self ?  for  you  cannot  be  here  and  there  both !  Away,  I  say  !  Away  to  him ! 
Do  not  come  here  to  torture  me  !" 

Tap— tap — tap  came  a  sound  on  the  door  of  the  cell. 

"  Hush  li$  she  said.    "  Hush  ! " 

n  What's  the  matter  V9  said  the  turnkey.  j 
"  Nothing — nothing." 

<c  But  I  heard  you  calling  out  about  something.' ' 

"  It  is  nothing,  my  friend.    All  is  right.    I  was  only — only  praying." 

<c  Humph!"  said  the  turnkey.  "If  you  were,  it  is  something  rather  new,  I 
reckon.  She  can't  do  any  mischief,  that's  one  comfort ;  and  many  of  the  worst 
ones  as  comes  here  don't  pass  very  nice,  cosy,  comfortable  nights.  They  fancies 
they  sees  all  sorts  of  things,  they  does.  Poor  devils !  I  never  seed  nothing 
worse  than  myself  or  my  wife  in  all  my  time,  and  I  don't  think  I  ever  shall." 

Mrs.  Lovett  did  not  now  utter  one  word  until  she  was  sure  the  turnkey  was 
out  of  hearing.    Th&t  slight  interruption  had  recalled  her  to  herself,  and  done 
|  much  to  banish  from  her  disturbed  imagination  all  those  fancied  monsters  of 

the  brain  which  had  disturbed  her. 
j  "  Why  did  I  yield  even  for  a  moment/9  she  said,  u  to  such  a  load  of  supersti- 
tion ?  I  thought  that  even  at  such  a  moment  as  this  I  should  be  free  from  such 
terrors.  How  I  should  have  smiled  in  derision  of  any  one  else  who  had  been 
weak  enough  to  give  way  to  them — and  yet  how  real  they  looked.  How  very 
unlike  the  mere  creations  of  a  disturbed  brain.  Cnuld  they  be  real  ?  Is  it 
I  possible  ?" 

Mrs.  Lovett  shook  a  little  as  she  asked  herself  these  questions,  and  it  was 
i  only  at  such  a  moment  that  she  could  or  was  at  all  likely  to  ask  them,  for  our 


^yT  TH3S  Bmm  °$  ^EA3^^8, 


.-t—7^  Tt'iSvIth-it  such  a  woman  could  have  had  no  sort  of  belief  in 

™deT*£Z  or  she  nZlr,  w  th  her  Ictive  intellect,  could  have  fallen  into  the 
* JSZ  of suppo ?ng  that  he  was  compassing  happiness  by  committing  crime. 
^  ^aS  Sow  the  doubt  that  she  had  suggested  to  herself  shook  her  very 
Such  It  was  S  very  first  time  in  all  her  wicked  life  that  anything  like  a  per- 
Sio'n  of K Sur Estate  had  crossed  her  mind ;  and  each  mmu  e  how  fearfully 
foC  the  possLity,  and  then  the  probability,  that  there  really  was  another 

WX  spectres  had 

been  to  her-those  spectres  which  were  only  called  into  existence  by  her  own 
consciousness  of  overpowering  guilt  and  deep  iniquity. 
"  I  am  going  now,"  she  said.    "  I  am  going.    World  that  I  hate,  and  all 

UPsLto^  containing  the  poison  and  applying  one  of  the  broken 

ends  to  her  lips,  she  swallowed  two  drops  of  the  deadly  liquid,  and  fell  dead 
upon  the  floor  of  her  cell. 


CHAPTER  CXXVI. 

SWEENEY  TODD  IS  PLACED  UPON  HIS  TRIAL. 

It  was  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  that  the  officials  of  Newgate  found 
their  way  to  the  cell  of  Mrs.  Lovett.  At  first  they  thought  that  she  was  sleepin g 
upon  the  floor  of  her  prison,  but  when  they  picked  her  up,  they  soon  became 
aware  of  what  had  really  happened,  and  the  alarm  spread  through  the  prison. 

The  governor  was  vexed,  and  the  chaplain  was  vexed,  and  when  the  snerili 
was  s.'nt  for,  he,  too,  was  vexed,  so  they  all  revenged  themselves  upon  the  turn- 
key, whose  duty  it  was  to  be  in  the  passage  adjoining  the  cell,  and  they  iancied 
they  met  the  justice  of  the  case  by  discharging  him.  .... 

Of  course,  in  a  very  few  hours  the  news  of  Mrs.  Lovett  s  suicide  became 
known  all  over  London,  with  veiy  many  exaggerations;  and  there  was  not  one 
person  in  the  whole  of  the  vast  population  of  the  great  city  who  did  not  know 
the  fact,  save  and  except  that  man  who  would  feel  most  interested  in  it.  W  e, 
of  course,  allude  to  Sweeney  Todd. 

He,  in  his  cell  in  Newgate,  saw  no  newspapers,  and  held  no  conversation  with 
the  world  without ;  and  as  none  of  the  persons  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
prison  chose  to  inform  him  of  what  had  happened,  he  had  not  the  least  idea  but 
that  Mrs.  Lovelt  was,  along  with  him,  suffering  all  the  terrors  of  suspense  ante- 
cedent  to  her  trial  upon  the  serious  charge  impending  over  her. 

Of  course  when  the  day  of  his,  Todd's,  trial  should  arrive,  the  fact  could  no 
longer  be  kept  secret  fiom  him  ;  and  that  day  come  at  last  to  wither  up  any 
faint  hopes  that  he  might  cling  to. 

Scarcely  ever  in  London  had  such  an  amount  of  public  excitement  been  pro- 
duced by  any  criminal  proceedings,  as  by  the  trial  of  Sweeney  Todd.  While  he 
pursued  a  monotonous  life  from  day  to  day  in  his  cell,  haunted  by  all  sorts  of 
fears,  and  the  prey  of  the  most  dismal  apprehensions,  the  public  appetite  had 
been  fed  by  all  sorts  of  strange  and  vague  stories  concerning  him. 

The  most  hideous  crimes  had  been  laid  to  his  charge  ;  and  in  the  imagination 
of  the  people,  the  number  of  his  victims  was  quadrupled,  so  that  when  the 
morning  of  his  trial  arrived,  so  great  was  the  excitement,  that  business  in  the 
City  was  almost  at  a  stand  still,  and  sober-minded  men  who  did  not  see  any 
peculiar  interest  in  the  sayings  and  doings  of  a  great  criminal,  were  of  course 
disgusted  that  the  popular  taste  should  run  that  way. 

As  regarded  Todd  himself,  he  had  gone  into  Newgate  with  a  fixed  determina- 
tion in  his  own  mind  to  commit  suicide  if  he  possibly  could ;  but  he  had  not 
taken  the  precaution  that  Mrs.  Lovett  had  long  before,  in  providing  the  means 


3*83 

IliU 


tWr  soonb 
vfatksV- 

.wife  teff 
K  wis  not® 
M  not  iw» 
1  in  it,  We 

aected  with  t 
tie  fart  erf' 


jut 


till 


.-  -rr- 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


545 


of  so  doing ;  and  consequently  he  was  thrown  upon  the  scanty  resources  that 
might  present  themselves  to  him  in  the  prison. 

That  those  resources  would  be  few  and  limited  enough,  may  be  well  imagined, 
for  the  most  special  instructions  had  been  given  by  Sir  Richard  Blunt  to  prevent 
Todd  from  committing  suicide  ;  and  since  Mrs.  Lovett  had  so  disposed  of  herself 
despite  the  authorities,  those  precautions  had  been  redoubled  ;  so  that  Todd, 


I 


TODD  S  SECOND  ATTEMPT  AT  SUICIDE  IN  THE  CONDEMNED  CELL  AT  NEWGATE. 

after  two  or  three  abortive  attempts,  and  thinking  the  matter  over  in  every 
way,  saw  that  there  was  no  chance  for  him  in  that  way,  and  he  made  up  his 
mind  to  abide  his  trial,  with  the  hope  that  he  might,  during  the  course  of  it,  be 
able  to  say  enough  to  make  Mrs.  Lovett's  conviction  certain,  while  he  felt 
certain  that  he  could  not  possibly  make  his  own  situation  worse  than  it  was. 
He  thought,  too,  that  perhaps  after  conviction  he  might  behave  so  cunningly 

No.  69, 


546  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


as  toTd^ceive  his  jailer  into  an  idea  that  he  was  full  of  contrition  and  resignation, 
and  so,  at  some  ungarded  moment,  achieve  the  object  that  now  he  felt  to  be  ltn- 

P°With%hese  hopes  and  feelings,  then,  little  suspecting  that  Mrs.  Lovett  had 
already  removed  her  case  to  a  higher  tribunal,  Sweeney  Todd  awaited  his  trial, 

Probably  he  had  no  idea  of  the  amount  of  excitement  that  his  case  had 
created  outside  the  prison.  '  The  customary  calm  of  the  officials  of  the  jail,  had 
deceived  him  into  a  belief,  that  after  all  it  was  no  such  great  matter  ;  but  he 
quite  forgot  that  that  was  a  professional  calm,  with  which  the  people  had  nothing 
to  do,  and  in  which  it  was  not  at  all  likely  they  would  participate. 

The  Governor  came  into  his  cell  about  a  quarter  before  nine  o'clock  oh  the 
morning  fixed  for  his  trial. 

"  Sweeney  Todd/5  he  said,  i(  you  are  wanted  in  court." 

"  I  am  ready/'  said  Todd. 

He  rose  with  alacrity,  and  accompanied  the  Governor  and  two  turnkeys.  It 
Avas  the  custom  then  to  place  prisoners  accused  of  such  heavy  offences  as  fell 
to  Todd's  charge  in  irons,  and  if  the  authorities  had  any  suspicion  of  violent 
intentions  upon  the  part  of  such  prisoners,  the  irons  accompanied  them  to  the 
bar  of  the  Old  Bailey.  Todd  was  so  accompanied ;  and  as  he  walked  along,  his 
irons  made  a  melancholy  clank  together. 

His  imprisonment  preceding  his  trial  had  been  uncommonly  short,  but  yet  it 
had  been  sufficient  to  bring  him  down  greatly  in  appearance.  He  had  never 
been  one  of  the  fat  order  of  mortals,  but  now  he  looked  like  some  great  gaunt, 
ghost.  Every  patch  of  colour  had  forsaken  his  cheeks,  and  his  eyes  looked  pre- 
tersaturally  lustrous. 

Those  who  had  not  been  accustomed  to  the  sight  of  him  during  his  impri- 
sonment in  Newgate,  shrunk  from  him  as  he  followed  the  Governor  through  the 
gloomy  passages  of  the  prison.  Two  well-armed  officers  keep  close  upon  his 
heels,  so  that  Todd  could  not  complain  of  a  want  of  attendants. 

Even  he  recoiled  when  he  was  brought  into  the  court  of  the  Old  Bailey,  for 
it  was  a  complete  sea  of  heads  ;  and  from  the  dock  he  could  hear  the  roar  and  the 
shout,  and  the  shrieks  of  people  outside,  who  were  still  struggling  for  admission, 

It  was  then  that  the  idea  first  seemed  to  strike  him  that  the  public,  in  him,  bad 
recognised  one  of  those  notorious  criminals,  that  awaken  in  no  small  degree 
.popular  indignation  by  theii  acts.  Indeed,  upon  his  first  appearance  in  the 
court,  there  was  a  strange  kind  of  groan  of  execration,  which  was  tolerably 
evident  to  all,  and  yet  not  defined  enough  for  the  judge  to  take  any  notice  of. 
Iff  The  strife  continued  at  the  door  of  the  court,  and  it  was  quite  evident  that 
the  officers  were  engaged  in  a  severe  struggle  with  the  crowd  outside. 

"  Let  the  doors  be  closed/'  said  the  judge ;  "the  court  is  already  inconveni- 
ently crowded/' 

Upon  this  order,  the  officers  redoubled  their  exertions ;  and  being  assisted  by 
some  of  the  spectators  already  within  the  court,  who  were  fearful  of  being 
trampled  to  death  if  the  crowd  should  once  get  in,  the  doors  were  made  to 
shut,  and  fastened. 

A  yell  of  rage  and  disappointment  came  from  the  mob  ;  and  then  a  loud  voice, 
that  towered  above  all  other  noises,  shouted— 

"  Bring  Todd  out,  and  we  will  hang  him  at  once  without  any  further  trouble. 
We  only  want  Todd!" 

The  countenance  of  the  prisoner  turned  as  white  as  paper,  and  his  glaring 
eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  doors  of  the  court. 

"  It  is  quite  impossible,"  said  the  judge,  "  that  the  business  of  the  court 
can  be  carried  on  under  these  circumstances  ;  I  hope  that  the  civil  power  will 
be  sufficient  to  repress  this  tumult  without,  otherwise  it  will  be  my  duty  to 
send  for  a  guard  of  military,  and  then  bloodshed  may  be  the  consequence,  from 
which  those  who  create  this  riot  alone  will  be  in  any  way  answerable." 

°  Bring  him  out  V  cried  a  hundred  voices.  "  Out  with  him  !  Todd— Todd  ! 
we  want  Todd." 


41 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 

0 


There  was  then  such  a  furious  hammering  at  the  doors  of  the  court,  that  it 
was  quite  impossible  to  hear  what  any  one  said.  Sir  Richard  Blunt  suddenly 
appeared  on  the  bench,  and  leaning  over  to  the  judge,  he  said— 

"  My  lord,  I  am  collecting  a  force  with  which  I  shall  be  able  to  clear  the 
entrances  to  the  court." 

"  I  wish  you  would,  Sir  Richard.    This  riot  is  most  disgraceful. " 

"It  is,  my  lord  ;  but  it  shall  be  suppressed  now  with  as  much  speed  as 
may  be." 

With  this,  Sir  Richard  immediately  retired.  He  collected  together  a  force  of 
fifty  constables,  and  forming  them  into  a  sort  of  wedge,  he  suddenly  opened  a 
side  dcor,  and  attacked  the  mob.  The  fight,  for  a  hand-to-hand  fight  it  now 
wras,  did  not  last  more  than  ten  minutes,  when  the  mob  gave  way,  and  "  every 
one  for  himself"  became  the  cry.  In  five  minutes  more  the  party  of  officers  had 
possession  of  all  the  avenues  to  the  court,  and  a  profound  silence  succeeded  to 
the  riot  that  had  taken  place. 

"  I  think  now,"  said  the  judge  "we  may  proceed  to  business.  This  riot  has 
been  a  most  disgraceful  one,  and  if  the  officers  will  bring  any  one  before  me 
who  has  taken  part  in  it,  I  will  commit  him  to  prison  at  once/' 

u  They  are  all  dispersed,  my  lord/  said  Sir  Richard. 

"The  court  thanks  you,  sir,"  said  the  judge.  "  Let  the  proceedings  com- 
mence at  once." 

Todd  now  glared  about  him,  and  his  lips  kept  moving  as  though  he  were 
repeating  something  to  himself  in  a  whisper.  The  Governor  of  New7gate  leant 
forward,  and  said — 

'*  Do  you  wish  to  say  anything  V9 

u  Yes.    Where  is  she  ?* 

€t  Mrs.  Lovett  do  you  mean  V9 

"  I  do.  Why  am  I  here,  and  she  not  ?  Where  is  she  ?  If  she  be  innocent, 
why  then  so  am  T.   I  do  not  see  her." 
"  She  will  not  be  here." 
"Not  here?    How- why?" 
u  She  is  dead." 

Todd  nearly  dropped  to  the  floor,  and  from  that  moment  a  great  portion  of 
his  courage,  small  as  it  was,  departed,  and  he  looked  like  a  ghost  rather  than  a 
living  man.  At  times,  he  kept  muttering  to  himself  the  word — Dead— -dead 
— dead!" 

,       The  usual  formalities  were  gone  through,  and  then  Todd  was  roused  up  to 
plead  to  the  indictment,  charging  him  with  the  murder  of  Francis  Thornhill. 
The  governor  touched  him  on  the  shoulder. 
"Plead  to  the  indictment,"  he  said. 
"  Dead  !"  cried  Todd.    "  Why  is  she  dead  V9 

"  Prisoner  at  the  bar,"  said  the  clerk  of  the  arraign.  "  Do  you  plead  guilty 
or  not  guilty  to  the  charge  here  made  against  you  ?* 

il  Not  guilty  !"  cried  Todd,  as  he  roused  himself  up,  and  glared  at  the  judge 
■j   like  an  enraged  tiger, 

Government  had  entrusted  the  prosecution  to  the  Attorney-  General  of  the  time 
being,  and  that  functionary  was  in  court.  He  rose  to  open  the  case,  and 
spoke  as  follows,  amid  the  most  breathless  silence — 

"  My  lord,  and  gentlemen  of  the  jury — 

"  The  prisoner  at  the  bar  was  originally  indicted  along  with  a  female  named 

Lovett  " 

"  Where  is  she  V9  said  Todd. 

"  Prisoner,"  said  the  judge,  <c  at  the  proper  time  you  will  have  an  opportunity 
of  making  any  observation  you  may  think  fit,  but  it  is  scarcely  necessary  for 
me  to  inform  you  that  this  is  not  the  time." 

u  She  is  not  dead  !"  cried  Todd.  **  She  has  been  let  escape  by  some  juggling, 
in  order  that  all  the  vengeance  of  the  law  might  be  directed  against  me.  It  is 
not  true  that  she  is  dead.    Some  of  you  are  chargeable  with  allowing  that  ! 


woman  to  escape.  I  tell  you  that  she  is  a  fiend  and  not  a  woman.  But  she  has 
had  gold  at  her  disposal*,  and  she  has  bribed  you  all— I  say  she  i:as  bought 
you  all." 

"Prisoner,"  said  the  judge,  " this  cannot  be  permitted.  You  only  deeply 
prejudice  your  own  case  by  this  conduct." 

"That  is  impossible.  I  know  that  you  are  all  in  one  large  conspiracy  against 
me,  and  you  have  let  that  woman  escape,  in  order  that  the  last  drop  should 
not  be  wanting  to  fill  my  cup  of  bitterness  to  the  overflowing." 

"It  will  be  impossible,"  said  the  Attorney-General,  uto  proceed  with  the 
case,  if  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  continues  these  interruptions." 

"  Prisoner/  said  the  judge,  "  I,  and  all  here  present,  are  disposed  to  give  any 
allowance  and  indulgence  to  a  man  in  your  situation ;  but  let  me  beg  of  you  to 
be  silent." 

"  I  am  done,"  said  Todd,  "but  it  is  false  to  say  that  she  is  dead.  That 
fiend  cannot  die.  She  is  a  devil,  I  tell  you  all,  and  if  there  be  any  here  who 
fancy  that  she  is  dead,  I  tell  them  that  they  are  mistaken.  She  cannot  be 
killed.  I  know  that  well.  Go  on  with  what  you  call  your  proceedings ;  I  have 
no  more  to  say  to  you." 


CHAPTER  CXXVII. 

THE  TRIAL  OF  SWEENEY  TODD  CONTINUED. 

This  ebullition  of  feeling  upon  the  part  of  Sweeney  Todd  was  by  some  of  the 
spectators  looked  upon  as  a  vague  indication  of  insanity,  while  some  of  the 
members  of  the  bench  looked  very  mysterious,  and  asked  themselves  if  it  were 
not  the  first  step  in  the  direction  of  some  very  clever  defence.  But  then  they 
were  gentlemen  who  never  exactly  saw  anything  as  the  world  in  general  agrees 
to  see  it. 

The  judge  shook  his  head  as  if  he  rather  doubted  Sweeney  Todd's  implicit 
promise  that  he  would  not  again  interrupt  the  proceedings  ;  and  among  the 
whole  of  the  spectators  of  that  most  extraordinary  trial,  the  most  intense  in- 
terest was  evidently  rather  on  the  increase  than  the  diminution. 

The  judge  finding  that  Todd  did  not  again  say  anything  for  a  few  moments, 
slightly  inclined  his  head  to  the  Attorney-General,  as  much  as  to  say — te  Pray 
get  on,  now  that  there  seems  an  opportunity  of  so  doing ;"  and  that  personage, 
learned  in  the  law,  accordingly  rose  again,  and  having  adjusted  his  gown, 
addressed  himself  again  to  the  case  before  him,  with  his  usual  skill. 
u  My  lords,  and  gentlemen  of  the  jury — 

If  this  were  only  some  ordinary  everyday  proceeding,  I  should  not  sit 
so  calmly  under  the  indecorous  interruptions  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar ;  but 
when  I  feel,  in  common  with  all  here  present,  that  that  person  has  so  great  a 
stake  as  his  life  upon  the  issue  of  this  investigation,  I  am  disposed  in  all  charity 
to  allow  a  latitude  of  action,  that  otherwise  would  not,  and  could  not,  be 
endured. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  I  yet  hope  that  these  unseemly  interruptions  are 
over,  and  that  I  shall  be  permitted  in  peace  to  make  those  remarks  to  you, 
which  it  is  my  duty  to  make  on  behalf  of  the  crown,  who  prosecutes  in  this 
serious  case. 

"  Nothing  can  be  further  from  my  wish  than  to  heighten  by  any  strength  of 
phraseology  or  domestic  detail  the  case  against  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  1  shall 
confine  myself  to  a  recital  of  the  bare  facts  of  the  case,  feeling  that,  while  I  can- 
not detract  from  them,  they  are  of  such  a  character  of  horror*  as  to  require  no 
adventitious  aid  from  the  art  of  the  orator. 

"GeatitmM,  it  appear  that  tha  prisoner  at  the  bar  is  arraigned  for  the 
Wilful  murder  of  Francis  Thorahill.    From  what  information  we  have  bean 


able  to  collect,  the  priaoner*  Sweeney  Todd,  ii  a  native  of  the  north  of  England, 

•^tlSKmmmmmnmmmmmmmmHmmmtwmiivii  j  ^mwmnimi  '■   "  '  ■  ■ ,   ■- —   .   llnJ__   .  * 


5 


At  W 


I  tart* 

I I  *tn 

hgetri 
this  nli 


n  H  Oil 

Am 

!  Hi 

toothi 

'Ik 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  549 


He  came  to  London  about  eighteen  years  ago,  and  was  in  very  great  poverty, 
when  he  opened  a  small  barber's  shop  in  Crutched  Friars.  He  remained  in 
that  shop  about  seventeen  months,  and  then  paid  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
pounds  for  the  lease  of  a  house  in  Fleet  Street,  for  which  he  was  thus  only  to 
pay  a  rental  to  the  Skinners'  Company  of  seventeen  pound  ten  per  annum,  he 
consenting  to  keep  the  premises  in  ordinary  repair. 

"The  lowrer  part  of  this  house  had  been  a  small  hosier's  ;  but  the  prisoner  at 
the  bar  altered  it  into  a  barber's  shop,  and  he'  has  there  continued  to  reside 
until  his  arrest  upon  the  serious  charge  which  we  are  brought  here  to 
investigate. 

'*  What  were  the  pursuits  of  the  prisoner  during  his  occupancy  of  that  house, 
it  is  not  our  province  just  now  to  inquire,  as  all  our  attention  must  be  directed 
to  a  consideration  of  the  one  charge,  to  answer  to  which  he  stands  at  the  bar  of 
this  court ;  and  I  shall,  therefore,  proceed  to  detail  the  evidence  upon  which  the 
prosecution  founds  that  charge  : — 

"  II  [appears  that  upon  the  third  day  of  August  last,  a  ship  or  400  tons 
burthen,  called  the  Star,  arrived  in  the  London  Docks.  On  board  of  that  ship 
was  the  captain,  and  a  crew  of  nine  seamen,  and  two  boys.  As  passengers, 
there  was  a  Colonel  Jeffery,  and  a  Mr.  Thornhill,  whose  death  is  the  motive  of 
the  present  proceedings.  There  was  likewise  a  large  dog  named  Hector  on 
board  the  vessel,  which  was  very  much  attached  to  Mr.  Thornhill.  » 

u  Now,  gentLmen  of  the  jury,  it  had  so  happened  that  Francis  Thornhill  had 
been  commissioned,  during  the  progress  of  a  wreck  at  sea  by  a  young  gentleman 
named  Mark  lngestrie,  to  take  a  certain  String  of  Oriental  Pearls,  valued  at 
somewhre  about  sixteen  thousand  pounds  sterling,  to  a  young  lady  in  London, 
named  Johanna  Oakley  ;  and  this  Francis  Thornhill,  fully  believing  that  Mark 
lngestrie  had  perished  at  sea,  was  most  anxious  to  fulfil  his  request  regarding 
this  valuable  and  important  String  of  Pearls. 

"As  early  as  possible  he  landed  from  the  ship,  taking  the  String  of  Pearls 
with  him,  and  his  faithful  dog  Hector  accompanied  him  on  shore/* 

At  this  moment,  Hector,  who  was  in  court,  having  for  the  second  time  heard 
his  name  mentioned,  began  to  think  probably  that  something  was  going  on  con- 
cerning him,  and  he  set  up  a  loud  baik  of  defiance. 

The  effect  of  this  was  greatly  to  interest  some  of  the  auditory,  while  it 
brought  a  smile  to  the  faces  of  others.  Todd  turned  deadly  pale,  and  in  a  voice 
of  alarm,  he  cried — 

"  Keep  oft'  the  dog— keep  of  the  dog,  I  say  V9 

(i  Bow ! — wow ! — wow  V  barked  Hector  again. 

"That  dog/'  said  the  judge,  "must  be  immediately  removed  from  the  court. 
Officers,  see  to  it." 

'•I  beg,  my  lord,"  said  the  4ttorney-General,  "that  you  will  allow  him  to 
remain,  for  I  assure  your  lordship  that  he  is  a  witness  in  this  most  important 

case/ 

"  A  witness  ?" 

«  Yes,  my  lord  ;  I  speak  advisedly,  and  as  a  favour  I  hope  your  lordship  will 
permit  him  to  remain/' 

"  Will  anybody  keep  him  quiet  V 

**•  Oh,  yes,  your  worship/'  cried  the  ostler.  H  I'll  keep  Pison  like  a  mouse  as 
has  fainted  clean  away." 

Who  is  that  man,  and  what  does  he  say  ?w  said  the  judge. 

"  My  lord,"  said  the  Attorney-General,  "he  say  he  can  keep  the  dog  quite 
quiet  if  you  will  allow  him  to  remain." 

4<  Oh,  very  well.    Pray  proceed,  Mr.  Attorney." 

The  Attorney- General  then  resumed. 

«  With  the  String  of  Pearls  then,  and  the  dog,  which  the  jury  have  seens  Mr 


Francis  Thornhill  w§nt  into  thn  City  to  fulfil  the  request  of  Mark  lngestrie,  The 
address  he  had  wai  to  Mr*  Oakley,  a  spectacle-maker  in  the  City,  with  whom 
MUs  Oakley,  who  was  to  have  the  String  of  Pearls,  resided. 


550        ^    ^         THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"^Gentlemen  of the  jury,  neither  Francis  Thornhill  nor  the  String  of  Pearls 
ever  reach  their  destination-  It  appears  that  on  his  route,  Thornhill  went  into 
the  shop  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  to  be  shaved,  and  no  one  ever  saw  him  come 
out  again.  The  dog  though  was  found  sitting  at  the  door  of  the  shop,  and 
when  Todd  opened  his  shop-door,  the  dog  rushed  in  and  brought  out  his 
master's  hat. 

"  Gentlemen,  the  captain  of  the  ship  and  Lolonel  Jeffery,  both  teecame  very 
anxious  concerning  the  fate  of  Mr.  Thornhill,  and  they  made  every  inquiry. 
They  questioned  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  who  at  once  admitted  that  he  had 
shaved  him,  but  stated  that  he  had  left  his  shop  when  that  operation  was  over. 
The  captain  of  the  Star  wTas  compelled  to  go  to  Bristol  with  his  ship,  but 
Colonel  Jeffery,  in  conjunction  with  a  friend,  pressed  his  inquiries  about  Mr 
Thornhill  without  success.  The  matter  appeared  to  be  involved  in  the  most  pro- 
found mystery,  and  the  only  hope  of  an  elucidation  of  it,  consisted  in  the  probabi- 
lity that  such  a  valuable  piece  of  property  as  the  String  of  Pearls  would  be  sure 
to  turn  up  some  day  in  some  ones  possession.  Gentlemen,  it  did  so  turn  up.  It 
appeared  that  at  Hammersmith  resided  a  Mr.  John  Mundell,  who  lent  money 
upon  securities,  and  it  will  be  deposed  in  evidence,  that  one  evening  the  pri- 
soner at  the  bar,  magnificently  attired,  and  in  a  handsome  coach,  went  to  this 
Mr.  Mundell,  and  pawned  a  string  of  pearls  for  some  thousands  of  pounds. 

"It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  Mundell  cannot  be  brought  before  the  jury. 
He  is  dead,  gentlemen  ;  but  a  confidential  clerk  of  his,  who  saw  the  prisoner  at 
the  bar,  will  depose  to  the  facts. 

u  We  thus  then,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  commit  the  prisoner  with  the  disap- 
pearance of  Thornhill,  and  now  we  come  to  the  strongest  features  of  this  most 
remarkable  case. 

<c  It  appears  that  for  a  considerable  time  past,  the  church  of  St.  Dunstan's 
had  become  insufferable  from  a  peculiar  stench  with  which  the  whole  of  that^ 
sacred  edifice  appeared  to  be  constantly  filled,  and  it  baffled  all  the  authorities* 
to  account  for  it. 

"  No  one  had  been  entombed  in  any  of  the  vaults  beneath  the  church  for  a 
considerable  time,  and  in  fact,  there  was  no  apparent  reason  for  the  frightful 
miasmatic  odour  that  upon  all  occasions  filled  the  edifice,  and  day  by  day  got 
worse  instead  of  better.  Scientific  men,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  were  consulted 
with  regard  to  this  stench  in  the  church,  aiid  various  very^learnecl  theories  were 
broached  upon  the  subject ;  but  no  one  thought  of  making  an  accurate  examina- 
tion of  the  vaults  beneath  the  church,  until  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  the  well- known 
magistrate,  privately  undertook  it. 

"  Gentlemen,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  found  that  almost  every  vault  was  full  of  the 
fresh  remains  of  the  dead.  He  found  that  into  old  coffins,  the  tenants  of  which 
had  mouldered  to  dust,  there  had  been  thrust  fresh  bodies  with  scarcely  any 
flesh  remaining  upon  them,  but  yet  sufficient  to  produce  the  stench  in  the  church,  \ 
by  the  effluvia  arising  from  them,  and  finding  its  way  into  the  pews.  In  one 
vault,  too,  was  found  the  contents  of  which  were  too  horrid  for  description  ;  1 
suffice  it  that  it  contained  what  butchers,  when  speaking  of  slaughtered  animals, 
call  the  offal.    The  stench  in  St.  Dunstan's  Church  was  no  longer  a  mystery. 

"Well,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  persevered  in  his  inventiga- 
tions,  and  found  that  there  was  an  underground  connection  from  exactly  beneath 
the  shaving  shop  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  and  the  cellarage  of  a  house  in  Bell  j 
Yard,  Temple-bar,  which  was  his  property;  and  which  was  in  the  occupation  of 
a  female,  named  Lovett,  who  this  day  would  have  stood  at  the  bar  by  the  side  j 
of  the  prisoner,  had  she  not,  despite  every  vigilance  used  to  prevent  such  an  act, 
succeeded  in  poisoning  herself,  while  in  prison  in  Newgate. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  it  will  be  shown  in  evidence  that  the  way  the  larger 
portion  of  the  flesh  of  Todd's  victims  was  got  rid  of  was  bv  converting  it  into 
meat  and  pork  pies  upon  the  premises  of  Mrs.  Lovett. 

"  Beneath  Todd's  shop  was  found  a  diabolical  contrivance,  by  which  he  could 
make  any  one  he  pleased  fall  through  the  floor  upon  the  chair  they  sat  on  to  be 


shaved,  while  an  empty  chair,  in  all  respects  similar,  took  the  place  of  the  one 
that  had  been  occupied  by  the  unfortunate  victim.  If  the  unhappy  man,  thus 
betrayed  in  a  moment  of  confidence,  was  not  killed  by  the  fall,  he  would,  at  all 
events,  be  sufficiently  stunned  to  become  an  easy  prey  to  Sweeney  Todd,  when 
he  chose  to  go  down  and  despatch  him, 

"  And  now,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  and  you,  my  lord,  I  may  be  told  that  , 
these  wholesale  murders  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  indictment,  which  simply 
charges  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  with  the  wilful  murder  of  Francis  Thornhill;  but 
I  reply  that  it  was  impossible  to  make  apparent  to  the  jury  the  mode  by  which 
Francis  Thornhill  came  by  his  death,  without  going  into  these  painful  cletailsr 
Todd's  house  was  found  crammed  with  property  and  clothing  sufficient  for 
one  hundred  and  sixty  people  Vy 

A  thrill  of  horror  pervaded  the  court  at  this  announcement*  1 
"  Yes,  gentlemen  of  the  jury;  and  among  that  clothing  is  the  sleeve  of  a 
jacket,  which  will  be  sworn  to  as  having  belonged  to  Francis  Thornhill ;  but  we 
have  yet  more  cogent  evidence  of  the  fact  that  Thornhill  met  his  death  at  the 
hands  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  His  hat,  gentlemen,  will  be  identified  by  the 
dog  now  in  court.  But,  gentlemen,  is  that  enough  ?  No,  the  law  wisely  looks 
for  the  body  of  a  murdered  man  ;  and  I  do  not  call  to  mind  an  instance  of  a 
conviction  following  from  murder  where  there  has  not  been  some  satisfactory 
identification  of  the  remains  of  the  murdered  man.  We  will  produce  that  proof. 
Among  the  skeletons  found  contiguous  to  Todd's  premises,  was  one  which  will 
be  swern  to  as  being  that  of  the  deceased,  Mr.  Thornhill.  One  bone  of  that 
skeleton  will  be  produced  in  court,  and  sworn  to  by  a  surgeon  who  had  the  care 
of  it,  when  once  fractured  on  board  ship,  and  who,  from  repeated  examinations 
such  a  surgeon  only  could  make,  knows  it  well." 

This  announcement  on  the  part  of  the  Attorney- General,    produced  an 
enormous  amount  of.  excitement  in  court,  for  many  persons  had  come,  pre- 
possessed with  the  idea  that  the  non-production  of  the  dead  body  of  the  alleged 
murdered  man  would  be  a  serious  hitch  in  the  prosecution. 
Todd  looked  up,  and  in  a  loud'clear  voice  he  cried — 
"No!  no!" 

"Yes,"  added  the  Attorney -General.  "Yes.  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  that  is 
all  I  have  to  say  for  the  prosecution.  The  facts  are  as  clear  as  light,  and  you 
will  hear  from  the  mouths  of  creditable  witnesses  the  various  particulars  which 
it  has  been  my  duty  on  behalf  of  the  prosecution  to  lay  before  you  this  day." 


CHAPTER  CXXVIII. 
todd's  trial  continues,  and  goes  ALL  against  him. 
The  Attorney- General  sat  down. 

It  was  quite  clear  now  to  the  most  superficial  observer,  that  the  case  against 
Todd  had  been  just  picked  out  for  convenience  sake,  and  was  one  among  many. 
From  the  moment  that  the  Attorney-General  had  mentioned  what  facts  he  could 
prove,  the  fate  of  the  murderer  was  certain  to  the  minds  of  all.  They  looked 
upon  him  in  every  respect  as  a  doomed  man. 

Of  course  the  remarks  of  the  Attorney-General  occupied  a  much  greater  space 
than  we  have  felt  that,  injustice  to  the  other  portion  of  our  story,  we  could  give 
to  them  ;  but  what  we  have  presented  to  the  reader  was  the  essential  portion  of 
what  he  said. 

All  eyes  were  turned  upon  Todd,  to  note  how  he  took  the  statement  for  the 
prosecution  ;  but  there  was  little  to  be  gleaned  from  his  face.  His  eyes  seemed 
to  be  wondering  over  the  sea  of  faces  in  the  court,  as  if  he  were  in  search  of 
some  one  whom  he  was  disappointed  in  not  seeing.    There  was  a,pause  of  some 


.  i 


Ik 


552 

— 


THE 'STRING  Oi1  PEARLS. 


f 

i 


few  moments  duration,  and  then  the  Attorney-General  called  his  first  witness, 
who  was  examined  by  the  Junior  Counsel  for  the  prosecution. 
This  witness's  deposition  was  very  simple  and  concise, 

"I  was  master  of  the  ship,  Star,"  he  said,  "and  arrived  in  the  Port  of 
London  on  the  day  named  in  the  indictment  against  the  prisoner  at  the  bar. 
Mr.  Francis  Thornhill  had  mentioned  to  me  and  to  Colonel  JefFery  that  he  had 
a  valuable  String  of  Pearls  to  take  to  a  yiung  lady,  named  Johanna  Oakley, 
and  he  left  the  ship  with  his  dog,  Hector,  to  deliver  them*  1  never  saw  him 
again  from  that  hour  to  this.  I  was  anxious  about  him,  and  called  at  the 
barber's  shop  in  Fleet  Street,  kept  by  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  The  prisoner 
readily  admitted  that  such  a  person  had  been  shaved  at  his  shop,  and  then  had 
left  it,  but  why  the  dog  remained  he  could  not  tell.  The  dog  named  Hector 
was  at  the  door  of  the  prisoner's  house.  He  had  a  hat  with  him.  My  name  is 
Arthur  Kose  Fletcher,  and  I  am  forty  two  years  of  age." 

"  Is  this  the  hat  that  you  saw  with  the  dog  in  Fleet  Street  V- 

The  hat  was  produced.  ^ 

"  Yes,  that  is  the  hat.    I  will  swear  to  it." 

"  Whose  hat  is  it,  or  was  it  ?" 

u  It  belonged  to  Mr.  Thornhill,  who  wore  it  on  the  day  he  left  the  shop  to  go 
into  the  city  with  the  String  of  Pearls." 

"  That  is  all  then,  Mr.  Fletcher,  that  we  need  trouble  you  with  at  present. " 

The  judge  now  interposed  ;  and  in  a  mild  voice  addressing  Todd,  he  said — 

"  It  is  not  too  late  for  you  to  consent  to  the  appointment  of  counsel  to  watch 
your  case.    I  dare  say  some  gentleman  of  the  bar  will  volunteer  to  do  so." 

"With  the  prisoner's  consent,"  said  a  counsel,  who  was  sitting  at  the  table 
below  the  judge,  "  I  will  attend  to^p  case.0 

"Be  it  so/'  said  Todd, gloomily. 

Upon  this  the  counsel  rose,  and  addressing  the  captain  of  the  ship,  who  had 
not  yet  left  the  witness-box,  he  said  to  him — 

«  Mr.  Fletcher,  how  is  it  that  you  can  so  positively  identify  this  hat  of  the 
aUeged  murdered  Mr.  Thornhill,  after  such  a  space  of  time  ?n 

"By  a  remarkable  flaw  in  the  rim  of  it,  sir.  An  accident  occurred  on  board 
the  ship,  by  which  Mr.  Thornhill's  hat  was  burnt,  and  this  is  the  same  hat. 
When  he  left  the  ship  we  joked  him  about  it,  and  he  said  that  perhaps  he  would 
buy  a  new  one  in  the  City." 

*'  Indeed.    Then  he  might  have  sold  this  one.'' 

a  He  might,  certainly." 

"  And  so  the  dog  seeing  it  left  at  some  place  where  it  was  sold  or  given  away, 
and  not  comprehending  such  transaction,  might  have  taken  possession  of  it/' 
"  Of  that  1  can  say  nothing." 

"Very  well,  Mr.  Fletcher,  I  don  t  think  L  need  trouble  you  any  further. 
This  affair  of  the  hat  seems  to  fall  to  the  ground  most  completely/ 

The  Attorney-General  did  not  say  a  word  aloud,  but  he  whispered  something 
to  the  junior,  who  nodded  in  reply.  The  next  witness  called,  was  John  Figgs, 
the  groom  at  the  coach  office,  who  had  rescued  Hector  from  Todd's  malev#lenc 
His  testimony  wTasas  follows  : — 

" 1  I  saw  a  crowd  of  people  round  the  door  of  Todd's  shop,  and  I  went  over  to 
see  what  it  was  all  about.  The  dog  as  I  calls  Pison,  but  as  everybody  else  calls 
Hector,  was  trying  to  get  into  the  shop.  Some  one  opened  the  door,  and  then 
he  came  out  with  a  hat  in  his  mouth,  after  rumaging  all  over  the  shop  and  up- 
setting no  end  of  things.  T  "  1  '  *  "  *  '  '  - 
no  means.  At 

pisoned,  and  so  ^  v«.no  mm  A  1&U1J,  ttIlu  loUK  mm  l0  tne  staoies  and  got 
over  it.  ° 

"  What  is  it  he  says  he  calls  the  dog?1'  asked  the  judge,  with  a  very  per- 
piexed  looK* 

"  Pison,  my  lord." 

"  But  what  is  Pison  ?" 


i 

N 

Q 

0 

0 
H 

5 

si 

0 

i 


u 

I 

li 

M 
X 

0 
ft 

4 

•Pi 

to 

,3 
% 

ft 

I. 

8 


*** 


mm. 


THEfSTRlNG  OF  PEAliLS. 


553, 


"  He  means  Poison." 

fl  Oh,  is  that  it ;  then  why  don't  he  say  Poison  ?  It's  very  absurd  for  anybody 
to  say  Pison,  when  they  mean  Poison  all  the  while/' 

"  It's  all  the  same,"  said  the  groom.  "  Pison  is  my  way,  and  the  t'other  is 
you rn,  that's  all  !'* 


THE  TWO  MURDERERS,  TODD  AND  LUPIN,  ESCAPING  FR0M  ME  CWLL  OF  NEWGATE. 

11  What  became  of  the  hat  ?"  asked  the  junior  counsel  for  the  prosecution. 
"  I  don't  know.   When  I  found  the  dog,  in  a  wery  bad  state  indeed,  it  was 
gone." 

"  Now,  John  Figgs,"  said  Todd's  counsel,    could  you  identify  that  hat  again 
among  five  hundred  hats  like  it  ?" 
"  Five  hundred?" 


No.  70, 


554  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


"  Yes,  or  a  thousand." 

"Well,  I  should  say  not.  It  wouldn't  be  an  easy  matter  to  do  that,  I  take  it 
I  could  tell  you  a  particular  horse  among  any  lot,  but  1  ain't  so  well  known  in  the 
way  of  hats." 

"  Is  this  the  hat  ?    Can  you  deliberately  swear  that  this  is  the  hat  in 
question  ?" 

"  I  shouldn't  like  to  swear  it." 

u  Very  well,  that  will  do."  t  • 

John  Figgs  was  permitted  to  go  down  upon  this,  and  it  was  quite  evident  that 
some  faint  hope  was  beginning  to  quicken  in  the  eye  of  Sweeney  Todd,  as  he 
found  that  his  self-appointed  counsel  began  to  make  so  light  of  the  evidence  of 
the  hat.  For  the  moment  he  quite  forgot  what  damning  proofs  were  still  to 
come  to  fix  the  deed  of  muder  upon  him. 

Colonel  Jeffery  was  now  called.    He  deposed  clearly  and  distinctly  as 
follows : — 

"I  knew  Mr.  Thornhill,  and  much  regretted  his  loss.  In  company  with 
Mr.  Fletcher  I  went  to  Todd's  shop  to  make  some  inquiry  about  him,  to  the 
effect  that  he  had  been  shaved  there,  and  had  then  left.  I  did  not  feel  satisfied, 
and  when  Mr.  Fletcher  was  found  to  be  in  London,  I  got  the  assistance  of  a 
friend  of  mine,  named!  Rathbone,  and  together  we  prosecuted  what  inquiries  we 
could.  I  picked  up  a  hat  from  Todd's  passage,  and  after  putting  myself  into 
communication  with  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  I  delivered  the  hat  to  him.  I  have 
been  in  constant  communication  with  Sir  Richard  Blunt  upon  the  subject  of 
this  inquiry  for  a  long  time.  We  found  that  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  had  a  sort 
of  apprentice  or  errand  boy  in  his  shop,  named  Tobias  Ragg,  and  we  endeavoured 
to  get  some  disclosures  from  that  boy,  when  he  suddenly  disappeared.  I  found 
him  again  on  a  doorstep  in  the  City,  and  he  has  made  certain  disclosures  which 
he  will  repeat  in  evidence  to  the  court  to-day.  On  the  4th  of  last  month  I  accom- 
panied Sir  Richard  Blunt  to  a  cellar  beneath  Todd's  shop,  and  he  showed  me  a 
contrivance  in  the  roof  by  which  any  one  could  be  let  down.  We  took  workmen 
with  us  and  made  certain  alterations.  I  afterwards  accompanied  Doctor  Steers 
of  the  ship  Star  to  the  vaults  of  St.  Dunstan's,  and  1  saw  Doctor  Steers  take  a 
bone  from  there.55 

%  Pray  look  at  that  hat,  Colonel  Jeffery.    Is  it  the  same  you  found  at  Todd's 
door?" 
"It  is." 

|  Did  you  mark  the  bone  that  Doctor  Steers  took  from  the  vaults  of  St. 
Dunstan's  ?" 

u  I  did,  and  I  may  state  to  save  trouble,  that  I  placed  upon  the  hat  a  private 

mark  by  which  I  am  enabled  to  swear  to  it." 
Todd's  counsel  rose,  and  in  a  very  respectful  voice,  he  said— 
"  Did  you  ever  see  this  String  of  Pearls,  about  which  so  much  fuss  is  made, 

colonel  ?"  -  wm?.. 

"  Yes  ;  Mr.  Thornhill  showed  it  to  me." 

"  Oh.   Do  you  know  a  young  lady  named  Johanna  Oakley  V9 

iQ  I  had  that  pleasure.' * 

%  You  had  ?    Have  you  not  now  V  1 

€il  have  the  honour  of  her  acquaintance  since  her  marriage  ;  she  is  now  Mrs. 
Ingestrie." 

The  counsel  seemed  to  be  a  little  staggered  by  this  answer,  but  after  a  foment 
or  two,  he  resumed  saying— 

«  Do  you  know  a  young  lady  named  Arabella  Wilmot  ?" 
"  I  did.'' 

u  What,  colonel,  did  again  ?    Is  she  married  t* 

m  Yes  ;  that  young  lady  is  now  Mrs.  Jeffery,  my  wife/' 

The  counsel  had  evidently  intended  to  make  some  point  against  the  colonel's 
evidence,  which  was  completely  destroyed  by  the  fa,ct  of  the  two  marriages.  But 
he  resumed  the  attack  by  changing  his  ground. 


— f 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


555 


Colonel"  he  said,  " do  you  know  a  boy  named  Tobias  Ragg  ? 
<c  I  do.    He  is  a  resident  in  my  house," 

«  Will  you  take  upon  your  self  to  swear  that  that  boy,  or  lad,  or  whatever  he 
may  be  called,  is  in  his  right  senses  P* 
I  will " 

"  Will  you  swear  that  he  was  never  confined  in  a  lunatic  asylum,  from  which 
he  made  his  escape  raving  mad,  and  that  since  then  you  have  not  kept  him  to 
listen  to  his  wild  conjectures  and  dreamy  charges  against  the  prisoner  at  tne 
bar?" 

"  I  will  swear  that  he  is  not  mad,  and  

"  Come,  sir,  I  want  an  answer,  yes  or  no." 

«  Then  you  will  not  get  one.  Your  question  involves  three  or  four  proposi- 
tions, some  of  which  may  be  answered  in  the  negative,  and  some  m  the  affirma- 
tive ;  so  how  can  you  get  a  reply  of  yes  or  no  ?" 

"  Come— come,  sir.  Remember  where  you  are.  We  want  no  roundabout 
speeches  here,  but  direct  answers." 

"  It  is  impossible  to  give  a  direct  answer  to  such  a  speech  as  you  made. 
Nothing  but  ignorance  or  trickery  could  induce  you  to  ask  such  a  thing." 

49  We  cannot  allow  such  language  here,  sir.  ^  I  call  upon  the  court  for  its 
protection  against  the  insolence  of  this  witness." 

"  The  court  does  not  think  proper  to  interfere/'  said  the  judge,  quietly. 

"  Oh,  very  well.   Then  I  am  done." 

"  But  I  am  not,"  said  the  colonel.  "  I  can  inform  you,  and  all  whom  it  may 
concern,  that  the  proprietor  of  the  lunatic  asylum,  in  which  the  boy,  Ragg,  was 
so  unjustly  confined,  is  now  in  Newgate,  awaiting  his  trial  for  that  and  other 
offences,  and  that  I  have  succeeded  in  completely  breaking  up  the  establishment/ 

The  counsel  did  not  think  proper  to  say  anything  more  to  the  colonel,  who 
was  permitted,  after  firing  this  last  shot  at  the  enemy,  to  quit  the  witness-box. 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  the  next  witness  called,  and  as  his  evidence  was  ex- 
pected to  be  very  important  indeed,  all  attention  was  paid  to  it.^ 

There  was  that  buzz  of  expectation  throughout  the  court,  which  is  always  to 
be  heard  upon  ilich  occasions,  when  anything  very  important  is  about  to  take 
place,  and  every  one  shifted  his  place,  in  order  the  more  correctly  to  hear  what 

was  going  on.  *  m  •  c  c- 

The  Attorney- General  himself  arose  to  pursue  the  examination  ot  bir 

Richard  Blunt. 

It  was  evident  that  the  appearance  of  this  witness  roused  Sweeney  /lodd 
more  th&n  anything  else  had  done  since  the  commencement  of  the  proceedings. 
His  eye  lighted  up,  and  setting  his  teeth  hard,  he  prepared  himself,  with  his  left 
hand  up  to  his  ear,  to  catch  every  word  that  should  fall  from  the  lips  of  the  man 
who  had  been  his  great  enemy,  and  who  had  wound  around  him  the  web  in 
which  he  had  been  caught  at  last. 

The  appearance  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  very  attractive.  There  was  always 
about  him  an  air  of  great  candour,  and  the  expression  of  his  features  denoted 
generosity  and  boldness  in  a  most  astonishing  degree. 


CHAPTER  CXXIX. 

THE  TRIAL  OF  SWEENEY  TODD  CONTINUED. 


The  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  found  out 
all  the  villany  of  Todd,  and  overtook  him  and  Mrs.  Lovett  in  the  midst  of  their 
iniquities,  were  well-known  to  the  people  assembled  in  the  court,  and  some 
slight  manifestations  of  applause  greeted  him  as  he  stood  up  in  the  witness-box. 

This  exhibition  of  feeling  was  not  noticed  by  the  court,  and  the  Attorney- 
General  at  once  began  his  examination  in  chief. 


556  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS . 


i 


"  Sir  Richard/'  he  said,  "  will  you  have  the  kindness  to  put  into  the  form  of 
a  narration,  what  you  have  to  say  concerning  the  charge  upon  which  the 
prisoner  at  the  bar  is  arraigned  ?* 

"I  will  do  so,"  replied  Sir  Richard,  and  then  after  a  moment's  pause,  during 
which  you  might  have  heard  a  pin  drop  in  the  court,  so  intense  was  the  stillness, 
the  magistrate  gave  his  important  testimony  against  the  now  trembling  wretch 
at  the  bar  of  that  solemn  court. 

i:  A  considerable  time  ago/'  he  said,  "  my  attention  was  drawn  to  the  circum- 
stance that  a  number  of  persons  had  disappeared,  who  were  residents  about  the 
neighbourhood  of  Fleet  Street,  and  it's  vicinity.  Such  disappearances  were  totally 
and  perfectly  unaccountable.  Not  a  trace  could  be  found  of  very  many  respect- 
able men,  who  had  left  their  houses  upon  various  objects,  and  never  returned 
to  them. 

"  The  most  striking  peculiarity  of  this'  affair  was,  that  the  men  who  disap- 
peared were  for  the  most  part  great  substantial  citizens,  who  were  far  from 
likely  to  have  yielded  to  any  of  those  temptations  that  at  times  bring  the  young 
and  the  heedless  in  this  great  City  into  fearful  dangers. 

"  I  saw  the  Secretary  of  State  upon  the  subject ;  and  it  was  agreed  that  I 
was  to  have  a  carte  blanche,  as  regarged  expenses,  and  that  I  was  to  give  nearly 
the  whole  of  my  time  and  attention  to  the  unravelling  of  the  mystery.  It  was 
then,  that  after  my  careful  inquiry  I  found  that  out  of  thirteen  disappearances  no 
less  than  ten  had  declared  their  intention  to  be  to  get  shaved,  or  their  hair 
dressed,  or  to  go  through  some  process  which  required  them  to  visit  a  barber, 
I  then,  personally,  called  at  all  the  barber's  shops  in  the  neighbourhood,  but 
never  alone.  To  this  fact  of  having  some  one  waiting  for  me  in  the  shop,  I  no 
doubt  owe  my  life,  for  I  have  been  eight  times  shaved  and  dressed  by  the  prisoner 
at  the  bar." 

Todd  uttered  a  deep  groan,  and  looked  at  Sir  Richard  as  though  he  would  have 

said — 

€i  Oh,  that  I  had  you  the  ninth  time  so  much  at  my  mercy  !" 

There  was  quite  a  sensation,  and  a  shudder  through  the  court,  as  Sir  Richard 
then  stated  how  many  times  he  had  run  the  fearful  risk  of  death  at  the  hands  of 
such  a  man  as  Todd  ;  and  then  Sir  Richard  went  on  with  his  narration,  which 
deeply  and  powerfully  interested  the  judge,  counsel,  jury,  and  spectators. 

u  I  did  not  find  anything  suspicious  in  the  shop  itself  of  the  prisoner  at  the 
bar  ;  although  each  of  these  times  that  I  was  within  it,  I  looked  at  it  narrowly  ; 
but  I  did  find  that  he  always  made  an  effort  to  get  the  person  who  was  with  me 
to  leave  the  shop  upon  some  pretext  or  another,  which,  of  course,  never  suc- 
ceeded ;  and  then  without,  in  tfte  least,  appearing  vexed  at  the  failure,  he  would 
go  on  with  his  shaving  in  the  coolest  possible  manner. 

u  This,  however,  was  only  suspicion,  and  I  could  take  no  advantage  of  it, 
unless  something  else  developed  itself  likewise;  but  that  was  not  long  in  happen- 
ing. My  attention  was  directed  to  the  peculiar  odour  in  St.  Dunstan's  Church, 
and  from  the  moment  that  it  was  so,  I  in  my  own  mind  connected  it  with 
Sweeney  Todd,  and  the  disappearances  of  the  persons  who  had  so  unaccountably 
been  lost  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Fleet  Street.  Jn  the  midst  of  all 
this  then,  I  had  a  formal  application  made  to  me  concerning  the  disappearance 
of  Mr.  Francis  Thornhill,  who  had  been  clearly  traced  to  the  shop  of  the  prisoner 
at  the  bar,  and  never  seen  by  any  one  to  leave  it. 

"  From  that  moment  I  felt  that  it  was  in  the  prisoner's  shop  that  the  parties 
disappeared,  but  the  means  by  which  they  were  murdered  remained  a  profound 
mystery,  and  I  felt,  that  unless  these  means  could  be  very  distinctly  proved,  a 
conviction  would  be  difficult.  I  instituted  a  careful  search  of  the  vaults  beneath 
St.  Dunstan?s  Church,  and  I  found  a  secret  passage  communicating  with  the 
cellar  of  the  pie  shop  in  Bell  Yard,  and  afterwards  I  found  a  similar  passage 
communicating  with  the  cellar  under  the  prisoner's  shop. 

"  Upon  reaching  the  latter  cellar,  the  first  object  that  presented  itself  to  me 
was,  a  chair  fixed  to  the  roof  by  its  legs.    That  chair  1  at  once  recognised  as 


id,  ot  fciJii 


1 

rtitJWsoi 
n/ion,  nhA 
iters.  •' 
isoner  at  lie 

ilure,  be  vjouH 

dTMitage  of  it, 
lone  in  bappeo- 

it  * 
3  anaccoun* 

joftbep"50" 

,  •(Sfifto#i 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


557 


identically  like  the  one  in  the  shop,  in  which  I  had  so  frequently  sat,  and  in  a 
moment  the  whole  truth  burst  upon  me.  The  plank  upon  which  the  shaving 
chair  rested,  turned  upon  a  centre,  and  could  be  so  made  to  turn  by  a  simple 
contrivance  above,  so  that  any  unfortunate  person  could  be  Jet  down  in  a  mo- 
ment, and  the  vacant  or  supplementary  chair  would  come  up  and  take  the  place 
of  the  one  that  had  been  above. 

II  Prosecuting  my  researches,  I  found  the  skeleton  of  many  persons  in  the 
vaults,  and  much  putrid  flesh,  which  fully  accounted  for  the  odour  in  St. 
Dunstan's  Church.  I  found  likewise  tbat  no  meat  from  any  butcher  or  salesm 
ever  found  its  way  to  the  pie-shop  in  Bell  Yard.  So  upon  research  actuated  an 
that  fact,  I  found  that  the  supply  of  flesh  was  human,  and  that  was  the  way  by 
prisoner  at  the  bar  got  rid  of  a  great  portion  of  his  victims.  the 

l<  Measures  were  taken  to  prevent  any  more  murders,  by  some  persons  in  mv 
pay  always  following  any  one  into  the  shop ;  and  then,  when  the  evidence  was 
all  ready  by  the  finding  and  identification  of  Mr.  Francis  Thornhili's  leg  bone, 
I  took  measures  to  apprehend  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  I  shall  ,of  course,  be  happy 
to  answer  any  questions  that  may  be  asked  of  me." 

The  Attorney- General  then  spoke,  saying — 

"  Have  you  found  out  by  what  means  the  shaving-chair  in  the  shop  of  the 
prisoner  was  prevented  from  falling  at  the  moment  any  one  sat  in  it  V* 

"  Yes.  By  a  simple  piece  of  mechanism  which  communicated  with  the  parlour, 
he  could  release  the  swinging  board  or  keep  it  firm  at  his  pleasure.  I  have  had 
a  model  of  the  whole  of  the  apparatus  and  building,  which  will  be  laid  before  the 
jury.    It  is  here  in  the  hands  of  an  officer/* 

"  Here  you  is,"  said  Crotchet,  coming  forward  with  a  large  parcel  m  his  hands, 
which,  upon  being  taken  from  its  case,  was  found  to  be  an  accurate  representa- 
tion of  Todd's  house,  with  the  diabolical  contrivances  he  had  got  together  for 
the  purpose  of  murder. 

The  model  was  handed  to  the  jury,  and  excited  immense  and  well  deserved 
commendation. 

"  I  have  no  further  questions  to  ask  of  you,  Sir  Richard,"  said  the  Attorney- 
General  ;  "  but  I  am  sure  the  court  and  jury  cannot  but  feel  much  indebted  to  you 
for  the  very  lucid  manner  in  which  you  have  given  your  evidence.'* 

"  One  moment,  Sir  Richard,  if  you  please,"  said  Tdgdd  s  counsel  as  the  magistrate 
was  about  to  ltfave  the  witness  box.    H  I  will  not  detain  you  for  long.*' 

II I  am  quite  at  your  service,  sir,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt. 

14  How  was  it  then  that  after  you  felt  convinced  of  the  guilt  of  the  prisoner  at 
the  bar,  as  you  state  that  you  were,  although  I  think  upon  very  insufficient 
grounds,  that  you  did  not  at  once  arrest  him  ?  Does  it  not  seem  very  strange 
that  you  permitted  him  for  some  weeks  to  go  on  just  as  usual?" 

"  1  did  not  permit  him  to  go  on  ju^t  as  usual.  I  took  every  precaution  to 
prevent  him  from  adding  to  the  list  of  his  offences.  It  is  well  known  that  a 
person  in  my  situation  must  not  act  upon  his  own  convictions  of  the  guilt  of  any 
party.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  that  I  should  be  able  to  bring  satisfactory 
proof  before  a  jury  of  the  guilt  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  and  it  would  have  been 
quite  premature  to  arrest  him  until  I  had  that  proof." 

"  And  pray,  Sir  Richard,  when  did  you  consider  you  had  that  proof  ?" 

"  When  the  surgeon  was  able  to  swear  to  a  portion  of  the  remain 
Francis  Thornhill." 

<f  Oh,  then  I  am  to  understand  that  you  rest  the  case  for  the  prosecution  upon 
a  bone?" 

" 1  do  not  prosecute." 

"  But  you  took  the  prisoner  into  custody,  sir  ;  and  am  I  to  believe  that  you 
did  so  solely  on  account  of  the  finding  a  bone  in  some  of  the  vaults  of  St. 
Dunstan's?'' 

"  You  can  conclude  so." 

"  Oh,  I  can  conclude  so  ?  Very  well  then.  Gentleman  of  the  jury,  it  appears 
that  the  whole  case  against  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  my  worthy  and  exemplary 


2^ 


558 


THE  STRING  OF  PEATtLS. 


In 


dfe^  a  bone.    That  will  do,  Sir  Richard  ;  we  will  not  trouble  you 

any  further.  Perhaps  the  court  will  stop  the  case,  as  it  only  rests  upon  a 
bone." 

"Not  exactly,5'  said  the  judge.  ,  .      . ,  ,«  :M       .      ^  l 

The  next  witness  was  the  surgeon,  and  his  evidence  was  listened  to  with  great 

attention.    He  said— 

I  was  in  the  vaults  of  St.  Dunstan's  church,  and  I  looked  over  a  great 
quantity  of  osteological  remains.  Among  those  remains  I  found  a  male 
femur." 

«  A  what,  sir  ?"  said  Todd's  counsel. 

« It  would  be  better,"  said  the  judge,  mildly,  "if  the  witness  would  be  so 
good  as  to  give  the  vulgar  names  to  what  he  may  have  to  speak  of,  as  the  jury 
may  well  be  excused  for  not  being  in  possession  of  anatomical  and  scientific 
nomenclature." 

"I  will  endeavour  to  do  so,"  said  the  surgeon.  " I  beg  to  assure  the  court, 
that  it  was  from  no  feeling  of  pedantry  that  1  used  the  scientific  terms ;  but  they 
are  so  common  professionally,  that  they  are  used  without  thinking  that  they  are 
other  than  the  terms  in  common  use." 

"  That  is  just  the  way  I  view  it,"  said  the  judge,  "and  the  court  had  not  the 
least  idea  of  anything  else.    Pray  go  on,  sir,  with  you  evidence/' 

"I  found,  then,  a  large  quautity  of  human  bones,"  said  the  surgeon,  "m  the 
vaults  of  St.  Dunstan's,  and  among  them  a  male  thigh-bone,  which  I  have  with 
me." 

Here  he  produced  from  his  great-coat  pocket  the  bone  he  spoke  ot,  wrapped 
up  in  paper,  and  deliberately  untying  the  string  which  bound  the  paper  to  it,  he 
handed  it  to  the  jury.  One  of  that  body,  more  bold  than  the  rest,  took  it,  but 
several  of  the  jurymen  shrunk  from  it. 

"Now,  sir,"  said  the  Attorney- General,  "  can  you  upon  you  oath,  without 
the  slightest  reservation,  take  upon  yourself  to  say  whose  thigh-bone  this  was  ?" 

"  I  can.    It  was  the  thigh-bone  of  Mr.  Fiancis  Thornhill." 

"  Will  you  state  to  the  court  and  jury,  the  grounds  upon  which  you  arrive  at 
that  conclusion  ?" 

M  I  wiH,  sir.  Mr.  Thornhill  met  with  an  accident  of  a  tedious  and  painful 
nature.  The  external  condylor  projection  on  the  outer  end  ot  the  thigh-bone,  which 
makes  part  of  the  knee  joint,  was  broken  off,  and  there  was  a  diagonal  fracture 
about  three  inches  higher  up  upon  the  bone.  1  had  the  sole  care  of  the  case, 
and  although  a  cure  was  effected,  it  was  not  without  considerable  distortion  of 
the  bone,  and  general  disarrangement  of  the  parts  adjacent.  From  my  frequent 
examination  I  was  perfectly  well  acquainted  with  the  case,  and  I  can  swear 
that  the  bone  in  the  hands  of  the  jury  was  the  one  so  broken,  and  to  which  I 
attended." 

"  Very  well,  sir  ;  that  is  aU  I  wish  to  trouble  you  with." 

The  Attornev-General  sat  down,  but  Todd's  counsel  rose,  and  said— 

"  Did  you  ever  have  a  similar  case  to  that  of  Mr.  Thornhili's  under  your 

treatment  r 

"  Never  a  precisely  similar  one.'' 

"  But  you  have  heard  of  such  cases  f$ 

"  Certainly." 

"They  are  sufficiently  common,  not  to  be  positively  rare  and  curious  in  the 
profession 

"They  are  not  common,  but  still  they  do  occur  sufficiently  often  to  lose  the 
character  of  rarity." 

"  Of  course.  You  have  no  other  means  of  identifying  the  bone,  but  by  its 
having  been  fractured  in  the  way  you  describe?" 

<;  Certainly  not." 

€t  Then,  it  may  be  the  thigh-bone  of  any  one  who  has  suffered  a  similar  in- 
jury. 

With  this  remark,  the  counsel  sat  down,  and  the  surgeon  was  permitted  to 


MM. 


i  ill  hi  ay 


■WW 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  5S9 


retire.  The  bone  was  laid  upon  the  counsel's  table,  and  there  it  reposed  a  sad 
memento  of  poor  Thornhill,  and  a  mute  but  eloquent  piece  of  evidence  against 
the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  Todd,  however,  did  not  seem  to  be  at  all  moved  at  the 
sight  of  the  relict  of  the  murdered  victim.  Probably  he  had  for  too  long  a  time 
been  intimate  with  the  remains  of  mortality,  during  the  frightful  trade  he  had 
carried  on,  for  such  a  circumstance  to  touch  him  in  any  perceptible  way. 

The  next  witness  called,  was  another  medical  man,  who  merely  corroborated 
the  ship's-surgeon,  as  to  the  fact  of  the  bone  produced  haying  been  fractured  in 
the  way  he  described* 


CHAPTER  CXXX. 

TODD  ENTERTAINS  SOME  HOPES  OF  AN  ACQUITTAL. 

THE  next  witness  was  the  sexton  of  St.  Dunstan's. 

"  Will  you  state  to  the  jury,  when  the  last  entombment  took  place  in  the 
vaults  of  St.  Dunstan's  E?  was  the  question  asked  of  him. 

"  On  the  30th.  of  January,  five  years  ago,'7  he  replied,  "  a  gentleman  named 
Shaw,  from  Chancery  Lane,  was  placed  in  a  vault,  but  po  one  since  then.  The 
vaults  were  considered  offensive  to  the  living,  and  was  not  used." 

"  Let  the  medical  men  be  called  again/'  said  the  Attorney- General. 

They  were  so  called  ;  and  the  question  put  to  them  was,  as  to  the  age  of  the 
bone  produced  in  court.  They  both  swore  that  it  could  not  have  been  six 
months  in  its  present  condition.  It  had  all  the  aspect  of  a  fresh  bone;  and  they 
entertained  no  sort  of  doubt  upon  the  subject,  but  that  the  flesh  had  been  roughly 
taken  off  it,  and  then  the  slight  remainder  had  rapidly  dried  and  decayed. 

This,  then,  was  the  case  for  the  prosecution,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
evidence  or  confession  of  Mrs.  Lovett  was  not  at  all  made  use  of  or  attended 
to,  so  that  even  in  her  dying  hope  of  doing  vast  injury  to  Todd,  she  failed.  The  j 
case  was  considered  to  be  good  enough  without  such  testimony,  and  the  lawyers, 
too,  were  of  opinion  that  it  would  not  be  received  by  the  judge,  even  if  tendered, 
under  all  the  circumstances. 

The  Attorney-General  rose  again,  and  said — 

"  That  is  the  case,  my  lord,  and  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  for  the  prosecution ; 
and  we  leave  it  in  your  hands  to  deal  with  as  you  shall  think  fit." 

Todd's  cousel  now  rose  to  commence  the  speech  for  the  defence,  and  he  spoke 
rather  ingeniously,  as  follows — 

"  My  lord,  and'  gentlemen  of  the  jury — 

"  I  have,  upon  the  part  of  my  client,  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  most  seriously 
to  complain  of  the  vast  amount  of  extraneous  matter  that  has  been  mixed  up 
with  this  case.  To  one  grain  of  wheat,  we  have  had  whole  bushels  of  chaff ; 
and  gentlemen  have  been  brought  here  surely  to  amuse  the  court  with  long- 
winded  romances. 

"  Gentlemen,  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  is  clearly  and  distinctly  charged  with  the 
murder  of  one  Francis  Thornhill,  and  instead  of  any  evidence,  near  or  remote, 
fixing  that  deed  upon  him,  we  have  nothing  but  long  stories  about  vaults,  and 
bad  odours  in  churches,  and  moveable  floor-boards,  and  chairs  standing  on  their 
heads,  and  vaults,  and  secret  passages,  and  pork  pies  !  Really,  gentlemen  of 
the  jury,  I  do  think  that  the  manner  in  which  this  prosecution  has  been  got 
up  against  my  virtuous  and  pious  client,  is  an  outrage  to  your  common-sense." 

Todd  rather  looked  up  at  this.  It  was  something  to  hear  even  an  Old  Bailey 
counsel  call  him  virtuous  and  pious ;  and  a  gleam  of  hope  shot  across  his  heart 
that  things  might  not  be  quite  so  hard  with  him  after  all. 

H  Tllis,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,"  continued  the  counsel,  "  is  an  attempt,  I 
must  say,  to  take  the  life  of  a  man  from  a  variety  of  circumstances  external  to 
the  real  charge  to  which  he  is  called  upon  here  to  plead.    Let  us  examine  the 


cam 


560  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


^TcTevite^^  it  has  been  thought  proper  to  put  a  fellow.creature 

tr,  *Viia  hat  nnon  a  charge  affecting  his  life. 

•<  Jn  the  first  place,  we  are  told  that  a  number  of  very  respectable  men  went 
out  from  their  various  respectable  houses,  and  never  went  back  again*  Pray, 
what  has  that  to  do  with  the  death  of  one  Francis  Thornhill  ?  Then  we  are 
told  that  the  respectable  men  went  to  get  shaved ;  and  then  that  bir  Kichard 
Blunt  had  a  shave  no  less  than  eight  times  at  the  prisoner's  shop,  and  yet  here 
he  is  quite  alive  and  well  to  give  his  evidence  here  to-day,  and  no  one  will  say 
that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  is  not  a  respectable  man.  Then  we  have  a  bad  smell 
in  the  church  of  St.  Dunstan's.  Really,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  you  might  as 
well  say  that  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  committed  felony,  because  this  court  was 
not  well  ventilated. 

"  We  are  told,  to  come  more  particularly  to  the  evidence,  such  as  it  is,  bearing 
upon  the  case,  that  Francis  Thornhill  left  a  certain  shop  intending  to  go  into 
the  City  to  a  Miss  Oakley,  and  that  on  the  road  he  went  into  the  prisoner  * 
shop  to  be  shaved,  and  from  that  we  are  asked  to  infer  that  he  was  murdered 
there,  because  nobody  saw  him  come  out.  Really,  this  is  too  bad  !  Hundreds 
of  people  may  have  seen  him  come  out,  and  no  doubt  did  do  so,  but  they  happened 
not  to  know  him,  and  so  just  because  no  one  was  passing  who  could  say,  4  Ah  ! 
Mr.  Thornhill,  how  do  you  do  ?  I  see,  you  have  had  a  clean  shave  to-day/  the 
prisoner  at  the  bar  is  to  be  declared  guilty  of  murder. 

"  Then  we  are  told  a  long  story  about  a  bone,  and  that  is  declared  to  be  a 
bone  of  the  deceased.  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  what  would  you  think  of  a  man 
who  should  produce  a  brick,  and  swear  that  it  belonged  to  a  certain  house  ?  But 
this  bone  is  to  be  identified  on  account  of  having  been  fractured,  when  the 
medical  witness  swears  that  such  fractures  are  far  from  rare. 

"  Then  again,  a  hat  said  to  be  the  hat  of  the  deceased  is  sworn  to,  as  belong- 
ing  to  him,  because  of  some  injury  it  had  received.  Granted  that  it  did  belong 
to  him.  No  doubt  he  sold  it  in  Fleet  Street  and  bought  a  nev  one,  and  there 
is  no  proof  that  that  hat  produced  is  the  same  one  that  is  said  to  have  been 
taken  out  of  the  prisoner' s  shop. 

"I  do  think,  gentlemen,  that  you  will  see  upon  what  a  string  of  sophistry 
the  evidence  against  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  rests.  Who  shall  take  upon  himself 
to  say  that  Mr.  Thornhill  is  not  now  alive  and  well  somewhere  ?  We  all  know 
that  persons  connected  with  the  sea  are  rather  uncertain  in  their  movements.  But, 
gentlemen,  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  has  a  plain  unvarnished  tale  to  tell,  which 
will  clear  him  from  any  suspicions." 

At  this  point,  the  learned  counsel  hitched  up  his  gown  upon  his  shoulders, 
and  settled  his  wig  upon  his  head,  as  though  preparing  for  a  grand  effort,  and 

then  he  continued — 

U.  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  my  client  is  a  religious  man,  as  any  one  may  see  by 
the  mild  and  gentlemanly  look  of  his  amiable  countenance.  He  took  the  pre- 
mises in  Fleet  Street  in  the  pursuit  of  his  highly  useful  calling ;  and  he  had  no 
more  idea  that  there  was  a  moveable  board  in  his  shop,  and  that  his  shaving- 
chair  would  go  down  with  any  one,  than  the  child  unborn.  Is  it  likely  that  a 
man  who  could  stoop  to  such  baseness  as  to  make  money  by  murder  would 
occupy  himself  with  such  a  trivial  employment  as  shaving  for  a  penny  ?  The 
deceased  gentleman,  Mr.  Francis  Thornhill,  if  he  be  deceased  at  all,  came  into 
my  worthy  client's  shop  to  be  shaved,  and  was,  at  that  time,  a  little  the  worse 
for  some  small  drops  that  he  had  indulged  himself  with,  no  doubt,  as  he  come 
along.  The  prisoner  at  the  bar  did  shave  him ;  and  then  he  said  that  he  had  to 
go  and  see  a  young  lady,  and  that  he  should  buy  a  new  hat  as  he  went  along. 
The  dog,  about  which  so  much  has  been  said,  came  into  the  shop  along  with 
his  master,  and  while  the  shaving  was  going  on  found  out,  and  actually  devoured, 
half  a  pound  of  tripe,  off  which  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  was  going  to  make  his 
humble  dinner. 

u  Oh!  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  ask  yourselves  if  a  murderer  is  likely  to  make 


"' "tm*i  ii»niintr«  in  — iiurn 


Hp  t 


THE  STRING  OF  PEAKLS, 


501 


    .  _.n      .,„!«■■■  ,-i 


half  a  pound  of  tripe  satisfy  him  for  dinner!  Ask  yotfi*  own  ednselenees^  and 
yaur  own  common-sense,  that  question. 

IC  Well,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  when  he  was  shaved,  and  after  ray  client  had 
had  to  turn  this  dog  twice  out  of  his  shop,  Mr.  Thornhill  left  and  went  towards 
Fleet  Market.    The  prisoner  watched  him  from  his  door,  arid  actually  saw  him 


! 


THE  -ASTONISHED  WATCHMAN »■ — LEAVING  NEWGATE  BEHIND. 

begin  fighting  with  a  porter  at  the  top  of  the  market ;  and  then  as  another  per- 
son came  in  to  be  shaved,  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  returned  into  his  shop  to 
attend  to  that  customer,  and  saw  no  more  of  Mr.  Thornhill.  In  the  course  of 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  however,  the  dog  pushed  the  door  of  the  shop  open,  and 
brought  in  a  hat  in  his  mouth,  but  the  prisoner  turned  him  out  again,  and  that 
is  all  he  knows  of  the  transaction. 


No.  71. 


"^'.Vt.-JJf 


562 


M  string  of  Pearls. 


^^G^mlnof  the  jury,  the  prisoner  It  the  Mr*  w 

volence  and  his  piety.  Even  at  a  time  when  the  bad  odour  m  St  Dunstans 
hiduced  many  of  the  parishioners  to  go  elsewhere,  he  always  attended  his  own 
church,  and  in  the  most  pious  and  exemplary  manner  made  the  responses.  I 
ask  you  as  men,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  if  you  could  do  that  with  the  conscious- 
ness that  you  had  committed  a  murder  ?  #  ^ 

«<  Gentlemen,  it  is  for  my  client  a  most  unfortunate  thing  that  a  person  named 
Lovett,  who  kept  the  pie-shop  in  Bell  Yard,  is  not  now  in  the  land  of  the  living. 
If  she  were  so,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  she  would  have  told  some  true  tale  ot 
how  the  vaults  beneath  the  old  church  connected  with  her  shop,  and  so  have 
cleared  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  of  all  participation  in  her  crimes. 

That  murder  has  been  committed  in  conjunction  with  that  woman,  who 
committed  suicide  rather  than  come  forward  and  clear  the  prisoner  at  the  bar, 
against  whom  she  had  a  spite,  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  but,  gentlemen,  it  is  the 
wrong  man  who  now  stands  at  this  bar.  The  real  murderer  has  yet  to  be  dis- 
covered; and  therefore  it  is  that  I  call  upon  you,  in  the  sacred  name  of  justice,  to 

aquit  my  client."  rr 
With  this  the  counsel  sat  down,  and  Todd  looked  positively  hopeful.  Me 
drew  a  long  breath  or  two,  and  ventured  a  keen  glance  towards  the  jury-box. 

"  E>o  you  call  any  witnesses,"  asked  the  junior  counsel,  "  for  the  prosecu- 
tion V  „ 

««  No— no— no.    Witnesses  !    Innocence  is  its  own  best  safeguard. 
"  I  waive  my  right  of  reply,  mv  lord,"  said  the  Attorney-General. 
Upon  this,  nothing  remained  for  the  judge  to  do  but  to  sum  up  the  evidence; 
and  after  arranging  his  notes,  he  proceeded  to  do  so,  in  that  clear  and  lucid 
style,  for  which  some  of  our  judges  are  so  famous. 

"  The  prisoner  at  the  bar,  Sweeney  Todd,  stands  charged  with  the  wilful 
murder  of  Francis  Thornhill.  It  appears  that  Francis  Thornhill  left  a  certain 
ship  for  the  purpose  of  proceeding  to  a  Miss  Oakley  in  the  City  of  London, 
with  a  String  of  Pearls,  which  had  been  confided  to  him  to  deliver  to  that  lady 
by  a  Mr.  Mark  Ingestrie. 

"  We  have  it  in  evidence,  that  Francis  Thornhill  on  his  route  down  or  along 
the  northern  side  of  Fleet  Street,  went  into  the  shaving  shop,  kept  by  the 
prisoner  at  the  bar,  and  from  that  instant  he  is  not  again  seen  alive.  The 
prisoner  at  the  bar  takes  a  String  of  Pearls,  similar  to  those  which  were  in  the 
possession  of  Francis  Thornhid,  and  raises  upon  them  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  of  a  man  named  John  Mundell.  It  appears  then,  that  the  hat  of  Mr. 
Francis  Thornhill  is  taken  from  the  premises  of  the  prisoner  by  a  dog  ;  and  it 
further  appears,  upon  the  clear  testimony  of  respectable  persons,  that  beneath  the 
prisoner's  shop  is  a  contrivance  by  which  people  might  be  killed;  and  there  or 
thereabouts  contiguous  to  that  contrivance,  a  certain  bone  is  found,  which  is 
proved  to  be  the  thigh-bone  of  Francis  Thornhill. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  the  sequence  of  evidence  by  which  it  is  attempted 
to  bring  this  crime  home  to  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  lies  in  a  very  small  compass 
indeed.  Firstly,  there  is  the  tracing  of  Francis  Thornhill  to  the  prisoner's  shop, 
and  his  disappearance  from  thence.  Then  there  is  the  hat  found  there  or  taken 
from  there,  and  then  there  is  the  thigh-bone  sworn  to  be  that  of  Francis 
Thornhill,  and  certainly  found  in  such  contiguity  to  his  premises,  as  to  warrant 
a  belief  that  he  placed  it  there. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  the  case  is  in  your  bands." 

This  was  a  very  short  summing  up,  but  the  bar  quite  understood  it  to  mean 
that  the  guilt  of  the  prisoner  was  so  clear  and  transparent,  that  it  was  not  at 
all  necessary  for  the  judge  to  go  elaborately  through  the  evidence,  but  merely 
as  a  matter  of  form,  leave  the  facts  in  evidence  to  the  jury. 

And  now  came  that  awful  moment  to  Todd,  when  the  question  of  guilty  or 
not  guilty  hovered  on  the  lips  of  those  twelve  men,  who  were  to  decide  upon 
his  fate.  The  jury  laid  their  heads  together  for  a  few  moments\only,  and  then 
they  turned  round  and  faced  the  court  again. 


MM* 


THE  STRING  03?  PEARLS.   563 

  ...  _^       '■"      '  "      "  1- 

i  ■  — i  -  —  t  ~  ' — — * — — — — ■ — — ■  ^ — — — ■  . .  i  n "  i    i    ■  ii  in    i  1     '     1  n    i   1  

The  clerk  of  the  arraigns  rose,  and  spoke — 

«  Gentleman  of  the  jury.    How  say  you  ?    Do  you  find  the  prisoner  at  the 
bar  guilty  or  not  guity  of  the  crime  laid  to  his  charge  in  the  indictment  f! , 
"  Guilty  !"  said  the  foreman. 

A  cheer  burst  from  the  auditors,  and  the  judge  raised  his  hand,  saying— 
**  Officers,  repress  this  unmanly  exultation  that  a  fellow-creature  is  found 
guilty  of  a  dreadful  crime.    I  beg  that  any  person  so  offending  may  be  brought 

before  me  at  once/'  j 
The  officer  could  not  or  would  not  find  anybody  so  offending,  but  the  judge  s 
words  had  the  effect  of  calming  the  tumult  at  all  events,  and  then  all  eyes  were 
turned  upon  Sweeney  Todd,  who  stood  in  the  dock  glaring  at  the  foreman  of 
the  jury,  as  though  he  had  only  imperfectly  heard  what  he  had  said,  or  if  he 
had  perfectly  heard  him,  doubting  the  evidence  of  his  own  senses,  as  regarded 
the  real,  full,  and  true  meaning  of  the  dreadful  word  "  guilty  !" 


CHAPTER  CXXXL 

TODD  MAKES  AN  ATTEMPT  UPON  HIS  OWN  LIFE. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  minutes  the  tumult  in  the  court  was  effectually  sup- 
pressed, and  then  as  it  was  known  that  the  judge  would  sentence  Todd  at  once, 
all  eyes  were  turned  upon  the  criminal,  to  note  the  effect  which  that  awful 
moment  was  likely  to  have  upon  him. 

The  judge  spoke. 

Si  Sweeney  Todd,  you  have  been  by  an  impartial  and  patient  jury,  convicted 
upon  the  clearest  evidence  of  the  murder  of  Francis  Thornhill.  Have  you  any- 
thing to  say  why  sentence  of  death,  according  to  the  law,  should  not  be  passed 
forthwith  upon  you?" 

Todd  did  not  seem  to  understand  the  question,  and  the  Governor  of  Newgate 
repeated  it  to  him.  He  started  then,  and  glared  at  the  judge,  as  in  a  deep  hol- 
low voice,  he  said — 

"  Death  !  death ! — Did  you  say  death  V\ 

"  Such  says  the  law — not  I.  If  you  have  anything  to  say  why  that  sentence 
should  not  be  pronounced  against  you,  now  is  your  only  time  in  which  to 
say  it." 

Todd  passed  his  hand  twice  across  his  brow  before  he  spoke,  and  then,  in  a 
vehement  voice,  he  said — 

"  It  is  false— all  false.  I  did  not  kill  the  man.  There  is  a  vile  conspiracy 
against  me.  1  say  I  did  not  do  it.  Who  saw  me— what  eye  was  upon  me  ? 
I  was  at  chapel — at  prayers,  when  you  say  among  you  that  I  did  it.  It  is  a 
plot — nothing  but  a  plot  from  first  to  last.  You  wrould  make  me  the  victim  of 
it  among  you.  Who  saw  me  kill  him  ?  I  know  nothing  of  hidden  places  in  the 
old  house.    It  is  not  true,  I  say.    A  plot— a  vile  plot  for  my  destruction." 

"  Have  you  finished  ??  said  the  judge. 

«  Have  I  not  said  enough  ?  I  know  nothing  of  it.  I  am  a  poor  man,  and 
strive  to  get  a  living  as  best  1  might,  and  among  you  now  you  bring  a  bone 
from  some  churchyard  to  kill  me  with.  You  swear  anything — I  know  you  all 
well.  If  the  man  you  say  1  killed  be  really  dead,  I  here  at  this  moment  sum- 
mon his  spirit  from  another  world,  to  come  and  bear  witness  for  me  that  I  did 
not  kill  him !" 

These  last  words  Todd  yelled  out  in  such  a  tone  of  frantic  passion,  that  every- 
body looked  aghast ;  and  more  than  once,  more  than  commonly  superstitious 
spectators  thought  that  the  appeal  to  the  beings  of  a  supernatural  world  might 
yet  be  answered  in  some  way. 

There  was  a  death-like  stillness  in  the  court  for  some  few  moments,  and  then 
the  Governor  of  Newgate  m  a  whisper,  said  to  Todd— ■ 


564 


'*  Have  you  finished  I  \ 

f«  Finished  what  i"  he  cried,  in  a  startling  tone.  "  Finished  what  ?— Finished  ! 
pleading  for  my  life  ?  Yes,  I  have,  for  I  know  that  they  have  made  up  their 
minds  to  murder  me.  I  have  no  witnesses— they  a**e  all  in  the  grave  now. 
That  woman,  Lovett,  who  is  dead,  you  tell  me—I  cannot  say  if  she  be  dead  or 
not,  she  is  hard  to  kill— that  woman  could  exculpate  me ;  but,  as  I  say,  my  wit- 
nesses are  in  the  grave,  and  there  is  no  truth  in  spirits  visiting  this  world  again, 
!  or  she  and  the  man  you  say  I  murdered  would  appear  here,  and  yell  in  your 
ears,  all  of  you,  that  I  did  not  do  it." 

The  iudge  sat  quite  patiently.  He  was  evidently  resolved  to  hear  quietly 
what  Todd  chose  to  say.  It  could  but  occupy  a  little  more  time ;  and  as  his 
fate  was  fixed,  it  did  not  matter.  ! 

"  If  you  have  finished  your  observations,  prisoner/*  said  the  judge,  44  it  will 
now  be  my  duty  to  proceed  to  pass  upon  you  the  sentence  of  the  law." 

"But  I  have  said  I  did  not  do  it.    I  am  not  guilty.0 

u  It  does  not  lie  within  my  power  to  decide  that  question.  The  jury  have  found 
you  guilty,  and  all  I  have  to  do  in  my  capacity  here  is,  in  accordance  with  that 
finding,  to  sentence  you  according  to  law.  If  you  could  have  stated 
I  any  legal  impediment  to  the  passing  of  the  sentence,  it  would  have  had  effect ; 
but  now  it  is  my  painful  duty  to  " 

"  Hold!  I  will,  and  can  state  a  legal  impediment/' 

"What  is  it?" 

"  I  am  mad  V* 

The  judge  opened  his  eyes  rather  wider  than  usual  at  this  statement,  and  the 
jury  looked  at  each  other  in  wonder  and  amazement.  Among  the  spectators 
there  was  a  general  movement,  too,  of  surprise.  I 

u  Mad  !3'  said  the  judge. 

"Yes/*  added  Todd,  holding  up  his  arms,  4fI  am  mad — quite  mad.  Bo  you 
think  any  other  but  a  madman  would  have  done  the  deeds  with  which  you 
charge  me?  I  either  did  not?  do  them,  and  am  saved,  or  I  did  do  all  these 
murders,  the  consequences  of  which  you  would  heap  upon  my  head,  and  am 
|  mad*  What  is  there  in  the  wide  world  would  compensate  a  man  for  acting  as 
)  you  say  I  have  acted  ?  Could  he  ever  know  peace  again  ?  What  is  madness  J 
but  an  affliction  of  providence  ?  and  dare  you  take  the  life  of  a  man,  who  has 
acted  in  a  certan  way,  in  consequence  of  a  disease  with  which  the  Almighty  ! 
has  thought  proper  to  visit  him  ?  I  tell  you  you  dare  not,  and  that  1  am 
mad!" 

This  speech  was  uttered  with  a  vehemence  that  made  it  wonderfully  effective  ; 
and  at  its  conclusion  Todd  still  held  up  his  arms,  and  glared  upon  the  judge  with 
the  look  of  one  who  had  advanced  something  that  was  utterly  and  completely 
unanswerable. 

The  judge  leant  over  to  the  recorder,  and  whispered  something  to  him,  and 
the  recorder  whispered  to  the  judge. 
**  Mad  !    Mad  !"  shrieked  Todd  again. 

The  Attorney-General  now  whispered  something  to  the  judge,  who  nodded; 
and  then  addressing  Todd,  he  said  in  calm  and  measured  tones — 

"  However  great  the  novelty  of  a  plea  of  insanity,  put  in  by  the  party  himself, 
may  be,  it  will  yet  meet  with  every  attention.  I  shall  now  proceed  to  pass 
sentence  of  death  upon  you  ;  and  after  you  are  removed  to  the  jail  of  Newgate, 
certain  physicians  wiil  see  you,  and  report  upon  your  mental  condition  to  the 
Secretary  of  State,  who  will  act  accordingly/' 

Todd  dropped  his  arms. 

The  judge  put  on  the  black  cap,  and  continued — 
^  "  Sweeny  Todd,  you  have  been  convicted  of  the  crime  of  murder  ;  and  certain 
circumstances,  which  it  would  have  been  improper  to  produce  before  this  court 
in  the  progress  of  '  your  trial,  lead  irresistibly  to  the  belief  that  your  life  for  years 
past  has  been  one  frightful  scene  of  murder;  and  that  not  only  the  unhappy 
gentleman  for  whose  murder  you  now  stand  here  in  so  awful  a  position  has 
 .  -A  -„,., t*fr  ...    ______ 

— »■  i         _i  ■    ii .1 1  I   ■  I  -  ,n  ■     I  -  -  -   '"  J  '"l*B*"  fW"  '  ■-■■nfiw>'>"ii_n...in,,,„.iB  .,1^  wiinnwp^  >^i»  ni_»w«n>i'i 

 ~  *—  wnW.«Ji— ■■■n-  —n*.  —  _n_«h-l  n  ii    i    wiwitwwi  «»jr- .  mwi-j-^—^  ^ —.*_,_.-. -__.r  __  ■ir_-|min   r|     .    mi  -,rrin  -  „  ,r  ■. j  j  ... ,      _j,  ._    »  . 


IS 


m  ■ 


H 

i 

''as  Is 


MA 


rJiicii  w 

■ 

all  that  I 
a/jd  am 
ictoyas 

Lo  has  ! 
nighty 
I  am 

?ective; 
:dgcwith 


him, 


to  PJSS 


to 


,d  certain 
his 

fori1 , 


I  t 


suffered  from  your  frightful  practices,  but  many  others.  It  will  be  a  satisfaction, 
too,  to  the  court  and  the  jury  to  know  that  the  woman  named  Lovett,  who  you 
say  would  and  could  have  proved  your  innocence,  had  she  been  in  life,  made, 
shortly  before  her  death,  a  full  confession,  wherein  she  inculpated  you  most 
fearfully.'1 

"  False  !   False  !"  cried  Todd. 

The  judge  took  not  the  slightest  notice  of  the  interruption,  but  continued  his 
speech — 

u  It  is  now  my  painful  duty  to  pass  upon  you  the  sentence  of  the  law,  which 
is,  that  you  be  hanged  by  the  neck  until  dead,  and  may  Heaven  have  mercy  upon 
you,  for  you  cannot  expect  that  society  can  do  otherwise  than  put  out  of  life 
one  who,  like  yourself,  has  been  a  terror  and  a  scourge." 

u  Quite  mad !"  cried  Todd.    "  Quite  mad  !M 

**  Officers,  remove  the  prisoner,"  said  the  judge,  who  was  much  disgusted  by 
the  attempt  of  Todd  upon  their  credulity,  by  stating  that  he  was  mad. 

The  Governor  of  Newgate  laid  hold  of  him  by  the  arm,  but  Todd  raised  his 
voice  again,  saying — 

u  One  moment.  Only  one  moment.  Before  I  leave  this  court,  I  have  a  great 
desire  to  say  something  "to  Sir  Richard  Blunt." 

"  If  Sir  Richard  Blunt  has  no  objection/'  said  the  judge,  "the  court  can  have 
none.    Is  that  gentleman  present  PM 

"  I  am  here,"  said  Sir  Richard,  as  he  made  his  way  towards  the  dock,  in  which 
Todd  was.    "  What  is  it  you  have  to  say  to  me,  Sweeny  Todd 

"  It  is  for  your  private  ear/' 

"  Then,  I  decline  to  hear  it.  If  you  have  anything  to  say  to  me,  say  it  out, 
and  openly. «  J  decline  any  private  communications.* 

66  Nay,  but  it  really  interests  those  whom  you  love.  Come  a  little  closer  to 
me,  and  I  will  speak  it." 

"  Now  **  said  Sir  Richard,  as  he  reached  the  front  of  the  dock,  *  speak  at 
once,  and  say  what  it  is.    The  court  is  too  indulgent  to  you/' 

w  Is  it,  really  !" 

With  the  rapidity  of  thought,  Todd  drew  a  small  table  knife  from  the  breast 
of  his  apparel,  and  made  a  stab  at  Sir  Richard's  neck  with  it;  but  the  magistrate 
had  had  by  far  too  long  experience  with  such  men  as  Todd  to  be  so  taken  at 
unawares,  and  he  dropped  to  the  floor  of  the  court  before  the  point  of  the  knife 
reached  him.  The  Governor  of  Newgate  sprung  upon  Todd,  and  disarmed  him 
in  a  moment. 

From  seeing  Sir  Richard  Blunt  drop,  the  general  impression  in  the  court  was, 
that  he  was  killed,  or  seriously  injured,  by  Todd ;  and  in  a  moment  a  scene  of 
unparalleled  confusion  arose.  Everybody  got  up  from  their  seats,  and  the  place 
was  full  of  cries. 

u  Kill  him  V.  cried  some. — 11  Down  with  him  !**  shouted  others. — <c  Hang  him 
at  once !    A  surgeon  for  Sir  Richard  !" 

Amid  this  Babel  of  contusion,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  rose  again,  and  sprung  upon 
the  barrister's  table,  calling  out  in  a  loud  voice  that  rose  above  every  other 
sound* — 


"  I  am  perpectly  unhurt/' 


Upon  this  such  a  cheer  arose  in  the  court,  that  the  judge  saw  that  it  was 
perfectly  hopeless  to  attempt  to  stop  it  by  any  ordinary  means,  and  he  only 
held  up  his  hand  deprecatingly.  The  cheer  was  thrice  repeated,  and  then  Sir 
Richard  dismounted  from  the  table,  and  a  death-like  stillness  ensued  in  the  court 
as  the  judge  spoke. 

How  was  it  possible/'  he  said,  "that  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  could  be 
furnished  with  such  a  weapon  at  a  time  like  this  V' 

The  Governor  of  Newgate  felt  that  this  question  was  addressed  to  him,  and  he 
tremblingly  spoke,  saying — 

My  lord,  I  have  not  the  most  distant  idea  upon  the  subject.  He  was  searched 
his  morning  carefully  before  leaving  his  cell.    It  is  beyond  my  comprehension." 


566 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


(6 


<<<  My  lord?*  said  a  counsel  at  the  table,  rising,  "there  was  a  very  similar  case 
about  five  years  since,  when  a  notorious  criminal  attacked  a  witness  for  the  pro- 
secution with  a  fork,  and  it  appeared  afterwards  that  as  he  was  brought  through 
some  of  the  day-rooms  of  Newgate  to  the  bar,  he  had  hastily  snatched  it  up  from 
a  table  that  he  passed  without  the  officers  noticing  him/' 
This  is  very  likely  a  similar  case/'  said  the  judge. 
I  may  be  so  my  lord/5  said  the  Governor. 
Todd  yelled  with  rage,  when  he  found  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  escaped 
his  malice.    If  he  could  but  have  taken  his  life  or  inflicted  upon  him  some  very 
serious  injury,  he  would  have  been  satisfied  almost  to  have  gone  to  death  ;  but  to 
fail  was  almost  enough  to  drive  him  really  mad. 

"  Curses  on  ye  all*"  he  cried  ;  and  then  he  burst  into  a  torrent  of  such  fright- 
ful invectives,  that  everybody  shrunk  aghast  from  it,  and  it  is  quite  impossible 
that  we  should  transfer  it  to  our  pages.  How  long  he  would  have  proceeded  in 
such  a  storm,  there  is  no  knowing,  had  not  the  officers  rushed  upon  him,  and  by 
main  force  dragged  him  from  the  dock  and  the  court  into  the  dark  passages 
leading  to  Newgate.. 

His  voice  was  yet  heard  for  several  moments,  uttering  the  most  dreadful  and 
diabolical  curses ! 

It  may  be  supposed  that  after  what  had  happened,  the  officials  of  the  prison 
were  not  over  tender  in  the  treatment  of  Sweeney  Todd,  for  they  well  knew  that 
they  would  be  some  time  before  they  heard  the  last  of  the  knife  business,  and 
indeed  itfwas  a  piece  of  gross  carelessness  to  allow  a  man  in  Todd's  situation,  and 
such  a  man  as  Todd  too,  to  have  an  opportunity  of  doing  such  very  serious  mis- 
chief in  a  moment  as  he  might  have  done. 

There  can  be  very  little  doubt,  that  if  he  had  been  content  to  do  an  injury  to 
any  other  witness  but  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  he  would  really  have  succeeded ;  but 
that  personage  was  too  wary  to  fall  in  such  a  way. 

It  was  not  thought  advisable  by  the  prison  authorities  to  take  Todd  back  to 
the  same  cell  from  which  they  had  brought  him.  It  was  an  idea  of  the  Governor, 
and  by  no  means  a  bad  one,  that  desperate  criminals  were  caused  to  change 
their  cells  now  and  then,  as  it  baffled  and  cut  up  completely  any  combination 
they  might  in  their  own  minds  have  made  for  an  attempted  ^escape  ;  so  Todd 
found  himself  in  a  new  place. 

*t  Why  is  this  I"  he  said.  "  Why  am  I  placed  here  ?  This  cell  is  darker  than 
the  one  I  before  occupied/' 

"  It's  quite  light  enough  for  you,"  growled  a  turnkey. 

"  Yes,"  added  one  of  the  officers  who  had  been  in  court.  "  Folks  who  are 
keen  and  bright  enough  to  pick  up  knives,  and  nobody  see  'em,  mustn't  have  top 
much  light  in  their  cell.  Oh,  won't  it  be  a  mercy  when  you  are  settled  next 
Monday  morning." 

44  The  fetters  hurt  me,"  said  Todd. 

<f  Oh,  they  are  too  light,"  said  the  officer ;  g)  and  for  your  satisfaction,  I  have 
to  tell  you  that  the  Governor  has  ordered  you  another  pair.5' 

At  this  moment  a  couple  of  blacksmiths  came  into  the  cell,  carrying  with  them 
the  heaviest  set  of  irons  in  the^whole  prison,  which  the  Governor  had  determind 
Sweeney  Todd  should  be  accommodated  with.  Without  a  word  they  proceeded 
to  knock  off  the  fetters  that  he  wore. 

f'  So  you  are  not  contented,"  said  Todd,  "  to  cage  me  as  though  I  were  some 
wild  animal,  but  you  must  load  me  with  irons  t* 
"  And  a  good  job  too." 
"  And  you  think  to  hang  me  ?'* 


"  Rather 

"  Then  thus  I  disappoint  you,  and  be  my  own  executioner  S 


i 


As  he  spoke,  he  snatched  up  one  of  the  smith's  hammers,  and  made  a  blow  at 
his  own  forehead  with  it,  which  if  it  had  taken  effect,  would  unquestionably 
have  fractured  his  skull,  and  killed  him  instantly ;  but  one  of  the  officers 
just  managed  to  strike  his  arm  at  the  moment  and  confuse  his  aim,  so  that 


tin  WWIWMNM 


ft 


id 


i 


(Mlc 
lit  Res*1 

for  tie  i 
'Tier 
prison  it 

ft    I  HAN 

'Don 
"Ofc'j 

"Wei 


lit  tun 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  567 

although  he  did  strike  himself,  it  was  not  with  anything  like  sufficient  force  to  do 
himself  any  hurt. 

The  hammer  was  wrested  from  him  in  a  moment,  and  he  was  thrown  to  the 
floor  of  the  cell,  and  the  heavy  irons  placed  upon  him. 

i 
I 


CHAPTER  CXXXII. 

TODD  MAKES  AN  ACQUAINTANCE  IN  NEWGATE,  AND  TRIES  AN  ESCAPE. 

In  the  course  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  more,  Todd  was  left  alone.  The  irons 
he  wore  weighed  upwards  of  a  hundredweight,  and  it  was  with  some  difficulty 
that  he  managed  to  get  up,  and  sit  upon  the  stone  seat  that  was  in  the  cell* 

It  was  close  upon  evening,  and  the  cell  was  getting  very  dark  indeed,  so  fhat 
the  walls,  close  as  they  were  together,  were  only  very  dimly  discernable 
indeed. 

Todd  rested  his  head  upon  his  hands,  and  thought. 

"  Has  it  then  really  come  to  this  ?"  he  said.  ik  Am  I  truly  doomed  to  die  ? 
Oh,  what  a  dreadful  thing  it  is  for  me  now  to  begin  to  doubt  of  what  I  always 
thought  myself  so  sure,  namely,  that  there  was  no  world  beyond  the  grave. 
Oh,  if  I  could  only  still  please  myself  with  an  assurance  of  that !  But  I  cannot 
— I  cannot  now.    Oh,  no — no — no/5 

He  started,  for  the  cell  door  opened,  and  the  turnkey  brought  him  in  his  food 
for  the  night,  which  he  placed  on  the  floor.  It  was  not  then  the  custom  to  sit 
up  with  condemned  prisoners, 

<e  There/'  said  the  man,  €f  it's  more  than  you  deserve.  Good-night,  and  be 
hanged  to  you.  Here's  the  sheriff  been  kicking  up  the  devil's  delight  in  the 
prison  about  that  knife  affair.'' 

"  I  hope  he  will  discharge  you  all,*  said  Todd. 

fj  Do  you  r 

"  Oh,  yes.    I  wish  you  had  all  one  neck  only,  and  I  a  knife  at  it.  With 
what  a  pleasant  gash  I  would  force  it  in — in — in  !" 
Well*  you  are  a  nice  article,  I  must  say/' 
"  Bring  me  two  candles,  and  pens,  ink,  and  paper." 
The  turnkey  stared  with  astonishment. 

"  Anything  else/'  he  said,  "  in  a  small  way  that  you'd  like  ?  Buttered  rolls, 
perhaps,  and  a  glass  of  something  good  ?  Perhaps  a  blunderbuss  would  suit  you  ?  I 
tell  you  what  it  is,  old  fellow,  it  ain't  very  often  that  anybody  goes  out  from 
here  on  a  Monday  morning  to  be  scragged,  that  we  don't  feel  a  little  sorry  for 
them,  but  I  don't  think  we  shall  any  of  us  cry  after  you.  You  may  sleep  or  do 
what  you  like  now  until  to-morrow  morning,  for  you  have  got  it  all  to  your- 
self.  Two  candles,  indeed !  Well  I'm  sure— what  next  ?  Two  candles  ! — Oh, 
my  eye  !" 

The  turnkey  banged  shut  the  door  ©f  the  cell,  and  barred  and  bolted  it  in  a 
passion  ;  and  then  away  he  went  to  the  lobby,  which  was  the  great  gossiping 
place,  to  relate  the  cool  demands  of  Sweeney  Todd. 

Once  more  the  prisoner  was  alone.  For  some  time  he  set  in  silence,  and 
then  he  muttered — - 

'4  All  the  night  to  myself.  He  will  not  visit  this  ceil  until  the  morning.  A 
long — long  night ;  many  hours  of  solitude.  Well,  I  may  chance  to  improve 
them.  It  was  well  in  that  scuffle  for  the  hammer,  when  they  threw  me  down, 
that  I  contrived  to  grasp  a  handful  of  tools  from  the  smith's  basket,  and  hid 
them  among  my  clothing.  Let  me  see  what  I  have — ay,  let  me  see,  or  rather 
feel,  for  by  this  light,  or  rather  by  this  darkness,  I  can  only  judge  of  them  by  the 
feel." 

The  tools  that  Sweeney  Todd  had  been  clever  enough  to  abstract  from  the 


' '  >»Mi#'ffnir-^iMrtiW«Wliiti<W'iiii  wan  ttixii  if  liv  ■ " r  ■  ■■ A " •"'  ,M'ai>  r*  ■ 


98 


g&l  MSING  OF 


iSiVfcS  cwwUted  of  two  file*  aad  a  ehisah  Me  ma  fe?a  Angm  w«  them 
With  sdtas  feeling  of  satisfaction*  ■ 

"  N  ow,"  he  muttered,  "  if  the  feeling  to  die  were  tipoii  me,  hef  e  aft*  the  means  j 
but  it  has  passed  away,  and  elten  With  the$e  small  Wfeaporis,  and  in  a  cell  of  New- 
gate, I  do  not  feel  quite  so  helpless  as  I  was.  It  will  be  time  to  die  if  all  should 
fail  else,  but  yet  if  I  could  only  for  a  time  live  for  revenge,  what  a  glorious  thing 
it  would  be!  Howl  should  like  yet  to  throttle  Tobias.  What  a  pleasure  it 
would  be  to  me  to  hold  that  girl  by  the  throat,  who  so  hoodwinked  me  as  to  impose 
herself  upon  me  for  a  boy,  and  hear  and  see  her  choking,  How  I  should  like 
to  see  the  blood  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  weltering  forth  while  his  colour  faded,  and 

he  expired  gradually  \*  .  .    .  f 

Todd  ground  his  teeth  together  in  his  rage. 

"  Yes,"  he  added,  while  he  moved  with  difficulty  under  the  weight  of  his 
iron.  *•  Yes,  1  have  bidden  adieu  to  wealth  and  the  power  that  wealth  would 
have  given  me.  I  have  carried  on  my  life  of  crimes  for  nothing,  and  in  blood  I 
have  waded  to  accomplish  only  this  world  of  danger  that  now  surrounds  me — 
to  give  to  myself  the  poor  privilige  of  suicide  ;  but  yet  how  fain  I  would  live  for 
vengeance !M 

His  chains  rattled  upon  his  limbs. 

?t  Yes,  for  revenge.  1  would  fain  live  for  revenge.  There  are  some  five  or  six 
that  1  would  like  to  kill !  Yes,  and  I  would  gloat  over  their  death-agonies,  and 
shriek  in  their  ears,  'I  did  it !  I,  Sweeney  Todd,  did  it!'  w 

The  fetters  entangled  about  his  legs,  and  threw  him  heavily  to  the  floor  of  the 
cell. 

He  raved  and  cursed  frightfully,  until  he  was  too  much  exhausted  to  continue 
such  a  course,  and  then  he  sat  upon  the  floor,  and  with  one  of  the  files  he  began 
working  away  assiduously  at  the  iron,  in  order  to  free  himself  from  those  clogs 
to  his  movements. 

As  he  so  worked,  he  heard  the  prison  clock  strike  ten, 

u  Ten,"  he  said.  "  Ten  already.  Of  a  truth  I  did  not  think  it  was  so  late. 
I  must  be  quick.  Others  have  escaped  from  Newgate,  and  why  should  not  I  ?  The 
attempt  will  and  shall  be  made  ;  and  who  knows  but  that  it  may  be  successful  ? 
A  man  may  do  much  when  he  is  resolved  that  he  will  do  all  he  wishes  or  die." 

Todd  filed  away  at  the  chains. 

u  Who  will  stop  me,"  he  said,  1i  with  the  feeling  that  will  possess  me  ?  Who 
will  say,  6 I  will  stop  this  man,  or  he  shall  kill  me  P  No  one — no  one  I" 

The  file  was  a  good  one,  and  it  bit  fairly  into  the  iron.  In  the  course  of  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  Todd  had  one  wrist  at  liberty,  and  that  was  a  great  thing. 
He  was  tired,  however,  of  the  comparatively  slow  progress  of  the  file,  and  he 
made  a  great  effort  to  break  the  chains  from  his  ankles  ;  but  he  only  bruised 
himself  in  the  attempt  to  do  so  without  succeeding. 

With  a  feeling  of  exhaustion,  he  paused. 

"  Oh,  that  I  could  find  an  opportunity  of  exerting  so  much  force  against  those 
whom  I  hate  !"  he  sad. 

At  this  moment  he  fancied  he  heard  a  slight  noise  not  far  from  him,  and  every 
faculty  was  immediately  strained  to  assist  in  listening  for  a  repetition  of  it.  It 
did  not  come  again  then. 

"  It  must  have  been  imagination/'  he  said,  €i  or  some  sound  far  off  in  the  prison 
conveyed  by  echoes  to  this  spot.  I  will  not  suffer  myself  to  be  alarmed  or  turned 
from  my  purpose.    It  is  nothing— nothing.    I  will  use  the  file  again." 

He  commenced  now  upon  the  other  wrist,  and  by  the  little  experience  he  had 
gathered  from  his  practice  at  the  one  which  he  had  already  filed  in  two,  he  got 
on  more  quickly  with  this  one.  He  found  that  a  long  light  movement  of  the  file 
did  more  work  than  a  rapid  grating  process.  In  much  less  time,  then,  this  other 
wrist  manacle  was  off,  and  he  could  lift  up  both  his  arm  in  freedom. 

u  This  is  something/*  he  said.  "  Nay,  it  is  much,  very  much  indeed.  I  feel 
it,  and  accept  it  as  a  kind  of  earnest  of  success.  Where  is  the  man  — where  are 
the  two  or  three  men,  that  will  dare  to  stand  in  my  desperate  way,  when  I  have 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


569 


one  of  these  files  in  each  hand,  and  are  free  from  fetters.  They  will  need  be 
mad  to  do  it  Such  an  amount  of  zeal  is  not  to  be  found.  No,  they  will  step 
aside  and  let  me  pass." 

It  now  became  a  matter  of  great  importance  with  him,  to  get  the  other  two 
fetters  that  bound  his  ankles  undone.  He  felt  as  if  he  should  go  mad,  if  he  did 
not  quickly  release  himself  from  them  now. 


THE  MURDERERS  IN  THE  YOUNG  LADY'S  CHAMBER. 

Sitting  upon  the  floor  of  the  cell,  he  set  to  work  ;  but  he  found  that  the  file 
he  had  been  using  did  not  bite  very  well.  The  work  it  had  done  already  had 
dulled  its  powers ;  but  the  other  was  fresh  and  keen,  and  with  it  he  made  great 
progress. 

The  left-hand  shackle  was  entirely  removed,  and  now  only  by  his  right  ankle 
was  he  connected  with  that  hundredweight  of  iron, which  held  him  to  the  ground. 


No.  72. 


...    ,  ani   i  ..  njn-i-ni  i  ■  ■       i  iiw-im  irrn  -. .il  i.ii  »h«»iH     'if- l'V  H  W*^r*^T**J*^*M*MMM*MM**>IPM*M*^T***~ril(t' 


1 


\ 


"^0  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


t 


i  5 


~i  J  be  free !"  he  muttered.  "  I  shall  be  free  !  Did  they  think  to  hold 
me  with  these  chains?  Ha  !  ha!  No.  It  may  be,  that  there  is  a  dark  spirit 
of  evil  that  aids  men,  such  as  I  am;  and  if  it  be  so,  I  will  consent  to  be  wholly 
his,  if- — 

Todd  started,  for  the  same  noise  that  had  before  come  upon  his  ears,  now 
attracted  him-  It  was  plainer  though  than  before  ;  and  at  the  moment  he 
thought  that  it  must  be  in  his  cell.  A  cry  of  terror  rose  to  his  lips,  but  he 
smothered  it  in  the  utterance,  and  bent  again  all  his  faculties  to  listen. 

The  sound  did  not  now  pass  away  like  an  echo  as  it  had  done  before,  but  it 
went  on  steadily,  and  he  could  trace  it  as  localising  itself  against  one  of  the  walls 
of  the  cell. 

It  was  a  profound  mystery.  He  could  not  make  out  what  it  meant.  It  was 
a  strange  dull  scraping  noise.  At  times  he  thought  it  was  some  animal  in  the 
cell_a  rat,  probably  ;  but  then  the  sound  was  too  continuous,  and  although  he 
stamped  once,  and  said  ?  Hush  V  several  times,  it  steadily  continued. 

The  darkness  in  the  cell  was  now  so  intense,  that  it  was  in  vain  to  attempt  to 
pierce  it  Ai*y  straining  of  the  eyes  only  peopled  the  palpable  black  atmosphere 
with  all  sorts  of  strange  shapes,  conjured  up  by  the  imagination  ;  so  Todd  was 
glad  to  close  his  eyes  after  a  few  moments'  experience  of  that  character. 

"  I  will  know  what  this  it/'  he  said,  "  I  must  know  what  this  is,  and  I  will 
know  P 

He  held  out  his  arms,  and  he  slowly  advanced  towards  the  side  of  the  cell  from 

whence  the  sound  came. 

"  Speak/'  he  said,  "if  you  are  mortal,  speak.  If  immortal,  I  fear  you  not. 
I  am  now  past  all  such  terrors.    You  can  but  kill  me." 

His  hands  touched  the  cold  stone  wall  ;  and  then  he  felt  it  from  the  floor 
upwards,  but  nothing  but  the  chill  surface  of  the  stones  was  perceptible  ;  and 
yet  the  scraping  noise  continued,  and  at  last  he  felt  convinced  that  it  came  from 
the  other  side  of  the  wall 

Now  he  did  not  know  what  to  think,  for  he  had  no  means  of  knowing  what 
was  upon  the  other  side  of  that  wall.  It  might  be  a  corridor  of  the  prison.  It 
might  be  a  room  belonging  to  one  of  the  officials,  who  was  about  some  work 
that,  if  explained,  would  not  appear  singular  at  all. 

He  placed  his  ear  to  the  exact  spot  from  whence  the  noise  came,  and  he  listened 
attentively. 

As  he  so  listened,  Todd  began  to  have  other  notions  about  that  noise,  and  for 
more  than  once  the  square  block  of  stone,  against  which  his  ear  reposed,  shook 
in  its  place. 

u  It  must  be  a  cell  like  this,"  he  said,  "that  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall, 
and  that,  no  doubt,  is  some  prisoner  at  work,  trying  to  effect  his  escape.  If  so, 
it  is  fortunate*    He  must  be  a  bold  man,  and  we  can  help  each  other/' 

Still  Todd  hesitated  what  he  should  do,  notwithstanding  the  hypothesis  re- 
garding the  noise  he  heard  appeared  so  very  probable.  He  was  resolved  to 
spend  a  little  more  time  in  listening,  for  he  felt  that  once  to  commit  himself 
would  possibly  be  to  spoil  his  own  chances  of  escape.  He  kept  his  ear  to  the 
stone  of  the  wall,  then  which  shook  more  and  more  each  passing  moment. 

Suddenly  he  heard  a  voice,  In  a  drawling  accent,  it  sang  a  few  lines  of  a 
popular  thieves'  song— 

"  The  teak  looked  big,  and  shook  his  head, 

JJeigho,  the  beak  ! 
He  wished  such  family  cares  were  dead, 
That  honest  folks  might  get  their  bread, 

Heigho,  the  beak ! 
The  family  cove,  he  grinned  a  grin, 

Heigho,  the  cove  ! 
Says  he,  to  prig  I  think  no  sin ; 
]?or  sure  a  Romany  must  have  tin : 

Heigho,  the  cove !" 


Tt  ,  ,  ,  „ ,   -, 


THE  STRING  OF  PIAHLS.  571 


11  It  must  be  all  right/'  thought  Todd,  u  or  he  would  not  sing  that  song  ;  but 
what  good  it  can  do  him  to  get  from  his  own  cell  into  this,  1  cannot  imagine. 
He  would  be  equally  confined  here  as  there,  and  all  his  labour  thrown  away. 
But  together,  we  may  do  something,    I  will  speak  to  him.    Yes,  I  think  I  will 
\\  speak  to  him/' 

||  Todd  still  waited  and  lingered  before  he  gave  any  intimation  of  his  presence 
and  knowledge  of  what  was  going  on,  and  then  the  song  ceased,  and  by  the 
renewed  vigour  with  which  the  tenant  of  the  next  cell  worked  at  the  stone,  it 
would  seem  that  he  had  got  very  impatient  at  the  length  of  time  it  took  him. 

Suddenly,  the  stone,  which  was  about  a  foot  square,  shook  so,  that  Todd  with- 
drew from  it,  thinking  that  it  would  come  out  of  its  place  altogether  ;  and  as 
it  was  evidently  the  object  of  the  prisoner  at  the  other  side  to  push  it  through  into 
Todd's  ceU,  he  thought  it  better  to  stand  on  one  side,  and  let  it  come. 

Suddenly,  with  a  crash,  it  fell  through,  and  then  Todd  spoke,  for  the  first  time, 
to  the  prisoner. 


CHAPTER  CXXXIIL 


THE  PROGRESS  OF    THE  OPERATIONS  TO    ESCAPE  FROM  NEWGATE. 

"  Who's  there?  Who  are  you  P'  cried  Tood. 

"  The  deuce  !"  said  a  voice,  from  the  adjoining  cell.  "Sold  at  last,  after  all 
my  trouble.  Confound  you,  why  didn't  you  speak  before,  and  save  me  the 
last  hour's  work  V9 

"What  do  you  mean  P"  cried  Todd.     "I  am  a  desperate  man.    Do  not 
tamper  with  me     Do  you  belong  to  the  prison,  or  do  you  not  ?* 
"  I  belong  to  the  prison  ?  I  should  think  not.  Don't  you  V9 
u  Oh,  no — no— no — no." 

"  Why,  you  don't  mean  to  say  that  you  are  a  prisoner  V9 
"  I  am,  indeed,  and  condemed  to  die." 

"  All's  right  then.  Bravo !  This  is  capital.  I  thought  I  was  in  the  end 
cell,  do  you  know,  and  that  by  working  through  the  wall  by  the  assistance  of 

Providence  always  Bah !  1  can't  get  out  of  the  old  trade.  I  mean  to  say,  that 

I  thought  I  was  working  through  a  wall  that  would  have  taken  me  into  one  of 
the  corridors  of  Newgate,  and  then  there  would  have  been  ar  chance  of  getting 
off,  you  know." 

**  1  do  not  know,  and  did  not  know,"  said  Todd ;  "  but  if  there  be  really  any 
chance  of  escape,  I  am  a  desperate  man,  and  will  risk  anything  for  it.  Only 
say  that  you  will  help  me." 

u  Help  you  ?  Of  couise  1  will.  Do  you  think  I  am  in  love  with  these  cold 
wall?  No,  I  will  get  a  light  in  a  moment,  and  we  can  then  have  a  look  at  each 
other.    Are  you  in  fetters  V9 

H  I  was,  but  I  have  a  file,  and  have  succeeded  in  freeing  myself  from  them 
completely.  Are  you?" 

ft  Yes,  but  I  have  muffled  them  with  some  pieces  of  my  clothing  that  I  have 
torn  up  for  the  purpose,  and  please  the  Lord  they  will  make  no  noue." 

Todd  was  rather  amazed  at  the  religious  expressions  of  the  other  prisoner ; 
but  he  forbore  to  make  any  remark  concerning  them,  and  as  something  had  been  h 
said  about  getting  a  light,  he  resolved  to  wait  patiently  until  it  was  procured,  jj 
when  he  would  be  able  to  see  who  it  was  that  chance  had  so  very  strangely  jj 
thrown  him  into  companionship  with. 

"  Yoa  see/'  added  the  other  prisoner,  "  a  religious  lady  left  me  some  tracts, 
and  as  I  told  her  they  did  not  allow  light  here,  she  was  kind  enough  to  smuggle 
me  in  some  phosphorous  matches,  in  case  in  the  night  I  should  wish  to  read." 

"Very  kind  of  her,"  said  Todd. 

u  Ob,  very*  Let  us  prais§  tbe^^-Botlieri  I  §baU  mv§v  get  out  ot  the  babit  of 
eharating,  I  do  believe" 

"'  i  ■■  .■  i  i  ip-ir  ,   i    |   |  .1   .  |      -r -nnm  iiwiiii   .ii)ijiwmiiii.  Ullji-li'  '" "'  '  SB**8*  '"-  1  '"n  "  'T'nr'T  TH  rTTjTiTiTBi*— r"*t~Ti  Vtt^^>ffqT*rvsrB»»3Sk 


572  THE  STRING  OF  PEAELS. 


In  a  moment,  now,  a  faint  blue  light  illumed  the  cell  adjoining  to  Todd's,  and 
as  the  religious  lady  had  been  kind  enough  to  bring  some  little  wax  ends  of 
candles,  the  prisoner  lit  one,  and  placing  it  upon  the  ledge  left  by  the  displaced 
brick  in  the  wall,  he  put  his  face  close  to  it,  and  looked  at  Todd. 

Todd  did  the  same  thing,  and  looked  at  him. 

"Humph/'  said  the  prisoner.  "They  are  not  going  to  hang  you  for  your 
beauty,  whoever  you  are,  my  friend." 

"  Nor  you,"  said  Todd,  who  was  a  little  stung"  by  this  cool  remark,  u  for  I 
must  say  a  more  villanous  looking  countenance  than  yours  I  never  saw  in  all  my 
life." 

"  Then  you  certainly  never  looked  in  a  glass.0 

"  Hark  you,  my  friend,1'  said  Todd.  "  If  we  are  to  aid  each  other  in  getting 
out  of  Newgate,  it  will  not  be  by  railing  at  each  other  through  a  square  hole  in 
the  wall  of  our  cells.  We  had  better  leave  all  remarks  about  our  looks  to  other 
folks,  and  at  once  set  to  work  aboct  what  is  much  more  important,  namely, 
breaking  our  way  out  of  this  most  detestable  of  all  places/' 

"  Truly/'  said  the  other ;  "  you  speak  wisdom,  and  the  Lord  Pho  !  The 

deuce  take  it,  when  shall  I  get  rid  of  the  cant  of  the  conventicle  ?  M  y  dear,  sir, 
you  see  before  you  a  man  who  has  been  a  great  victim." 

"What  is  your  name  ?" 

"  Lupin  they  used  to  call  me.    The  Reverend  Josiah  Lupin.'* 

46  Ah/'  said  Todd.  H  I  heard  something  of  your  case.  I  believe  you  murdered 
a  woman,  did  you  not  ??" 

"  Why,  my  friend/'  said  Mrs.  Oakley's  old  acquaintance,  for  indeed  it 
was  no  other,  "  I  don't  mind  confessing  to  you,  that  a  woman  met  with  a  slight 
accident  at  my  place,  and  they  say  I  did  it.  But  now  that  I  have  been  so 
candid,  prav  who  are  you  ?" 

"  Thev  call  me  Todd." 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Lupin  screwed  up  his  mouth,  and  whistled. 

<c  Humph,"  he  said.  u  The  religious  lady  only  this  morning  told  me  all  about 
you.  You  used  to  polish  the  people  off  in  you  barber's-shop,  and  then  make 
them  into  pork  pies,  I  believe  ?" 

"Ha!  ha!"  said  Todd. 

ff  And  you  had  a  charming  assistant  in  the  shape  of  a  lady,  named  Lovett,  I 
have  been  informed.  wrho  used  to  help  you  to  scrape  the  bones  of  the  poor  devils 
who  had  only  just  slipped  in  for  a  shave,  and  by  no  means  expected  such  a  scrape.'* 

"Ha!  ha!"  said  Todd. 

"  Stop  a  bit/'  said  Mr.  Lupin,  "  don't  come  that  sort  of  laugh  again.  It  don't 
sound  at  all  pleasant.  Well,  I  think  we  may  manage  to  get  out  of  Newgate, 
do  you  know,  by  a  little  hard  work,  if  you  are  willing  ;  but  mind  you,  I  don't 
want  to  be  made  a  pork  or  a  veal  pie  of,  if  you  please." 

4<I  never  ate  them  myself,"  said  Todd,  "  so  there  is  no  temptation  ;  but  I 
sincerely  hope,  my  friend,  that  you  do  not  believe  one  word  of  the  many  calumnies 
that  have  been  heaped  upon  my  character  t* 

"  Oh,  dear  no ;  and  you,  too,  are  well  aware  that  I  am  the  most  fals  accused 
and  innocent  clergyman  that  ever  lived."  elv 

"Perfectly." 

"  My  dear,  sir,  you  are  a  very  reasonable  man,  and  I  don't  see  any  reason  on 
earth  that  we  should  not  be  capital  friends  from  this  moment.  Just  help  me 
to  move  another  of  these  stones,  and  I  shall  be  able  to  creep  through  the  opening 
into  your  cell." 

Todd  very  kindly  assisted  the  Reverend  Mr.  Lupin,  and  in  the  course  of  a  fetv 
minutes,  another  of  these  large  square  blocks  of  stone  that  formed  the  wall  of 
the  cell  being  removed,  he  was  able  to  creep  through  the  aperture  with  the 
assistance  of  Todd. 

"  All's  right,"  said  Lupin,  as  he  shook  himself.  «  And  now,  my  new  friend,  I 
will  borrow  the  same  file  with  which  you  released  yourself  from  your  fetters,  and 
git  rid  of  mine." 


11  Here  it  is,"  said  Todd  ;  "you  work  upon  one  leg,  and  I  will  work  upon  the 
other,  for  I  have  two  files  here,  although  one  of  them  is  a  little  blunted  by  the 
work  it  has  already  done.    Yet  it  will  help,  and  time  is  every  thing." 

"  It  is,"  said  Lupin.  "  Work  away,  for  I  am  not  able  to  think  of  anything 
until  I  am  free  of  these  confounded  irons." 

They  worked  in  real  earnest,  and  to  such  purpose,  that  in  a  much  less  space 
of  time  than  anybody  would  have  thought  it  possible  to  accomplish  the  process 
in,  the  fetters  of  Mr.  Lupin  dropped  from  him,  and,  like  Todd,  he  stood  so  far 
free  from  restraint. 

41  Now,"  he  said,  u  I  have  some  first-rate  picklocks,  and  if  providence 
Tush!  tush!   [mean  if  we  are  lucky,  we  shall  get  on  capitally.    The  next 
thing  we  have  to  do  is,  to  get  out  of  here,  and  by  far  the  shortest  way  is  to  work 
through  the  wall.    Have  you  any  other  tools  beside  the  files,  for  they  are  not 
much  use  now  to  us  V* 

"  Yes,  a  chisel." 

"A  chisel?  Oh,  my  friend,  you  are  indeed  a  wonderful  man.  A  chisel? 
What  may  not  be  done  with  a  chisel !  A  strong,  good  chisel,  too.  Oh,  if  we 
do  not  chisel  our  way  out  of  Newgate  now,  it  will  be  very  hard  indeed.  Come, 
you  shall  s>ee  an  old  hand  at  work.  Perhaps  you  have  not  had  much  experience 
at  prison-breaking  ?s 

11  Certainly  not/  said  Todd. 

"  Well,  this  will  be  a  good  lesson  to  you.  Now  you  will  see  how  nicely  I 
will  get  one  of  these  old  square  blocks  of  stone  out  of  its  place." 

Todd  smiled  grimly.  Perhaps  he  thought  he  could  have  given  the  Reverend 
Josiah  Lupin  a  good  lesson  in  some  things;  but  at  that  time  he  was  only  too 
happy  to  meet  with  a  companion  who  promised  such  great  things  in  the  way  of 
immediate  escape. 

Certainly  Mr.  Lupin  showed  great  dexterity  in  handling  the  chisel,  with 
which  he  had  been  furnished  by  Todd  ;  and  in  a  much  less  space  of  time  than 
any  one  would  have  thought  the  work  could  have  been  performed  in,  he  had 
loosened  the  stone  in  the  wall  that  he  wished  to  dislodge. 

"Let  us  both  push  it,"  he  said,  " and  we  shall  get  it  through  easily." 

€t  But  it's  fall  will  make  an  alarm,"  said  Todd. 

<4  Oh,  no.  The  distance  is  too  short,  and  it  will  go  down  easy.  Now  for  it.5' 
They  pressed  upon  the  stone  both  of  them,  and  by  a  skilful  joggling  move- 
ment, Lupin  got  it  to  move  along  until  it  was  beyond  its  centre  of  gravity,  and 
then,  with  a  heavy  bump,  down  it  went  on  the  other  side.  They  both  now 
paused  for  some  moments,  and  spoke  not  a  word,  for  they  were  anxious  to  dis- 
cover if  the  fall  of  the  stone  into  the  passage  beyond  the  cells  had  made  any 
noise  sufficient  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  prison  officials. 
All  was  still. 

**  It's  as  right  as  possible,"  said  Lupin.  (*  They  are  asleep,  the  greater  part  of 
them.  The  pretended  vigilance  in  this  place,  and  the  sleepless  watchfulness,  is 
all  a  fudge.  Turnkeys,  and  police  officers,  and  Governors  of  Newgate,  are  but 
flesh  and  blood,  and  they  will  take  things  easy  if  they  can." 

"  You  are  quite  a  man  of  the  world,"  said  Todd. 

u  Oh,  yes  ;  1  have  seen  a  little  of  it.  But  I  say,  Master  Todd,  deal  candidly 
with  me  now.  Have  you  not  some  secret  hoard  of  cash,  upon  which  we  can 
make  ourselves  comfortable,  when  we  get  out  of  this  mousetrap  ?  I  have  not  a 
penny  piece  ;  but  you  ought  to  have  something,  I  should  say.  I  don't  mean  to 
say  but  that  I  had  money,  but  it  was  not  hidden,  and  the  police  have  got  hold 
of  that.  If  I  were  acquitted,  they  kindly  said  they  would  let  me  have  it.  But 
if  found  guitly,  of  which  they  did  not  entertain  the  smallest  doubt,  1  could  not 
want  it." 

"  Curses  on  them  V  said  Todd  ;  u  they  had  enough  of  mine  to  have  made  us 
both  rich  men — very  rich  men.    Oh,  that  1  had  been  off  a  month  ago  I* 

w  Don't  fret  about  that.  We  are  all  in  thj  hands  of  a  gracious  provi — — 
Psha!  I  am  forgetting  again.    Whatever  you  do,  Todd,  in  this  world,  don't 


574 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARL& 


j! 


turn  parson  to  a  parcel  of  old  women,  for  the  phraseology  will  stick  to  you  as 
long  as  you  live,  if  you  do.  But  come— tell  me  now.  You  do  know  wheie 
to  lay  your  hand  upon  money  ?" 

Todd  thought  that  it  would  be  very  indiscreet  to  say  no  to  this  little  proposi- 
tion, so  with  a  nod  and  a  smile  he  replied — 

«  Only  a  few  hundreds.    That's  all/' 

"  A  few  hundreds  ?    That  is  a  pretty  good  all,  and  will  do  very  well  indeed, 
my  dear  friend.    Is  it  an  understanding  that  we  go  halves  ?" 
"  Quite,  quite." 

"  Then,  if  we  don't  get  out  of  the  stone-jug  pretty  soon,  it  will  be  a  strange 
thing  to  me.  Now  let  us  work  away  like  bricks,  and  we  will  show  them  that 
two  determined  men  can  laugh  at  their  bolts,  *nd  bars,  and  stone  walls." 

"  How  confident  you  are,"  said  Todd.  "  You  surely  forget  that  we  must  go 
through  much,  before  we  can  see  the  outside  of  the  walls  of  this  dreadful  place. 
I  wish  I  could  be  as  sure  of  the  result  as  you  are,  or  as  you  seem  to  be/' 

"  It  is  one-half  the  battle  to  make  sure  ;  there  goes  another  of  the  stones. 
Now  follow  me  through  this  opening  in  the  wall.  It  leads  to  a  passage  from 
which  we  can  reach  one  of  the  smaller  inner  courts  ;  and  from  that  we  shall  get 
on  through  the  chapel  to  the  Governor's  house,  and  if  we  can't  get  out  there,  it's 
a  bad  case." 

Mr.  Lupin,  who  had,  in  a  great  measure,  now  that  he  no  longer  had  any  sanc- 
tified character  to  keep  up,  thrown  of  his  timid  nature,  ventured  to  scramble 
through  the  opening  in  the  wall,  and  he  assisted  Todd  to  follow  him. 

They  both  now  stood  in  a  narrow  vaulted  passage,  and  then  they  paused 
again  for  several  minutes  to  listen  if  any  noise  in  the  prison  gave  intimation 
that  any  one  was  stirring;  but  everything  was  perfectly  still,  and  so  death-like 
was  the  silence,  that,  but  that  they  well  knew  to  the  contrary,  they  might  have 
supposed  that  they  were  the  only  living  persons  within  that  gloomy  pile  of 
building. 

The  little  bit  of  wax  candle  that  had  been  brought  to  Lupin  by  the  pious  lady, 
and  which  he  had  lit  in  his  own  cell,  for  the  purpose,  at  first,  of  having  a  good 
look  at  Todd,  was  now  upon  the  point  of  going  out ;  but  he  was  very  well  pro- 
vided with  w?„x  candle-ends,  and  he  speedily  lighted  another,  as  he  said  in  a  tone 
of  irony — 

Xk  The  sheriffs  will  write  a  letter  of  threats  to  the  pious  lady,  when  they  find 
how  much  she  aided  us  in  escaping/' 

«  They  ought/'  said  Todd.    "  We  will  pray  for  her." 

Lupin  laughed,  as  he  with  a  light  step  now  crept  along  the  vaulted  passage, 
and  reached  a  massive  door  at  the  end  of  it,  up  and  down  which  he  passed  the 
light  several  times.    Then  he  muttered  to  himself — 

"  Good  !  Only  the  lock,  and  it  will  need  to  be  a  good  one  if  it  resist  me.  I 
used  to  be  rather  an  adept  at  this  sort  of  thing. " 

"Then  jou  are/'  said  Todd,  "a  professional  * 

He  paused,  for  he  did  not  like  to  say  thief ;  but  Lupin  himself  added  the 
word,  cracksman,  and  Todd  nodded. 

"  Yes,"  added  Lupin,  €*  I  was  a  cracksman,  but  I  got  known,  so  I  thought 
the  chapel  dodge  would  suit  me,  and  it  did  for  a  time,  and  would  for  some  time 
longer,  but  that  the  little  accident  of  which  you  have  heard  something  took  place 
in  the  chapel,  and  that  idiot  Mrs.  Oakley  found  me  out.  Ah  !  you  never  after 
all  can  be  a  match  for  a  crafty  old  woman.  They  will  have  you  at  sonTe  moment 
when  you  least  expect  it.  She  regularly  sold  me/' 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  675 


CHAPTER  CXXXIV. 

THE  ESCAPE,  AND  THE  RETREAT  IN  CAEN  WOOD,  HAMPSTEAD. 

While  Mr.  Lupin  talked,  he  did  not  lose  time,  but  he  was  working  away  at 
the  lock  of  the  door  at  the  end  of  the  passage.  After  a  few  moments  there  was 
a  crackling  sound,  and  then  the  lock  yielded  to  the  exertion  of  Mr.  Lupin,  and 
went  back  into  its  home.    The  door,  with  a  wheezing  sound,  slowly  opened. 

"  All's  right/'  whispered  Lupin.  "  The  less  we  say  now,  Todd,  the  better, 
for  our  voices  will  go  further  now  that  we  shall  be  clear  of  this  passage.  Come 
on.    Follow  me  I" 

They  both  emerged  into  the  night  air  ;  and  crouching  down,  Lupin  ran  along 
the  1  ttle  yard  in  which  they  were,  and  which  was  not  above  half-a-dozen  yards 
across.  He  paused  at  a  door,  and  then  suddenly  starting  away  from  it,  he 
muttered — 

"  Jt  is  not  this  one.  Ah  I  this  is  it !  Stand  quite  close  up  against  the  wall, 
and  then  there  will  be  the  less  chance  of  any  one  seeing  you.  I  must  work 
away  at  this  door." 

"  Where  does  it  lead  to  V9  whispered  Todd. 

«  To  the  chapel." 

Todd  screwed  himself  up  into  the  smallest  space  that  he  possibly  could  against 
th?  wail,  close  to  the  door,  while  Lupin  tried  to  open  it.  That  door  for  more 
than  ten  minutes  baffled  him.  Probably  that  fact  was  owing  in  some  degree  to 
the  circumstance  of  his  being  in  the  dark,  for  of  course,  before  emerging  from 
the  vaulted  passage,  he  had  thought  it  prudent  to  extinguish  the  little  light  he 
had. 

"  It  baffles  you,*  said  Todd,  in  a  voice  of  great  anxiety. 

"As  yet/yes.    No.  It  is  open/' 

Todd  breathed  more  freely. 
P  "  Come  in,"  said  Lupin.   "  Come  in.    We  have  done  wonders  as  yet,  my 
friend,  and  we  will  do  wonders  yet,  I  think,  if  Providence  only  looks  with  a 
gracious  There  I  go  again.    When  shall  I  forget  that  chapel,  I  wonder  ?" 

"  It  don't  matter/'  said  Todd.  "  1  used  to  find  a  little  religion  answer  very 
well  myself/' 

"  Not  a  doubt  of  it.  Now,  then,  that  the  door  is  fast,  we  may  muster  up 
a  light  again/' 

With  the  aid  of  one  of  his  matches,  Lupin  again  illuminated  the  little  wax 
end  of  the  candle,  and  then  Todd  found  that  he  was  in  a  small  kind  of  vestibule 
from  which  a  green  baze  door  led  directly  into  the  chapel.  In  fact,  that  was 
the  entrance  by  which  the  lower  class  of  offenders  confined  in  Newgate  were 
brought  to  the  chapel  on  Sundays.  The  little  building  looked  much  larger 
by  the  faint  light  of  that  one  candle  than  it  really  was,  and  Todd  glared 
around  him  with  a  feeling  of  terror,  as  he  had  not  felt  since  he  had  left  his 
cell.  Perhaps,  after  all  all,  a  good  deal  of  that  was  owing  to  the  low  temperature 
of  the  chapel,  that  lent  a  chill  to  his  system. 

"  Look  at  that  seat,"  said  Lupin,  pointing  to'one.  ?f  Do  you^know  what 
it  is?" 

%  Only  a  seat,"  said  Todd.    "  Is  there  anything  particular  in  it  ?" 

ff  Nothing,  except  the  kind  of  interest  it  might  have  for  you,  as  being  the  one 
upon  which  the  condemed  prisoners  sit,  on  the  Sunday  previous  to  their  execution, 
that  is  all." 

Todd  turned  aside  with  a  shudder. 

V  Enough,"  he  said.  "  Enough.  That  is  enough.  Let  us  get  on,  and  not 
waste  time  in  idle  talking  about  such  idle  matters  as  these.  I  do  not  feel  very 
well/' 

"  And  I,"  said  Lupin,  *(  would  give  a  few  bright  pieces  out  of  those  hundreds 
that  you  have  hidden,  for  a  glass  of  brandy.    But  that's  not  to  be  thought  of 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS; 


now  This  "isa  door  that  leads  from  tbe  chapel  to  the  Governor  s  house,  through 
which  the  parson,  and  the  Governor  and  Sheriffs  come  on  the  occasion  of 
Sunday  service  here.    It  is  by  that  we  must  attempt  an  escape  in  this  place. 

Sweeney  Todd,  and  Mr.  Lupin  looked  like  two  spectres,  as  they  crept 
noiselessly  through  the  chapel  of  Newgate  ;  but  Lupin  appeared  to  know  per- 
fectly  well  the  route  which  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  take,  and  he  soon  went 
up  three  small  steps,  and  applied  his  ear  to  the  panel  of  a  door  to  listen,  as  he 
said — 

"  Through  here  lies  our  route." 

«  Is  all  still  i"  said  Todd.  •  \ 

"  Quite.  I  don't  believe,  except  ourselves,  there  is  any  one  up  and  about  in 
Newgate  except  a  couple  of  lazy  fellows  in  the  vestibule  ;  but  we  are  too^  far  off 
them  to  be  in  any  danger  of  their  overhearing  us.  This  door  will  not  give  any 
trouble.  Ah!" 

*'  What  is  the  matter  ?" 

**  It  is  bolted  on  the  other  side."  f 
u  Then  we  are  foiled  V% 

**  Not  at  all.  It  will  take  us  a  little  time  to  unbolt  it,  that's  all.  Hand  me  the 
chisel.'" 

Todd  handed  it  to  him  ;  and  then  holding  the  light  for  Lupin,  the  latter  set 
to  work  upon  the  panelling  of  the  door,  to  cut  away  sufficient  of  it  to  enable 
him  to  get  his  he  id  through,  to  draw  back  the  bolts,  one  of  which  was  at  the 
top  of  the  doqj*,  and  another  at  the  bottom  of  it. 

The  door,  though,  was  not  built  for  strength,  for  it  was  scarcely  imagined  that 
it  would  ever  be  attacked,  so  that  the  panelling  was  only  of  an  ordinary  character ; 
and  as  the  chisel  was  a  good  one,  and  Mr.  Lupin  was  tolerably  expert  in  its  use, 
the  chips  from  the  wood  soon  began  noiselessly  to  fall  about  him.  He  worked 
in  a  circle,  so  that  w*  en  he  should  get  fairly  through  the  panel,  there  would  be 
quite  space  enough  for  him  to  get  his  arm  through,  and  unfasten  both  the 
bolts  ;  and  this  he  completed  in  about  ten  minutes. 

"  I  should  never  have  got  on  without  you/*  said  Todd.  "  The  only  notion  I 
had  of  the  affair,  was  to  try  and  fight  my  way  out  of  the  prison,  and  if  I  fell  in 
doing  so,  I  was  no  worse  off  than  I  should  be  on  Monday  morning — or,  indeed, 
rather  better,  for  I  could  not  endure  the  agony  of  waiting  for  death." 

"  They  would  not  have  killed  you." 

"  They  must." 

u  Nay,  they  will  go  through  fire  and  water  here,  and  suffer  anything,  rather 
than  that  a  man  should  escape  the  gallows.  They  would  have  flung  themselves 
upon  you,  and  overpowered  you  by  numbers,  and  on  Monday  morning,  if 
you  had  a  breath  of  life  left  in  you,  you  would  have  been  dragged  out  to 
death." 

Todd  shuddered. 

•'And  you  so  innocent,  too,"  added  Lupin.  "  But  it  is  the  innpcent  that  in 
this  world,  verily,  are  chastened  alway." 

"  You  are  getting  into  your  old  habit  of  preaching  again/'  said  Todd, 
roughly. 

11  So  I  am.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you,  my  friend,  to  put  me  in  mind  of  it. 
Very  much  obliged.  1  was  for  a  moment  preaching  ;  but  here  is  the  door  open, 
and  now  I  beg  that  you  will  tread  as  though  you  trod  upon  a  mine,  for  we  do 
not  know  what  persons  in  this  portion  of  this  confounded  building  may  be  upon 
the  alert/' 

" Oh,  that  we  were  only  in  the  open  air  !"  said  Todd. 
"  Hush!  hush! 3 

The  villain  Lupin,  almost  as  bad  in  his  way  as  Todd  was  in  his,  now  shaded 
the  little  light  with  his  hands,  and  crept  on  slowly  and  cautiously,  until  he  reached 
the  staircase,  which  was  nicely  empanelled,  and  up  that  he  slowly  took  his  way. 
Before  he  got  to  the  top  of  it,  he  blew  out  the  light,  and  waiting  there  until  Todd 
was  close  to  him,  he  said,  in  the  smallest  possible  whisper— 


THE  STRtNG  OJ?  PEA.ULS.  577 


u  Follow  me,  and  be  caretul,  lam  afraid  the  light  might  gleam  through 
some  key-hole,  and  betray  us.  Come  on,  and  recollect  that  a  slip  or  a  stumble  may 
be  fatal.    Think  that  the  rope  is  about  your  neck  " 

M     *       "**  •    •    «  «     .  •  0-MB  —        _  -         -»  _    _     _  _  * 


TODD  KILLS  THE  MURDERER,  LUPIN, 

u  Hush !  hush  !  Are  you  mad  to  go  on  talking  so  ?,f 

Todd  said  no  more,  and  Lupin  crept  on  until  he  got  right  to  the  top  of  the  stairs. 
Then  holding  by  a  balustrade  that  was  continued  along  the  landing,  he  reached 
the  head  of  another  flight  of  steps,  which  led  directly  down  to  the  hall  or  passage 
of  the  Governor  s  house.  Lupin  was  terribly  afraid  that  Todd  would  come 
upon  these  second  sta;rs  at  unawares,  and  stumble  down  some  of  them,  so  he 


No.  73. 


5^3  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS    ' 

waited  at  the  head  of  them,  until  Todd  touched  him,  and  then  he  whispered 

the  one  word,  "  Stairs/'  '  •  . 

"Yes,"  replied  Todd /  and  then  Lupin  commenced  the  descent,  followed  by 
his  trembling  companion,  and  for  the  matter  of  that,  Lupin  himself  shook  now 
like  an  aspen  leaf. 

The  steps  were  fourteen  in  number,  and  then,  by  the  feel  of  a  mat  at  the 
foot  of  them,  Lupin  was  satisfied  that  he  had  actually  gained  the  hall  of  the 
Governor's  house.    Todd  was  close  behind  him. 

"  Stop!"  whispered  Lupin,  and  Todd  stopped  as  suddenly  as  though  he  had 
been  some  piece  of  machinery  that  could  be  in  a  moment  arrested  in  its  progress. 

Lupin  well  knew  now  that  without  a  light  it  would  be  folly  to  attempt  open- 
ing the  door  of  the  Governor's  house,  which,  as  a  matter  of  course,  was  well 
secured  ;  end  very  reluctantly  he  lit  another  match,  and  ignited  the  wax  candle- 
end  again.  He  placed  Todd  in  such  a  position  on  the  mat  at  the  foot  of  the 
stairs,  that  his  bulky  tall  form  acted  as  a  screen  against  the  rays  of  the  light 
ascending  the  staircase,  and  then,  with  something  of  his  old  nervousness  and 
abject  fear  of  manner  and  expression,  he  narrowly  scrutinized  the  door. 

*  Curses  on  all  these  precautions  !"  he  muttered.     "  We  may  be  detained  her 
until  morning/' 

In  good  truth,  the  door  of  the  Governor's  house  was  very  well  fastened  up,  and 
Mr.  Lupin  might  well  feel  a  little  staggered  at  the  sight  of  it.  A  chain  that  was 
up  across  it,  he  easily  removed,  and  the  bolts  offered  no  obstacles  ;  but  what 
was  the  most  serious  consisted  of  a  small,  but  exquisitely  marie  lock  that  was  on 
the  door,  and  the  key  of  which,  no  doubt,  at  such  an  hour  was  under  the 
Governor's  pillow. 

Todd  at  that  moment  would  have  given  anything  to  be  able  just  to  say — 
V  How  are  you  getting  on  ?"  but  in  such  a  place,  with,  for  all  he  knew  to  the 

contrary,  the  Governor  of  Newgate  within  a  dozen  yards  of  him,  he  dared  not 

open  his  lips. 

And  nowT  Lupin  brought  all  his  old  skill  to  bear  upon  that  one  little  lock  upon 
the  Governor's  door,  and  yet  it  resisted  him.  One  five  minutes'  attempt  to 
pick  it  was  to  him  pretty  conclusive  evidence  that  it  was  not  to  be  done. 

He  had  the  chisel  in  his  pocket,  and  in  dispair  he  inserted  it  between  the 
door  and  the  post.  It  broke  short  off  by  the  handle.  Lupin  uttered  a  groan, 
which  was  echoed  by  Todd,  and  then  they  both  stood  glaring  at  each  other  in 
solemn  silence.    Todd  crept  towards  Lupiu,  and  leaning  forward  he  whispered 

faintlv — 

t€  It  cant  be  done  ?* 

u  No,"  said  Lupin,  •*  that  lock  stops  us." 

*  Lost— lost !"  said  Todd.    "  We  are  lost,  then  ?" 

"Hush.  Let  me  think.  The  kev  of  this  lock  is  with  the  Governor,  of  course. 
.Now,  Todd,  you  are  a  man  of  strong  nerves,  you  know,  or  else  it  would  have 
been  quite  impossible  for  you  to  have  gone  through  life  in  the  way  you  have 
done.    What  do  you  say  to  going  and  trying  to  get  the  key  ?" 

"I— I?" 

i€  Yes,  to  be  sure.    I  have,  up  to  this  moment,  you  know,  done  all  the  work, 

and  if  this  lock  had  not  baffled  me,  I  would  have  done  the  remainder  cheerfully  ; 

but  could  you  not  take  one  of  these  files — the  end  of  it  is  very  sharp — and 

persuade  the  Governor  to  give  up  the  key  P' 

"  Kill  him,  you  mean  P"  I 
"  You  may  call  it  killing."  | 
iCIf  I  thought  it  could  be  done  with  anything  like  a  certainty  of  result,  I  would  j 

make  no  more  of  the  life  of  the  Governor  than — than  99 

Todd  was  at  a  loss  for  a  simile,  and  Lupin  helped  him  out  of  the  difficulty  by 

saying— 

6k  Giving  a  man  a  clean  shave  for  one  penny,  or  eating  a  veal  pie." 
Todd  nodded. 

* Now,  hark  you/  continued  Lupin,  speaking  in  the  same  very  low  whisper, 


indeed,  that  he  had  conducted  the  conversation  in.    "  It  is  quite  a  madening 
thing,  you  see,  to  find  that  there  is  nothing  between  us  and  liberty  but  this 
door.    Every  moment  is  of  the  greatest  possible  importance.    Will  you  do  it  V9 
"  Are  you  mad 

"  No.  I  am  quite  sane,  I  confess,  though  that  I  have  not  the  pluck  to  do  it. 
You  ought  to  be  a  man  of  courage.  What  is  it  to  you,  if  you  were  to  murder 
everybody  in  this  house,  so  that  you  got  this  door  open  ?  That  is  the  great 
object,  the  only  object ;  and  to  you,  you  know,  three  or  four  more  deaths  will  not 
make  much  consequence." 

"  My  friend,"  said  Todd,  with  a  sickly  smile,  "lam  afraid  you  believe  the 
calumnies  that  have  been  heaped  upon  my  innocent  hand.  But,  if  nothing  can  be 
done,  but  what  you  say,  I  will  make  the  attempt.    There  are  two  files,  though, 
and  they  are  equally  sharp.    Do  you  take  one,  and  I  will  take  the  other." 
u  You  want  me  with  you  ?" 
tX  I  do,  most  surely.5' 

"  Well  —well ;  if  it  must  be  so,  it  must.  I  will  come.  Let  us  set  about  it  at 
once,  and  55 

j     Before  Mr.  Lupin  could  say  another  word,  there  came  a  sharp  rap  at  the 
[  tJoor  from  the  outside  with  the  knocker ;  and  so  sudden  and  so  utterly  unex- 
pected was  the  sound  at  such  an  hour,  that  Lupin  and  Todd  fell  on  each  other 
in  their  hurry  to  escape,  they  knew  not  where. 


CHAPTER  CXXXV. 

THE  CHASE  THROUGH  SMITHFIELD,  AND  THE  MURDER. 

They  were  afraid  to  speak,  were  those  two  murderers,  as  they  now  stood 
trembling  in  the  passage  of  the  Governor's  house  in  Newgate.  They  could  only 
be  conscious  of  each  others  presence  by  the  hard  breathing  which  their  fears 
gave  rise  to ,  and  as  Lupin  had  extinguish,  J  the  little  light,  the  most  intense 
darkness  reigned  around  them. 

Bang— bang— bang !  went  the  knocker  upon  the  door  of  the  Governor's  house 
again.  ' 

"  Lost— lost  P  said  Todd. 

If  Lupin  was  not  the  most  hardened  villain  of  the  two,  he  was  certainly  at 
that  moment  the  most  courageous.  He  aimed  a  blow  at  Todd  in  the  dark  to 
give  effect  to  his  admonition  for  silence  ;  but  it  did  not  take  effect.  Todd,  how- 
ever, was  quite  still  now,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  moments  the  knock  at  the 
door  was  repeated  a  third  time.  Then  Lupin  whispered  to  Todd — 

"  Keep  yourself  up  as  close  against  the  wall  as  you  can.  Some  one  will  come 
to  the  door,  and  you  can  throttle  whoever  it  is,  while  I  take  the  key  of  the  little 
lock  from  them/' 

"Yes,"  said  Todd,  faintly. 

The  word  had  hardly  escaped  his  lips,  when  a  flash  of  light  from  above  came 
streaming  down  into  the  passage,  and  from  each  side  of  the  door,  close  to 
the  passage  wall,  against  which  they  screwed  themselves  into  as  small  a  com- 
pass as  possible,  they  saw  a  man  approaching. 

The  person  who  came  to  answer  the  knock  at  the  Governor's  door  was 
evidently  only  just  roused  from  sleep,  for  he  was  looking  heavy,  and  yawning 
as  he  came.  The  candle  he  carried  swayed  to  and  fro  in  his  hand,  and  it  was 
very  unlikely  that  he  would  see  anything  that  was  not  remarkably  cbse  to  his 
nose, 

JlK^\  dear  me/'  he  yawned.  "Can't  people  come  at  reasonable  times? 
Who  d  be  a  Governor  s  clerk,  I  wonder,  to-ah,  dear !— get  up  at  all  hours  of 
the  night  in  Newgate.    Ah,  heigho  !" 

Mr.  Lupin  wanted  to  say  only  two  words  to  Todd,  and  those  were  "Kill 


580  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


him^^  but  he  was  afraid  even  to  whisper  them,  lest  Todd  should  not  be  equally 
discreet  in  reply.  He  knew  he  could  whisper  softly  enough  ;  but  he  thought 
his  companion  might  not  be  so  accomplished  in  that  particular,  so  he  was 

silent.  „  5 

Before  the  individual  who  bad  announced  himself  to  be  the  Governor  s  clerk 

could  get  into  the  passage  down  the  flight  of  stairs,  the  person  on  the  outside 

of  the  door  got  impatient,  and  executed  another  rather  startling  rap. 

u  Oh,  bother  you/'  said  the  clerk.  "  I  only  wish  you  were  at  the  bottom  of 
the  Thames-  Fm  coming,  stupid ;  don't  you  see  the  light  throught  the  little 
bit  of  glass  at  the  top  of  the  door,  that— ah,  dear  !  how  gapish  I  am— you  keep 
hammering  away  there,  as  if  you  thought  we  were  all  deaf  or  stupid  V9 

The  clerk  was  evidently  wakening  up,  but  as  he  carried  the  light  right  in  front 
of  his  eyes,  he  had  not  the  smallest  chance  of  seeing  either  Mr.  Todd  or  Lupin, 
and  in  that  way  he  reached  the  passage,  or  hall  it  might  be  called  from 
courtesy. 

To  be  sure,  how  could  he  for  one  moment  suspect  to  find  two  of  the  most 
notorious  criminals  in  all  Newgate  snugly  hidden  in  the  hall  ?  We  must  con- 
sider how  very  improbable  such  a  thing  was,  before  we  blame  the  clerk  for  any 
imprudence  in  the  matter, 

The  grand  object  of  Lupin,  who  kept  his  sharp  little  ferret-looking  eyes  upon 
the  clerk  as  he  descended,  was  to  note  if  he  had  a  key  with  him  at  all ;  if  he  had, 
there  could  be  no  doubt  of  its  being  the  key  of  the  little  lock  that  had  so  baffled 
his,  Lupin's,  attempts  to  open  it,  upon  the  door  of  the  Governor's  house.  To 
his  great  satisfaction  he  saw  that,  dangling  from  the  clerk's  finger  by  a  piece  of 
tape,  he  did  carry  a  key,  and  Lupin  at  once  naturally  concluded  it  was  the  one 
he  wanted. 

"  Only  just  let  me  find  out  now/  said  the  clerk,  that  this  is  something  about 
nothing,  and  won't  I  make  a  riot  about  it  in  the  morning.  To  rouse  a  fellow 
out  of  his  bed,  it  is  really  too  bad,  as  if  any  kind  of  thing  could  not  be  just  as 
well  done  in  the  day  time  as  in  the  middle  of  night.  Now  stupid,  who  are  you  V* 

These  last  words  he  addressed  to  the  person  outside,  by  placing  his  mouth 
close  to  the  keyhole. 

A  voice  responded  something,  the  only  recognisable  word  of  which  was 
«  donkey." 

"  What  do  you  say  ?*'  cried  the  clerk,  again.  u  You  are— a— a— donkey,  do 
you  say  V9 

H  No,"  said  the  voice  from  the  outside  through  the  key-hole.    u  But  you  are/ 
4<  Oh,  am  It  you  infernal  vagabond?    I'll  soon  let  you  know  what's  what,  I 
will,  you  rascal." 

With  this  the  clerk  began  to  open  the  door,  and  the  moment  he  got  the  key  in 
the  little  lock,  so  that  Mr.  Lupin  was  thoroughly  aware  it  was  the  one  he 
wanted,  he  sprung  upon  the  unfortunate  clerk,  and  dashing  his  head  against  the 
door,  which  was  heavily  plated  with  iron,  he  knocked  hiin  insensible  in  a 
moment. 

To  open  the  tack  was  the  wTork  of  an  instant,  and  the  door  creaked  upon  its 
hinges. 

u  Who  are  you  V*  said  Lupin. 

€i  A  messenger  from  the  Secretary  of  State,"  said  the  man  on  the  outside,  "and 
I  shall  report  your  insolence/' 
"  Don  t,"  said  Lupin. 
"  Indeed,  1  shell." 
«  Then  take  that." 

With  the  file  he  dealt'him  a  frightful  wound  in  the  face.and  then  they  both  rolled 
down  the  whole  flight  of  steps  together,  for  Mr.  Lupin  had  overbalanced  himself 
with  that  blow.  Todd  sprang  over  them  both,  and  gained  the  open  street,  just  as 
a  watchman  who  was  opposite  began  to  spring  his  rattle  &t  seeing  such  a  scuffle 
going  on  at  the  Governor's  door.  The  messenger  from  the  Secretary  of  State, 
notwithstanding  his  wound,  grappled  with  Lupin,  but  that  rascal  got  hold  of 


 ■  ,,  ,  A.   ,  ,.,,,.„  —  1  

THEfSTRING  OF  PEARLS.  581  j 

him  by  his  hair,  and  knocked  his  head  against  the  pavement  until  he  was  quite  ? 
dead.    Then  rising,  he  cried — 

*  Through  Smithfield,  Todd  !    Follow  me/ 

c<  I  will/'  said  Todd,  and  off  they  both  set,  pursued  by  the  single  watchman, 
who  had  happened  to  be  the  sole  witness  to  the  whole  affair,  and  who,  finding 
himself  outstripped  by  the  two  imen,  wisely  stopped  at  the  corner  of  Giltspur 
Street  to  spring  his  rattle,  which  he  did  with  a  vengeance  that  soon  brought  j 
others  to  his  assistance.  I 

"  An  escape  from  Newgate !"  the  watchman  kept  crying— u  An  escape  from 
Newgate!  There  they  go — through  Smithfield  ;  two  men,  one  very  big  and 
the  other  not  so  big  !    An  escape  from  Newgate  V* 

These  cries  soon  sent  about  a  dozen  persons  on  the  trail  of  the  fugitives, 
and  as  the  alarm  was  understood  at  the  prison,  four  of  the  most  bold 
and  skillful  men  upon  the  premises  at  once  started  in  pursuit.  From  the 
watchman  who  still  stood  at  the  end  of  Giltspur  Street,  they  heard  in  what 
direction  the  prisoners  had  gone,  and  they  did  not  lose  a  moment  in  dashing 
after  them,  calling  out  as  they  went—  I 

"  Fifty  pounds  reward  for  two  prisoners  escaped  from  Newgate !     Fifty  j 
pounds  reward  for  them  V 

These  words  summoned  up  many  an  idler  who  was  trying  to  dream  away  the 
night  in  the  pens  of  Smithfield,  and  the  officers  soon  got  together  a  rabble  host 
for  the  pursuit  of  Todd  and  his  villanous  companion. 

But  these  officers  with  their  fifty  pounds  reward  were  rather  late  in  the  field. 
It  was  the  few  persons  who  first  heard  the  rattle  and  the  outcries  of  the  watch-  j 
man,  who  were  close  upon  the  heels  of  the  men,  and  they  kept  them  well  in  i 
sight  right  across  Smithfield  and  so  on  towards  Barbican.    Todd  heard  the  j 
shouts  of  the  pursuers,  but  he  did  not  look  back,  for  fear  of  losing  time  by  so  j 
doing;  and  the  fact  was.  that  Mr.  Lapia  was  so  fleet  of  foot  that  it  required  all 
the  exertion  of  Todd  to  keep  up  with  him  at  all.    Upon  any  less  exciting  occa-  i 
sion  it  is  extremely  doubtful  if  Todd  could  have  kept  up  such  a  race  ;  but  as  it 
was,  he  seemed  to  lose  his  wind,  and  then  in  some  mysterious  way  to  get  on  i 
without  any  at  all.    Mr.  Lupin  crossed  Aldersgate  Street  and  dashed  down  ! 
Barbican,    He  then  turned  down  the  first  opening  he  came  to  on  the  right,  and 
he  did  so,  not  because  he  was  making  for  any  known  place  ol  safety,  but  be*  j 
cause  he  knew  that  a  labryinth  of  small  streets  were  thereabouts,  amid  the 
intricacies  of  which  he  hoped  to  baffle  his  pursuers  ;  and  it  was  certainly  under  j 
the  circumstances  very  good  policy  in  him  to  take  the  course  he  did.  j 

From  the  moment  of  so  abruptly  turning  out  of  Barbican,  they  were  both 
out  of  sight  of  their  pursuers,  who  had  been  able  to  keep  them  steadily  in  view 
up  to  this  ;  but  although  that  was  the  case,  they  were  not  without  their  perils, 
for  a  watchman  met  them  both  and  aimed  a  blow  at  Lupin's  legs  with  his  stick, 
crying  in  an  Irish  brogue — 

"  Stop  that,  my  beauty — Stop  that  any  way V* 

Lupin  sprang  upon  him  like  an  enraged  tiger,  and  turning  the  stick  from  his 
hands,  he  laid  him  flat  with  one  blow  of  it  and  on  he  rushed,  carrying  it  with 
him  as  a  defence  against  the  attack  of  any  one  else. 

They  now  turned  a  corner  and  met  a  string  of  half-drunken  gents  of  the 
period,  arm-in-arm,  and  occupying  the  whole  breadth  of  the  pavement.  Lupin 
avoided  them  by  swerving  into  the  road-way,  but  they  caught  hold  of  Todd,  j 
crying— 

"  Here's  the  devil.    Let 's  make  him  an  offer  for  his  tail !  1 
Certainly,  Sweeny  Todd  was  not  at  that  moment  disposed  for  trifling,  and  he 
laid  about  him  with  his  immense  fists  in  such  style  that  the  gents  were  all  rolling 
in  the  kennel  in  a  moment  or  two  ;  and  then,  however,  before  I  odd  could  again  j 
reach  Mr.  Lupin  so  closely  as  he  had  been,  he  heard  aloud  shout  of—  [i 
"  There's  one  of  them,   Come  on  !— Come  on  V  } 
That  was  no  drunken  shout,  and  Todd  immediately  felt  that  the  danger  wag 


582  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


imminent.  He  rushed  on  at  increased  speed,  and  just  got  up  to  Lupin  at  the 
corner.    They  turned  it  together,  and  then  Todd  managed  to  say — 

"They  come—they  come  !" 

"  Officers  ?"  said  Lupin. 

"  Yes,  I  think  so.    On—on.    Oh?  push  on  !" 

"This  way." 

Lupin  crossed  the  road,  and  sprung  down  a  narrow  court ;  but  even  as  he  did 
so,  came  that  voice,  crying — 

" There  they  go.    Stop  them— stop  them!    There  they  go!    Fifty  pounds 

reward!" 

A  frightful  oath  burst  from  Todd's  lips,  as  he  emerged  from  the  court 
still  close  upon  the  heels  of  Lupin.  They  were  now  in  a  tolerably  wide 
street,  and  they  saw  but  one  individual  in  it,  and  he  was  evidently,  by  the 
curious  manner  in  which  he  sometimes  favoured  the  curb-stone  by  walking  upon 
it  for  a  few  paces,  and  then  lumbered  up  against  the  house,  just  a  little  gone 
in  intoxication. 

This  individual,  after  some  fumbling  in  his  pocket,  produced  a  latch  key, 
and  having  staggered  up  the  steps  of  a  house,  he  made  some  ineffectual  attempts 
to  open  the  door. 

<(f  Hold  !"  said  Todd  to  Lupin.    "Anything  is  better  than  this  race  for  life. 
We  can  hide  in  the  passage  of  that  house  until  the  pursuit  is  past.  Come." 
"  A  good  thought/'  said  Lupin. 

By  this  time  the  inebriated  individual  had  succeeded  in  opening  the  street- 
door  with  his  latch-key,  and  he  was  so  elated  at  having  performed  the  feat,  that 
he  stopped  to  laugh  before  he  entered  the  house.  The  moment,  however, 
that  he  did  get  into  the  passage,  Todd  sprung  up  the  steps,  and  very 
adroitly  placed  his  foot  against  the  door,  so  that  when  the  person  from 
within  slammed  it  as  he  thought  shut,  it  was  a  g'  od  two  inches  off  that 
condition.  It  was  then  amusing  to  hear  him,  with  drunken  gravity  and  precision, 
as  he  thought,  shooting  the  bolts  into  their  sockets,  after  wh:ch,  often  tumbling  on 
his  way,  he  went  along  the  passage,  and  up  stairs. 

Todd  opened  the  door. 

"  Come,"  he  said. 

"  All's  right/'  said  Lupin. 

Ki  Stop  thief!  Stop  thief !"  cried  a  chorus  of  voices  at  the  corner  of  the 
street. 

"  Indeed,"  said  Lupin,    u  The  Lord  be  good  to  you  all/' 

He  stepped  into  the  house  after  Todd,  and  very  quietly  closed  the  door.  The 
passage  was  profoundly  dark,  and  there  they  both  stood,  those  two  convicted 
murderers,  listening  to  what  was  taking  place  outside  their  place  of  refuge.  They 
heard  the  sounds  of  several  voices,  and  it  was  quite  evident  that  just  about  that 
spot  the  pursuers  were  baffled,  and  did  not  know  now  which  course  to  take  after 
the  fugitives,  who  were  so  snugly  ensconced  so  near  them. 


CHAPTER  CXXXVL 

TODD  AND  LUPIN  ESCAPE  TO  CAEN  WOOD. 

"What's  to  be  done  ?"  said  a  voice. 

" III  be  hanged  if  I  know,"  said  another,  "and  yet  I  feel  sure  that  they  came 
this  way.    I  thought  how  it  would  be  when  they  took  to  all  these  streets 
Lord  bless  you,  we  might  have  passed  them  in  some  doorway  easy  enough— a 
dozen  times."  J  & 

.  "  So™emi^^^  "All  we  can  do  now,  is  to  go  round 

to  the  different  outlets  of  the  city,  and  give  an  alarm. " 

"  Well,  I  won  t  give  it  up  yet,"  said  a  third  person  ;  "  I  feel  quite  sure  they 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


583 


1  i 


are  lingering  somewhere  about  here,  and  I'll  be  on  the  watch  yet  for  a  time,  and 
hunt  about  quietly.    You  be  off  and  give  the  notice  to  the  watch,  and  leave 
Johnson  and  I  to  do  what  we  can." 
"Very  good— I  wish  you  luck.* 

There  was  a  scuffle  of  feet,  and  it  was  quite  clear  that  some  of  the  men  had 
gone  off  at  a  quick  pace,  leaving,  no  doubt,  the  two  only  in  the  street. 

"  Well/'  whispered  Lupin.  "  Well,  ray  friend,  what  do  you  think  of  all  this  ?" 

"  I  don't  know  what  to  think/'  said  Todd.    "  I'm  very  tired.'' 

u  Ah,  and  so  am  I,  but  that  can't  be  helped.  I  ain't  used  to  such  a  run  as  we 
have  had.  But  it  won't  do  us  any  harm.  If  we  can  get  off,  it  will  be  a  world's 
wonder,  I  can  tell  you.  It  ain't  now  every  day  that  a  fellow  gives  Newgate  the 
go-by." 

"No-  no,  and  I  must  say  that  I  did  not  myself  expect  it.  But  I  was  pre- 
pared to  cheat  the  hangman." 

"  Pho !    That's  a  poor-enough  look  out." 
"Yes,  but  it's  a  something.    She  did  it.'' 
"  She  ?    Who  the  deuce  is  she  ?" 
t*  Mrs.  Lovett." 

"Oh,  I  recollect,  I  have  heard  of  her — I  have  heard  of  her.  She  was  the 
nice  creature  who  lived  in  Bell  Yard,  wasn't  she,  and  accommodated  the  folks 
with  pies  ?" 

"  Yes,'*  said  Todd,  and  if  Lupin  had  seen  the  horrible  contortion  of  visage 
with  which  he  accompanied  the  word,  even  he,  with  all  his  n^rve  in  such 
matters,  might  well  have  been  excused  for  a  sudden  accession  of  terror.  "  Well,'* 
added  Todd,  after  a  pause,  "you  are  a  man  of  judgment  Mr.  Lupin,  and  all  I 
want  to  know  now,  is  what  you  mean  to  do?'' 

u  Get  away  from  here  as  soon  as  possible.  But  it  won't  be  quite  safe  to  try 
it  yet.  This  house  is  very  quiet,  and  no  doubt  everybody  is  in  bed  and  asleep, 
so  1  shall  get  a  light  and  look  about  a  little.  It  would  be  quite  a  providential 
thing  to  find  something  to  eat." 

"  Yes,  and  to  drink/'  said  Todd. 

Ci  Just  so.  I  would  give  something  handsome  now,  if  I  had  it,  fpx  a  good 
glass  of  brandy.  That  run  has  made  me  first  hot  and  then  shivery  all  over  ; 
but  who  knows  what  luck  may  be  in  store  for  us  ?  Come  now — here's  a  light, 
and  we  shall  soon,  by  the  help  of  providence,  see  what  sort  of  a  crib  we  have  got 
into." 

It  was  lucky  for  them  both  that  Lupin  had  retained  about  him  the  means  of 
getting  a  light,  for  if  he  had  not,  they  would  have  been  left  to  conjectures  merely 
regarding  their  position.  He  ignited  one  of  the  little  pieces  of  wax-ends,  and 
when  the  small  flame  rose  and  began  to  burn  steadily,  he  held  up  the  piece  of 
candle,  so  they  both  looked  curiously  about  them. 

The  hall  of  the  house  in  which  they  were  was  well  got  up.  A  handsome 
table  and  some  old  carved  chairs  were  in  it  with  some  crests  upon  the  backs, 
and  upon  numerous  pegs  hung  hats,  cloaks,  and  coats. 

"  Humph/'  said  Lupin,  "  this  is  the  very  place  for  us.  I  shall  take  the 
great  liberty  of  making  free  with  some  gentleman's  coat  and  hat,  and  I  think 
vou  had  better  do  the  same." 

m 

Todd  at  once  practically  acquiesced  in  the  suggestion,  by  slipping  on  a  large 
cloak  with  sleeves,  and  placing  upon  his  head  a  hat  richly  bound  with  silver 
lace. 

"  Upon  my  word/'  said  Lupin,  "  you  almost  look  respectable." 

H  Do  I  ?"  said  Todd.    "  It  isn't  then  on  account  of  the  company  I  am  in." 

Lupin  smiled,  as  he  said — 

"  Very  good — very  good,  but  the  less  we  cut  at  each  other,  my  friend,  the 
better/' 

You  began  it/'  said  Todd. 

So  1  did,  so  we  will  say  no  more  about  it,  as  yours  was  the  hardest  hit 
How  do  I  look  in  the  cloak  and  hat?" 


•i 


"  Just  nice/5  said  Todd,  making  a  frightful  face. 
Lupin  laughed  again. 

"  Come,"  he  said.  "  Now  that  we  have  a  little  time  to  spare,  let  us  see  if 
these  people  keep  a  good  larder.  If  they  do  and  they  lock  it  up  at  night,  they 
will  find  that  the  cat  has  been  at  it  by  the  morning,  I  rather  think.  Tread  as 
lightly  as  you  can,  Todd,  and  keep  down  your  voice  as  you  have  done.  Sounds 
go  so  far  in  the  night  time." 

"  They  do,"  said  Todd.    u  I  have  heard  them  at  odd  times.3' 

Lupin  led  the  way  along  the  hall,  at  the  end  of  which  was  the  staircase,  and 
to  the  right  of  that  a  door  which  was  not  fast,  so  that  they  passed  on  quite 
easily  to  the  domestic  portion  of  the  house,  and  soon  found  the  way  to  a  kitchen, 
which  was  upon  the  same  floor.  Then  they  opened  a  door  that  led  into  a  little 
sort  of  outhouse,  paved  with  red  bricks,  and  in  one  corner  of  that  was  a  larder, 
or  safe,  well  stocked  with  provisions.  Lupin  took  from  it  a  magnificent  quarter 
of  venison,  with  scarcely  a  quarter  of  a  pound  cut  from  it ;  and  that,  with  some 
bread  were  the  only  viands  that  he  felt  disposed  to  take  from  the  larder, 

<k  It  will  be  wholesome/'  he  said,  and  do  us  a  world  of  good,  by  the  aid  of 
Providence  ;  and  we  don't  know  what  we  may  have  to  go  through  yet,  in  this 
world  of  woe.    Amen  I" 

"  You  fancy  you  are  in  the  chapel  again." 

n  Dear  me  j  yes,  I  do— 1  do.  Well,  well,  it  don't  matter— it  don't  matter. 
Come,  friend  Todd.  Let  us  recruit  ourselves  a  little.  Oh,  that  I  could  find  the 
way  to  the  wine  cellar  of  these  peof  le  ;  and  yet  that  should  not  be  a  difficult 
matter.    Let  us  think.    It  must  be  somewhere  hereabouts. " 

"There  is  a  door,"  said  Todd,  pointing  to  one  at  the  end  of  the  outhouse. 
"It  seems  to  be  locked,  and  if  so,  it  is  no  doubt  that  of  the  cellar." 

"  We  will  try  it,"  said  Lupin. 

With  this  he  quickly  opened  the  door,  by  the  a^d  of  his  picklocks,  which  no 
ordinary  lock  could  withstand  the  fascinations  of  fcr  a  moment,  and  then  sure 
enough  the  supposition  of  Todd  was  found  to  be  correct,  for  a  goodly  collection 
of  bottles  in  long  rows  presented  themselves  to  the  eye.  Lupin  at  once  laid  hold 
of  a  bottle,  and  b  eaking  off  the  neck  of  it  he  decanted  a  quantity  of  its  contents 
into  his  throat,  rubbing  his  stomach  as  he  did  so  in  a  most  ludicrous  kind  of 
way,  to  indicate  how  much  he  enjoyed  the  draught, 

M  Nectar/1  he  said,  when  he  took  the  bottle  from  his  mouth  to  enable  himself 
to  breathe  ;  u  nectar." 

"  Is  it  V*  said  Todd,  as  he  seized  upon  another  bottle.  "lam  partial  gene- 
rally to  something  a  trifle  stronger  than  wine ;  but  if  it  be  really  good,  I  have  no 
particular  objection  to  a  drop/' 

With  this  Todd  finished  off  half  a  bottle  of  the  rich  and  rare  old  port  that  was 
in  the  cellar.  They  then  worked  away  at  the  haunch  of  venison  ;  and  having 
made  a  very  hearty  meal,  they  looked  at  each  other  as  though  they  would  both 
say — 4  What  next  V 

u  You  say  you  have  money  ?"  said  Lupin* 

"  True/'  said  Todd. 

"But  not  here  of  course,  my  friend  ;  and  who  knows  what  difficulties  we  may 
find  in  our  way  before  we  reach  your  nice  little  hoard  ?  Where  did  you  say  it 
was  ?" 

«  Hidden  beneath  a  tree  in  Caen  Wood,  close  to  the  village  of  Hampstead. 
I  went  one  night,  and  myself  placed  the  cash  there  in  case  of  accidents*" 

"And  how  much  do  you  suppose,  my  friend,  there  is?" 

"  I  know  what  there  is.  I  put  away  two  thousand  pounds,  and  that  you 
know  will  be  a  thousand  pounds  tor  you,  and  another  for  me.  I  purpose  in 
that  manner  equitably  to  share  it,  for  I  am  not  ungrateful  for  the  great  assistance 
you  have  been  to  me  in  this  escape  from  Newgate.'* 

If  Mr.  Lupin  had  not  swallowed  two- thirds  of  a  bottle  of  old  port -wine,  the 
probability  is  that  he  would  have  detected  that  Todd  was  deceiv  ng  him,  by  the 
whining  canting  tone  in  which  he  spoke.    The  fact  was,  that  Todd  had  not  one 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


585 


farthing  hidden  in  Caen  Wood  ;  but  he  thought  it  highly  desirable  while  there 
existed  any  danger,  and  while  Mr.  Lupin  was  likely  to  be  useful  to  him,  to  keep 
up  such  a  delusion.  ^ 

**  Well/'  added  Lupin,  gi  you  really  are  a  liberal  fellow ;  but  as,  I  say,  there 
is  no  knowing  what  good  a  trifle  may  be  to  us  before  we  reach  your  snug  two 
thousand  pounds  in  Caen  Wood,  I  propose  to  see  what  we  can  get  in  this  house. 


SIR  KICHAUD  BLUNT  PAYS  A  VISIT  TO  JOHANNA,  AT  CHELSEA. 

People  who  keep  such  a  good  cellar,  and  such  a  capital  larder,  ought  to  have 
something  in  the  place  worth  the  taking  in  the  way  of  cash/' 
Yes,  but  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  hazardous/'  said  Todd. 
"A  little,  perhaps;  but  with  this  carving  knife,  don't  you  think  we  mignt 

make  things  pleasant  ?"  , 
*  That  is  possible.    Well,  if  anything  worth  having  is  to  be  got,  let  us  set 


«4 


No.  74, 


3K 


580  THE  STRING  OF  PEAKLS. 


about  it  at  once;  for  I  think  we  have  spent  time  enough  in  this  house ;  and  no 
doubt  our  friends  are  upon  the  move  off,  if  they  have  not  gone  long  before  this." 
u  Come  on,  then.'* 

They  both  left  the  kitchen,  and  each  being  armed  with  a  knife,  they  cautiously 
opened  all  the  room  doors  on  that  floor  ;  but  they  only  found  the  usual  furniture 
of  such  apartments,  and  it  was  quite  clear  that  no  cash  was  to  be  had  in  that 
portion  of  the  premises. 

11  Come  up  stairs/'  said  Lupin,  with  a  look  of  savage  determination.  "  Come 
on,  Tood ;  we  will  see  what  can  be  done  up  stairs/' 

They  carefully  ascended  the  staircase,  but  they  only  just  peeped  into  the 
drawing-room,  and  then  they  went  up  to  the  floor  upon  which  the  bed-rooms 
were  situated.  They  paused  at  the  first  door  they  came  to,  and  Lupin  very 
carefully  tried  the  lock.  It  was  only  on  the  latch,  and  in  the  room  a  lushlight 
was  burning.  They  both  crept  in,  and  their  footsteps  made  no  noise  upon  the 
soft  carpetting  of  the  apartment.  A  bed  was  in  the  room,  and  upon  it  lay  a 
young  lady.  Lupin  gave  a  hideous  grin  as  he  looked  at  her,  and  then  stooping 
down  by  the  bed-side  he  said,  in  a  whisper — 

"If  you  scream,  everybody  in  this  house  will  be  murdered  ! — If  you  scream, 
everybody  in  this  house  will  be  murdered !    If  you — Oh,  that  will  do/' 

The  young  lady  awakened  with  a  start,  buj  the  words  that  were  twice  re- 
peated still  rung  in  her  ears,  and  scream  she  did  not,  but  she  looked  half  dead 
from  fright. 

"  Now,  my  dear,"  said  Lupin,  "  Providence  has  brought  us  to  your  bed-  side, 
and  if  you  make  any  disturbance,  we  mean  to  submit  you  and  the  whole  of  the 
family  to  the  operation  of  a  carving. knife,  the  Lord  willing.  All  we  want  is 
money,  and  if  we  can  get  that  quietly,  we  will  go  and  not  so  much  as  ask  your 
pretty  little  lips  for  a  kiss/* 

"Oh,  Heaven  protect  me!"  said  the  young  lady. 

u  A— -men  !"  said  Lupin.  u  Now  my  dear,  who  is  in  the  house  besides  you  ?" 
"  My  father,  the  alderman,  and  my  mother,  and  the  servants  above  stairs.— Oh, 
e  my  parents/' 

Very  good,  where  can  any  money  be  got  hold  of  ?" 
Will  a  hundred  pounds  content  you  V 
u  Yes/'  said  Todd,  putting  his  head  between  the  curtains  at  the  foot  of  the 
bed.  The  young  lady  gave  a  faint  cry,  and  Mr.  Lupin  flourished  the  carving- 
knife  over  her — "  Where  are  the  hundred  pounds?"  he  said,  "and  we  will  go/' 
"  In  my  father  s  room.  It  is  the  next  room.  His  purse  is  on  the  dressing- 
table.  If  you  will  let  me  go  and  get  it,  I  will  give  it  to  you  upon  your  promise 
then  to  leave  the  house." 

" How  are  we  to  trust  you  not  to  say  that  we  are  here?" 
"1  swear  by  all  that  is  holy— T  use  the  name  of  the  great  God.    Oh,  indeed 
you  may  trust  me/' 
"  Go,"  said  Lupin. 

The  young  lady  got  out  of  bed,  and  both  Todd  and  Lupin  followed  her 
from  the  room.  She  crossed  the  landing,  and  at  once  opened  the  door  of  a  room. 
Then  they  heard  a  man's  voice  say — " Who's  that?"  and  the  young  lady 
replied — <k  Only  me,  father.  I  want  something  out  of  your  room.  I  shall  not 
be  a  minute."    "  Bless  the  girl,"  said  a  female  voice — "  What  can  she  want?" 

In  a  minute  or  two  the  young  lady  came  back  to  the  landing  where  Todd  and 
Lupin  were  waiting  for  her. 

€i  Now,"  said  Lupin  in  a  low  voice— "  Now,  my  little  dear,  have  you  got  it  ?" 

" Quick—  quick !"  said  Todd,  "or  you  die.  I  am  half  a  mind  to  cut  your 
throat  as  it  is,  just  for  the  pleasure  of  the  thing." 

The  young  lady  stood  just  upon  the  threshold  of  the  door  of  her  father's 
room,  and  then  as  Lupin  held  up  his  light,  she  raised  both  her  hands,  in  each  of 
which  was  a  horse-pistol,  and  presenting  one  at  Lupin's  head  and  one  at  Todd's, 
she  said— • 

"Thieves!  thieves!  thieves!" 


i 


jtmm 


/ 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS, 


587 


CHAPTER  CXXXVII. 

THE  MURDER  AT  CAEN  WOOD,  HAMPSTEAD. 

It  would  be  quite  impossible  to  describe  the  effect  that  was  produced  upon 
Lupin  and  Sweeny  Todd,  by  this  heroic  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  young  lady, 
from  whom  they  did  not  in  the  least  expect  any  such  active  resistance  to  their 
proceedings.  j 

Lupin  was  constitutionally,  by  far  the  greater  coward  of  the  two,  and  when 
he  saw  the  bright  barrel  of  the  pistol  in  such  startling  and  unexpected  conti- 
guilty  to  his  head,  he  at  once  stepped  back,  and  missing  his  footing,  fell  down 
the  stairs  to  the  landing-place  immediately  below  that  flight. 

Todd  thought  that  there  would  be  just  a  chance  of  dashing  in  upon  the 
young  lady  and  disarming  her  of  her  pistols  ;  but  now  that  both  of  them  were 
levelled  at  him,  and  she  began  to  cry  out  "  Help !  help !  thieves  f  -  again, 
louder  than  before,  he  reluctantly  abandoned  the  idea,  and  turning,  he  bounded 
down  the  staircase. 

The  young  lady  leant  over  the  stair-head  and  fired  one  of  the  pistols  after 
him,  which  so  accelerated  the  movements  of  Todd,  that  he  tumbled  right  over 
Mr.  Lupin,  and  fell  down  all  the  way  to  the  hall  with  Lupin  after  him. 

Under  any  other  circumstances  than  the  dangerous  and  exciting  ones  in 
which  they  were  in,  no  doubt  they  would  both  of  them  have  been  too  much  hurt 
to  do  anything  but  lie  on  their  backs  in  the  hall ;  but  the  feeling  that  if  they  were 
taken  it  would  be  to  death,  was  sufficient  to  rouse  them,  and  they  both  scrambled 
to  their  feet. 

Lupin  got  the  street-door  open,  and  dashed  out  closely  followed  by  Todd . 
A  watchman  tried  to  stop  them,  but  him  they  felled  with  a  blow,  and  then  off 
went  Lupin  down  a  cross-street,  that  led  him  into  Old-street  Road,  and  with 
Todd  at  his  heels,  who  was  very  faint. 
v  *  Stop,  step  !"  panted  Todd,  "  stop  I" 

ft  What  for  ?"  said  Lupin. 

"  I  cannot  run  so  fast.  Are  you  hurt  ?  Oh,  that  I  had  a  knife  at  that  girl's 
throat !" 

Lupin  paused,  and  held  by  a  post  at  the  corner  of  a  street,  and  swore  dread- 
fully, as  he  too  panted  a  little  for  breath,  although  he  was  by  no  means  so 
much  used-up  as  Todd  was.  But  then  Lupin  was,  a  younger  man,  and  much 
lighter  on  his  feet,  than  our  old  friend  of  murdering  notoriety. 

"  Oh,  dear/'  said  Todd.    "  What's  to  be  done  now  V 

"Nothing." 

"  Nothing,  did  you  say  ?  But,  my  dear  friend,  something  must  be  done. 
We  nave  positivelv  wasted  half  the  night,  and  we  are  without  money,  and 
half  dead.  I  am  covered  with  bruises  from  head  to  foot  by  the  fall  down  the 
staircase,  and  it  will  be  daylight  in  another  half  hour  or  so  at  the  utmost/' 

"  Ah/'  said  Lupin,  "  we  must  breakfast  somewhere,  I'm  thinking,  my  friend." 

"  And  so  am  I/'  , 
V  Well,  well,  we  have  made  certainly  a  mess  of  our  adventure  at  the  alderman  s ; 
but  it  can't  be  helped  now.  The  idea,  only  to  think  of  it  now,  Todd,  of  you  and 
I,  two  such  men  as  we  are,  and  as  the  world  refutes  us  to  be,  being  beaten  back, 
and,  you  may  isay,  thrown  down  two  pair  of  stairs,  by  a  girl  of  sixteen  or 
thereabouts." 

Todd  growled  out  some  malediction.  j 
"  It  was  the  will  of  Providence/'  said  Lupin.  "  But  who  is  this  ?  Stand  aside, 
Todd,  and  let  this  old  gentleman  pass  on.    We  may  as  well  not  be  seen  and 

described  by  any  one/5  ,  ^  , 

"  Do  you  think  he  may  likely  have  enough  about  him,   whispered  lodd,  to 

pay  our  expenses  for  the  day  i9\  r 

"  A  lucky  thought.   It  is  more  than  likely  that  he  has.    Knock  him  down 


588 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


and  robbing  Todd,  There's  not  a  soul  in  sight.  Give  him  one  of  the  knocks 
you  used  to  give  the  poor  devils  you  made  the  pies  of,  you  know." 

"Be  quiet/'  said  Todd,  "  I  am* amazed  that  a  man  of  your  profound  sense  and 
sagacity,  should  give  ear  to  such  idle  rumours  about  me  !  I  am  really  both 
shocked  and  surprised,  Mr.  Lupin  !" 

"  Amen  V9  said  Lupin.  "  You  rob  the  old  man,  and  we  won't  quarrel  about 
any  such  nonsense,  Todd.  Here  he  comes,  grinning  like  an  old  polecat.  What 
business  has  a  man  of  that  age  out  at  such  a  time  as  this  ?" 

"  None,"  said  Todd,  "except  to  provide  us  with  a  little  money." 

Todd  cast  a  keen  glance  around  him,  and  was  convinced  that  the  report  of 
Mr.  Lupin  that  no  one  was  in  sight  was  quite  correct,  so  he  stepped  up  to  the 
old  man,  and  said— 

H  Good  morning,  sir.3' 

"  Thieves  !  thieves  I'  cried  the  old  man,  and  began  to  run,  but  Todd  put  out 
one  of  his  long  legs  and  tripped  him  up.  Then  pouncing  upon  him,  he  extracted 
a  weli-filled  purse  from  his  pocket,  and  holding  it  up  to  Lupin,  he  said — 

"This  will  do  ?" 

"  Rather/ '  replied  Lupin.    "  Come  on." 

Oft  set  Lupin  again  on  a  run,  rather  to  the  discomfiture  of  Todd,  who  had 
not  had  such  a  scampering  about  for  a  long  time  indeed  ;  but  yet  he  felt  the  ne- 
cessity of  getting  as  soon  as  possible  out  of  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  old 
man  whom  they  had  just  robbed,  so  they  did  not  stop  until  they  got  right  away 
on  the  northern  side  of  Finsbury  Square. 

That  side  of  the  ancient  square  of  Finsbury  was  "not  built  then  ;  and  beyond  it, 
where  there  is  now  such  a  squalid  and  uninviting  neighbourhood,  there  was 
nothing  but  fields. 

"  Now/'  said  Lupin.    "Let  us  look  at  the  purse  !M 

"Here  it  is/'  said  Todd.  >: 

"It's  very  light V9 

The  fact  was,  that  notwithstanding  the  speed  at  which  he  was  compelled  to 
run  to  keep  up  with  Lupin,  or  rather  to  keep  a  few  paces  only  behind  him, 
Todd  had  contrived  to  abstract  the  better  nart  of  the  contents  from  the  purse, 
and  to  pocket  them  ;  for  the  story  with  w  hich  he  had  tickled  the  ears  of  Lupin 
of  his  having  any  money  concealed  in  Caen  Wood,  Hampstead,  was  a  mere 
delusion,  got  up  for  the  purpose  of  making  him,  Lupin,  more  than  commonly 
solicitous  concerning  his,  Todd's,  safety  in  the  escape  from  Newgate. 

"Yes,"  replied  Todd,  "  it  is  light,  but  such  as  it  is  it  may  be  of  some  ser- 
vice to  us.  Take  it,  Mr,  Lupin,  and  you  can  be  the  treasurer  :  you  know  I  can 
trust  to  you." 

"  Implicitly/'  said  Lupin,  as  turning  out  the  contents  of  the  purse  into  his 
hand,  he  said — "  Here  are  four  guineas  and  a  half,  and  about  six  or  seven 
shillings  in  loose  silver/' 

"  Better  than  nothing,"  said  Todd,  with  a  look  of  great  philosophy.  u  Our 
first  care  now  is  to  get  a  breakfast." 

u  I  don't  know,"  said  Lupin.  "I  took  quite  enough  at  jthe  alderman's  to 
last  me  some  time.  I  should  say,  get  out  of  London  as  quickly  as  we  possibly 
can;  and  when  we  are  at  Caen  Wood,  we  can,  at  our  ease,  consider  what  course 
we  will  feel  inclined  to  take  with  our  money  in  our  pockets." 

u  A.  couple  of  thousands,5'  said  Todd. 

u  Exactly  so.  I  move  that  we  strike  across  the  fields  now  at  once,  and  make 
for  Highgate  and  Hampstead,  so  that  at  each  step  we  shall  be  leaving  some 
danger  behind  us." 

"  Agreed,"  said  Todd.  P  Come  on !  For  my  part  I  should  like  very  much 
to  find  a  conveyance  of  some  sort ;  but  that,  I  suppose,  is  impossible." 

".  Quite  !  Besides,  on  foot  we  are  much  less  likely  to  be  recognised  and  de- 
scribed. Come  on,  Todd  ;  you  ought  to  be  able  to  walk  to  Hampstead,  surely, 
after  the  little  trifling  exercise  that  you  have  had  only." 

"Trifling,  do  you  call  it?"  said  Todd,  making  one  of  his  mo3t  hideous  faces. 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  589 


<•  Trifling  !  i  have  not  a  bone  in  my  body  that  don't  ache.  Trifling  ?  I  am  one 
mass  of  bruises  from  top  to  toe,  and  I  never,  in  all  my  life,  felt  so  exhausted  ; 
but  yet  the  love  of  life  and  of  liberty  will  lend  me  strength  ;  so,  come  on  ;  I  will 
go  on  to  Hampstead,  and  I  will  reach  it,  my  friend,  unless  I  drop  by  the'way.  " 

"  Well  spoke,"  said  Lupin. 

They  now  pursued  a  course  which  led  them  rapidly  by  the  back  of  the  City 
Road,  and  through  the  now  well-populated  district  called  Hoxton  ;  and  keeping 
on  in  that  way  they  crossed  the  high-road  near  to  Stamford  Hill,  and  soon 
began  to  get  a  good  view  of  the  heights  of  Highgate  and  Hampstead  in  the 
distance* 

Brand y,"  said  Todd,  *  brandy  !" 
"  Why,  what's  the  matter 

"  My  good  friend,  I  can't  get  on  without  some  brandy.  T  am  rather  used  to 
a  little  stimulant  at  times,  so  1  must  have  it.  Then  we  have  no  risk  now  to  run 
by  going  into  a  public-house/' 

"  I  don't  know  that,  Todd.  But  it  you  can't  do  without,  some  brandy  you 
must  have.  To  be  sure,  we  are  in  luck's  way,  so  -ar,  that  we  are  provided  with 
hats  and  coats  from  the  alderman's  hall,  and,  therefore,  people  cannot  have  a 
description  of  us.  Th  •  first  quiet  little  hotel  we  come  to,  Todd,  I  promise  you 
that  I  will  not  object  to  our  stopping  at,  so  that  you  may  have  yaur  drop." 

u  Yes/'  said  Todd,  ''that  will  do.  My  good  friend,  it  is  the  only  thing  that 
keeps  me  up.  When  I  used  to  feel  a  little  down  in  spirits  I  poured  some  other 
spirits  down,  and  then  I  get  up  again." 

*'  Exactly.  Here  we  are,  at  an  old  roadside  house  called  the  Adam  and  Eve, 
which  will  be  the  very  thing.  They  may  take  you  for  Adam  and  me  for  Cain 
or  Abel. — Come  along/' 

They  halted  at  the  door  of  the  little  public-house,  but  upon  going  in  they 
found  the  landlord  and  landlady  bargaining  with  a  man  who  was  hawking  some- 
thing, and  the  following  words  came  upon  the  startled  ears  of  Todd. 

"  Only  threepence,  sir,  I  assure  you,  and  the  most  exact  likeness  of  Swe.eny 
Todd,  the  murderer;  taken  while  he  was  on  his  tiiai  at  the  Old  Badey.  You 
will  see  what  a  look  he  has,  and  the  artist  has  been  most  successful  in  the 
squint  :  and  only  threepence/' 

"  He  wili  be  hanged  on  Monday,  of  course?"  said  the  publican's  wife. 

?*  Oh  yes,  ma'am,  in  course,  and  there's  expected  such  a  crowd  as  never  v/as 
known  at  the  execution/' 

"  No  doubt  of  it   Well,  PU  give  twopence/' 

"  And  a  drop  ot  ale,"  said  the  publican. 

<c  Here  you  are,  master,  you  shall  have  it.  A  capital  likeness.  If  you  was 
only  now  to  catch  a  sight  of  the  original  Todd,  you'd  know  him  in  a  moment 
by  the  look  of  this  picture,  particularly  the  squint/' 

"  Come  in,"  whispered  Lupin  to  Todd. 

"Oh  no — no — I  don't  want  the  brandy  now/' 

"But  I  do.  Your  speaking  about  it, has  got  me  in*o  the  mind  of  wanting 
some  now ;  so  come  on  and  let  us  have  it,  my  friend,  at  once.  Why,  you  are 
not  afraid  that  the  portrait  is  too  good  a  likeness,  are  you  ? ' 

"Oh  dear,  I  don't  know,"  said  Todd.  "  I  believe  1  have  a  remarkable  nose, 
and  rather  an  engaging  look  about  the  eyes.— Come  along/1 

4i  A  quartern  of  the  best  brandy,"  said  Lupin. 

Todd  felt  that  now  the  safest  thing  he  could  do,  was  to  brave  the  matter  out, 
as  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  retreat  would  be  much  worse  than  actually 
making  an  appearance  at  the  bar  of  the  public-house  ;  and  then  it  was  truly  ridi- 
culous to  see  the  manner  in  which  Todd  stiove  to  alter  the  cast  of  his  features, 
by  protruding  one  lip,  and  putting  on  what  he  thought  as  a  kind  of  satisfied 
smirking  smile,  extremely  difficult,  indeed,  for  his  usual  expression  of  face. 

There  was  only  one  slight  comfort  he  felt,  and  that  wras  in  the  circumstance 
that  the  news  of  their  escape  from  Newgate  had  not  yet  reached  that  place* 
"A  nice,  bracing  morning,  gentlemen/  said  the  publican. 


590  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


~  "  Very,  by  the  goodness  of  providence,"  said  Lupin. 

"Amen!"  said  Todd.  .  rruji  j 

"  I  have  just,  gentlemen,  been  buying  a  portrait  of  the  execrable  Todd  j  and 
if  either  of  you  have  happened  to  see  him  in  London,  perhaps  you  can  tell  me 
f  i  is  at  all  like  the  villain.    We  frighten  our  children  now,  if  they  misbehave 
themselves  at  all,  and  tell  them  that  Todd  is  coming  to  make  them  into  pies,  and 
then  they  are  as  quiet  as  possible.    Ha!  ha!' 
«  How  funny,"  sa;d  Todd, 

"Well,"  said  Lupin,  as  he  looked  at  the  twopenny  portrait  of  Todd,  with  a 
pretended  critical  air,  "  I  don't  think  it's  like  him  at  all.  I^saw  him  at 
Newgate  ;  and  my  friend  here,  is  more  like  him  than  this  picture. 

"  You  don't  say  so,  sir  i"  said  the  landlord. 

"He!  he!"  laughed  Todd—"  ho!  ho!"  . 

How  be  wished  at  that  moment  that  he  could  have  taken  Lupin  by  the  throat 

and  strangled  him !  u      .r  #        . .  .    .t  ... 

The  brandy  was  duly  discussed,  and  Lupin  having  paid  for  it  out  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  old  gentleman's  purse,  took  a  courteous  adieu  of  the  landlord,  and 

with  Todd  kit  the  house.  . 
"Gracious  goodness!"  exclaimed  Todd,  "how  could  you  dream  of  saying 

what  vou  did  about  me  at  the  bar?"  ,  ,  ■ 

"  My  good  friend,  that  was  for  the  express  purpose  of  drowning  suspicion, 
for  you.  I  saw  tie  landlady  staring  at  you  most  fixedly,  and  so  I  said  it  on 
purpose,  for  fear  she  should  really  begin  to  think  you  could  be  no  other  than 
Todd  the  murderer -the  execrable  Todd,  with  whom  ihey  frighten  the  children. 

"  Oh,  well,"  feaW  Todd,  "  dont  say  anything  more  about  it.  I  am  quite 
satisfied.    Indeed,  I  am  more  than  satisfied,  my  dear  fiiend." 

"I  thought  you  would  be,  when  you  come  to  think  -' 

"  Oh  dear  vei.* 

.  "You  may 'depend,  Todd,  that  the  greatest  safety  always  runs  alongside  of 
the  greatest  danger ;  and  that  when  you  think  that  your  fortunes  are  at  the 
lowest,  you  may  not  ^frequently  be  upon  the  point  of  a  highly  favourable 
change:  and  it's  all  by  the  goodness  of  Providence." 

"  Bother  you  !"  said  Todd.  "  I  do  believe,  if  you  were  to  live  for  a  hundred 
years,  you  would  not  forget  your  chapel  experience." 

"  Perhaps  not ;  but  1  made  a  good  bit  of  money  that  way,  taking  one  thing 
with  another,  Mr.  Todd." 

CHAPTER  CXXXV1II. 

CAEN  WCOD  AND  HAMPSTEAD  IN  THE  OLD  TIMES. 

In  such  discourse  as  this,  the  precious  pair  beguiled  the  way  to  Highgate, 
from  which  they  proposed  crossing  to  Hampstead. 

Notwithstanding  the  liberal  potations  that  they  had  taken  at  the  Alderman  s 
house;  and  notwithstanding  the  brandy  that  had  since  been  discussed,  they 
neither  of  them  felt  anv  the  worse  for  the  imbibition.  Probably,  the  active 
e  xercise  they  took  carried  off  all  bad  effects.  But,  certainly,  when  they  reached 
Highgate,  both  Todd  and  Lupin  were  hungry. 

"  Let  us  turn  into  the  Old  Gate-House  Tavern,"  said  Lupin. 

"  Don't  you  think  a  more  obscure  place,"  suggested  Todd,  "  would  be  better 
for  us,  as  we  do  not  by  anv  means  court  popularity  ?" 

"  No  ;  there  is  more  safety  in  a  large  place  like  the  Gate  House,  where  plenty 
of  guests  are  coming  and  going  continually,  than  in  afitile  bit  of  a  public-house 
where  we  should  be  looked  at,  and  scrutinised  lrom  top  to  toe,  from  the  moment 
we  went  in  to  the  moment  we  came  out." 

"Very  good,"  said  Todd.  "  I  think  you  reason  well  enough  upon  the  point, 
and  I  give  In  to  your  better  judgment  completely.  Ah  !  my  good  friend,  I  really 
don't  know  what  I  should  have  done  at  all  without  vou." 


THE  STRING  OPKEA^LsT  591 


"  Been  hanged  !"  said  Lupin. 

Todd  gave  a  shudder,  which  was  a  tolerably  convincing  proof  of  how  fully  he 
agreed  m  what  Mr.  Lupin  said;  and  then  they  went  into  the  Old  Gate-House 
Tavern,  at  Highgate,  where  they  had  a  very  plentiful  breakfast  ;  and  by  getting 
into  a  corner  of  the  room,  in  which  they  sat,  they  did  not  attract  any  observa- 
tion beyond  the  mere  casual  regards  of  the  visitors  to  the  house. 

Before  they  left  though,  Todd  had  the  horror  of  hearing  a  great  confusion  of 
voices  in  the  passage,  and  in  a  few  moments  one  of  the  waiters  came  into  the 
room,  quite  bursting  with  his  news. 

«  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  the  notorious  Todd,  and  a  man  named  Lupin,  who 
was  a  murderer  likewise,  have  escaped  from  Newgate  I" 

"  Escaped  ?"  said  Lupin.    "  You  don  t  say  so  ?" 

"Dear  me,  when?"  said  Todd, 

"Last  night,  gentlemen,  last  night ;  and  coming— coming  !" 

The  waiter  was  compelled  to  leave  the  room,  as  a  bell  rung  violentlv. 
"Let us  go,"  said  Todd.  J 

"  Yes,  I  think,  now  that  the  news  has  reached  here,  it  will  be  wise  to  do  so.1' 
"  Come  along,  then/' 

Todd  rose  in  a  moment ;  but  Lupin  in  a  whisper  strictly  cautioned  him  not 
to  show  any  symptoms  of  hurry  or  alarm ;  and  he  was  so  far  master  of  himself 
to  see  the  necessity  of  such  a  caution,  so  that  they  both  got  safely  out  cf  the 
Gate-House  Tavern,  and  took  the  route  to  Hampstead  by  Swains  Lane,  without 
having  anything  said  to  them. 

"This  is  an  escape  indeed/'  said  Todd. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lupin,  "  you  may  depend  that  in  a  very  little  time  there  will 
be  some  officers  at  the  Gate-House  ;  but  if  we  can  get  to  the  wood  within  the 
next  half  hour,  I  think  we  are  safe  enough.    What  do  you  think  ?" 

u  I  think  that  if  our  safety  depends  upon  getting  into  'Caen  Wood  in  half-an- 
hour,  we  ought  to  be  there  in  half  the  time.'' 

"  Do  you  ?    Then  come  on  for  a  run/' 

"  Oh,  dear,"  said  Todd.  "  I  am  all  aches  and  pains,  and  not  at  all  fit  for 
running  ;  but  I  suppose  I  must.  Don't  go  very  fast,  Mr.  Lupin,  or  I  shall  never 
be  able  to  keep  up  with  you/' 

"  Then  you  go  first  and  run  as  fast  as  you  can  without  greatly  distressing 
yourself,  and  I  will  adopt  my  speed  to  yours." 

"  That  will  be  better,"  said  Todd. 

Off  they  both  set  down  Swains  Lane,  and  as  the  first  part  of  that  well-known 
thoroughfare  from  Highgate  to  Hampstead  goes  down  hill,  they  got  on  speedily 
with  very  little  exertion  ;  but  when  the  fool:  of  the  little  slope  was  reached  it  was 
quite  another  thing,  and  Todd  was  fast  subsiding  into  a  walk,  when  Lupin  cried 
to  him — 

"  We  are  pursued  P 

At  these  words,  Todd  fell  flat  in  the  roadway. 

"  Up— up V  said  Lupin,  "  there  is  a  turn  in  the  lane  just  ahead  of  us,  and 
when  we  reach  that  we  must  get  over  the  hedge  and  hide.  I  don't  know  that 
they  are  actually  after  us,  but  there  are  horsemen  in  the  lane  coming  from 
Highgate." 

Todd  got  up  as  far  as  his  hands  and  knees,  and  then,  as  his  ears  were  close  to 
the  ground,  he  said — 

"We  are  lost,  for  I  can  hear  horsemen  coming  from  the  other  direction  too/9 
"The  deuce  you  can  !" 

Mr.  Lupin  stooped  to  listen,  and  in  a  moment  he  was  assured  of  the  fact.  He 
seized  Mr.  Todd  by  the  collar,  saying— 

"  Now,  Todd,  if  you  want  to  escape,  rouse  yourself  and  follow  me  ;  but  if  you 
don't  care  about  it,  say  so  at  once,  and  I  will  look  after  my  own  safety." 

"  Care  about  it  V9  cried  Todd,  "  what  else  do  you  suppose  I  care  about  in  all 
thewoild?" 

"  Come  on,  then." 


I  t 


i 


i  [ 
I 


mm*. 


^HE  STRING  OF  PEARLS 


!  I 


i  ( 


ITpin  ran  on  unVn  he  got  to  the  tarn  of  the  l?ne,  Which  hid  the  horsemen 
from  Highgate  effectually  from  their  view;  and  as  the  mounted  party  coming 
from  the  direction  of  Hampstea*  had  not  got  so  far  as  to  appear,  he  thought 

it  was  just  the  place  to  halt  at 

-  Now,  Todd,"  he  said,  "  we  must  get  over  the  hedge  here,  and  our  only 
chance  of  safety,  if  these  men  are  reaLy  on  the  look-out  for  us,  is  to  hide  in  the 

m  Wthout  waiting  for  Todd  to  make  any  remark  upon  the  very  doubtful  means 
of  escape  presented,  Lupin  scrambled  through  the  hedge  road  then  followed  him, 
and  the  first  care  of  Lupin's  was  to  arrange  the  twigs  that  had  been  displaced  m 
the  hedge  by  their  passage  through  it,  so  that  there  should  not  appear  to  be  any 

gap  at  all  there.  .  i,  V;i  A 

Immediately  upon  the  other  side  of  the  hedge  which  they  had  thus  crossed 

there  was  a  ditch,  and  a  targe  heap  of  manure.  Mr.  Lupin,  without  the  slightest 

ceremony,  laid  himself  down,  and  pulling  a  lot  of  the  manure  heap  over  htm,  he 

nearly  covered  himself  quite  up. 

"  This  is  verv  shocking,"  said  Todd.  ,  v 

"  It's  quite  a  luxury  compared  to  a  cell  in  Newgate,  replied  Lupin.  iou 

had  better  be  quick. 71 

The  word  Newgate  acted  upon  the  imagination  of  Todd  as  a  very  powerful 
spell,  and  he  at  once  lay  down  and  began  to  follow  the  example  of  his  friend, 
Lupin  ;  and  indeed  so  very  anxious  was  he  while  he  was  about  it  to  hide  himself 
completely,  that  he  nearly  smothered  himself  outright  in  the  manure, 

"  i  hope  this  will  do/'  he  moaned. 
;    i€  Silence  V  said  Lupin. 
;    Todd  was  as  still  as  death  in  a  moment. 

As  they  now  Jay  close  to  the  earth,  all  sounds  upon  it  were  much  more  clearly 
brought  to  their  senses  than  when  they  were  walking,  so  that  there  was  no  sort 
of  difficulty  in  distinguishing  the  tread  of  the  horses  that  were  coming  from 
Highgate  from  those  that  proceeded  from  the  other  direction,  and  wrhich  latter 
ones  were  not  quite  so  near  as  the  others. 

Faintly,  too,  thev  could  hear  the  hum  of  commotion,  which  showed  that  the 
party  consisted  of  three  or  four  persons. 

And  now  the  mounted  men  from  Highgate  got  right  down  into  the  hollow, 
close  to  the  bend  in  the  lane,  and  they  paused,  while  one  said,  in  a  clear  voice — 

■f  We  ought  not  to  go  any  further.    Those  from  Hampstead  should  meet  us 

now,  I  think.0 

*'  They  are  coming/'  said  another. 

fi  Ah  1  so  they  are.  1  wonder  if  they  have  seen  anything  of  the  rascals.  I 
do  hope  they  will  soon  be  nabbed,  for  this  patrolling  business  is  very  tiresome  " 

These  words  wer  e  quite  sufficient,  if  any  doubt  had  been  upon  the  minds  of 
Lupin  and  Todd,  to  convince  them  that  the  mounted  men  were  after  them,  and  of 
the  great  peril  they  would  have  been  in  if  they  had  staid  in  the  lane. 

To  be  suie  there  was  nothing  in  what  had  been  said  to  add  to  the  supposition 
that  the  horsemen  had  any  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  the  persons  they  sought 
were  in  that  neighbourhood,  and  that  might  be  considered  to  decrease  the  danger 
a  little ;  but  yet  it  was  sufficiently  great,  under  all  circumstances. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  two  minutes  the  Hampstead  party  came  up  and 
joined  the  others. 

"  Any  luck  ?*  said  one. 

"  No,  we  came  right  on  across  the  heath,  but  we  neither  saw  nor  heard  any 
thing  of  them,  and  it  is  quite  impossible  to  say,  as  yet,  that  they  have  come  in 
this  direction  at  ail.    I  don't  myself  think  it  at  all  likely/' 

"Why  not?" 


MS* 


\ 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


593 


«'  Because  of  all  neighbourhoods  close  to  London,  it  is  the  most  high  and  ex- 
posed, while  at  the  same  time  it  is  not  thickly  peopled." 

«  Well,  there  may  be  something  in  that.  We  have  heard  nothing  of  them  in 
Highgate  up  to  now,  so  I  suppose  we  may  go  back  again  the  way  we  came,  and 
you  will  do  the  same." 

"  Have  you  been  in  any  of  the  meadows  ?" 


TODD  IN  THE  SCENE  OF  HIS  MURDERS. 


"No.  But  it's  e^sy  to  get  over  the  gate  yonder,  and  lake  a  look  all  round. 
The  enclosures  are  not  very  numerous  about  here,  and  they  would  find  it  difficult 
to  hide.  Hold  my  horse,  Gtorge,  and  I  l!  get  into  the  meadows  and  take 
a  look.  * 

When  Todd  heard  these  words,  he  looked  upon  himself  as  lost,  and  could 
hardly  tuppiess  a  groan. 


3S 


No,  75. 


594  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


The  man  who  had  last  spoken  got  over  a  gate  that  was  at  some  little  distance 
off,  and  stood  upon  an  elevated  spot  of  the  meadows  to  look  about  him. 
" There's  nothing  moving/'  he  said. 
11  Come  along,  then,"  cried  another.    "  Let's  get  on." 

"  Here's  a  compost  heap  ;  they  are  perhaps  in  the  middle  of  that.  Is  it  worth 
looking  at?" 

*'Not  exactly.    Come  on." 

The  man  retired  to  the  road  again  and  mounted,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
few  moments  the  two  parties  rode  back  again  upon  the  way  that  they  had 
come. 

"Todd?"  said  Lupin,  "  Todd?" 
"Oh!*  groaned  Todd. 

"  Todd,  I  say,  get  up.  Are  you  out  of  your  mind  ?  The  danger  is  past  now. 
They  are  eone." 

"  Gone!"  said  Todd,  looking  up.    "  You  don't  say  so  ?    Didn't  I  hear  one 
of  them  say  that  he  would  look  in  this  very  place  ?" 
"  Yes  ;  "but  that  was  only  a  joke/' 

"  A  joke  ?"  said  Todd  with  a  deep  groan.  "A  joke  was  it?  Oh,  how  very 
careful  people  should  be  when  they  make  jokes,  when  other  people  are  hiding 
from  their  enemies.  It  might  be  very  funny  to  him,  but  it  was  quite  the  reverse 
tome.* 

u  That's  true  enough  ;  but  get  up  now,  and  in  the  name  of  everything  that's 
safe  and  comfortable,  let  us  get  to  the  wood.  These  fellows  are  evidently  patrol- 
ling the  road,  and  they  will  be  back  again  in  a  little  while,  and  still  come  across 
us  if  we  don't  manage  to  get  out  of  their  way  before  that  time. — Come  along.  We 
can  get  to  the  wood  now  quickly." 

"Ah,  dear  me!"  said  Todd,  as  he  shook  himself  to  get  rid  of  as  much  of  the 
unsavoury  mess  he  had  lain  in  as  possible.  "  Ah  dear  me  !  truly  I  have  now 
hit  upon  evil  times  ;  and  fortune,  that  I  thought  petted  me,  has  slipped  from  me 
like  a  shadow,  leaving  me  glad  of  a  manure  heap  in  afield  as  a  place  of  shelter." 
All  that  is  very  true,"  said  Lupin,  "  but  it  don't  get  us  on  a  bit." 

"  I'm  ready — I'm  quite  ready,"  groaned  Todd. 

They  were  upon  the  point  of  going  into  the  lane  again,  but  they  were  com- 
pelled—or rather  thought  it  prudent— to  wait  until  a  man  had  passed,  who,  by 
the  box  that  he  carried  on  his  back,  was  evidently  a  hawker  of  goods  about  the 
country.  He  soon  trudged  out  of  their  way,  and  then  they  both  got  through  the 
hedge  again  into  the  lane. 

The  place  of  their  destination  was  now  close  at  hand,  upon  their  left;  and 
watching  a  favourable  spot  by  which  to  do  so,  they  crossed  the  hedge  upon 
that  side  and  got  into  the  fields  ;  but  although  a  sharp  run  across  two  or  three 
meadows  would  have  taken  them  at  once  to  Caen  Wood,  they  did  not  think  it 
at  all  prudent  so  to  expose  themselves  to  observation. 

a  Skirt  the  hedge,  Todd,M  said  Lupin,  and  stoop  down  so  as  to  keep  your 
head  as  much  below  the  top  of  the  hedgerow  as  possible.  You  are  inconveni- 
ently tall,  just  now." 

Upon  this  instruction,  Todd  bent  himself  almost  double,  and  in  that  attitude 
he  managed  to  scramble  close  to  the  hedge,  and  up  to  his  kness,  at  times,  in  the 
ditches  and  drains  that  he  came  across  in  such  a  situation. 

In  this  way,  then,  they  got  on  until  they  reached  the  outskirts  of  Caen  Wood. 
Not  a  creature  was  to  be  seen,  and  the  most  profound  and  solemn  stillness, 
reigned  around  them.  Todd  was  not  used  to  that  intense  quiet  of  the  country 
and  he  shook  at  it  rather,  but  Lupin  took  no  notice  of  his  emotion. 

"  Here  we  are,  at  last,"  he  said,  "  and  all  you  have  to  do,  Todd,  is  to  point  out 
the  spot  where  you  have  hidden  your  money,  and  then  we  will  divide  it,  and  wait 
until  nightfall  before  we  venture  out  of  this  snug  place." 

"  Come  along/'  said  Todd  ;  u  it's  all  right." 

And  then  they  both  dived  amongst  the  trees,  which,  in  some  places,  quite  shut 
out  the  daylight. 


is  past. 


lite  the  re?ene 


much  of  tee 
'  I  have  dot 
jped  from  me 
*  of  shelter," 


fere  com- 
rd,  wio, 
I  about  the 
through  tbe 

hedge  apw 
to  or  three 
not  think  it 

is  keep  J* 


that  iM 


I 


THE  ADVENTURES  IN  CAEN  WOOD  OF  THE  TWO  MURDERERS. 

Todd  was  so  much  exhausted  by  the  time  they  reached  the  wood,  that  he  at 
once  cast  himself  to  the  ground  upon  a  heap  of  dry  leaves,  and  he  felt  that  he 
was  speaking  only  the  truth  when  he  said — 

"  I  could  not  go  a  step  further  just  now,  if  it  were  to  sive  my  life,  I  feel  that 
I  could  not ;  and  here  1  must  lie  and  rest/' 

"Dear  me!"  said  Mr.  Lupin ;  "what  a  poor  creature  you  must  be.  How 
old  are  you,  Mr.  Todd?" 

"I  don't  .know,"  said  Todd.  "The  church  I  was  christened  at  was  burnt 
down  only  the  day  after,  and  all  the  books  burnt.  My  father  and  mother  are 
dead,  and  the  nurse  was  hanged,  and  the  doctor  cut  his  throat." 

"Upon  my  word,"  said  Lupin,  "they  were  a  lively  set.  £  I  suppose  it  was 
remorse  did  all  that  ?" 

,  "  Remorse!    "What  do  you  mean  by  remorse?' 
"  Why  that  sort  of  feeling,  you  know,  might  be  awakened  in  their  minds,  by 

finding  that  you  were  not  exactly  the  sort  of  baby  that  was  expected.  You 

must  have  looked  a  beauty  in  long-clothes,  Todd  ;  and  as  for  your  age,  I  should 

guess  it  about  fifty-five/ 

"  Guess  your  own  age,"  said  Todd,  "  and  leave  mine  alone" 

"  Oh,  if  it's  at  all  a  sore  subject  I  won't  say  another  word  about  it.  But  come 

now,  Todd,  you  charming  creature,  could  you  not  manage  to  crawl  a  little  way 

further  ?" 

*  What  for  ?  If  we  are  safe  in  the  wood  at  all,  we  are  safe  enough  here  where 
we  are  now." 

"  But,  my  dear  friend,  you  quite  forget." 

"  What— what  ?  What  do  i  forget  ?  Don't  plague  me,  Lupin.  It  is  enough 
just  now  to  remember  that  we  have  by  almost  a  miracle  made  an  escape  from 
Newgate  ;  and  as  for  fogetting,  I  would  be  right  glad  to  forget  if  I  could  that  I 
had  ever  been  there  ;  but  that  will  be  impossible. " 

u  It  won't  be  very  easy,"  said  Lupin,  "  and  if  possible,  it  will  take  a  long  time  ; 
but  what  I  was  just  mildly  going  to  remind  you  of  was,  that  in  this  wood  your 
two  thousand  pounds,  you  know,  are  hidden,  and  that  we  were  to  share  the 
amount.'' 

H  Ah,  my  dear  friend,  yes,  I  had  not  forgotten  that  little  affair.  It  is,  of  course, 
very  important ;  but  let  me  rest  a  little,  if  you  please." 
"  Oh,  certainly — certainly. " 

"  And  then,  my  dear  companion,  it  will  be  necessary  to  get  a  spade,  you 
know,  to  dig  it  up.  Our  nails  decidedly  are  neither  long  enough  or  strong 
enough,  and  I  don't  at  all  see  how  it  is  to  be  done  without  a  spade,  or  some- 
thing that  shall  be  a  good  substitute  for  one." 

"  Oh,  nonsense,"  said  Lupin.    <c  How  deep  do  you  suppose  it  lies  V 

"About  two  feet." 

"  Very  good  then,  you  need  give  yourself  no  uneasiness  about  the  digging  it 
up.  I  have  the  chisel  and  the  two  files  here;  <md  if  I  can't  dig  two  feet  into  the 
earth  with  them,  and  my  hands  to  shovel  out  the  mould  with.,  I'm  a  Dutchman, 
that's  all.  Only  you  show  me  the  spot,  that's  all,  and  I  won't  ask  you  to  tire 
yourself  in  the  matter." 

"  In  a  little,"  said  Todd,  "  in  a  little.  Without  being  so  old  as  you  would 
make  me  out,  I  am  still  older  than  you  are  Lupin,  and  cannot  go  throught  the 
amount  of  fatigue  that  you  can.  Just  let  rne  recover  myself  a  Utile,  and  then 
instead  of  crawling  to  the  spot  where  my  money  lies  hidden,  I  shall  be  well  able 
to  walk  to  it  and  show  it  to  you." 

"  Very  good — very  good.  Of  course  I  don't  want  to  hurry  you  too  much 
about  the  matter,  only  the  sooner  we  do  get  a  hold  of  the  two  thousand  pounds 
the  better.  I  wonder,  too,  that  you  don't  feel  rather  anxious  to  see  that  it  is  quite 


mm 


ri«rwii>< 


111 


596  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


safe,  for  some  accident  might  have  discovered  it,  for  all  you  know  to  the  con- 
trar  v«'* 

" 'Oh,  no,  my  friend,  nothing  but  an  earthquake  could  do  that.  Ycu  may  de- 
pend it  is  quite  safe  where  I  put  it.  In  a  little  time  I  shall  be  able  to  show  you  the 
exact  spot,  which  1  have  so  accurately  in  my  mind's  eye,  that  I  can  walk  to  it 
with  the  greatest  of  ease;  of  course  I  did  not  trust  such  a  valuable  deposit  to 
the  ground  without  accurately  marking  the  spot  that  I  had  made  my  bank/' 

''Is  it  in  gold?" 

"  All— all.  I  did  think  of  hiding  notes,  but  I  was  afraid  that  the  damp,  if 
there  should  come  anv  heavy  rains,  would  have  the  effect  of  rotting  them,  and 
I  had  no  iron  box  sufficiently  small  to  place  them  in  ;  so  I  brought  all  gold,  and 
a  good  weight  it  was  too/' 

;'  Ah,  we  will  make  that  weight  light  by  dividing  it." 

"Just  so." 

Lupin's  mouth  actuatly  wateied  a^  the  idea  of  getting  possession  of  such 
a  sum,  and  as  he  turned  his  head  aside,  he  mutter  to  himself— 

«  If  I  don't  put  Todd  out  of  this  world,  and  save  the  hangman  the  trouble,  it 
shall  go  hard  with  me,  and  then  I  shall  have  all  the  money  to  myself,  and  1  can 
get  to  America,  and  bQ  a  free  and  enlightened  citizen  for  the  remainder  of  my 
days." 

Mr.  Lupin  could  hardly  forbear  an  audible  chuckle  over  this  delightful  pros- 
pect ;  so  that  it  will  be*  seen  that  both  of  these  villains  meditated  evil  in- 
tentions towards  each  other,  from  which  it  may  be  gathered  how  much  faith 
is  to  be  pat  in  the  association  of  men  for  any  guilty  design.  Was  it  likely 
that  such  persons  as  Todd  and  Lupin,  after  being  false  and  ruffianly  to  all  the 
world,  should  ba  true  to  each  other,  except  so  far  as  their  common  interests  dic- 
tated ?  No,  Todd  amused  Lupin  with  the  story  of  the  buried  gold  in  the  wood 
at  Hampstead,  because  he,  Lupin,  was  of  assistance  in  his  escape  from  Newgate  ; 
and  Lupin  assisted  him  to  escape  with  the  idea  of  murdering  him  in  the  wood, 
and  securing  for  himself  all  the  money  that  he  belielved  was  there  hidden! 

It  was  quite  evident  that  Lupin  was  desperately  impatient  at  the  rest  Todd 
was  taking,  previous  to  showing  him  where  the  money  was  hidden  ;  and  he 
walked  to  and  fro,  looking  as  vexed  as  possible,  and  yet  fearing  to  say  too  much, 
lest  he  should  get  up  a  quarrel,  the  result  of  which  might  be,  that  Todd  would 
refuse  to  show  him  wrhere  the  gold  ^  -  at  all. 

ul  think,"  be  said,  4tif  I  we«c  t  \n  it. age  to  get  a  good  thick  stave  off  some 
tree,  it  wrould  help  considerably  in  digging,  would  it  not?" 

'*  Without  a  doubt,"  said  Todd. 

"Then  I  will  try,  and  by  the  time  I  have  got  it,  perhaps  you  will  be  rested 
enough,  my  dear  friend,  to  make  an  effort  to  get  up  and  show  me  the  spot  where 
to  dig  for  the  gold." 

"  I  shouldn't  wronder,"  said  Todd, 

Mr.  Lupin  found  that  he  was  obliged  to  be  contented  with  this  doubtful 
acquiescence  of  Todd's;  and  he  busied  himself,  by  the  aid  of  the  chisel  and  the 
files,  in  getting  off  a  stout  strong  bough  from  a  sycaraore-tree,  which  he  shaped 
to  a  tolerable  point.  It  looked  like  a  formidable  bludgeon  ;  and  as  he  eyed  it,  he 
thought  what  a  capital  knock  on  the  head  it  would  give  to  Mr.  Todd. 

It  was  rather  odd  that  the  same  idea  crossed  Todd's  mind,  and  as  he  .saw  the 
bit  of  wood,  he  muttered  to  himself — 

*  That  would  do  it.    One  blow  from  that  would  do  it." 

Now,  Todd  had  but  one  solitary  incentive  to  the  murder  of  Lupin,  and  that 
was,  that  he  feared  when  he  found  out  hew  he  had  been. deceived  regarding  the 
money,  he  would  find  some  mode  of  denouncing  him  to  the  police,  while  he 
took  care  of  himself  ;  and,  therefore,  upon  that  mere  idea,  Todd  would  take  his 
life.  But  then,  steeped  in  blood  guiltiness  as  Todd  was,  the  taking  the  life  of 
any  one  always  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  readiest  way  of  solving  any  difficulty 
connected  with  them.  It  was  his  motive  to  consider  that  that  wTas  the  shortest 
and  easiest  mode  of  settling  the  affair,  if  any  one  became  at  all  troublesome;  and 


he  was  not  all  likely  to  make  an  exception  in  favour  of  such  a  personage  as  Mr. 
Lupin. 

"  All  ready  ?"  said  Lupin.    4 'Are  you  rested  now  ?" 

u  Yes/'  said  Todd,  as  he  rose.  "  Ah,  dear  me,  yes,  as  much  as  T  can  expect, 
until  I  get  a  regular  night's  repose,  you  know,  friend  Lupin.  But  I  don't  expect 
that  very  soon/ 

H  Oh,  who  knows  ?  We  are  continually,  in  this  world,  getting  what  we 
don't  expect,  and  not  getting  what  we  do  ;  so  you  may  rest  easy  enough,  Todd, 
much  sooner  than  you  expect.    Come,  lean  on  my  arm  if  you  feel  fatigued. " 

"  Oh,  no,  thank  you.  Lend  me  the  stick,  it  will  help  me  on  the  best,  for  it 
seems  just  about  my  height/' 

Lupin  could  not  very  well  refuse  Todd's  request  with  any  prospect  of  keeping 
him  in  good  humour  at  the  same  time,  so  he  gave  him  the  stick,  although  it 
must  be  confessed  he  did  not  do  so  with  the  very  best  grace  in  the  world.  But 
Todd  did  get  it,  and  that  satisfied  him. 

"Is  it  far  off  V  said  Lupin. 

"  Oh  dear,  no.  Quite  close  at  hand— quite  close.  There's  a  small  chesnuU 
tree,  and  a  large  chesnut-tree,  and  there's  a  small  fir-tree  and  a  large  fir-tree,  and 
a  large  oak- tree  and  a  small  oak-tree,  and  then  there  is  a  blackberry  bush  and  a 
little  stream  of  water." 

"  Good  gracious,  is  there  anything  else  Y9  said  Lupin. 

"No,  my  dear  friend,  that  is  all.*1 

"Well.  I  must  confess,  that  your  description  would  not  have  very  materially 
assisted  me  in  finding  the  spot" 

u  Indeed,  I  thought  nothing  could  possibly  be  more  clear. 99 

?<  Clear  to  you,  Mr.  Todd,  it  may  be,  but  not  to  any  one  else  ;  but  that  don't 
matter  a  bit  as  you  are  here  yourself  to  point  out  the  exact  spot.  Are  we 
near  it  now  }9' 

"  Yes,  you  see  that  cluster  of  bushes  Y* 

"Yes,  oh  yes." 

"Well,  the  money  lies  hidden  right  in  there,  and  you  cannot  miss  it  if  you 
scramble  in." 

"Lend  me  the  stick  to  clear  away  the  brambles  and  the  nettles,  and  I  will 
creep  in." 

"My  dear  friend,  I  shall  fall  down  if  I  leni  you  the  st  ck.  There  is  no 
difficulty  in  gettieg  in.  Don't  you  see  there  is  a  gap  that  you  have  only  to 
push  through,  and  there  you  are  V 

*><  Well— well,"  said  Lupin.     "That's  enough;  I  will  get  through.  Come 

on,  let  us  secure  the  gold." 

Lupin  stooped  to  pmh  his  way  through  the  gap  in  the  hedge,  for  the  bushes 
grew  so  close  together  just  there,  that  they  resembled  an  enclosure  carefully 
planted  on  purpose.  Then  Todd  took  the  heavy  stick  that  had  been  cut  trom 
the  sycamore  tree  in  both  hands,  and  swinging  it  in  the  air,  he  brought  it  down 
with  a  stunning  crack  on  the  back  of  Lupin's  head,  just  at  the  juncture  of 
the  neck. 

"God!"  said  Lupin,  and  it  was  the  first  time  in  his  life  that,  with  true 
sincerity,  he  had  pronounced  that  sacred  name.  He  then  turned  and  sunic  to 
the  ground,  with  his  face  towards  Todd.  He  could  not  speak  now,  but 
the  look  that  he  gave  to  his  murderer  was  awful  in  the  extreme.  The  lajury 
he  had  received  had  quite  paralysed  him,  and  his  hands  hung  helplessly,  mt 
the  quality  of  mercy  belonged  not  to  Todd's  composition. 

Again  the  huge  stick  was  raised,  and  this  time  it  fell  upon  the  top  of  Lupin's 
head.    The  wretched  man  uttered  one  faint  ugh  and  expired  at  once. 

"Dead !"  said  Todd,  as  he  stood  gaunt  and  erect  before  his  victim,  witu  tne 
stick  stretched  out  in  his  hand.    "  Dead— quite  dead.    Ha  ! 

Todd  made  one  of  his  old  faces.  He  must  at  that  moment  have  fancied  him- 
self engaged  upon  his  ancient  business  in  the  cellars  beneath  Ins  House  in 


1 1 


M 

I  ! 


598  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Fleet  Street,  or  he  never  could  have  made  the  sort  of  face  which  had  become  so 
very  incidental  to  him  in  that  locality. 

The  body  fell  huddled  up,  and  the  change  that  rapidly  took  place  in  the 
countenance,  was  something  truly  awful  to  behold  ;  but  it  had  not  much  effect 
upon  Todd.  He  had  struck  many  a  man  down  to  rise  no  mQie,  against  whom 
he  had  no  cause  of  suspicion  or  of  dread ;  and  it  was  not  likely  that  he  would 
scruple  to  do  so  to  one  whom  he  both  feared  and  hated  as  he  did  Mr.  Lupin. 

"That  is  done!"  said  Todd,  as  he  slowly  let  his  arm  droop  until  the  stick 
touched  the  ground  ;  and  then  relinquishing  his  grasp  of  it,  he  let  it  fall  entirely. 
"  That  is  done  !" 

A  slight  noise  close  at  hand  made  the  murderer  start,  and  caused  the  blood 
to  turn  cold  around  his  heart  from  very  abject  fear  that  there  had  been  some 
witness  to  his  crime. 

"  What  was  that?1'  he  said,  "  what  was  that  ?" 

All  was  still  again.  It  was  but  some  wild  bird  taking  flight  from  a  low  branch 
of  a  neighbouring  tree,  not  liking  the  vicinity  of  man,  and  especially  such  a  man 
as  Mr.  Todd  ;  for  we  may  well  suppose  even  those  little  feathered  fragile  things 
are  gifted  with  some  of  that  physiognomical  power  that  seems  to  be  an  attribute 
or  an  instinct  of  a  1  animals,  with  regard  to  the  human  race. 

"It  was  nothing/'  said  Todd  very  gently.  "It  was  nothing  at  all.  This 
has  been  an  easily  done  deed,  and  a  safe  one.  Nearly  noiseless,  too.  It  may 
be  many  a  long  day  ere  the  body  be  discovered.  I  will  drag  it  in  among  the 
bushes,  so  as  to  hide  it  for  as  long  a  space  as  may  be,  else  if  it  were  found  early 
it  would  be  a  kind  of  index  to  my  route,  and  would,  at  all  events,  show  that  I 
had  been  here." 

Full  of  this  idea,  Todd  laid  hold  of  the  body  and  turned  it  back  upwards.  He 
even  did  not  like  to  look  in  the  face  more  than  he  could  help.  Then  seizing  the 
corpse  by  the  collar  of  his  coat,  he  dragged  it  into  the  hollow  space  among  the 
bushes,  and  cast  it  down,  saying  as  he  did  so— 

u  Rest  you  there,  Mr.  Lupin.  I  have  only  saved  the  hangman,  after  all,  the 
trouble  of  taking  your  life,  for  I  can  feel  well  assured,  that  such  wrould  have 
been  your  end.  You  thought  yourself  a  clever  fellow,  but  after  all  you  were 
nothing  to  me.  Rest  there ;  you  were  useful  up  to  the  moment  that  we  reached 
the  wood,  and  were  in  comparative  safety.  After  that,  you  became  an  encum- 
brance, and  so  I  have  got  rid  of  you,  as  I  am  in  the  habit  of  doing  all  such  en- 
cumbrances to  my  views." 

Sweeney  Todd  then  crept  out  from  among  the  bushes,  and  after  having  cast 
the  stick  with  which  he  had  done  the  murder  in  among  the  bushes  on  top  of 
the  body,  he  walked  rapidly  away  to  another  part  of  the  wood. 

Ever  and  anon  he  stopped  to  listen  if  he  could  catch  the  slightest  indication 
of  the  presence  of  any  one  else  in  the  wood  ;  but  all  was  still,  save  now  and 
then  the  song  of  some  wild  bird,  as  it  lit  for  a  few  moments  upon  the  branch  of 
some  tree,  to  warble  a  few  notes,  and  then  dart  off  again  into  the  fresh  and 
fragrant  air. 

"  I  am  safe  here,"  muttered  Todd,  "lam  safe  here  for  the  present,  and  until 
nightfall  I  will  remain ;  but  between  this  time  and  sunset,  I  must  determine 
what  I  shall  do,  and  it  must  be  done  quickly,  for  on  the  morrow  the  pursuit 
will  be  of  a  wider,  as  well  as  of  a  closer  character  than  what  it  has  been  to-day." 


CHAPTER  CXL. 

SHOWS  HOW  THE  NEWS  OF  TODD's  ESCAPE  WAS   RECEIVED  BY  ALL  CONCERNED. 

Having  traced  Todd  and  Lupin  thus  far  in  their  escape  from  the  meshes  in 
which  the  law  had  so  properly  bound  them,  we  will  now  for  a  time  leave  the 
arch-villam  Tood  m  Caen  Wood,  Hampstead  Heath,  while  we  take  a  glance  at 
what  ensued  m  London,  upon  the  escape  of  the  two  worthies  from  Newgate 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


599 


It  has  often  been  remarked,  that  one  person  in  London  does  not  trouble  him- 
self  about  his  neighbours  affairs,  as  is  done  in  smaller  communities,  or  Know 
what  is  happening  in  his  immediate  vicinity  ;  but  it  is  likewise  true,  that  nowhere 
does  news  travel  so  fast,  or  acquire  so  many  exaggerations,  as  in  London. 

Thus,  then,  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours,  there  was  scarcely  a  person  in  the 
metropolis  that  was  not  aware  of  the  escape  of  Sweeney  Todd  and  Mr.  Josiah 
Lupin  from  Newgate.  And  not  only  were  they  aware  of  the  mere  fact  of  the 
escape,  but  women  had  added  so  many  extravagances  to  the  whole  affair,  that 
it  was  quite  wonderful  to  think  of  the  fertility  of  invention  of  the  illiterate  persons 
who  had  added  so  many  wonders  and  exaggerations  to  the  real  facts  of  the  case, 
which,  after  all,  lay,  as  the  reader  knows  well,  in  a  very  small  compass  indeed, 
considering  the  magnitude  of  the  result. 

Nor  were  the  newspapers  published  on  the  ensuing  morning  at  all  back- 
ward  in  pandering  to  popular  taste  by  making  the  affair  as  striking  and  as 
wonderful  as  they  possibly  could. 

In  one  quarter  of  the  town  it  was  firmly  believed  that  not  only  had  Todd 
and  Lupin  set  Newgate  on  fire,  but  that  they  had  murdered  the  governor  and 
half  a  dosen  turnkeys,  and  then  made  their  way  into  the  Old  Bailey  through 
the  ruins  of  the  prison  over  the  dead  bodies  of  their  victims. 

In  another  part  of  London  it  was  currently  reported  that  an  infuriated  mob 
had  attacked  the  prison,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  out  Todd  and  hanging  him 
forthwith,  and  that  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion  incidental  to  such  a  scene, 
he  had  succeeded  in  making  his  escape  in  the  disguise  of  a  turnkey,  with  a 
huge  bunch  of  keys  in  his  hand  as  a  symbol  of  his  profession. 

Then  again,  in  the  highly  religious  district  of  Islington,  it  was  fully  believed, 
and,  in  fact,  cried  through  the  streets,  that  his  Infernal  Majesty,  in  his  own 
proper  person,  had  called  at  Newgate  at  about  half  past  twelve  at  night,  and 
taken  away  both  the  prisoners  at  once  without  any  further  ceremony. 

But  all  these  idle  rumours  might  be  safely  left  to  sink  or  swim  as  the  incre- 
dulity or  the  credulity  of  their  authors  and  hearers  might  determine,  since  it  was 
after  all  only  to  a  very  few  persons  that  the  escape  of  Sweeney  Todd  was  of  the 
smallest  importance,  and,  to  still  from  that,  the  fate  of  Mr.  Lupin  was  of  any 
importance  at  all. 

The  persons  with  whose  feelings  and  wishes  we  and  our  readers  feel  interested, 
are  those  to  whom  the  escape  of  Todd  presented  grounds  for  some  anxious  and 
painful  reflections  ;  and  it  is  to  them  and  their  proceedings  that  we  would  now 
draw  the  attention  of  our  readers. 

One  of  the  first  persons  to  whom  the  news  was  taken  in  a  clear  and  compact 
unexaggerated  form,  was  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  at  an  early  hour  of  the  morn- 
ing  he  was  roused  from  his  rest  by  a  messenger,  who  presented  him  with  a  brief 
note,  containing  only  the  following  words  from  the  Secretary  of  Newgate— 

"  Sir,  "  Newgate. 

"  The  prisoner,  Sweeney  Todd,  has  escaped  from  the  jail,  along  with 
one  Josiah  Lupin.  I  am,  Sir,  Yours  Obediently, 

"John  Smith." 

"  The  deuce  he  has  !"  cried  Sir  Richard,  as  he  sprung  out  of  bed  and  feegan 
to  dress  himself  with  unusual  speed,  for  Sir  Richard  seldom  did  anything  m  a 
hurry,  as  experience  had  long  since  told  him  how  very  little  was  gained  by  hurry 
and  how  much  was  sometimes  lost. 

As  soon  as  he  got  his  things  on,  he  descended  to  his  private  room,  and  there 
found  an  officer  from  the  prison  waiting  to  give  him  the  particulars  of  the  escape, 
which  was  done  in  a  very  few  words. 

u  And  they  are  clear  off  ?"  sard  Sir  Richard. 

*\  Quite  so,  sir." 

"  Well,  after  this,  I  lather  think  the  Secretary  of  Slate  will  agree  with  my 
opinion,  that  it  is  not  bolts  and  locks  and  bars  that  are  to  be  tested  to,  to 
keep  notorious  and  bold  malefactors  in  prison,  but  a  stout  and  watcMui  per- 
sonal superintendence ;  and  until  that  is  the  case,  there  will  be  continual  prison 


600 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


!  I 


escapes.    Such  a  man  as  Todd  should  not  have  been  allowed  to  be  for  five 

minutes  quite  alone." 

"  1  think  so,  too/'  said  the  officer  ;  if  and  there's  another  thing  must  be  put  a 
stop  to  before  any  good  is  done  in  Newgate." 

"  What's  that,  my  friend  ?" 

u  Why,  Sir  Richard,  the  religious  ladies  must  be  stopped  from  coming;in 
The  moment  now  that  any  notorious  malefactor  is  cast  for  death,  the  prison  is 
besieged  by  religious  ladies,  who,  if  they  had  their  own  way,  would  eat,  drink, 
and  sleep  with  him  in  his  cell^  and  they  bring  in  all  sorts  of  things  that  are 
quite  enough  to  help  the  fellow  out  of  limbo.  Why,  Sir  Richard,  there  was 
Michael  Richardson  that  was  cast  for  death  for  murdering  his  wife  ;  a  religious 
lady  came  to  pray  with  him,  and  brought  him  in  files  and  tools  enough  for  him 
to  get  out  of  the  stone  jug,  and  off  they  both  went  together  to  America." 

V  It  is  a  serious  evil." 

V  I  believe  you,  Sir  Richard ;  and,  T  think,  the  only  way  will  be  to  let  'em  all 
know  that  before  they  pass  the  lobby  they  will  be  well  searched  by  a  couple  of 
turnkeys." 

"  That  ought  to  stop  them, "  5aid  Sir  Richard,  as  he  rung  the  bell  sharply. 
"  You  may  depend  upon  it  1  will  mention  vour  suggestion  to  the  Secretary  of 
Stwite."  '  . 

One  of  the  magistrate's  servants  now  made  his  appearance  in  answers  to  the 
summons  by  the  bell. 

"  My  horse  directly,  Jones/'  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt. 

"Yes,  sir." 

In  the  course  of  ten  minutes,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  mounted,  and  off  at  a 
good  trot  to  the  City.  Any  one  would  have  thought  that  he  was  going  to  New- 
gate ;  but  such  was  not  the  case.  The  prisoners  had  flown,  and  he  felt  that  by 
going  to  the  prison  he  could  only  gratify  his  curisity  by  seeing  the  precise  mode 
in  which  they  had  effected  their  escape,  when  by  going  where  he  did  go,  he  might 
do  some  good. 

He  did  not  halt  until  he  found  himself  at  the  shop  of  old  Mr.  Oakley,  and 
then,  althojgh  the  hour  was  a  very  early  one,  he  knocked  at  the  dooi\  Mr. 
Oakley  put  his  head  out  at  the  window,  and  Sir  Richard  said — 

"  Don't  be  alarmed;  I  only  want  to  speak  to  you  for  a  few  moments." 

"  Oh,  dear  me,  yes/'  said  the  old  man.  "  Vm  coming  down  stairs  directlv — 
I'm  coming." 

In  a  few  moments  the  old  spectacle-maker  opened  the  door,  and  came  out  to 
the  side  of  the  horse,  from  which  the  magistrate  did  not  dismount,  but  leaning 
down  to  Mr.  Oakley,  he  said,  in  an  earnest  tone — 

'!  There's  no  occasion  for  any  alarm,  but  I  have  come  to  tell  you  that  Sweeney 
Todd  has  escaped  from  pr>son." 

<  Oh,  Lord!" 

"Hush!  It  is  of  no  great  moment.  Where  is  your  daughter  and  Mr. 
Ingestrie  ?  1  must  put  them  upon  their  guard  against  anything  that  may  arise, 
for  there  is  no  exactly  saying  what  that  rascal,  Todd,  may' be  at." 

€i  Oh,  he  will  murder  everybody." 

"  I  think,  Mr.  Oakley  that  is  going  just  a  little  too  far,  for  I  will  take 
good  care  that  he  don't  murder  me,  nor  any  one  else,  if  I  can  by  any  possibility 
help  it.    1  will  soon  have  him,  I  think.    Where  is  Mr.  Ingestrie.  Mr.  Oakley  F 

"  Oh,  dear,  they  are  at  the  new  house  in  Cheyne  Walk,  Chelsea.  It's  just 
opposite  to  the  water  if  you  go  " 

'f  I  know  alt  about  it,  thank  you,  Mr.  Oakley.  All's  right.  Be  under  no  appre- 
hension, and  above  all  thing*,  don't  you  believe  one  word  of  anything  you  hear 
about  Todd  from  popular  rumour  or  from  the  newspapers.  I  will  let  you  know 
everything  that  is  of  any  consequence,  personally  or  bv  letter.  Good  morning.  I 
hope  Mrs.  Oakley  is  quite  well  this  morning  ?" 

4<  Yes,  charming  ;  but,  dear  me  ¥* 

u  Yes,  it  is  dear  me.    Good  morning/*  ohh 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


601 


Away  rode  the  magistrate,  and  now  he  put  his  horse,  which  was  a  good  one, 
to  a  smart  trot,  and  made  his  way  to  Colonel  Jeffery's  house  in  a  verv  short 
space  of  time ;  for  London  was  not  quite  so  large  as  it  is  now,  and  it  was  not  a 
day's  journey  to  go  from  one  house  to  another  if  your  friends  happened  to  reside 
at  different  ends  of  the  town.    The  colonel,  at  that  hour  of  the  morning,  was;ud 


TODD  ALARMS  THE  TWO  BOW  STREET  OFFICERS. 

and  walking  in  his  garden.  When  Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  announced,  he  gje^ei 
at  once  that  something  very  unusual  had  taken  place ;  and  after  shaking  na.ub, 
he  said—  #  n.llfr 

"  1  know  there's  some  news,  Sir  Richard.  Is  it  pleasant,  or  the  owm 
Way  V* 

"In  truth,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "that  is  a  question  I  can  scarcelyanswer  you 


602  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


it 
it 


\ 
I 


yet.   All  I  have  got  to  say  is,  that  you  had  better  look  out,  for  they  gave  let 
Todd  get  out  of  Newgate/ 
Escaped  V9 
Exactly  so." 

"  Now  that  is  too  bad.  One  would  really  have  thought  they  would  have 
taken  care  of  such  a  fellow  as  that.  How  in  the  name  of  all  that's  abominable 
is  it,  that  if  any  one  escapes  from  Newgate,  it  is  sure  to  be  some  notorious  rascal 
who  ought  by  all  means  to  be  the  most  carefully  kept  in  it." 

"  Ah !  that  I  don't  know,  but  I  quite  agree  with  you  that  it  is  a  fact  never- 
theless/' 

44  It's  a  very  awkward  thing,  and  I  am  particularly  obliged  to  you  for  coming 
to  let  me  know/' 

"  Why,  the  fact  is,  colonel,  my  opinion  of  Todd  is  just  this  :  that  now  he  has 
lost  all  his  money  he  is  just  like  a  wild  beast,  and  that  revenge  against  all  and 
every  one  who  has  been  instrumental  in  bringing  him  to  his  present  condition, 
will  be  the  dominant  feeling  in  his  breast." 

«  Not  a  doubt  of  it." 

"  Then  by  awaking  you  to  a  sense  of  this  danger  both  to  yourself  and  to  your 
protege,  young  Tobias,  I  am  doing  my  duty.  It  is  not  courage  that  will  protect 
any  one  from  Sweeney  Todd.  If  that  had  been  the  case,  this  is  the  last  house 
I  should  have  dreamt  of  coming  to  with  a  warning  ;  but  it  will  be  only  by  the 
greatest  circumspection  that  his  attempt  to  assassinate  may  be  avoided,  and  the 
villain  foiled." 

"  I  thank  you  with  all  my  heart,  and  feel  the  truth  of  your  observation.  I  will 
not  mention  the  matter  to  poor  Tobias,  for  I  feel  that  it  would  drive  him  half 
mad  with  terror ;  but  I  will  take  care  to  keep  such  a  watch  upon  him,  that  no 
harm  can  come  to  him  from  Todd,  now  that  I  know  that  there  is  danger  He 
may,  of  course,  hear  of  the  affair  from  other  sources,  but  he  shall  not  from  me." 

«  That  is  right.  Mind  you,  colonel,  I  don't  think  this  state  of  alarm  must 
last  long,  and  as  regards  Tobias,  t  am  in  hope  that  at  the  same  time  he  hears  of 
Todd's  escape,  he  may  hear  of  his  recapture,  for  I  am  going  to  set  atemt  that  as 
soon  as  I  possibly  can,  after  I  have  warned  every  one  interested  to  keep  them- 
selves on  the  look-out  concerning  the  rascal.' ' 
You  think  you  will  have  him  again  ?" 

"Oh,  yes.  He  must  be  without  resources,  or,  at  all  events,  comparatively  so; 
and  under  such  circumstances,  we  shall  soon  trace  him.  Besides,  he  is  rather 
a  remarkable  man,  and  one  who,  once  seen,  is  not  only  easily  know  again,  but 
easily  described ;  so  that  when  I  set  all  the  agencies  on  foot  which  I  have  at  my 
command  to  find  him  out,  he  cannot  for  long  elude  me." 

"  I  sincerely  wish  you  every  success." 

"  Thank  you,  colonel,  for  1  must  now  be  off,  for  I  have  to  get  to  Chelsea  to 
warn  the  Ingestries  of  the  possible,  if  not  the  probable  danger  of  Todd  trying 
some  delectable  scheme  of  revenge  against  them,  for  he  is  most  furious  I  know 
against  Johanna." 

" Off  with  you,  Sir  Richard,  at  once.  D©  not  let  me  detain  you,  when  you 
are  upon  such  an  errand.  I  would  not  have  any  harm  come  to  Mrs.  Ingestrie 
for  worlds.  *  ° 

u  Nor  I.    Good  morning." 
•  The  magistrate  mounted  his  horse  again,  and  waving  his  hand  to  the  colonel, 
he  again  started  at  a  good  round  trot,  and  made  the  best  of  his  wav  by  the 
nearest  possible  route  he  could  to  Chelsea,  where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ingestrie  had 
set  up  housekeeping  m  Cheyne  Walk. 

That  portion  of  Chelsea  was  then  very  fashionable,  and  from  the  appearance 
of  the  houses  even  now,  it  is  very  easy  to  see  that  it  must  have  been  a  very 
desirable  place  at  one  time.  All  the  evidences  of  wealthy  ease  meet  vou  on  every 
«£,  aSZ0Uu-?0  ^u,08*  bf°ad'  WelUPut  together,  aristocratic  residences,  with 
doorways.7  87  CultIvated  in  ^  of  them,  and  their  massive 

— -  *  _  'if 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  603 


It  was  in  one  of  these  houses  that  Johanna  and  her  young  husband  had  taken 
up  their  residence.  The  string  of  pearls  had  been  actually  purchased  by  royalty 
of  Johanna,  and  had  produced  a  sum  of  money  that  had  not  only  placed  the 
young  couple  above  all  the  ordinary  pecuniary  accidents  of  life,  but  had  enabled 
them  to  surround  Mr.  and  M»*s.  Oakley  with  comforts,  although  the  old  specta- 
cle-maker, from  very  habit,  would  stick  to  his  shop,  declaring,  and  no  doubt 
with  great  truth,  that  his  daily  labour  was  now  such  a  thing  of  habit  that  he 
would  be  miserable  without  it. 

It  was  a  very  different  thing,  though,  for  old  Mr.  Oakley  now  to  work  at  the 
bench  in  his  shop,  when  he  felt  that  he  was  placed  above  the  real  ncessity  for 
doing  do,  to  when  he  had  worked  very  hard  indeed  to  support  himself  and 
Johanna,  during  the  period,  too,  when  in  consequence  of  Mrs.  Oakley's  rather 
insane  predilection  for  the  Reverend  Josiah  Lupin,  there  was  no  comfort  in  the 
house,  and,  but  for  Johanna,  all  would  have  gone  to  rack  and  ruin.  j 
The  frightfully  dirty  ditch  that  lies  before  and  beyond  Cheyne  Walk,  Chelsea, 
was  not  then  in  existence,  so  that  the  really  handsome  row  of  residences  was 
not  destroyed — as  it  is  now — by  such  dubious  companionship*  The  river,  too, 
was  much  clearer  than  now  of  craft,  and  likewise  much  sweeter,  so  that  really 
at  times,  when  the  sun  shone  upon  its  ripples,  it  really  deserved  the  title  of 
"  The  Silver  Thames/' 

It  was  still  an  early  hour  when  Sir  Richard  Blunt  reached  Chelsea — that  is  to 
say,  it  was  what  then  was  considered  an  early  hour,  for  all  the  world  was  not 
in 'the  hurry  that  is  the  fashion  now,  and  people  did  everything  in  a  much  more 
easy  and  deliberate  way  than  they  do  now.  j 
What  is  gained,  orpretented  to  be  gained,  by  all  the  hurry-skurry  and  jostling, 
and  driving  that  characterises  society  at  present  ?  We  must  confess  ourselves 
at  a  loss  to  imagine,  and  we  are  decidedly  of  opinion  thai  people  were  both 
happier  and  better  when  everything  was  taken  in  an  easy  way,  and  when  folks 
did  not  disturb  their  dignities  by  all  sorts  of  frantic  manoeuvres  to  save  time,  as  if 
the  whole  end  and  aim  of  life  was  to  get  through  as  much  of  what  is  called 
business  as  possible,  and  as  if  the  principal  business  of  everybody  was  not  to  be 
as  quiet  and  comfortable  as  possible. 

The  magistrate  could  not  but  pause  for  a  moment  as  he  reached  Cheyne 
Walk  and  saw  the  bright  sun  shining  upon  the  water,  and  guilding  with  beauty 
the  sails  of  some  small  craft  that  were  taking  advantage  of  a  light  pleasant 
breeze  to  get  along  without  labour.  $ 

"  A  pretty  enough  place  this,"  he  said,  «  and  I  don't  know  any  that  1  should 
prefer  to  idle  away  my  life  in,  if  I  had  nothing  to  do,  as  I  hope  to  have  some  of 
these  odd  days— but  not  yet." 


CHAPTER  CXLI. 

9         SHOWS  HOW  TODD  MADE  UP  HIS  MIND  TO  VENGEANCE. 

Sir  Richard  drew  bridle  opposite  the  house  of  Mr.  Ingestrie,  and  called  to 
an  urchin  who  was  passing  to  ring  ihe  bell  for  him. 
The  boy  c  mplied.  and  in  a  few  moments  a  servant  made  an  appearance,  to 

whom  Sir  Richard  said —  .  ,  , 

"  If  your  master  is  stirring,  pray  tell  him  that  a  gentleman  wishes  to  speak 

to  him  for  a  few  moments."  .  , 
These  words  were  hardlv  past  the  lips  of  the  magistrate,  when  some  one,  *ittt 
a  bunch  of  flowers  in  her  hand,  and  one  of  the  prettiest  of  pretty  morn»°S 
dresses,  came  to  the  door.  It  was  our  old,  dear,  young,  kind  friend,  J™"*™- 
We  cannot  help  calling  her  Johanna  still,  although,  perhaps,  it  would  be  more 
proper  for  us  to  name  her  Mrs.  Ingestrie;  but  it  seems  so  odd  to  append  that 
title  of  «  Mrs."  to  our  gentle,  >outhml  Johanna,  whose  dangers  in  loda  s  snop 
we  have  watched  and  trembled  at  to  often  in  times  past.   _ 


— '1 


i 


"  Ah!  my  dear  friend/  she  cried,  when  she  saw  who  it  was.  "  I  ana  sogiad 
to  see  you  V 

"  And  I  am  equally  glad  to  see  you,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "  particularly  as 
you  look  so  well  and  so  happy/' 

"  Yes,  I  am  happy.  Mark !  Mark !  here  is  Sir  Richard  come  to  breakfast 
with  us/*  * 

"Nay,  I  did  not  think  of  dismounting/' 

4<Oh,  but  you  must*  I  will  hold  the  bridle  of  the  horse,  and  you  will  have  to 
ride  over  me  if  you  attempt  to  go  away.    Mark — Mark  !  where  are  you  !" 

Upon  these  repeated  calls,  Mark  Ingestrie  make  his  appearance  at  the  door, 
and  looked  pleased  enough  to  see  Sir  Riehard,  who,  finding  that  they  would  take 
no  sort  of  denial,  he  felt  that  he  could  not  do  otherwise  than  dismount  and  enter 
the  house.  A  servant  of  the  Ingestries  took  charge  of  his  horse,  and  he  was 
soon  in  the  breakfast-room  of  the  pretty  house,  inhabited  by  the  young  couple. 

It  did  not  escape  the  observation  of  Johanna  that  there  was  a  cloud  of  serious- 
ness upon  the  countenance  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  ;  but  she  did  not  make  any 
remark,  although  each  moment  she  felt  more  and  more  convinced  that  it  was 
some  matter  ot  business  that  called  the  magistrate  to  their  abode  so  early  ;  for  it 
will  be  remembered  that  although  he  had  transacted  a  good  quantity  of  business, 
the  day  was  yet  very  young. 

Mark  Ingestrie  did  not  appear  to  have  any  idea  beyond  the  fact  that  it  was 
very  kind  of  the  magistrate  to  visit  them  ;  but  the  reader  will  easily  excuse  him 
for  not  being  so  acute  an  observer  as  Johanna. 

"  I  hope,"  said  Mark,  "that  you  will  often  take  a  canter  over  here,  Sir 
Richard,  before  the  business  of  the  day  commences,  and  breakfast  with  us.  I 
know  how  very  hopeless  it  is  to  expect  you  often  at  any  other  time.5' 

"It  is  rather  so,"  replied  Sir  Richard,  "and  my  stay  now  must  be  very 
limited  indeed.    How  do  you  both  like  your  new  house  V 

"  It  is  charming,"  said  Johanna,  "and  the  view  from  the  windows  is  full  of 
animation  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day/' 

*'4It  s  the  view  in-doors,"  smiled  Mark,  "that  to  me  is  so  delightful  and  so 
full  of  animation/' 

"  That  is  just  what  I  should  have  supposed,"  said  the  magistrate,  glancing  at 
Johanna  with  a  smile. 

"  Now,  oositively.,  I  must  go  and  take  my  breakfast  in  some  other  room/" 
said  Johanna,  "if  there  are  to  beany  compliments.  They  are  quite  absurd, 
you  know,  among  married  folks/' 

"And  a  little  unfair/'  said  Sir  Richard,  "at  meal  times,  I  think,  above  all 
others/' 

"  Indeed  ?"  said  Mark. 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure,"  added  Johanna,  "for  you  know  one  is  either  obliged  to 
hear  the  compliments,  which  feed  no  one  but  with  false  viands,  or  leave  the 
table  upon  which  there  may  be  something  much  more  substantial  and  decidedlv 
more  palatable/' 

"I  give  in,"  said  Mark.  "  I  give  in.  I  don't  for  one  moment  profess  to  be  a 
match  for  you  alone,  my  dear;  but  when  you  get  Sir  Richard  to  side  with  you, 
I  feel  that  1  had  better  say  as  little  as  nossible." 

"A  graceful  defeat/'  said  Sir  Richard,  "is  almost  as  good  as  a  clumsy 
victory." 

"  Much  better/'  said  Johanna,  "  a  great  deal  better.  But  now,  Sir  Richard, 
you  have  not  ridden  over  here  to  help  us  at  our  breakfast,  or  to  talk  badinage/1 

Mark  opened  his  eyes  very  wide  indeed,  and  looked  from  Johanna  to  the 
magistrate,  and  from  the  magistrate  to  Johanna,  with  evidenl  surprise.  An 
expression  of  great  anxiety  was  each  moment  gathering  over  the  face  of  Johanna 
which  Sir  Richard  saw,  and  with  all  that  tact  which  with  him  was  a  kind  of 
;  second  nature,  he  said — 

"  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  your  father  this  morning,  and  they  are  all 
well  at  the  old  house,  and  as  comfortable  as  can  be." 


Johanna  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief,  and  then  Mark  Ingestrie  cried  in  a  voice 
of  surprise — 

"  What  ?  Do  you  mean  to  say  you  have  been  in  the  city  before  you  came 
here,  sir?* 

"  I  have,  my  friend,  and  I  have  been  to  Colonel  Jeffery's,  too,  before  I  came 
here.  If  I  had  not,  I  should  not  be  able  to  indulge  myself  with  the  pleasure  of 
staying  here  for  even  the  short  time  that  I  have  been  beneath  your  roof.  I  must, 
however,  go." 

"  Something  has  happened  !"  said  Johanna. 

**  So  there  has,"  said  the  magistrate  with  a  smile,  "  but  it  cannot  be  anything 
very  serious,  you  know,  as  all  our  dear  friends  are  well.  Anything  falls  light 
in  comparison  with  the  health  and  happiness  of  those  whom  we  love." 

4<Oh,  yes— yes,"  said  Johanna.  *  You  are  right,  and  you  are  very  good  to 
preface  bad  news  in  so  kind  a  manner,  Sir  .Richard.  It  is  good,  and  kind,  and 
grateful,  and  like  you  in  all  respects.    I  thank  you  from  my  heart." 

"But  what's  it  all  about?0  cried  Mark  Ingestrie.  Good  gracious,  what's  it 
all  about  ?  Who  talks  of  bad  news  ?  If  all  our  friends  are  well,  how  can  there 
be  bad  news  ?    Do  not  keep  us  in  suspense,  Sir  Richard  V* 

«  No — no,"  said  Johanna. 

"Iwillnoc." 

Both  Johanna  and  Mark  Ingestrie  looked  most  intently  at  the  magistrate,  as 
he  said  in  his  quiet  way — 

"  Sweeney  Todd  has  escaped  from  Newgate,  and  is  now  at  large  !" 

Mark  Ingestrie  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  Johanna,  for  a  moment,  turned  rather 
pale. 

w  The  villain  !"  cried  Mark. 

"  Hush !"  said  Johanna.    "  Oh,  hush,  Mark  V9 

"  It  was  of  the  utmost  importance,"  continued  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  speaking 
quite  calmly,  u  that  all  who  were  in  any  way  comprehended  in  the  list  of  what 
Sweeney  Todd  would  call  his  enemies,  shouid  be  speedily  informed  of  this  fact, 
and  that  is  what  has  brought  me  to  Chelsea  at  so  early  an  hour  in  the  morning." 

"  We  thank  you  from  our  hearts/'  said  Johanna. 

«  We  do,  indeed,"  said  Mark.  "But  let  him  beware  of  me.  He  dare  not, 
villain  as  he  is,  come  within  the  reach  of  my  arm.  The  spirit  of  my  poor  mur- 
dered friend,  Thornhill,  will  cry  aloud  for  vengeance,  and  nothing  should  save 
the  murderer  from  death." 

"  Oh,  Mark— Mark  !"  said  Johanna,  "  do  not  speak  in  such  a  strain.  You 
do  not  know  Todd.  You  know  nothing  of  the  character  and  of  the  capabilities 
of  that  man.  He  is  not  onlv  one  of  the  most  wicked,  but  he  is  likewise  one  of 
the  most  crafty  and  unscrupulous/* 

{  "  That  is  true,"  said  the  magistrate.  M  He  does  not  know  him.  Do  you 
suppose  for  one  moment,  Mr.  Ingestrie,  that  I  would  have  ridden  over  here  to 
give  you  such  a  special  warning  concerning  this  man,  if  I  apprehended  any  open 
attack  ?  No— that  I  could  have  trusted  to  you  to  ward  off.  Your  life  has  been 
one  of  danger  and  adventuie  ;  but  not  you,  nor  I,  nor  all  the  world^  can  be  pre- 
pared against  what  Todd  may,  in  the  profound  depths  of  his  imagination, 
attempt. n 

"All  that  is  true,"  said  Johanna,  "most  true." 
u  You  now  really  alarm  me!"  said  Mark. 

"Then  I  did  not  mean  to  do  so.  All  I  wished  was  that  you  should  be  made 
aware  of  the  real  extent  of  the  possible  danger.  For  myself,  I  look  upon  all 
such  men  as  Sweeney  Todd  as  mad  men,  to  a  certain  extent  ;  and  now  that  he 
is  deprived  of  his  monev,  there  is  no  knowing  but  he  may  be  willing  to  sacrifice 
his  life  for  the  gratification  of,  no  doubt,  one  of  the  most  powerful  feelings  of  his 
mind,  which  is  revenge  IV 
"  No  doubt,"  said  Johanna.  ,  w, 

A  flush  of  colour  came  over  the  cheek  of  the  young  husband,  and  ne  tooK  ttie 

hand  of  Johanna  in  his,  as  he  said — 


606  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


M  Oh,  Sir  Richard,  only  tell  me  how  I  may  best  secure  this  treasure  against 
the  machinations  of  that  monster  in  human  shape/ 

"Nay,  now,  Mr.  Ingestrie/  said  Sir  Richard,  "do  not  fall  into  the  other  ex- 
treme, and  make  too  much  of  this  danger.    We  are  very  apt  to  pet  some  peril, 
until  we  make  it  to  our  imagination  assume  a  much  larger  shape  than  really 
belongs  to  it.  I  hope  that  Todd  will  be  in  custody  again  soon/' 
f?  Is  it  likely,  sir  ?" 

CCI  fancy  so.  From  this  day  I  abandon  all  other  objects  and  pursuits,  and 
devote  myself  to  that  task  alone.'' 

"  Then  there  is  a  hope,"  said  Johanna. 

"  Yes/'  added  Sir  Richard.    "  My  impression  is  that  he  has  no  money,  and 
that  I  shall  soon  apprehend  him ;  but  if,  unknown  to  me,  he  has  any  secret  funds, 
he  mav  make  an  attempt  to  leave  the  kingdom,  and  so  foil  me." 
"And  if  he  does  ?" 

u  I  follow  him,  for  T  am  determined  that  sooner  or  later,  dead  or  alive,  Todd 
shall  be  given  up  to  the  law." 

C(  But  you  will  advise  us  -what  to  do,"  said  Mark  Ingestrie.  "  In  you  experi- 
ence you  can  suggest  to  us  the  best  mode  of  proceeding  in  this  emergency." 

u  I  have  been  thinking  of  that  as  I  came  along,  and  my  advice  is  that  you 
leave  London  immediately.  I  do  not  think  that  the  danger,  admitting  that  there 
is  any  at  all,  is  immediate*  Todd  for  some  days  will  be  far  too  intent  upon  evading 
pursuit  and  recognition  to  think  of  much  else,  besides  his  personal  safety,  so 
that  you  will  have  ample  time  to  leave-'' 

"We  will  do  so."  said  Johanna,  uat  once.  Where  would  you  advise  us 
to  go  ?" 

i€  There  is  a  little  fishing  village  on  the  south  coast,  called  Brighthelmstone. 
It  lies  in  a  pleasant  enough  valley  stretching  to  the  sea.  There  you  can  remain 
quite  unsuspected  of  Todd,  and  enjoy  the  fair  sea  breezes  that  make  the  place 
delightful,  without  a  thought  of  danger,  for  it  is  not  that  way  he  will  go,  as  the 
place  is  not  a  port  from  which  he  could  take  shipping  if  he  wished  to  leave 
England ;  and  if  he  did  not  wish  to  leave  at  all,  nothing  could  be  further  from 
his  thoughts  than  going  so  far  from  London,  and  the  spot  upon  which  all  his 
revenge  could  alone  be  attempted  to  be  gratified."  | 

"  We  will  go,"  said  Johanna,  appealingly  looking  at  Mark  Ingestrie  as  she 
spoke. 

'*  Certainly/'  he  replied. 

u  Well,  then,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "  since  that  is  so  far  settled,  I  have  a  favour 
to  ask  of  you  both." 

V  You  have  but  to  name  it,"  said  Ingestrie.    "  You  ought  rather  to  say  that 
you  have  a  command  to  give  us  both." 
Yes,"  said  Johanna,  "  that  is  so.* 

No.    If  I  thought  that,  I  should  not  like  to  mention  it.    But  I  appeal  to 
your  candour  to  say  '  yes/  or  '  no/  to  the  request,  according  as  you  really  feel 
inclined  when  you  hear  it.    You  know  how  anxious  Todd  has  been  to  take  the 
life  of  the  poor  lad,  Tobias,  who  has  suffered  so  much  at  his  hands." 
"Oh,  yes — yes,"  said  Johanna.  * 
"  Well.    Have  you  any  objection  to  take  him  with  you  ?" 
"  None  in  the  least/'  cried  Mark. 
Johanna  turned  to  him  with  a  smile,  as  she  said — 

ff  Mark,  I  tha»»k  you  with  all  my  heart  for  that  ready  replv  and  acquiescence 
with  the  proposal  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  I  echo  it  by  likewise  saving,  1  None 
in  the  least/  "  J  '  &' 

"  You  have  met  the  proposal  as  I  anticipated  you  both  would,"  said  the 
magistrate,  "  or  I  should  not  have  made  it.  You  will  fiod  poor  Tobias  one  of  the 
most  gentle  and  inoffensive  of  beings  ;  but  his  nature  has  been  so  acted  upon  by 
lodd,  that  it  would  drive  him  to  the  verge  of  madness  if  he  thought  that  the 
vil  ain  were  at  large  ;  so  I  do  not  wish  that  he  should  know  as  much  until  it  can 
be  coupled  with  information  of  his  recapture  " 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  607 


<«  The  secret  shall  be  kept.' ' 


«« Then  my  business  is  co  ncluded,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  my  pleasure  also  ;  for 
it  has  been  a  real  one  to  visit  you  both  ;  and  I  must  be  off  at  once  I  will  com- 
municate with  Colonel  Jeffery  about  Tobias,  and  manage  how  he  shall  come  to 
you.  A  post-chaise  will  take  you  in  six  hours  to  the  place  I  have  mentioned, 
which  you  will  find  marked  on  the  map." 
"  I  know  it,"  said  Ingestrie. 
"  That  is  well.   And  now  good-day." 

The  Ingestries  took  a  warm  and  affectionate  leave  of  Sir  Richard,  who,  in  ten 
minutes  more,  was  on  his  road  to  London. 


CHAPTER  CLXII. 

RETURNS  TO  TODD  IN  THE  WOOD  AT  HAMPSTEAD. 

While  all  this  was  going  on,  contingent  upon  his  elopement  from  Newgate, 
Todd  was  still  in  the  wood  at  Hampstead — that  wood  in  which  he  had  com- 
mitted so  barbarous  a  murder,  in  ridding  the  world  of  almost  as  great  a  rascal 
as  himself,  in  the  shape  of  Mr.  Lupin. 

Todd  was  as  anxious  as  possible  to  leave  the  wood,  but  he  felt  that  to  do  so 
in  daylight  would  be  jeopardising  himself  much  too  seriously.  He  was  not  with- 
out money,  as  the  reader  is  aware ;  and  after  placing  some  distance  between 
himself  and  the  dead  body  of  Mr.  Lupin,  he  sat  down  upon  the  roots  of  an  old 
tree  to  think. 

It  was  not  that  Todd  had  any  particular  terrors  connected  with  the  dead  body 
of  Mr.  Lupin  that  induced  him  to  get  away  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
body,  but  he  thought  it  was  just  possible  some  people  might  come  into  the  wood, 
and  in  such  a  case  he  did  not  wish  to  be  connected  with  the  deed  in  consequence 
of  any  contiguity  to  it. 

<:  What  shall  I  do  V  said  Todd,  after  he  had  rested  for  some  time  with  his 
head  upon  his  hand.  *'  That  is  the  question— what  shall  I  do  ?  I  have  some 
money,  but  not  enough.  Oh,  that  I  had  but  a  tithe  of  the  amount  that  once 
was  mine!  I  would  yet  leave  England  for  ever,  and  forego  all  my  thoughts  of 
vengeance,  unless  I  could  contrive  from  a  great  distance  to  do  some  mischief, 
and  that  might  be  done  if  very  cunningly  contrived  ;  but  they  have  taken  from 
me  all— all!". 

Here  Mr.  Todd  indulged  in  a  few  expletives,  with  which  we  do  not  think 
proper  to  encumber  our  pages  ;  and  after  swearing  himself  into  a  state  of  compa- 
rative calmness  again,  he  held  up  his  left  hand,  and  separating  the  fingers,  he 
began  to  count  upon  them  the  names  of  people. 

"Let  me  see,"  he  said.  44  Let  me  see,  how  many  throats  now  it  would  give 
me  a  very  special  pleasure  to  cut — Humph — Ha.  Sir  Richard  Blunt— one ; 
Tobias  Ragg— two ;  Colonel  Jeffery— three ;  Johanna  Oakley— four ;  and  her 
husband,  that  is,  I  suppose,  by  this  time,  five— confound  him!  Ah!  those  make 
up  the  five  that  f  nost  specially  should  like  to  sacrifice!  A  whole  handful  of 
victims  !  Atu  cy  were  comfortably  despatched,  no  doubt,  I  could  think  of  a 
few  more  ;  but  it  is  better  to  confine  one's  attention  to  the  principals  for  a  time. 
The  others  may  drop  in  afterwards,  when  one  has  nothing  more  important 
to  do.33  J  * 

He  thought  he  heard  a  noise  in  the  wood,  and  he  stooped  his  head  to  listen. 
It  was  nothing,  or  if  it  had  been  anything,  it  quickly  ceased  again,  and  he  was 
tolerably  satisfied  that  he  was  alone. 

"  What  a  delightful  thing,  now,  it  would  be/'  he  muttered,  €€  if  I  could  poison 
the  whole  lot  of  them  at  once,  with  some  drug  that  would  give  them  the  most 
)  excruciating  agony  t  ( And  then  I  should  like  to  go  round  to  them  all,  and  shout 


608  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


in  their  ears — '  I  did  it !— I,  Sweeney  Todd,  did  it !'    That  would  be  glorious, 

indeed  !    Ha  !  ha  !" 
"Ha  V9  said  a  voice  behind  him,  following  up  his  hideous  laugh  most  closely } 

in  point  of  tone. 

It  was  almost  with  what  might  be  called  a  yell  of  terror  that  Todd  sprang 
to  his  feet,  and  turned  round,  fully  expecting  to  see  some  one ;  but  not  the 
slightest  vestige  of  the  presence  of  any  human  being  met  his  eyes. 

After  gazing  for  a  moment  or  two,  he  thought  that  surely  some  one  must  be 
hiding  behind  one  of  the  trees,  and  he  sprang  forward,  crying — 
"  Disclose  yourself,  villain  I  Crafty  wretch,  you  or  I  must  die  V9 
There  was  no  reply  to  this  ;  and  he  could  find  no  one,  although  he  looked 
narrowly  about,  for  the  next  quarter  of  an  hour,  all  over  the  spot.  He  felt  quite 
convinced  that  no  one  could  have  slipped  away  without  him  hearing  something 
of  the  footfall,  however  light  it  might  be  ;  and  he  was  left,  by  this  extraordinary 
circumstance,  in  a  complete  maze  of  terrified  conjecture.  He  trembled  in  every 
limb  from  positive  fright. 

No  man  was  probably  more  generally  free  from  what  might  be  called  super- 
stitious terrors,  than  Sweeney  Todd.  At  least,  we  may  certainly  say,  that  no 
guilty  man  ever  could  be  more  free  from  them.  Had  such  not  been  the  case,  it 
is  quite  impossible  that  he  could  have  carried  on  the  career  that  he  did  ;  but  of 
late,  two  or  three  things  had  happened  to  him  to  give  his  imagination  a  kind  of 
jog  upon  such  subjects. 

He  might  well  be  excused  for  a  little  kind  of  nervousness  now,  when  he  felt 
quite  confident  that  a  laugh  from  no  mortal  lungs  had  sounded  within  a  few 
inches  of  his  ears,  at  so  strange  a  moment. 

"  What  can  it  be  }?'  he  said,  in  a  voice  of  terror.  "  What  can  it  be  ?  Have 
I  all  along  been  mistaken  ;  and  is  there  such  a  thing  as  au  invisible  world  of 
spirits  about  us  ?  Oh.  what  can  I  think  ? — what  excuse  can  I  now  give  myself 
for  an  unbelief,  without  which  I  should  have  gone  quite  mad  long — long  ago  ?" 

The  heavy  drops  stood  upon  his  brow,  and  he  was  forced  to  stagger  back,  and 
hold  by  a  tree  for  support.  After  a  few  moments  of  this  condition,  however, 
the  determined  spirit  of  the  man  triumphed  over  the  fears  that  beset  him,  and 
raising  his  voice,  he  said — 

4i  No — no  ;  I  will  never  be  the  slave  of  such  wild  fancies  !  This  is  no  time 
for  me  to  give  way  to  a  belief  in  these  things,  which  all  my  life  I  have  laughed 
to  scorn  !  If  I  had  bqlieved  what  the  world  pretends  to  believe,  I  must  have 
been  stark  staring  mad  to  load  my  soul  with  guilt  in  the  way  I  have  done,  if 
my  recompense  had  been  the  accumulated  wealth  of  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth;  for  death  would,  despite  all  that,  come  and  10b  me  of  all,  leaving  me  puor 
as  any  beggar  who  lays  him  down  by  the  road  side  to  die  !" 

While  he  sp«ke,  he  glared  nervously  and  apprehensively  about  him,  and  then 
he  drew  a  long  breath,  as  he  added — 

"I  take  shame  to  myself  now  to  have  one  particle  of  fear.  Have  not  I,  at  the 
hour  of  midnight,  many  and  many  a  time  threaded  the  mazes  of  the  dark  vaults 
of  St.  Dunstan's,  when  I  knew  that  1  was  all  but  surrounded  by  the  festering, 
gaunt  remains  of  heaps  of  my  victims  ?  and  shall  I  here,  with  the  open  sky  above 
me,  and  only  the  known  neighbourhood  of  one  dead  villain,  shake  in  such  a 
way  ?   No — no  V 

tie  stamped  upon  the  ground  to  reassure  himself;  anu  1hen,  as  thotigh  willing 
to  taunt  the  unseen  laugher  into  a  repetition  of  the  xuocking  sound,  he  again 
cried — 

"  Ha !— ha  !" 

There  was  no  response  to  this,  and  it  was  rather  a  disappointment  to  Todd 
that  there  was  not,  for  a  hope  had  been  growing  upon  his  mind  to  the  effect, 
that  it  was  only  some  echo  in  the  wood,  to  which  he  had  been  indebted  for  his 
fright ;  but  now,  when  it  did  not  cccur  again  as  it  ought  to  have  done,  if  it 
had  been  a  result  from  any  natural  cause,  he  was  thrown  back  upon  his  strength 
of  mind  merely  to  shake  it  off  as  best  he  might,  j  j 

'«l)*iiiulLili  iiiii^mj  ii  iiiii.jii  i  i^..  .^[1.,... .,  n.i  .,|f||  .  jJi'MW;f|ia»tw,ciT«fl'f1ii  n-jPtriiyiiLfl]  HJtrrxt.uj    ■■Jinri'ii.  'inn,,,,   -■-       1   '  -">~i- 


tHE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


609 


"Fancy!  fancy !"  he  cried.  "  It  was  but  fancy  after  all;"  but  he  did  not 
believe  himself  when  he  so  spoke. 

Todd  remained  in  the  wood  tolerably  free  from  any  more  alarms,  until  the  sun 
sunk  in  the  west ;  and  while  there  was  positive  darkness  in  that  place  where  he 
was  hiding,  a  sweet  twilight  still  lingered  over  the  fair  face  ol  nature. 


TODD  AND  THE  BOW  STREET  OFFICERS— —THE  DEATH  GRAPPLE. 

"  I  must  not  venture  forth  vet,"  he  said,  «  but  in  another  hour  it  will  be  dark 
alike  upon  the  heath  as  in  the  wood,  and  then  I  will  go  into  the  v. age  and I  get 
some  refreshment,  after  which,  1  rather  think,  that  London,  with  all  its  dangers 
will  be  the  best  place  for  me.  I  have  heard  of  people  hiding  there  for  many  a 
day.  I  wonder,  now,  if  a  lodging  in  the  Old  Bailey  would  be  a  good  thing . 
Surely  they  would  never  think  of  looking  for  me  there 


No,  77. 


Todd  rather  chuckled  over  this  pleasant  idea  of  a  lodging  in  the  Old  Bailey. 
It  was  just  one  of  the  notions  that,  fot  its  practica.  extravagance,  rather  pleased 
him  than  otherwise,  but  although  it  had  something  to  recommend  it,  it  required 
rather  more  boldness  than  even  he  was  master  of  to  carry  it  out. 

But  such  thoughts  sufficed  to  amuse  him  until  darkness  was  upon  the  face 
of  the  land,  and  to  withdraw  his  thoughts  from  other  and  more  tormenting 
matters;  so  that  for  a  time  he  even  forgot  the  seeminglv  supernatural  laugh 
that  had  sounded  so  oddly  behind  him,  and  produced  in  him  such  a  world  of 
alarm. 

He  heard  the  clock  of  Hampstead  Church  proclaim  the  hour  of  nine,  and 
then  he  thought  that  he  might  venture  from  his  place  of  concealment  ;  and  yet 
it  will  be  seen  that  Todd  had  not  been  able  to  concoct  any  definite  plan  of 
operations.  Then  he  was  wishing  to  do  many  things,  and  yet  unable  in  that 
anxious  state  of  his  fortunes  to  do  anything  at  all. 

Truly,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  right  enough  when  he  said  that  Todd,  for  a 
time,  would  be  much  too  busy  with  his  own  affairs  to  take  any  active  step  for 
the  accomplishment  of  any  of  his  revenges. 

In  the  wood,  now,  the  darkness  wa^  so  great,  that  literally  you  could  not  see 
your  hand  before  your  face ;  and  the  only  plan  by  which  he  could  leave  it  was 
by  blundering  right  on,  and  trusting  to  get  out  at  any  point  to  which  his  chance 
steps  might  lead  him.  In  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  he  came  to  a  rather  pre- 
cipitous bank,  which  he  clambered  up,  and  then^  he  found  himself  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  wood,  and  not  far  from  the  village. 

He  heard  some  one  coming  along  the  road-way,  and  whistling  as  he  came. 
The  moonVas  struggling  against  the  shadowing  influence  of  a  mass  of  clouds  in 
the  horizon,  and  Todd  felt  that  in  a  little  time  the  whole  place  would  be  light 
enough. 

"Ami  sufficiently  unlike  myself,"  he  said,  u  to  trust  an  appearance  in  the 
village?  I  want  food,  and  most  of  all,  I  want  drink.  Yes,  now  more  than 
ever ;  I  cannot  pretend  to  live  without  stimulants.  Yes,  I  will  risk  it,  and  then 
I  will  go  to  London. 

He  sprang  down  into  the  road,  and  in  as  careless  a  manner  as  he  could,  he 
walked  on  in  the  direction  that  he  thought  would  take  him  to  the  village. 

The  man  who  was  whistling  as  he  came  along,  rather  increased  his  pace,  and 
to  the  great  alarm  of  Todd,  overtook  him,  and  said — 

"  A  fine  night,  sir,      shall  have  ?  The  moon  is  getting  up  nicely  now,  sir !M 

Todd  breathed  a  little  more  freely.  After  all,  it  was  not  an  enemy,  but  only 
one  of  those  people  so  common  in  places  a  little  way  out  of  town,  who  are  talka- 
tive to  any  one  they  may  meet,  for  the  mere  love  of  talking.  For  once  in  his  life, 
Todd  determined  upon  being  wonderfully  gracious,  and  he  replied  quite  in  a  tone 
of  serenity — 

u  Yes,  it  is  a  nice  night ;  and,  as  you  say,  the  moon  is  rising  beautifully." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  added  the  man,  who  was  carrying  something  that  Todd "  could 
not,  for  the  life  of  him,  make  out.  '*  Yes,  sir,  and  I  am  not  sorry  to  get  home, 
now.  ^  I  have  been  all  round  by  Hendon,  Golders  Green,  and  Finchley,  sticking 

"  Bills  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  about  the  murderer,  Todd,  you  know  V' 
*  Oh,  ah !" 

"  You  know,  sir,  he  has  got  out  of  Newgate,  and  there's  five  hundred  pounds 
reward  offered  by  the  guvment  for  him.  A  nice  little  set  up  that  would  be,  sir 
for  any  one,  wouldn't  it,  sir  V9  9 

"Very." 

"  All  the  bill-stickers  round  London  have  had  a  job  in  putting  up  the  bills, 
and  they  say  that  if  it  costs  a  million  of  money  they  intend  to  have  him." 
"  And  very  proper  too/'  said  Todd.    "  Can  you  spare  a  bill,  my  friend  V 
"Oh,  yes.    There's  hand  ones  as  well  as 'posters.    Here's  one,  sir,  and 
you'll  find  a  description  of  hira.   Oh,  don't  I  only  wish  I  could  come  across 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


611 


him,  that's  all ;  I'd  make  rather  a  tidy  day's  work  then,  I  think.  That  would 
be  a  little  better,  sir,  than  the  paste-pot,  wouldn't  it  ?" 

"  Rather/  said  Todd  ;  u  but  he  might  be  rather  a  dear  bargain  ;  for  such  a 
man,  I  should  think,  would  not  be  very  easily  taken  !" 

u  There's  something  in  that,  sir,  as  you  say,  but  yet  I  would  have  a  try. 
Five  hundred  pounds,  you  know,  sir,  is  not  to  be  picked  up  every  day  on  the 
road-side." 

"  Certainly  not !  Is  that  Hampstead  where  the  lights  are,  to  the  left,  there  V 
"  Yes,  right  on.    I  live  at  west-end,  and  my  way  lays  this  way.  Good 
night,  sir  ! 1 

"  Good  night/'  said  Todd.  "  I  hope  you  may  have  the  luck  of  meeting  with 
this  Todd,  and  so  earning  the  five|hundred  pounds  you  mention  ;  but  I  am  afraid, 
after  all ,  there  is  not  much  chance,  for  I  heard  he  had  gone  down  to  the  coast, 
and  had  got  on  board  a  vessel  and  was  off  by  this  time.  That  may  not  be  true, 
though.    Good  night  !" 


CHAPTER  CXLIII. 

TODD  TAKES  A  LOOK  AT  HIS  OLD  QUARTERS  IN  FLEET  STREET. 

The  village  of  Hampstead  was,  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  really  a 
village.  It  still  retains  many  of  its  old  houses  and  picturesque  beauties,  but  it 
is  not  quite  such  a  little  retired  spot  as  it  was.  If  ever  any  one  walked  through 
Hampstead,  however,  who  was  less  inclined  than  another  to  pause  and  speculate 
upon  its  beauties,  certainly  that  man  was  our  doubtful  acquaintance,  Sweeney 
Todd. 

He  did  not  think  it  quite  prudent  to  stop  in  the  High  Street  to  solace  himself 
with  any  worldly  comforts,  although  he  saw  several  public-houses  very  tempt- 
ingly open,  but  passing  right  on,  he  descended  Red  Lion  Hill,  and  paused  at  a 
little  inn  at  the  foot  of  it,  that  is  to  say,  on  the  London  side  of  the  pretty 
village: 

Brandy  was  Todd's  request,  and  he  was  met  by  a  prompt,  "  Yes,  sir  y9  but 
Todd  had,  among  his  varied  experiences,  to  find  out  what  Hampstead  brandy 
was,  and  the  moment  he  placed  a  portion  of  it  in  his  mouth,  his  eyes  goggled 
furiously,  and  spitting  it  out,  he  said,  m  a  voice  of  anger— 

"  This  is  some  mistake/' 

46  Mistake,  sir  V 

*  Yes ;  I  asked  for  brandy,  and  you  have  given  me  the  rinsings  of  some 

bottles  and  dirtv  glasses/' 
"  Oh,  dear  no,  sir ;  that  brandy  is  the  very  best  that  you  will  get  in  all 

Hampstead." 

"The  best  in  all  Hampstead i"  repeated  Todd,  with  a  groan  ;  "  what  must 

the  worst  be,  I  wonder  ?' 

"  I  assure  you,  sir,  it  is  considered  to  be  very  good." 

"Considered?''  said  Todd.  "Then,  my  friend,  there's  your  money,  and  as 
the  brandy  is  considered  to  be  so  good,  you  can  drink  it;  but  having  some 
respect,  from  old  companionship,  for  my  inside,  I  decline  it.  Good  evening. 
With  these  words,  Todd  laid  a  shilling  upon  the  bar.  and  strode  away. 
"Well,"  said  the  publican,  "how  singular!  that's  the  eighth  person  who 
has  refused  that  one  quartern  of  brandy  and  paid  for  it.  Here,  wife,  put  this 
back  into  the  bottle  again,  and  shake  it  up  well/'  .  , 

Todd  pursued  his  route  down  Haverstock  Hill,  until  he  came  to  the  then 
strangling  district  of  Camden  Town,  and  there  he  did  find  a  honse  at  which  tie 
got  just  a  tolerable  glaxs  of  brandy,  and  feeling  very  much  invigorated  by  the 
drop,  he  walked  on  more  rapidly  sal! ;  and  a  thought  took  possession  of  him, 
whch,  although  it  was  perhaps  not  unattended  with  danger,  might  turn  out  to 
be  a  very  felicitous  one.  ____  - 


During  his  career  in  the  shop  in  Fleet  Street,  he  had  collected  a  number  of 
watches  from  the  pockets  of  the  murdered  persons,  but  he  had  always  been 
afraid  to  attempt  the  disposal  of  the  best  of  them. 

The  fact  was,  that  at  that  time  everybody  had  not  a  watch  as  at  present.  Tt 
was  an  expensive  article,  and  Mr.  So-and-so's  watch  was  as  well  known  as  Mr. 
So-and.  so  himself ;  so  that  it  would  have  been  one  of  the  most  hazardous 
things  possible  for  Todd  to  have  brought  suspicion  upon  himself  by  going  about 
disposing  of  the  watches  of  his  victims.  It  was  the  same,  too,  with  some 
other  costly  articles,  such  as  rings,  lockets,  and  so  on;  and  as  he  had  realised 
as  much  money  as  he  could  previous  to  his  arrangements  for  leaving  England, 
Todd  had  left  some  of  this  description  of  property  to  perish  in  the  fire,  which  he 
hoped  to  be  the  means  of  igniting  in  old  Fleet  Street  upon  his  departure. 

Now,  as  he  crept  along  by  Tottenham-Court. Koad,  he  mused  upon  the  state 
of  things. 

"If/*  he  muttered,  "I  could  only  get  into  my  late  house  in  Fleet  Street,  I 
know  where  to  lay  my  hand  upon  portable  property,  which  was  not  worth  my 
consideration  while  I  had  thousands  of  pounds  in  gold,  but  which  now  would  be 
a  fortune  to  me  in  my  reduced  circumstances.  If  I  could  but  lay  my  hand 
upon  it  !n 

The  more  Todd  thought  over  this  proposition,  the  more  pleased  he  was  with 
it ;  and  by  the  time  he  had  indulged  himself  with  two  more  glasses  of  brandy, 
it  began  to  assume,  to  his  mind,  a  much  more  tangible  shape. 

If  It  may  be  done/'  he  said,  4<  it  surely  may  be  done.  If  I  could  only  make 
my  way  in  the  church  it  might  be  done  well,  and  surely  one  of  these  picklocks 
that  1  have  about  me  might  enable  me  to  do  that." 

The  picklock  he  alluded  to  wTas  one  that  he  had  put  in  his  pocket  to  accom- 
modate Mr.  Lupin,  when  they  were  both  so  intent  upon  their  escape  from  New- 
gate, and  when  Mr.  Lupin  was  foolish  enough  to  believe  that  Todd  really  had 
two  thousand  pounds  buried  in  Caen  Wood,  Hampstead.  There  was  one  thing, 
however,  which  made  Todd  pause.  He  did  not  think  he  was  sufficiently  dis- 
guised to  venture  into  the  locality  of  his  old  residence,  and,  unfortunately  for  him, 
he  was  rather  a  peculiar-looking  man.  Eis  great  chance,  however,  w as,  that 
in  Fleet  Street  surely  no  one  would  now  think  of  looking  for  Sweeney  Todd. 

I  must  be  bold/'  he  said,  "I  must  be  bold  and  resolute.    It  will  not  do  to 
shrink  now.    I  will  buy  a  knife. " 

This  was  a  pleasant  fdea  to  Todd.  Buying  a  knife  seemed  almost  like  getting 
half-way  to  his  revenge,  and  he  went  into  an  obscure  cutler's  shop,  and  bought 
along  double-edged  knife,  for  which  he  gave  two  shillings.  He  then  caretully 
concealed  it  in  his  clothing. 

After  this,  he  hit  upon  a  plan  of  operations  which  he  thought  would  have  the 
effect  of  disguising  him.  At  that  period,  wigs  were  so  commonly  worn  that  it 
was  nothing  at  all  particular  for  a  person  to  go  into  a  wig-makers,  and  select 
one— put  it  on— pay  for  it — and  go  away  ! 

u  Yes,"  said  Todd,  "  I  will  buy  a  wig  ;  for  I  have  art  enough  and  knowledge 
|of  wigs  to  enable  me  to  do  so— as  shall  produce  the  greatest  possible  change  in 
my  appearance.    A  wig,  a  wig  will  be  the  thing." 

Todd  had  hardly  well  made  this  declaration  than  he  came  upon  a  wig-makers, 
and  in  he  went.    Pointing  to  a  wig  that  was  on  a  block,  and  which  had  a  very 
clerical  kind  of  look,  he  inquired  the  price  of  it.  i 
"  Oh,  my  dear  sir,"  said  the  wig-maker,  "  that  is  much  too  old  looking  a 
perriwig for  you.    Let  me  recommend  you  a  much  younger  wig.    Now,  sir,' 
here's  one  that  will  take  a  matter  of  ten  years  off  your  age  in  a  moment/1 

Todd  had  discretion  enough  to  know  well  that  he  could  not  make  up  voung, 
so  h-  merely  pointed  to  the  wig  again,  and  enquired  the  price. 
u  Well,  sir,  it  is  a  couple  of  guineas,  but  99 

Without  another  word,  Todd  laid  down  the  couple  of  guineas,  and  putting 
the  wig  upon  his  head  he  left  the  shop,  certainly  having  given  the  wi^-maker 
j  an  impression  that  he  was  the  oddest  customer  he  had  had  for  some  time;  but 


r 

\ 


little  did  he  suspect  that  that  odd  customer  was  the  criminal  with  whose  name 
all  London  was  ringing,  and  upon  whose  head— with  or  without  a  wig— so  heavy 
a  price  was  set. 

After  this,  Todd  made  his  way  to  a  shop  where  second-hand  clothing  was 
bought  and  sold,  and  there  he  got  accommodated  with  an  old  gray  coat  that 
reached  down  to  the  calves  of  his  legs,  and  he  bought  likewise  a  very  voluminous 
white  cravat ;  and  when  he  got  into  the  street  with  these  articles,  and  purchased 
at  another  shop  a  walking  cane,  with  a  great  silver  top  to  it,  and  put  one  hand 
behind  his  back  and  stooped  very  much,  and  moved  along  as  if  he  were  afflicted 
with  all  the  corns  and  bunions  that  his  toes  could  carry,  and  by  bending  his 
knees,  decreased  his  height  six  inches,  no  one  could  have  known  him. 

At  least,  so  Todd  flattered  himself. 

In  this  way  he  tottered  on  until  he  got  to  the  immediate  nighbourhood  of 
Fleet  Street.  To  be  sure,  with  all  his  coolness  and  courage,  he  could  not  help 
shaking  a  little  when  he  came  to  that  well  remembered  neighbourhood. 

"  And  I,"  he  thought  to  himself,  "  and  I  by  this  time  hoped  and  expected  to 
be  far  over  the  sea,  instead  of  being  such  a  wretch  as  I  am  now,  crawling  about, 
as  it  were,  amid  pi.  falls  and  all  sorts  of  dangers  !  Alas  !  alas!" 

He  really  shook  now,  and  it  was  quite  astonishing  how,  with  his  old  wig,  and 
his  old  gray  coat  and  his  stick,  and  his  stooping  posture,  old  and  venerable,  yes, 
positively  venerable,  Sweeny  Todd  actually  looked. 

*  Ain't  you  well,  sir  i9*  said  a  respectable  man,  stepping  up  to  him.  "  Can  I 
assist  you  ?" 

Todd  perpetrated  about  half  a  dozen  wheezing  coughs,  and  then,  no  sorry  for 
an  opportunity  of  trying  his  powers  of  imitation  of  age,  he  replied  in  a  tremulous 
voice — 

"  Ah,  sir !  Yes — old  age — old  age;  sir — cugh ! — eugh !— oh,  dear  me,  I  feel  that 
I  am  on  ray  last  legs,  and  that  they  are  on  the  shake — old  age,  sir,  will  come 
on ;  but  its  a  comfort  to  look  back  upon  a  long  life  well  spent  in  deeds  of 
charity  l" 

"Not  a  doubt  of  it,"  said  the  stranger.    "  I  was  only  afraid,  sir,  you  were 
taken  suddenly  ill,  as  you  stood  there/ 
"Oh,  no—no— eu^h!—  no.    Thank  you,  sir." 
<{  Good  evening,  sir." 

"  Good  evening,  my  good  sir.  Oh,  if  I  had  you  only  in  my  pTd  s  with  a 
razor  at  your  throat,  wouldn't  I  polish  you  off  !*  mutterredTodd,  a3  the  stranger 
left  him. 

In  the  course  of  another  minute,  Todd  was  on  the  Fleet  Street  side  of  Temple 
Bar. 

He  could  almost  see  his  old  house— that  house  in  which  he  had  passed  years 
of  deep  iniquity,  and  which  he  had  hoped,  ere  that  time,  would  have  been  a 
heap  of  ruir.s.  There  it  was,  tall,  dismal,  and  gaunt  looking.  The  clock  of  St. 
Dunstan  s  struck  eleven. 

"E'even,"  he  muttered.  "  A  good  hour.  The  streets  are  getting  deserted 
now,  and  no  one  will  know  me.  1  wiii  stoop  yet  more,  and  try  to  look  older— 
oWer  still." 

Todd  a  little  over  acted  his  part,  as  he  tottered  down  Fleet  Street,  so  that  some 
individuals  turned  to  look  after  him,  which  was  a  thing  he  certainly  did  not 
wish,  as  his  great  object  was  to  escape  all  observation  if  possibly  he  could ;  so 
he  corrected  that,  and  went  on  rather  more  strongly  ;  and  finally  he  came  exactly 
opposite  to  his  own  house,  and  getting  partially  into  a  door-way,  he  looked  long 

and  fixedly  at  it.  '  4t        .  ,  - 

What  thoughts,  at  that  time,  chased  each  other  through  the  guilty  mind  oi 

that  man,  it  is  hard  to  say  ;  but  he  stood  like  a  statue,  fixing  his  regards  upon 

the  house  for  the  space  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 
Once  only  he  clapped  his  teeth  together,  and  gave  a  sort  of  savage  growl. 
It  was  lucky  for  Todd  that  no  one  saw  him  just  then,  or  they  would  have 

bought  him  rather  an  extraordinai y  old  man.  •   


614  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


The  house  was  perfectly  dark  from  top  to  bottom.  The  shutters  of  the  shop, 
of  course,  were  all  up,  and  the  shutters  of  the  first-floor  windows  were  likewise 
closed.  The  other  windows  had  their  old  dingy  blinds  all  down ;  and,  to  all 
outward  appearance,  that  den  of  murder  was  deserted. 

But  Todd  could  not  believe  such  to  be  the  case.  In  his  own  mind,  he  felt 
fully  sure,  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  not  the  man  to  leave  the  house  without 
some  sort  of  custody ;  and  he  quite  settled  with  himself,  that  there  was  some 
one  or  more  persons  minding  it,  and,  no  doubt,  by  order,  sitting  there  in  one  of 
the  back  rooms,  so  that  no  light  should  show  in  front. 
14  Curses  on  them  all  V9  he  muttered. 

i€  Ah !  you  are  looking  at  old  Todd's  house,  sir  I"  said  a  voice. 
Todd  started ;  and  close  to  him  was  a  person  smoking  a  pipe,  and  looking  as 
jolly  as  possible. 

4i  Yes — yes,"  stammerd  Todd,  for  he  was  taken  by  surprise  rather.  "  Oh, 
yes,  sir.    I  am  amazed  at  the  great  wickedness  of  human  nature.1 ' 

"  You  may  well,  sir — you  may  well !  Lord  bless  me  !  J  never  thought  him 
a  good  looking  man,  but  I  never  thought  any  ill  of  him  neither,  and  I  have  seen 
him  lots  of  times." 

€t  Indeed,  sir?  Pray,  what  sort  of  man  was  he  ?  I  never  saw  him,  as  I  live 
in  Soho ;  and  I  am  so  much  in  years  now,  that  in  the  bustling  day-time  I  don't 
care  to  come  into  streets  like  this ;  for  you  see,  sir,  I  can't  move  about  as  I  could 
sixty  years  ago  ;  and  the  people — God  help  them — are  all  in  such  a  hurry  now, 
and  they  push  me  here  and  there  in  such  a  way,  that  my  failing  breath  and 
limbs  won't  stand  it ;  and — and — eugh ! — eugh !    Oh,  dear." 

|  u  Poor  old  gentleman !  I  don't  wonder  at  your  not  liking  the  crowds.  How 
old  may  you  be,  sir  ?" 

"  A  matter  of  eighty-nine,  sh .  It's  an  old  age  to  get  to,  but  I — I  am  younger 
than  my  brother,  yet — Ha  !  ha !  Oh  dear,  if  it  wasn't  now  for  the  rheumatism 
and  the  lumbago  and  a  pain  in  my  shoulder,  and  a  few  other  little  things,  I 
should  get  on  very  well." 

"  Not  a  doubt  of  it.  But  you  asked  me  what  Todd  was  like,  and  I'll  tell  you, 
sir.  He  was  nigh  upon  six  feet  high,  and  his  face  was  two  feet  of  it.  He  was 
just  as  ugly  as  any  one  you  would  wish  to  see  for  a  pattern  in  that  way,  and 
that's  his  house  where  he  murdered  all  the  people." 

"  Peace  be  to  their  souls  !" 
!    "  Amen !    And  there  are  underground  places  that  lead  right  away  through 
the  vaults  of  St.  Dunstan's  to  Bell-yard,  where  Mrs.  Lovett's  pie-shop  was,  you 
know,  sir." 

"  I  have  heard.  Ah,*  dear — dear,  I  have  heard.  A  very  wicked  woman, 
indeed— very  wicked ;  and  yet,  sir,  it  is  to  be  hoped  she  has  foupd  mercy  in 
another  world." 

"  There  would  need  be  plenty  of  it,"  said  the  man  with  the  pipe,  "  if  Mrs. 
Lovett  is  to  be  accommodated  with  any." 

i  "  My  friend,"  said  Todd,  "  don't  be  profane ;  and  now  I  must  go,  as  I  don't 
like  being  out  late." 

1  "And  so  must  I,  for  my  pipe's  out.  I  sjiall  turn  in,  now.  Good  night,  sir, 
and  a  pleasant  walk  home  to  you." 

!  u  Thank  you,  sir,  thank  you— eugh  !  eugh  !  I  think  if  it  were  not  for  my 
cough,  I  should  do  very  well." 

i  W$  gobbled  away>  and  the  man*  who  lived  in  Bouverie  Street,  went  home. 
Todd  had  not  got  any  real  information  from  this  man  ;  but  the  brief  conversation 
he  had  had  with  him,  had  given  him  a  sort  of  confidence  in  his  disguise,  and  in 
his  power  of  acting,  that  he  had  not  had  before,  so  that,  upon  the  whole,  he  was 
not  sorry  for  the  little  incident. 

And  now  it  was  quite  evident  that  the  streets  were  getting  very  much  deserted. 
During  the  whole  length  of  Fleet  Street  there  was  not  half  a  dozen  persons  to  be 
seen  at  all,  and  Todd,  after  casting  a  rapid  glance  around  him  to  note  if  he  were 


.4.  ..-'■^ 


PEARLS.  615 


observed,  suddenly  crossed  the  way,  and  boldly  went  up  tolhe  door  of  old  St. 
Dunstan  s  Church. 

When  j once  close  to  the  door  of  the  old  building,  he  was  so  much  in  shadow 
that  he  felt  tolerably  secure  from  observation,  but  still  he  lingered  a  little,  for  he 
did  not  want  to  do  anything  so  hastily  as  to  rob  it  of  its  caution 

With  his  back  against  the  church-door  he  glanced  right  and  left,  and  then  for 
the  space  of  five  minutes  he  bent  all  his  faculties  to  the  one  task  of  ascertain- 
ing if  any  one  was  sufficiently  near  to  watch  him,  and  he  got  perfectly  satisfied 
that  such  *as  not  the  case    He  stood  securely  against  the  old  churcLdoor. 

" So  far/' he  muttered,  "I  am  safe— quite  safe." 


CHAPTER  CXLIV. 

TODD  MAKES  HIS  WAY  INTO  HIS  OWN  HOUSE. 

When  Todd  was  satisfied  that  he  was  not  watched  or  even  observed  by  any  one, 
he  turned  and  commenced  operations  upon  the  door  of  the  church.  'The  cun- 
ning person  who  had  put  on  the  lock,  had  had  a  notion  in  his  necromantic  head, 
that  the  larger  you  made  a  lock  the  better  it  was,  and  the  less  likely  to  be 
picked ;  and  the  consequence  of  this  was,  that  Todd  found  no  difficulty  in  opening 
the  church-door. 

The  moment  he  felt  the  lock  yield  to  the  false  key  he  employed,  he  took 
another  keen  glance  around  him,  and,  seeing  no  one,  slipped  into  ,the  sacred 
edifice  and  closed  the  door  behind  him.  Feeling,  then,  up  and  down  the  door 
until  his  hand  touched  a  bolt,  he  shot  it  into  its  socket,  and  then  a  feeling  of 
great  security  took  possession  of  him,  although  the  interior  of  the  church  was 
most  profoundly  dark,  and  any  one  would  have  thought  that  such  a  man  as  Todd 
—in  such  a  place — could  hardly  have  been  free  from  some  superstitious  terrors. 
An  overbearing  selfishness,  however,  mingled  with  the  most  vengeful  and  angry 
feelings,  kept  Todd  above  all  these  sensations,  which  are  mostly  the  result  of 
vacant  mindedness. 

The  church  felt  cold,  and  the  silence  had  about  it  a  character  such  as  the 
silence  of  no  other  kind  of  place  has.  It  may  be  imagination,  but  the  silence  of  a 
church  deserted,  always  appears  to  us  to  be  a  silence  different  from  any  other,  as 
the  silence  in  a  wood  is  entirely  different  from  any  other  description  of  stillness. 

"  All  is  quiet  enough  here,"  whispered  Todd.  "I  and  the  dead  have  this 
place  to  ourselves  now,  and  so  we  have  often  had  it.  Many  a  time  have  I  waided 
about  this  building  in  the  still  hours  of  the  night,  when  all  London  slept,  and 
opened  some  little  window,  with  the  hope  of  letting  out  the  stench  from  the 
dead  bodies  before  the  morning  should  bring  people  to  the  building ;  but  it  wou  d 
not  do.  The  smell  of  decomposition  lingered  in  the  air,  and  it  is  here  still, 
though  not  so  bad.  Yes,  it  is  here  still !  I  can  smell  it  now,  and  I  know  the 
odour  well."  I 

Todd  was  sufficiently  familiar  with  St.  Dunstan's  church  almost  to  go  over 
J  even  at  that  hour,  and  amid  that  darkness,  without  running  against  any- 
mng;  but  yet  he  was  very  careful  as  he  went,  and  kept  his  arms  outstretched 
f   m  ^^m'        dreaded  to  get  a  light,  although  he  had  the  means  of  doing  so, 
or  Mr.  Lupin  had,  at  his  request,  given  him  some  of  the  matches  and  little 
wax-candle-ends  that  the  pious  lady  had  supplied  him  with.  ^  Yet  Todd  knew 
ow  small  a  light  would  suffice  to  shine  through  some  of  the  richly  stained  glass 
P  0Ws  of  the  church,  and  therefore  he  dreaded  to  give  himself  a  light.  j 
I e  ^  confident  that  he  should  have  no  sort  of  difficulty  in  getting  into  the 
coin       *n  conse(luence  of  recent  events  the  stone  that  covered  up  the  entrance 
cie  f  n0t  ^e  ^ast'  anc*  ^e  knew  from  past  experience  that  his  strength  was  suffi- 
C/Jf to  raise  it  if  hu  once  got  hold  of  it,  and  if  it  were  not  fastened  down  by 
eut'  which,  no  doubt,  was  not  the  case  now.  j 


I 


"  I  shall  yet  get,"  he  said,  "  into  my  old  house.  The  time  has  been  rather 
short,  and  the  goods  there  deposited  by  me  in  old  times  may  there  remain  ;  and 
il  so,  I  will  carry  away  enough  with  me  to  keep  me  far  above  the  necessities  of 
life,  and  when  once  I  have  achieved  that  much,  I  will  from  some  obscure  place 
meditate  upon  my  revenge/' 

In  the  course  of  about  ten  minutes  he  found  the  flat  stone  that  led  into  the 
vaults,  and  to  his  satisfaction  he  found  that  it  was  merely  laid  crosswise  oyer  the 
aperture,  in  order  to  prevent  any  one  in  day  time  from  heedlessly  tumbling  in, 
but  at  night  it  was  not,  of  course,  expected  that  any  one  would  be  there  to  fall 
into  such  a  danger. 

With  one  effort  Todd  removed  it. 

'*  Good,"  he  said.  "  Now  I  can  make  my  way,  and  once  below  the  level  of 
the  floor  of  the  church,  there  will  be  no  danger  in  at  once  accommodating  my- 
self with  a  light,  which  will  be  useful  enough  in  the  vaults." 

Getting  upon  his  hands  and  knees  now,  Todd,  for  fear  of  a  fall  down  the 
stone  steps,  cautiously  got  down  the  first  few  of  them,  and  then  he  paused  to 
light  one  of  the  bits  of  taper  with  which  he  was  provided.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  moments  the  tiny  flame  was  clear  and  bright,  and  shading  it  with  his  hand, 
Todd  carefully  descended  the  remainder  of  the  stairs. 

How  still  everything  was  in  those  vaults  of  old  St.  Dunstan's.  Were  there 
no  spirits  from  another  world — spirits  of  the  murdered,  to  flit  in  horrible  palpa- 
bility before  the  eyes  of  that  man  who  had  cut  short  their  thread  of  life  ?  Surely 
if  ever  a  visitant  from  another  world  could  have  been  expected,  it  would  have 
been  to  appear  to  Todd  to  convince  him  that  there  was  more  beyond  the  grave 
than  a  forgotten  name  and  a  mouldering  skeleton. 

When  he  reached  the  foot  of  the  stairs  and  was  satisfied  that  the  little  light 
was  burning  well,  he  h^ld  it  up  above  his  head  and  bent  a  keen  glance  around 
bim. 

i 

"Ha  !  ha!"  he  laughed,  (f  so  they  have  heen  doing  their  best — poor  fools  as 
they  are  to  meddle  with  such  rubbish — to  rid  the  family  vaults  of  some  of  the 
new  tenants  that  I  took  occasion  to  introduce  into  them.  Well,  let  them,  let 
them  !    I  did  play  a  little  havoc  with  the  gentility  of  the  dead,  I  must  admit  P1 

With  this  highly  jocose  remark,  Todd  passed  on,  taking  a  route  well  known 
to  him,  which  would  conduct  him  to  the  cellar  that  it  will  be  recollected  was 
immediately  underneath  his  shop.  It  was  from  this  that  he  hoped  to  get  into 
the  house. 

b  It  took  Todd  much  less  time  than  it  wouM  have  taken  any  one  else  to  make 
his  way  to  that  cellar ;  but  then  no  one  was  or  could  be  so  well  acquainted  with 
all  the  windings  and  turnings  of  the  excavation  that  led  to  it  as  he,  and  finally 
he  reached  it,  just  as  he  found  the  necessity  of  lighting  up  another  little  piece 
of  wax  candle,  as  tke  one  he  had  already  lit  had  burnt  right  to  his  hand.  He 
found  apiece  of  wood,  into  which  he  stuck  the  new  one  securely,  so  that  it 
was  much  handier  to  hold. 

Todd  now  felt  the  absolute  necessity  of  being  much  more  cautious  than  before, 
for  he  did  know  who  might  be  in  the  shop  above,  and  he  did  know  that  a  very 
small  sound  below  would  make  itself  heard.  Holding  up  the  light,  he  saw  that 
his  nice  little  mechanical!  arrangement  regarding  the  two  chairs,  remained  just 
as  it  had  been  as  he  used  to  use  it. 

"  Ah!"  he  cried,  " it  will  be  some  time  in  London  again  before  people  will 
sit  down  in  a  barber's  chair  with  anything  like  confidence,  particularly  if  it  should 
chance  to  be  a  fixture.  Ha 

Todd  was  getting  quite  merry  now.  The  sight  of  the  old  familiar  objects  of 
that  place  had  certainly  raised  his  spirits  very  considerably,  and  no  doubt  the 
brandy  had  helped  a  little.  Setting  the  light  down  in  a  corner  of  the  cellar,  he 
placed  himself  in  an  attitude  of  intense  listening,  which  he  kept  up  far  about  five 
minutes,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  gave  a  nod,  and  muttered— 

"There  maybe  some  one  in  the  parlour— that  I  will  not  pretend  to  say  no  to; 


THE  STRING  Of  PEARLS. 


but  the  shop  is  free  of  human  occupants.  And  now  for  the  means  of  getting  into 
it.   If  anybody  can,  I  can,  and  that  with  tolerable  ease,  too." 

The  apparatus  by  which  Todd  had  been  in  the  habit  of  letting  down  his  cus- 
tomers, consisted  of  a  slight  system  of  lever,  which  he  could  move  from  the 
parlour,  but  provided  he  could  reach  so  high,  he  could  just  as  easily  release  the 


ft!"'.      .tiifJii  / 

,<m\\\  i  m  "Mi 


TODD  SETS  FIRE  TO  HIS  HOUSE,  THEN  HIDES  HIMSELF  IN  ST.  DTTNSTAN's  PULPIT. 


loose  plank  fiom  where  he  was  ;  in  which  case  the  chair  that  was  above  would. 
Jave  a  preponderating  influence,  as  that  was  on  the  heaviest  arm  ot  tne  plans: 
from  the  centre  upon  which  it  turned.  ,      ,.       ,  . 

,  "I  caa  manage  that,"  he  said  ;  and  then  taking  the  knife  from  his  pocket . he 
found  that  by  its  aid  he  could  just  reach  high  enough  to  touch  *e  km  ttot 
acted  as  a  kind  of  bolt  to  keep  the  plank  in  its  place.   The  momenUiej^noved 

No.  78. 


Tr 


618  *HE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


that  bolt  the  plank  slowly  moved,  and  then  Todd  caught  the  end  of  it  in  his 
hand,  and  pulled  it  right  down,  so  that  it  assumed  a  perpendicular  aspect  com* 
pletely.  Holding  then  the  piece  of  wood  to  which  he  had  attached  the  wax 
light  in  his  mouth,  he  climbed  carefully  and-  noiselessly  up  into  his  old  shop  ; 
and  when  there  he  replaced  the  plank,  and  on  the  end  of  the  board  which  was  the 
counterpoise  to  the  chair,  he  placed  a  weight,  which  he  knew  where  to  lay  his 
hands  upon,  and  which  kept  the  chair  in  its  place,  although  a  very  little  would 
have  overcome  the  counterpoise,  and  sent  it  down  to  the  cellar  below. 

Todd  extinguished  his  light,  and  the  moment  he  did  so,  he  saw  a  very  faint 
illumination  coming  from  the  parlour  through  a  portion  of  the  door,  into  which 
a  square  of  glass  was  let  in,  and  through  which  he,  Todd,  used  to  glare  at  poor 
Tobias. 

The  sound  of  voices,  too,  came  upon  his  ears,  and  he  laid  himself  flat  down  on 
the  floor,  close  to  the  wall,  under  a  kind  of  bench  that  ran  along  it  for  a  consi- 
derable distance. 

*' I  am  certain  I  heard  something/' said  a  voice,  and  then  the  parlour- door 
was  opened,  and  a  broad  flash  of  light  came  into  the  shop.  l  am  quite  sure 
I  heard  an  odd  noise." 

"  Oh,  nonsense/'  sa?d  some  one  else.  "Nonsense." 

"  But  I  did,  I  tell  you." 

"  Yes,  you  fancied  it  half-an-hour  ago,  and  it  turned  out  to  be  nothing  at  all. 
Lord  bless  you,  if  I  were  to  go  on  fancying  things  cut  of  what  I  have  heard 
since  I  have  been  in  this  house,  minding  it  for  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  I  should  have 
been  out  of  my  mind  long  before  this,  1  can  tell  you." 

*'  But  it  was  very  odd." 

Well,  the  shop'  is  not  so  large;  you  can  soon  see  if  Todd  is  in  it.  Ha ! 
ha!  ha!" 

*'  No,  no,  I  don't  expect  to  see  Todd  there  exactly,  I  confess  ;  it  would  not  be 
a  very  likely  place  in  which  to  find  him/' 
"  Well,  is  there  anything  now  1* 

"  No— no.  It  all  seems  much  as  usual,  and  yet  I  thought  I  did  hear  a  noise; 
but  I  suppose  it  was  nothing,  or  a  rat,  perhaps,  for  there  are  lots,  they  say, 
below.  It  might  have  been  a  rat.  I  did  not  think  of  that  before,  and  I  feel  all 
the  easier  now  at  the  idea." 

*'  Then,  come  and  finish  our  game/' 

"  Very  good— all's  right.  You  make  a  little  drop  of  brandy-and-water,  and 
we  will  just  have  this  game  out  before  we  go  to  rest,  for  I  am  getting  tired  and 
it  s  late." 

"  Not  quite  twelve  yet." 

"  Ain't  it  ?   There  it  goes  by  St.  Dunstan's  clock." 

Todd  counted  the  strokes  of  the  clock,  and  by  the  time  they  ceased  to  rever- 
berate in  the  night  air,  the  man  who  most  unquestionably  had  heard  a  noise  in 
the  shop,  had  gone  into  the  parlour  again,  half  satisfied  that  it  was  a  rat,  and  sat 
down  to  the  game  at  cards  that  had  been  interrupted. 

These  were  two  men  that  had  been  put  into  the  house  to  mind  it,  until  the 
authorities  should  determine  what  to  do  with  it,  by  Sir  Richard  Blunt.  They 
were  not  officers  of  any  skill  or  repute,  although  they  were  both  constables ;  but 
then  bar  Richard  did  not  consider  that  anything  in  the  shape  of  great  intelligence 
was  required  in  merely  taking  care  of  an  empty  house— for  the  idea  of  Todd  ever 

ffi^b^rs^t^17  been  one  that  did  not  even  enter  the 

^'^^^S^ heard  one  of  them  ^ " but  y°u  S°  on'  Whlle  1  mix 

thl'  benP^  !-WwT»dJ°,dd'  aS  he  gathered  UP  his*aunt  form  from  under 
the  bench.      Indeed!  So  there  are  two  of  you,  are  there  >  Well  if  there  is  an 

other  world,  you  can  keep  each  other  company  on  your  road  to  iV  forT  am  not 

youKr  ^  stand  in  the  way  &  my  p/ojects.    No— no,  I  shall  yet 
polish  off  somebody  m  my  old  place,  and  it  is  a  pleasure  that  it  should  be  two 


friends^TthaTmati  Blunt,  whom  I  so  hate,  that  I  have  no  words  in  which  to 
express  it  I 

Todd  crept  up  to  the  parlour  door  with  the  long  knife  in  his  hand  that  he 
had  bought  at  the  cutler  s  in  Camden  Town,  and  putting  his  eyes  close  to  the 
pane  of  glass  in  the  door,  he  looked  in  at  the  two  men. 

They  really  seemed  to  be  quite  comfortable,  those  two  men.  A  bright  fire 
was  burning  in  the  grate,  and  a  kettle  was  singing  away  upon  the  hob  at  a  great 
rate.  A  pack  of  cards,  some  pipes,  and  some  glasses,  were  upon  the  table  that 
they  had  dragged  up  close  to  the  fire-side  ;  and  they  were,  take  them  altogether, 
about  as  comfortable  as  anybody  could  well  expect  to  be  in  that  gloomy  parlour 
of  Todd's,  at  his  house  of  murder  in  Fleet  Street. 

They  were  stout  strong  men  though,  and  as  Todd  looked,  he  thought  to  him- 
self, that  with  all  his  strength,  and  with  all  his  desperate  fighting  for  life,  as  he 
would  do,  it  was  not  a  desirable  thing  for  him  to  come  into  personal  contact 
with  them. 

"  Cunning/'  he  muttered,  ci  will  do  more  than  strength.  I  must  bide  my 
time— but  I  will  kill  them  both  if  they  are  in  my  way,  and  that  ihey  will  be,  is 
nearly  past  a  doubt  !" 

"There/'  said  the  man  who  was  mixing  the  brandy-and-water,  t*  there,  you 
will  find  that  a  stiff  comfortable  glass  ;  lots  of  brandy,  and  lots  of  sugar,  and 
only  water  enough  to  make  it  hot  and  steamy." 

"  You  know  how  to  mix,  Bill,"  said  the  other,  as  he  took  a  drop  and  then 
was  obliged  to  cough  and  wink  again,  it  was  so  strong  and  hot. 

V  Ah  V3  thought  Todd,  "  if  it  would  only  choke  you  !" 

The  other  man  then  took  his  drink  at  the  brarjdy,  and  he  too  coughed  and 
winked,  and  then  they  both  laughed  and  declared  how  precious  strong  it  was, 
and  one  of  them  said— - 

u  The  fun  of  it  is,  that  it  was  old  Todd's  ;  and  when  he  laid  in  such  good 
stuff  as  this,  he  little  thought  that  we  would  be  enjoying  it.  I  wonder  where 
he  is?" 

"  Oh,  he's  far  enough  off  by  this  time,  poking  about  at  some  of  the  sea-ports 
to  try  to  get  away,  you  may  depend.5' 

"  Is  he,"  muttered  Todd ;  <;  you  will  find,  my  kind  friend,  that  I  am  near 
enough  to  cut  your  throat,  I  hope.'* 


CHAPTER  CXLV. 

TODD  HAS  A  NARROW  ESCAPE,  AND  HAS  A  BIT  OF  REVENGE. 

It  was  quite  a  provoking  thing,  and  gall  and  wormwood  to  Todd  in  a  manner 
of  speaking,  to  see  those  two  boisterous  men  enjoying  themselves  in  his  parlour. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  in  the  world,  but  that  if  he  had  had  the  means  then 
and  there  to  do  so,  he  would  have  hurled  destruction  upon  them  feoth  forthwith  ; 
but  he  could  onlv  look  at  them  now,  and  wait  for  a  better  opportunity. 

The  fact  was,  'that  now,  for  the  first  time,  Todd  found  that  the  architecture  of 
Ins  ola  piaCe  of  residence  M  $  %  far  from  being  of  the  most  convenient  order  ; 
inasmuch  as  you  could  not  n  &  <*  the  staircase  leading  to  the  upper  part  of  the 
residence,  without  going  thiougu  the  parlour  ;  so  that  he  was  a  prisoner  in  the 
shop. 

"  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Bill,"  said  one  of  the  men,  assuming  quite  a  philoso- 
phical look.  «  That  fellow,  Todd,  as  used  to  live  here,  after  all,  was  some  use 
to  society/' 

"Was  he?" 

V  Yes,  to  be  sure.    Can't  you  guess?"  l       ,  >  n 

"Not  I.  I  can't  see  what  use  a  fellow  can  be  to  soc  ety  who  cuts  folks 
throats/' 


i 


"  Can't  you  ? 
"  No,  nor  you  neither,  if  you  come  to  that." 

'  Yes  I  can.  Don't  it  make  folks  careful  of  going  into  a  strange  barber's  shop, 
let  me  ask  you  that  ?" 

"  Oh,  you  idiot.  That's  always  the  way  with  you.  You  begins  with  looking 
as  wise  as  an  owl  as  has  found  out  something  wonderful,  and  then  when  one 
comes  to  find  out  what  it  is,  it's  just  nothing  at  all  to  nobody.  I  tell  you  what 
it  is,  old  fellow,  it  strikes  me  you  are  getting  a  drop  too  much." 

"No — no  ;  but  I  have  got  something  on  my  mind." 

"  It  stands  on  a  very  small  place,  then.    What  is  it  P 

"Just  you  listen  and  I'll  tell  you.  I  did  think  of  not  saying  anything  about 
it,  because  you  see  I  thought,  that  is  to  say,  I  was  afraid  if  I  did,  you  would  go 
off  at  once." 

"Off?  Off?" 

"I  don't  mean  dead — I  mean  out  of  this  place,  that's  all,  not  out  of  this 
world;  but  now  I  feel  as  if  I  ought  to  tell  you  all  about  it,  you  know,  and  then 
you  can  judge  for  yourself.  You  know  you  slept  here  last  night  on  that  large 
sofa  in  the  corner?" 

"  Yes,  in  course." 

"  Very  good ;  you  had  had  what  one  may  call  just  the  other  drop  you  know, 
and  so  " 

"No  I  hadn't,  but  you  had.  I  recollect  quite  well  you  dropped  your  light, 
and  had  no  end  of  trouble  to  get  it  lighted  again,  and  kept  knocking'  vour  head 
against  the  mantel-shelf  and  saying  'Don't'  as  if  somebody  was*  doing  it 
to  you." 

"  Go  along  with  you.  Will  you  listen,  or  won't  you,  while  I  tell  the  horrid 
anecdote  ?" 

"  Horrid,  is  it  ?" 

"  Above  a  bit.  It's  enough  to  make  all  your  hair  stand  on  end,  like  quills  on 
a  guinea  hen,  as  the  man  says  in  the  play ;  and  I  expect  you'll  dream  of  it  all 
night  ;  so  here  goes,  and  don't  you  interrupt  me  any  more,  now." 

"  Go  on.   I  won't." 

"  Wel1'  y°u  kn°w  we  had  a  pretty  good  fire  here,  as  we  have  now  ;  and  as 
twelve  o'clock  went  ding-dong  by  old  St.  Dunstan's,  we  thought  it  was  time  to 
have  some  sleep,  and  you  lay  down  on  the  sofa,  saying  as  you  could  see  by  the 
fire  light,  while  I  took  the  candle  to  go  up  stairs  to  bed  with,  you  know— old 
Todd  s  bed,  1  suppose  it  is,  on. the  second-floor,  and  rather  damp  and  thin,  you 
know."  J 

"  Goodness,  gracious !  tell  me  something  I  don't  know,  will  you  ?  Do  vou 
want  to  drive  a  fellow  out  of  his  mind  V 

"  Weil— well,  don't  be  hasty !    I'm  getting  on.    I  took  the  light,  and  shading 
jtj  with  one  hand,  for  there's  always  a  furious  draught  upon  the  stairs  of  this 
house  j  up  I  went  thinking  of  nothing  at  all.    Well,  in  course,  I  had  to  pass 
the  nrst-floor,  which  is  shut  up,  you  know,  and  has  all  sorts  of  things  in  it." 
Yes ;  go  on— go  on  1"  6 

"  Is  it  interesting  ?" 

"Ml?  I        Y°u  K  °n>l  rU  W- rrant  now  it,s  a  Shost  y°u  are  cominS  to." 
see  wW  TJ\  , nt°n  t  £er5Plta?'  and  y°«  shall  hear  all  about  it.    Let  me 
of nSw^TJ  Zi K  °S  tliQ  first-fl0°r  lading :  But,  as  I  say,  1  was  thinking 

front°roomS  of  tt'  *  1  ^  »  V^  °dd  kind  °f  noise  in  ^ 

u  IridTdnT  d\t ?  ^  5erdl0ILg  d°Wn  Stairs  With  friSht>  ca*dle  and  all." 
No,  I  didn  t.    It  sounded  hke  the  murmur  of  people  talking  a  long  way  off. 
Then  I  began  to  think  it  must  be  in  the  next  house  ;  and  I  thoSeh  of  gofng  up 

econd  floo/S  Zfi&lil  ^  !Vnd  W  ^  ">  two  0r  ^ee^Z'Z 

vcu ?know  thSr^Mni  i  ?  V  aDd  h  g0t  SUch  a  bold  of  my  ^ind,  do 
you  know,  that  !  couldn  t  leave  it,  but  down  I  went  again,  and  listened  I 
thought  of  coming  to  you  j  but,  somehow,  I  didn't  do  so  "  listened.  I 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  621 

-■—-«»-  - .      ,        i   '  ,   

"  Now,  go  on !"  "     ~       ~       :-  .  _ _____ 

"Well,  after  listening  with  my  ear  against  the  door  for  some  time,  I  was  cer- 
tain that  the  sound  was  m  the  room  ;  and  I  don't  know  how  I  screwed  up  courage 
enough  to  open  the  door  very  gently,  and  look  in  P  8 
"You  did?" 

« I  did  ;  and  the  very  moment  I  did  so,  out  went  the  light  as  clean  as  if  vou 
d  taken  vour  fingers  and  snuffed  t  nnf  •  h„f  °  *i   :  ^ 


sible. 
a  Well— well  ?" 

«  The  room  was  crammed  full  of  people,  all  dressed,  and  looking  at  each 
other;  and  some  of  them  were  speaking;  and  upon  all  their  clothes  and  faces 
there  was  blood,  sometimes  more,  and  sometimes  less  ;  and  all  their  eves  looked 
like  the  eyes  of  the  dead;  and  then  one  voice  more  loud  than  the  rest  said— 
4 All  murdered  !— All  murdered  by  Todd!  The  Lord  have  mercv  upon  his 
soul!'" 

"  Oh,  gracious  !    What  did  you  do  ?* 

"  I  felt  as  if  my  breath  was  going  from  me,  and  my  heart  kept  swelling  and 
swelling  till  1  thought  it  would  burst,  and  then  I  dropped  the  candle;  and  the 
next  time  I  come  to  my  senses,  I  found  myself  lying  on  the  bed  in  the  second 
floor,  with  all  my  clothes  on  l* 

"You  dreamt  it  ?" 

"Oh,  no— -no.    It's  no  use  telling  me  that.    I  only  wish  I  thought  so, 
that's  all." 
"  But,  I  tell  you,  you  did." 

4<  You  may  tell  me  as  much  as  you  like  ;  but  in  the  morning  when  I  came 
down,  there  was  the  candle  on  the  first-floor  landing,  just  as  I  had  dropped  it. 
What  do  you  think  of  that  ?  Of  course,  after  I  drew  out  my  head  again  from 
the  first-floor  front  room  I  must  have  gone  up  stairs  in  the  middle  of  my  fright, 
and  I  dare  say  I  fainted  away,  and  didn't  come  to  myself  again  till  the 
morning."  *  i 

"  Oh,  stuff  !    Don't  try  to  make  me  believe  in  your  ghost  stories.    If— if  I 
thought  it  was  true,  I  should  bolt  out  of  the  house  this  minute." 
w  You  would,  really  ?" 

"Yes,  to  be  sure  ;|  is"  a  fellow  to  stay  in  a  place  with  his  hair  continually 
standing  on  end,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  Hardly.  But  it's  all  stuff.  Take 
another  drop  of  brandy !  Now  I  tell  you  what,  if  you  have  the  courage  to  go 
with  me,  I  will  take  the  light  now  and  go  up  to  the  first-floor,  and  have  a  good 
look  all  about  it !    W  hat  do  you  say  to  that,  now  ?   Will  you  do  it  ?" 

"  I  don't  much  mind." 

"  Only  say  the  word,  and  I  am  quite  ready." 

w  Well,  I  will.  If  so  be  they  are  there,  they  won't  do  us  any  harm,  for  they 
took  no  more  notice  of  me  than  as  if  I  had  been  nothing  at  all.  But  how  you 
do  shake  !* 

"I  shake  ?  You  never  were  more  mistaken  in  all  your  life.  It's  you  that's 
shaking,  and  that  makes  you  think  I  am.  You  are  shaking,  if  you  please  ;  and 
if  you  don't  like  the  job  of  going  up  stairs,  only  say  so  ;  i  won't  press  it  upon 
you!*' 

"  Oh,  PB  go." 

"You  are  sure  of  it,  now  ?  You  don't  think  it  will  make  you  ill  ?  because  I 
shouldn't  like  that.  Come  now,  only  say  at  once  that  you  would  rather  not  go, 
and  there's  an  end  to  it 

"  Yes,  but  I  rather  would." 

"Come  on,  then — come  on.  Courage,  my  friend,  courage.  Look  at  me,  and 
be  courageous.  You  don't  see  me  shivering  and  shaking  and  shrinking.  Keep 
UP  your  heart,  and  come  on  V9 

You  wretches,"  muttered  Todd.   u  It  shall  go  hard  with  me,  now,  but  I 


m  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


i 


will  play  you  some  trick  that  shall  go  right  to  drive  you  out  of  your  shallow 
wits.    Go  I  It  is  the  very  thing  I  would,  of  all  others,  have  wished  you  to  do." 
lt  was  quite  clear  that  the  man  who  had  proposed  going  up  stairs  to  explore 
J  the  first-floor,  was  much  the  more  alarmed  of  the  two  ;  and  now  that  he  had 
*  made  the  proposal,  he  would  gladly  have  seized  upon  any  excuse  for  backing  out 
of  it,  short  of  actually  confessing  that  his  tears  had  got  the  better  of  him.  No 
doubt  he  had  been  greatly  in  hopes  that  his  companion,  who  had  told  the  ghost 
story,  would  have  shrunk  from  such  an  ordeal;  but  as  he  did  not  do  so,  there 
was  no  resource  but  to  carry  it  out  or  confess  that  it  was  but  a  piece  of  bragga- 
docia,  which  he  wanted  the  firmness  to  carry  out.    He  strove  now  to  talk  him- 
self out  of  his  fears. 

"  Come  on— come  on  !   Ghosts,  indeed  !  There  are  no  such  things,  of  course, 
as  any  reasonable  man  knows  ;  and  if  there  are,  why,  what  harm  can  they  do  us  ? 
I  say,  what  harm  can  they  do  us  ¥' 
«  I  don't  know  V 

"  You  don't  know  ?  No,  nor  nobody  else  !  Come  on,  I  say.  Of  course 
providence  is  providence,  and  if  there  are  ghosts,  I  respect  them  very  much- 
very  much  indeed,  and  would  do  anything  in  the  world  to  oblige  them  !" 

The  valiant  proposer  of  the  experimental  trip  to  the  first  floor-uttered  these 
last  sentences  in  a  loud  voice,  no  doubt  with  the  hope  that  if  any  ot  the  ghostly 
company  of  the  first-floor  were  within  hearing,  they  would  be  so  good  as  to  report 
the  same  to  their  friends,  so  that  he  might  make  his  way  there  with  quite  a  good 
understanding. 

They  trimmed  the  candle  now  ;  and  having  each  of  them  fortified  himself  with 
a  glass  of  brandy  that  Todd  had  laid  in  for  his  own  consumption,  they  commenced 
their  exploit  by  leaving  the  parlour  and  slowly  ascending  the  staircase  that  led 
to  the  upper  portion  of  the  house. 

Of  course,  Todd  knew  well  the  capabilities  of  that  house,  and  long  before  the 
two  men  had  actually  left  the  parlour  he  had  made  up  his  mind  what  to  do. 
The  door  of  communication  between  the  shop  and  the  parlour  was  not  fastened, 
so  that  he  could  on  open  at  the  moment ;  and  when  the  men  left  that  latter  room 
he  at  once  entered  it.  Todd's  first  movement,  then,  was  to  supply  himself 
with  a  good  dose  of  his  own  brandy,  which  he  took  direct  from  the  bottle  to 
save  time. 

"  Ah  V  he  whispered,  drawing  a  long  breath  after  the  draught,  "  I  feel  myself 
again,  now  V9 

In  order  to  carry  out  his  plan,  he  knew  that  he  had  no  time  to  spare  ;  for  he 
did  not  doubt  but  that  the  two  men  wouid  make  their  visit  as  short  as  possible 
to  the  first-floor  ;  so— with  cautious  but  rapid  footsteps — he  slipped  into  the 
passage  and  at  once  commenced  the  assent  of  the  staircase  after  them.  The  light 
they  carried  guided  him  very  well.  Bow  little  they  imagined  that  any  of  its 
beams  shone  upon  the  diabolical  face  of  Sweeney  Todd  I  ! 

"  Can't  you  come  on  ?"  said  one  of  the  men  to  the  other.  "  Damme,  how  you ! 
do  lag  behind,  to  be  sure.    Any  one  would  think  you  were  afraid." 
H  Afraid  ?    Me  afraid  !  that  is  a  good  joke." 
"  Well,  come  quicker,  then.'' 

'*  You  will  both  of  you,"  thought  Todd,  "  come  down  a  little  quicker,  or  I 
am  very  much  mistaken  indeed.1 ' 

The  distance  was  short,  and  the  landing  of  the  first  floor  was  soon  gained  by 
the  men.  He  who  had  seen,  or  dreamed  that  he  had  seen,  the  strange  sight  in 
the  room  upon  a  former  occasion,  was  decidedly  the  most  courageous  of  the  two. 
Perhaps,  after  all,  he  was  the  least  imaginative. 

*  I  think  you  said  it  was  the  front  room  ?"  said  the  other. 
"  Oh,  yes,  I  heard  not  a  sound  in  the  back  one.    Here's  the  door.    You  hold 
the  light  while  I  listen  a  little. 99 

M  Yes — I — I'll  hold  it.  Keep  up  your  courage,  and  don't  shake  now.  Oh, 
what  a  coward  you  are ! 

*'  Well,  that's  a  good  one.  You  are  shaking  so  yourself  that  you  will  have  thf 


THE  STRING  OF  PijARLs!  62S 


light  out,  if  you  don't  mind.  Do  try  and~b^71irtle~ste^d7^hh  it-  and  vmr 
teeth  chatter  so  m  your  head,  that  they  are  for  all  the  world  like  a  set  of  las- 
tanets 


anytmn  ;  uut  i  ™ve  ™e  greatest  respect  for  ghosts,  I  have.  I  never" "say ^ne 
word  against  the  dead— God  bless  'em  all  P  y 

Whi'e  this  man  held  the  light-or  rather  waived  it  to  and  fro  in  his  agitation 
-the  other,  with  his  ear  placed  flat  against  the  panel  of  the  door  l^Jd  »«T 
tively.   All  was  perfectly  still  in  the  -  first-floor,  and  h! ?  said- 
"  Perhaps  they  haven't  begun  yet,  you  know." 
"  Perhaps  not ; — shall  we  go  away,  now  ?" 

«  Oh,  no-~no.    There's  no  end  of  curious  things  in  the  room ;  and  now  that 

7Jd.  ^mtTmey  "*  ^  *  I*1?  l0°k  ab°Ut  US'    Do»  *  be 

I O^1"1        exac«y  afraid,  only,  you  see,  I  don't  see  much  the  use  of 
going  in,  and-and,  you  know,  we  have  already  heard  an  odd  noise  in  the  shoo 
to-night/*  ur' 

"  But  that  was  nothing,  for  I  looked,  you  know." 

<<  Yes-yes,-but-but  Pm  afraid  the  fire  will  go  out  below,  do  you  know  " 
Let  it  go,  then.    If  you  are  too  much  of  a  coward  to  come  with  me  into 
this  room,  say  so  at  once,  and  you  can  go  down  stairs  while  I  have  a  look  at  it 

myself ^  ^  °andle'  thouSh>  for  {t  is  no  use  ™Y  going  in  by 

"What!  do  you  expect  me  to  go  in  the  dark?  Oh. dear,  no,  I  could  not  do 
that ;  open  the  door,  and  I  will  follow  you  in  ;  I  ain't  a  bit  afraid,  only,  you  see, 
I  feel  very  much  interested,  that's  all.*  * 

"  Oh,  well,  that's  quite  another  thing.' 9 

With  this,  the  most  courageous  of  the  two  men  opened  the  door  of  the  front 
room  on  the  first-floor,  and  peeped  into  it. 

"  Alls  right/'  he  said.  u  There  ain't  so  much  as  a  mouse  stirring.  Come  on  P? 

Highly  encouraged  by  this  announcement,  the  other  followed  him ;  and  they 
allowed  the  door  to  creak  nearly  shut  after  them. 

While  this  hesitation  upon  the  stairs  was  going  on,  Todd  had  been  about  half 
way  up  from  the  passage,  crouching  down  for  fear  they  should  by  chance  look 
that  way,  and  see  him ;  but  when  he  found  that  they  had  fairly  gone  into  the 
front  room,  he  made  as  much  speed  to  the  top  of  the  stairs  as  was  consistent 
with  extreme  caution,  and  laying  his  hand  upon  the  handle  of  the  lock  of  the  door 
of  the  back  room  on  that  floor,  he  noiselessly  turned  it,  and  the  door  at  once 
yielding,  he  glided  in. 

The  two  rooms  communicated  with  each  other  by  a  pair  of  folding-doors,  and 
the  light  tha!  e  men  carried  sent  some  beams  through  the  ill-fitting  j action  of 
the  two,  so  that  Tood  could  see  very  well  about  him. 


CHAPTER  CXLVL 

THERE  IS  A  FIRE  IN  FLEET  STREET  AFTER  ALL.— TODD  ESCAPES. 

When  once  he  had  gained  that  back  room,  Todd  considered  that  his  design 
against  the  peace  of  mind  of  the  two  men  was  all  but  accomplished  ;  and  it  was 
with  great  difficulty  that  he  kept  himself  from  giving  a  hideous  chuckle,  that 
would  at  once  have  opened  their  ears  to  the  fact  that  some  one  was  close  at  hand, 
who,  whether  of  this  wot  Id  or  the  next,  was  a  proficient  in  horrid  noises. 

He  controlled  this  ebullition  of  ill-timed  mirth,  however,  and  listened 
attentively. 

f<  "  There  don't  seem  much  else  beside  lots  of  clothes,"  said  one  of  the  men, 
and  hats,  and  sticks,  and  umbrellas." 


m  $HE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


""""Ah!"  saioftheother,  "  and  they  all  belong  to  the  murdered  men  that  Todd 
cut  up  to  make  pies  of!" 

"  Horrible  !— horrible  !"  ,  ,  u 

«  You  may  say  that,  old  friend.    It's  only  a  great  pity  that  Sir  Rich  ard  has 
so  expressly  forbid  anything  to  be  touched  in  the  old  crib,  or  else  there 's  some 
nice  enough  things  here,  1  should  say,  that  would  make  a  fellow  warm  and 
comfortable  in  the  winter  nights."  e 
"  Not  a  doubt  of  that.    Here's  a  cloak,  now  V* 

"  A  beauty— quite  a  beauty,  I  say.  He  can't  know  what  is  really  here.  Do 
you  think  he  can?" 

"  What,  Sir  Richard  V*  _  _ 

u  Yes." 

"  Oh,  don't  he.  I  wouldn't  venture  to  touch  so  much  as  an  old  hat  here,  for 
I  should  feel,  as  sure  as  fate,  he'd  find  it  out." 

**  Oh,  nonsense,  he  couldn't ;  and  as  for  the  ghosts,  they  don  t  seem  at  all 
likely  to  interfere  in  the  matter,  for  there's  not  one  of  them  to  be  seen  or  heard 

of  to-night."  s 
No,  I  defy  the  ghosts— a- hem !   I  begin  to  think,  do  you  know,  that  ghosi 


said  '  yes,'  I'd  say, '  well,  old  fellow,  it's  of  no  use  to  you  now,  you  know  ;  will 

you  give  it  to  me  ?'  " 

"  Ha !— ha  !    Capital !    Why  you  have  quite  got  over  all  your  fears. 

"  Fears  %  Rubbish  !  I  was  only  amusing  myself  to  hear  what  you  would 
say. 

"  Was  you,  though  ?   Only  acting,  after  all  V 
"  Precisely." 

"  Well,  then,  I  must  say  you  did  it  remarkably  well,  and  if  you  take  to  the 
stage  you  will  make  your  fortune  Oh,  here's  a  nice  brown  suit  now,  that  would 
be  just  my  size*  I  should  feel  inclined  to  say  to  the  ghosts  what  you  would 
say  about  the  cloak/' 

"  Well,  lets  say  it,  and  if  nobody  says  anything  to  the  contrary,  we  will  take 
it  for  granted.  I  will  take  the  cloak,  and  you  the  brown  suit;  Sir  Richard  will 
be  none  the  wiser,  and  we  shall  be  a  little  the  richer,  you  know.  '  Mr.  Ghost, 
may  1  have  this  cloak,  if  you  please,  as  you  can't  possibly  want  it  t " 

'''Upon  my  life  you  are  a  funny  fellow,"  said  the  other;  and  then  holding  up 
the  brown  suit,  he  said,  "Mr.  Ghost  who  once  owned  this,  may  I  have  this 
brown  suit,  as  it  is  of  no  use  to  you  now  V9 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  Todd  dashed  open  the  two  folding  doDrs,  and  with 
one  of  the  most  frightful  fiendish  yells  that  ever  came  from  the  throat  of  man, 
he  made  one  bound  into  the  front  room. 

The  effect  of  this  appearance,  and  the  sound  that  accompanied  it,  was  all 
that  Todd  could  possibly  wish  or  expect.  The  two  men  were  almost  driven  to 
madness.  They  dropped  the  light,  and  with  shrieks  of  dismay  they  rushed  to 
the  door — they  toie  it  open,  and  then  they  both  fell  headlong  down  the  staircase 
to  the  passage  below,  where  they  lay  in  a  state  of  insensibility  that  was  highly 
amusing  to  Todd* 

"  Ha !  ha  V$  he  laughed,  as  he  stood  at  the  head  of  the  stairs.    "  Ha  !  ha  !" 

He  listened,  but  not  so  much  as  a  groan  came  from  either  of  the  men,  and 
then  he  clapped  his  huge  hands  together  with  a  report  like  the  discharge  of  a 
pistol,  and  laughed  again.  Todd  had  not  been  so  well  pleased  since  his  escape 
from  Newgate. 

He  slowly  descended  the  stairs,  and  more  than  once  he  stopped  to  laugh 
again.  The  passage  was  intensely  dark,  so  that  when  he  reached  it  he  trod 
upon  one  of  the  men,  but  that  rather  amused  him,  and  he  jumped  violently  upon 
the  body. 

"  Good,"  he  said.    "  Perhaps  they  are  both  dead.   Well,  let  them  both  die. 


T#E  STRING  01*  PEARLS. 


625 


It  will  be  a  lesson  to  others  how  far  they  interfere  with  me.  Society  and  1  are 
now  fairly  at  war,  and  I  will  win  as  many  battles  as  I  can.  They  can't  say  but 
this  is  a  well-fought  one,  two  to  one.  Ha !  They  ought  to  make  me  a  Field- 
Marshal.    Ha  !"„ 

Making  the  most  hideous  faces,  just  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  Todd  made  his 


[feom  A  babe  old  painting  by  beading,  in  the  British  museum.] 

way  to  the  parlour,  and  taking  from  a  corner,  where  he  knew  to  lay  his  hands 
uPon  them  in  a  moment,  a  couple  of  old  newspapers,  he  twisted  them  up 
>nto  a  kind  of  torch,  and  lighting  it  then  at  the  fire,  he  went  with  it  flaming  in 
his  hand  to  the  passage 
The  two  men  jay  profoundly  still-    Terror  and  the  fall  they  had  had, 


No.  79. 


/ 


626 


THE  STEING  OF  PEARLS. 


combined  to  throw  them  quite  into  a  swooning  state,  from  which  probably  it 
would  be  hours  before  they  would  recover. 

"This  is  capital/'  said  |Todd.  ff  Lie  there,  both  of  you,  until  J  have  tran- 
sacted the  business  in  this  house  that  brought  me  here.  Then  I  will,  perhaps, 
think  of  some  amusing  way  of  finishing  you  both  off — ha  !" 

Still  carrying  the  flaming  papers  in  his  hand,  Todd  now  made  his  way  to  the 
first-floor,  and  found  the  candle  that  the  men  had  dropped.  That  he  lighted,  as 
it  would  be  much  more  convenient  to  him  than  the  papers;  and  then  he  trod  them 
out,  for  he  did  not  wish  any  great  light  as  yet  to  appear  from  the  windows  of 
that  house,  and  perchance  awaken  the  attention  of  some  passing  traveller  or 
curious  neighbour. 

Shading  the  light  with  his  hand,  and  looking  like  some  grim  ogre,  Todd  took 
his  way  to  the  second-floor.  As  he  went,  he  every  now  and  then  muttered  his  sa- 
tisfaction to  himself,  or  gave  utterance  to  one  of  his  unearthly  laughs  ;  for  in  the 
whole  of  that  night's  adventure  there  was  much  to  please  him. 

In  the  first  place,  he  hoped,  and  fully  expected,  to  get  enough  booty  from  the 
house  to  place  him  a  little  at  his  ease  as  regarded  money  matters,  provided  that 
with  it  he  should  be  fortunate  enough  to  get  away  from  England.  Then,  again, 
it  was  no  small  satisfaction  to  Todd  to  do  anything  which  looked  like  a  triumph 
over  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  this  not  only  looked  like  it,  but  really  was. 

"  A  good  step,"  he  muttered,  "  a  capital  step,  and  a  bold  one,  too  ;  but  bold 
steps  are  always  good  ones.  Who  knows  but  that  from  some  place  of  security 
I  may  laugh  at  them  all  yet ;  a»nd  then,  if  I  do  not  succeed  in  killing  any  of  them 
before  I  go,  I  can  at  my  leisure  think  of  and  mature  some  scheme  of  revenge 
against  them ;  and  there  is  much  to  be  done  with  ingenuity,  if  you  are  quite  un- 
scrupulous. Ha!  ha!  I  have  some  dainty  schemes,  if  Lean  but  carry  them 
out  in  the  time  to  come— ha  I'1 

When  Todd  reached  the  second-floor,  he  at  once  went  into  the  front-room,  in 
one  corner  of  which  was  a  large  old  fashioned  bureau.  Now  it  was  not  to  be 
supposed  that  this  bureau  had  escaped  the  scrutiny  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt ;  but 
then  it  had  so  happened  that  before  he  came  to  search  it  he  had  all  the  evidence 
he  wished  against  Todd,  so  that  the  search  was  not  so  complete  or  so  scrutinising 
as  it  might  have  been. 

We  shall  see  that  it  was  not. 

"Ah"  said  Todd,  as  he  drew  out  the  drawers  one  after  the  other,  "  all  the 
locks  forced  !  Well,  be  it  so.  That  was  just  what  I  expected.  But  I  do  not 
think  they  have  moved  it  from  the  wall  by  the  look  of  it." 

The  bureau,  it  was  quite  evident,  had  not  been  removed  from  the  wall.  It  was 
of  immense  weight,  but  Todd  managed  to  move  it  by  short  sudden  jerks  ;  and 
then  when  he  had  got  it  quite  away  at  right  angles  from  the  wall,  he  said— 

"  Here  was  it  that  I  hid,  until  some  favourable  opportunity  should  occur  for 
the  private  disposal  of  them,  various  articles  of  value,  that  i  dare  not  try  to  con- 
vert into  money  in  my  open  way,  for  fear  of  detection.  Here  are  watches,  and 
rings,  and  jewels,  that  were  described  in  hand-bills,  offering  rewards  for 
missing  persons,  and  in  advertisements  in  the  papers  ;  so  that  it  became  most 
unsafe  for  me  to  show  them  even  to  the  not  very  scrupulous  Hebrews,  who  have 
from  time  to  time  bought  goods  of  me." 

As  he  spoke,  he  removed  a  portion  of  the  back  of  the  bureau,  which  slid  out 
of  its  place  softly  and  easily,  for  it  was  made  with  great  skill  and  eare.  This 
sliding  piece,  when  it  was  fairly  removed,  disclosed  a  receptacle  capable  of  hold- 
ing a  great  quantity  of  small  articles,  and  filled  up  with  narrow  shelves  as  if 
to  hold  "them  securely.  ' 

There  were  costly  watches— wigs  with  rare  jewels  set  in  them  •  for  the  fashion 
of  wearing  wigs  was  so  common  at  the  time,  that  many  wealthy  residents  of 
the  Temple  would  pop  into  Todd's  shop  for  a  little  arrangement  of  their  wigs 
or  a  puff  of  fresh  powder,  if  they  were  going  somewhere  in  a  hurry,  and  ho  lost 
thear  lives.  Then  there  were  some  pairs  of  rich  diamond  knee  ana  shoe  buckles, 
ana  a  few  lockets,  and  a  whole  heap  of  chains  of  gold. 


— 


"Ah,"  said  Todd  ;  '  here  is  enough  to  set  me  up  for  a  time,  if  I  can  dis- 
pose of  them;  and  now  I  must  run  risks  that  I  would  not  think  of  while  I  had 
thousands  at  my  command,  I  must  take  these  things  that  I  was  content  enough 
to  leave  behind  me,  lest  they  should  at  some  inopportune  moment  lead  to  my 
detection.  Now  they  shall  do  me  service/ 

Todd  commenced  filling  his  pockets  with  this  dangerous  kind  of  property, 
each  article  of  which  was  associated  with  the  frightful  crime  of  murder ! 

A  couple  of  thousand  pounds  certainly  would  not  have  paid  for  what  Todd 
upon  this  occasion  managed  to  stow  away  about  him  ;  and  he  thought  that  if 
he  could  get  one-fourth  of  that  amount  for  the  articles,  that  it  would  not  be  a 
very  bad  night's  work,  considering  the  not  very  flourishing  state  of  his  finances 
at  that  time,  compared  with  what  they  had  been. 

During  the  process,  though,  of  stocking  himself  with  the  contents  of  the  secret 
place  in  the  bureau,  he  more  than  once  crept  to  the  dooi  of  the  room,  and 
going  out  upon  the  landing,  he  leant  over  the  staircase  and  listened.  All  was 
most  profoundly  still,  and  he  was  satisfied  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt's  two  men 
remained  in  the  passage,  in  the  same  state  of  insensibility — if  not  of  death— in 
which  he  had  left  them. 

Leaving  there  some  articles  of  smaller  importance  than  those  with  which  he 
loaded  himself,  Todd  pushed  the  bureau  back  into  its  place  again;  and  then, 
taking  the  light  in  his  hand,  cautiously  descended  the  stairs. 

When  he  reached  the  passage,  there  lay  the  two  men  as  he  had  left  them. 
Indeed,  he  had  been  absent  much  too  short  a  space  of  time  for  any  very  material 
change  to  take  place  in  their  condition. 

"  Well/'  he  said.  "  Now  to  dispose  of  you  two.  What  shall  it  be  ?  Shall  I 
cut  your  throats  as  you  lie  there,  or — no,  no,  I  have  hit  it.  No  doubt  ycu  have 
both  been  full  of  curious  speculations  respecting  how  I  disposed  of  those  persons 
whom  I  polished  off  in  my  shop  ;  so  you  shall  both  know  exactly  how  it  was 
done.   Ha !  a  good  joke." 

Todd  s  good  joke  consisted  now  of  going  into  the  parlour,  and  fastening  the 
levers  which  held  up  the  shaving-chair.  Then  he  lifted  up  one  of  the  insensible 
bodies  of  the  men,  and  carried  it  into  the  shop. 

u  Sit  there,  or  lie  there,  how  you  like,"  he  said,  as  he  flung  the  man  into  the 
large  shaving-chair. 

It  was  quite  a  treat  now  to  Todd,  and  put  him  in  mind  of  old  times,  to  ar- 
range his  apparatus  for  giving  this  wretched  man  a  tumble  into  the  vaults  below. 
He  went  into  the  parlour  and  drew  the  bolt,  when  away  went  the  man  and  the 
chair,  and  the  other  chair  that  was  on  the  reverse  side  of  the  plank  took  the 
place  of  that  which  had  gone. 

"Ha!  ha !"  shouted  Todd.  "This  is  grand— this  is  most  glorious!  Ha! 
ha  !  Who  would  have  thought,  now,  that  I  should  ever  live  to  be  at  my  old 
work  again  in  this  house  ?  It  is  capital  !  If  that  fall  has  not  broken  his  neck, 
it's  a  wonder.  It  used  to  kill  five  out  of  seven  :  that  was  about  the  average— ha  L 
Todd  did  not  fasten  the  bolt  again,  but  went  at  once  for  the  other  man.  He 
was  sitting  up !  .  . 

Todd  staggered  back  for  a  moment,  when  he  saw  him  in  that  position  looking 
at  him.    The  man  rubbed  his  eyes  with  his  hands,  and  said  in  a  weak  voice— 
"  Good  God !  what  is  it  all  about  V*  . 
Todd  placed  the  light  on  the  floor  within  the  parlour,  so  that  it  shed  sufficent 
rays  into  the  shop  to  let  him  see  every  object  in  it ;  and  then,  with  a  cry  like  that 
of  some  wild  beast  rushing  upon  his  prey,  he  dashed  at  the  man. 

The  struggle  that  ensued  was  a  frightful  one.  Despair,  and  a  feeling  that 
he  was  fighting  for  his  life,  nerved  the  man,  who  had  recovered  just  m  time 
to  engage  in  such  a  contest,  and  they  both  fought  their  way  into  the  shop 
together.  Todd  made  the  greatest  exertions  to  overcome  the  man,  but  it  was 
not  until  he  got  him  by  the  throat,  and  held  him  with  a  clutch  of  iron,  that  he 
could  do  so.  Then  he  flung  him  upon  the  chair,  but  the  man,  with  a  last  effort 
(  lagged  Todd  after  him,  and  down  they  both  went  together  to  the  vault  below  I 


i 


628 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


CHAPTER  CXLVII. 

SIR  RICHARD  BLUNT  AND  CROCHET  COMMENCE  THEIR  SEARCH  FOR  TODD. 

When  Sir  Richard  Blunt  left  Chelsea,  he  felt  that  he  had  given  a  sufficient 
warning  to  all  who  could  feel  in  any  way  personally  interested  in  the  escape  of 
Sweeney  Todd  from  the  punishment  that  his  numerous  crimes  merited. 
|    He  rode  direct  to  the  office  of  the  Under  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home| 
Department,  and  his  name  at  once  procured  him  an  interview.  This  was  not  the 
supercilious  personage  who  once  before,  upon  an  occasion  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt  ! 
calling  upon  him  regarding  Sweeney  Todd,  had  exhibited  so  much  indifference 1 
upon  the  subject,  and  Sir  Richard  was  received  as  he  ought  to  be. 

"  I  have  waited  upon  you,  sir/'  said  the  magistrate,  "  to  say  that  I  have  now 
made  every  arrangement  that  is  possible  for  the  purpose  of  counteracting  any 
mischief  that  the  man,  Todd,  might  strive  to  do  ;  and  I  think  it  very  likely  that 
I  may  not  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  or  communicating  with  you  for  some 
time;' 

"  Then  you  still  think,  Sir  Richard,  of  going  personally  after  the  notorious 
ruffian  ?" 

"I  do,  sir.  I  feel  that  in  some  sort  I  am  bound  to  rid  society  of  that  man.  I 
had  so  large  a  share  in  his  former  apprehension,  and  in  his  conviction,  that  I  feel 
his  escape  quite  a  personal  matter ;  and  1  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  shall 
not  feel  at  ease  until  I  have  again  placed  him  in  the  hands  of  the  law  " 

H  It  is  most  desirable  that  he  should  be  so  placed,  Sir  Richard,  and  I  have  only 
two  things  to  say  to  you  upon  the  subject.  One  is,  that  I  hope  you  will  be 
careful  of  your  own  safety  in  the  affair  ;  and  the  other  is,  that  anything  we  can  do 
or  any  facilities  we  can  throw  in  your  way,  you  may  most  unhesitatingly  com- 
mand in  the  prosecution  of  your  most  praiseworthy  enterprise." 

11 1  thank  you,  sir.  I  shall  take  one  man  with  me.  His  name  is  Crotchet  ;  and 
1  should  wish  that  in  your  name  I  might  tell  him  that,  in  the  event  of  our 
search  for  Todd  being  successful,  he  may  count  upon  an  adequate  reward." 

**  Certainly  !  He  shall  have  the  whole  reward,  Sir  Richard  ;  and  as  for  your- 
self, the  ministry  will  not  be  unmindful  of  your  service  in  a  way  that  I  am  sure 
will  be  more  gratifying  to  you  than  an  offer  of  money." 

w  Sir,  I  thank  you.  The  government  has  already,  upon  more  than  two  or  three 
occasions,  been  sufficiently  liberal  to  me  ab  regards  money  to  place  me  in  a  good 
position,  and  I  have  now  no  further  desires  of  that  sort.  I  will  bid  you  good 
morning,  sir,  and  at  once  start  upon  the  expedition  in  search  of  Sweeney  Todd. 
If  he  be  alive  and  above  ground  in  this  country,  I  will  have  him." 

u  If  anybody  will,  you  will,  Sir  Richard." 

The  magistrate  left  the  place,  and  repaired  at  once  to  his  private  office,  which 
was  close  at  hand,  in  Craven  Street.  There  our  old  friend,  Crotchet,  was  waiting' 
for  him. 

"Well,  Crotchet/'  said  Sir  Richard,  ;'I  have  just  seen  the  Secretary  of  State, 
and  if  we  catch  Todd,  you  are  to  have  all  the  money," 

u  All  on  it,  sir  ?  Oh,  my  eye  !  No,  I  doesn't  want  all  on  it,  Sir  Richard.  I 
isn't  a  pig." 

H  I  never  thought  you  were,  Crotchet ;  but  you  may  make  up  your  mind  to 
the  whole  of  the  reward,  as  the  government  will  provide  for  me  in  another  way ; 
so  you  know  now,  at  starting,  what  you  have  to  expect,  and  it  will  keep  you  in 
good  heart  during  all  the  botheration  we  may  have  in  looking  after  this  man." 

"  Why,  so  it  will,  sir,  you  see,  so  it  will,  and  if  I  do  catch  him  and  get  all  this 
tin  as  is  offered  as  a  reward  for  him,  I  shall  retire  from  the  grabbing  business, 
you  see,  sir." 

<*  What  will  you  do  then,  Crotchet  ?" 

"  Set  up  a  public-house,  sir,  and  call  it  "  The  Crotchet's  Arms,"  to  be  sure. 
That's  the  sort  of  ticket  for  me." 

"  Well,  Crotchet,  you  will  be  quite  at  liberty  to  do  what  you  like  ;  and  now 


i 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS,  ~~  629 


I 


let  us  at  once  start  on  our  errand.    We  will,  from  the  door  of  Newgate,  see  if 
we  cannot  trace  the  progress  of  this  man,  with  his  new  friend,  that' rascal 
Lupin."  ' 

A  tap  sounded  on  the  panel  of  the  door  of  the  room  in  which  Crotchet  and 
Sir  Richard  were  conversing. 

M  Come  in,"  said  the  magistrate,  and  his  clerk  entered  with  a  written  paper  in 
hh  hand. 

«  Here,  sir/' he  sai  Vis  a  report  from  a  city  officer,  which  will  give  a  clue  to 
the  route  that  Todd  and  Lupin  have  taken,  sir." 

*  Ah,  that  is  welcome.  Let  me  see  it.  '  Two  men  broke  into  the  house  of 
Alderman  Stanhope";  one  a  tali  man  with  a  large  face— the  other,  shorter.5 
Humph!  Not  a  doubt  of  it.  I  will  go  and  see  about  it.  No  dofibt  it  was 
Todd  and  his  new  friend  Lupin.  This  is  something  of  a  clue,  at  all  events, 
however  slight,  and  may,  after  all,  put  us  upon  the  right  track.  Come  on, 
Crotchet,  we  will  do  the  best  we  can  in  this  matter.  Have  you  your  pistols  in 
good  order?" 

"  Yes,  yer  honour,  and  a  pair  of  darbies  in  my  pocket,  that  if  once  they  get 
on  the  wrists  of  old  Todd,  he  will  find  it  no  such  easy  matter  to  get  them  off 


again  5 


"  That  is  right.  I  only  want  to  get  face  to  face  with  the  ruffian,  and  then  1 
will  engage  that  he  shall  not  be  much  further  trouble  to  society  or  to  individuals/ 
i  Sir  Richard  Blunt  and  Crotchet  proceeded  then  at  once  to  the  house  in  the 
City,  into  which  Lupin  and  Todd,  it  will  be  recollected,  had  made  a  violent 
entry,  and  from  which  they  had  been  so  gallantly  repulsed  by  the  young  lady 
Then,  from  the  description  of  the  assaliants,  not  a  shadow  of  a  doubt  remained 
upon  the  magistrate's  mind  that  they  were  the  parties  he  sought ;  but  there  all 
clue  seemed  to  be  lost. 

j  He  and  Crotchet  stood  in  the  street  looking  about  them  rather  despairingly; 
and  then  they  thought  of  going  to  the  round-house  close  toFinsbury ;  and  when 
they  got  there,  they  found  an  officer,  who  reported  that  two  men  answering  the 
description  of  the  fugitives  had  been  seen  making  their  way  westward ;  and  he 
had  met  a  woman  who  had  passed  them,  and  who  had  heard  the  words  "  money," 
and  •<  Caen  Wood." 

|  This  was,  in  good  truth,  most  important  intelligence,  if  it  could  be  relied  upon  ; 
aad  that  was  the  only  kind  of  doubt  that  Sir  Richard  had.  He  spoke  to  Crotchet 
about  it. 

!  "  What  do  you  think,  Crotchet  ?  Is  it  worth  while  to  follow  this  seeming 
clue  to  Highgate  ?M 

i   "  Yes,  yer  honour,  it  is.    We  can  go  there  and  back  again  while  we  are  con- 
sidering  about  it  here.    ItVclear  enough  as  we  shan't  get  any  other  news  in 
this  part  of  the  town  ;  and  so  I  advises  that  we  go  off  at  once  to  Highgate,  and 
"calls  at  every  public-house  on  the  road." 
"  Every  public-house  V* 

u  Yes,  yer  honour.  Todd  won't  do  without  his  drops  of  something  strong 
to  keep  him  a-going.  These  kind  of  feelings  go  down— down,  till  they  hawn't 
the  heart  to  say  don't,  when  the  hangman  puts  the  noose  round  their  ufccjc*f'if 
they  haven't  their  drops.    It's  brandy,  yer  worship,  as  keeps  'em  a  going." 

4 1  do  believe,  Crotchet,  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  what  you  say ; 
and  that  it  is  only  by  use  of  stimulants  that  they  keep  up  a  kind  of  artijfcial 
strength,  as  well  as  drowning  reflection;  and  so  they  go  felundenng  on  irifhe 
career  of  crime."  ,         .  ,  . 

"  You  may  depend  upon  it,  sir.    They'd  cut  their  own  throats  in  a  week,  u 

it  wasn't  for  the  tipple,  yer  honour.0  *    •  ;  ; 

Acting  then  upon  the  practical  advice  of  Crotchet,  which  in  a  great  measure 
accorded  with  his  own  convictions,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  repaired  to  a  livery-stable, 
and  hired  two  good  horses.  He  found  no  difficulty  in  getting  them,  upon  declar- 
ing who  he  was ;  and  so,  well  mounted,  he  and  Crotchet  went  upon  the  very  road 
that  had  been  so  recently  traversed  by  the  two  culprits,  Todd  and  Lupin. 

,   *    .     — —  —  ■  ■  - 1  *  *  " 


*  630  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


At  the  first  public-house  they  came  to  they  got  no  news ;  but  at  the  second 
they  were  told,  that  two  men,  answering  the  description  they  gave  of  those  they 
sought,  had  called  and  had  some  brandy. 

The  magistrate  no  longer  doubted  but  that  he  was  upon  the  right  track  now. 
With  such  a  feeling,  he  pushed  on,  making  what  inquiries  he  could  on  the  road  ; 
but  until  Highgate  was  reached  they  got  no  further  news,  and  then,  by  dint  of  , 
diligent  ferreting  out,  they  found  a  woman  who  had  seen  two  men  go  down) 
Swains  Lane,  and  from  the  description  she  gave  of  them,  there  could  be  no  doubt 
but  that  they  were  Todd  and  Lupin.  Now  as  Swains  Lane  led  direct  to  Caen 
Wood,  it  was  a  great  confirmation  of  the  former  intelligence  ;  and  Sir  Richard 
made  up  his  mind  to  search  the  wood,  as  well  as  it  could  be  done  by  him  and 
Crotchet.  0 

They  engaged  a  lad  from  Highgate  to  come  with  them,  and  to  take  care  of 
the  horses,  while  they  should  go  into  the  wood  ;  but  they  did  not  say  one  word 
to  him  regarding  their  object  in  going  there,  nor  could  he  possibly  suspect  it. 
Sir  Richard  and  Crotchet  both  thought  it  would  be  much  more  prudent  to  keep 
that  to  themselves,  than  to  put  it  in  the  power  of  a  boy  to  gossip  about  it  to 
every  one  who  might  chance  to  pass  that  way,  while  he  was  minding  the 
horses. 

When  the  wood  was  reached,  Sir  Richard  said  to  the  lad— 

"  Now,  my  boy,  we  shall  not  be  very  long  gone,  but  you  will  bear  in  mind 
that  if  we  are  absent  longer  than  you  expected,  you  will  be  paid  in  proportion ;  so 
don't  be  impatient,  but  walk  the  horses  up  and  down  this  bit  of  the  lane,  and 
think  that  you  have  got  a  very  good  job." 

t€  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  the  boy.  "  Across  that  there  meadow  is  the  nearest 
way  to  the  wood.  I  seed  two  fellows  go  that  way,  early  this  morning,  and  one 
on  'em  was  the  ugliest  fellow  I  ever  saw,  and  he  calls  out  to  the  other — '  Come 
along  Lupin,  we  shall  be  all  right  in  the  wood  now.  Come  aloner,  Lupin— 
Ha!  ha!"'  * 

"  You  heard  that  V 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  did.  You  see,  I  was  sloe-gathering  in  the  hedge,  and  thev  don't 
let  you  do  it,  cos  they  say  you  breaks  down  all  the  young  twigs,  and  spoils  the 
hedge,  and  so  you  does ;  and  so,  sir,  when  I  heard  footsteps  a-coming,  I  hid 
myself  right  down  among  the  long  grass,  so  that  they  did  not  see  me." 

Mr.  Crotchet  gave  a  long  whistle. 

"  Very  good,"  said  Sir  Richard  ;  "  we  shall  be  back  with  you  soon.  You 
take  good  care  of  the  horses/  ' 
"  I  will,  sir." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  that,  Crotchet  ?"  said  Sir  Richard,  as  they  made  their 
way  into  the  very  meadow  across  which  Todd  and  Lupin  had  run  to  get  to  Caen 
Wood. 

*  It's  the  finger  o*  Providence,  yer  worship." 

u  Well,  I  cannot  deny,  Crotchet,  but  that  it  may  be  so.  At  all  events,  whether 
it  be  Providence  or  chance,  one  thing  is  quite  certain,  and  that  is,  that  we  are  on 
the  track  of  those  whom  we  seek/1 

"  Not  a  doubt  o'  that,  sir.  Into  the  wood  here  they  have  been,  but  whether 
they  have  staid  here  or  not,  you  see,  sir,  is  quite  another  affair.  But  it's  worth 
looking  well  to,  at  all  event?  ver  worship,  and  I  shan't  leave  an  old  tree  in  this 
here  place  as  we  is  coming  to,  that  I  shan't  walk  right  round  and  have  a  jollv 
good  look  at,  somehow  or  another.''  * 

"Nor  I,  Crotchet.  They  may  know  of  some  hiding-place  in  this  wood,  for 
all  we  know  to  the  contrary,  and  if  they  do,  it  strikes  me  we  shall  ferret  them 
out. 

"  In  course  we  shall,  sir ;  and  here  we  is." 


.They  had  reached  the  wood  by  this  time,  and  before  plunging  into  its  recesses 
the  magistrate ;  looted  carefully  about  him,  and  Crotchet  did  the  same. 

itaymg  Sng  WOrshiP' there'*  *  chance  <*  s«<*  *  fellow  as  Todd 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  631 


"  Why  do  you  think  that  >"  said  Sir  Richard. 

"Why,  sir/'  said  Crotchet,  putting  his  head  on  one  side,  "this  here  is  a  sort 
of  place  that  makes  a  man  think ;  and  always  when  I  am  in  a  quiet  place  like 
this,  with  the  beautiful  trees  all  about  me,  and  the  little  birds  a  singing,  and  the 
frogs  a  croaking,  it  makes  me  think  of  things  that  I  don  t  always  think  of  and 
of  those  as  has  passed  away  like  spirits,  and  as  we  may  meet  in  t'other  world 
nor  this.  sir. 

"  Indeed,  Crotchet,  I  do  not  wonder  that  the  silence  and  solitude  of  nature 
should  have  that  effect  upon  you." 

« Exactly,  sir.  In  course,  it  ain't  for  me  to  say  whether  in  this  ere  world 
there  ought  to  be  prigs,  and  sneaks,  and  cracksmen,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing  or 
not ;  but  I  will  say,  sir,  as  I'm  not  a  little  surprised  how  anybody  can  do  any- 
thing very  wrong,  sir,  in  the  country." 

"  Indeed,  Crotchet  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir ;  it  has  an  effect  on  me.  When  I  gets  among  the  old  trees  and  sees 
the  branches  a  waving  about,  and  hear  the  wind  a  moaning  among  'em,  it  makes 
me  think  as  there  ain't  a  great  deal  in  this  world  as  is  worth  the  bothering 
about,  you  see,  sir ;  and  least  of  all  is  it  worth  while  doing  anything  that  ain't  the 
right  thing." 

You  are  quite  a  philosopher,  Crotchet,  although  you  are  not  the  first  nor  the 
only  one  upon  whom  the  beauties  of  nature  have  produced  an  elevating  effect. 
The  reason  I  fear  is  that  you  are  not  familiar  with  such  places  as  these.  You 
are  town-bred,  Crotchet,  and  you  pass  your  life  among  the  streets  of  London ;  so 
such  places  as  this  affect  you  with  all  the  charm  of  novelty,  while  those  who  are 
born  in  the  country  know  nothing  and  care  nothing  for  its  sights  and  sounds. " 

"That's  about  it,  sir,  I  shouldn't  wonder,"  said  Crotchet;  "but  I  feels  what 
I  feels  and  thinks  what  I  thinks." 

They  now  had  fairly  penetrated  into  Caen  Wood ;  and  we  may  here  appropriately 
remark,  that  Caen  Wood  was  much  more  of  a  real  wood  then,  than  it  is  now,  when 
it  is  rather  an  imitation  of  one  than  one  m  reality.  The  smoke  and  the  vegeta- 
tion-killing vapours  of  London  have  almost  succeeded  in  begriming  the  green  trees 
even  at  that  distance  off ;  and  in  a  few  short  years  Caen  Wood,  we  fear,  will  be  but 
a  thing  of  tradition  in  the  land. 
So  time  works  his  changes  ! 

Sir  Richard  Blunt,  with  long  practised  sagacity,  began  his  hunt  through  the 
wood.  It  could  scarcely  be  said  that  he  expected  to  find  Todd  there,  but  he  would 
be  satisfied  if  he  found  some  conclusive  evidence  that  he  had  been  there,  for  that 
would  show  him  that  he  was  upon  the  track  of  the  villain,  and  that  he  was  not 
travelling  wide  from  the  course  that  Todd  had  taken.  The  idea  that  he  might  have 
at  once,  on  foot,  made  his  way  to  some  part  of  the  coast,  haunted  Sir  Richard, 
notwithstanding  all  the  seemingly  conclusive  evidence  he  had  to  the  contrary ;  and 
knowing  well,  as  he  did,  how  very  little  reliance  ought  to  be  placed  upon  personal 
descriptions,  he  did  buoy  himself  up  with  many  hopes  consequent  upon  the  pre- 
sumed identity  of  Todd  with  the  person  who  had  been  seen  by  those  who  had 
described  him. 

I  Taking  a  small  piece  of  chalk  from  his  pocket,  the  magistrate  marked  a  few  of 
the  trees  in  the  different  directions  where  they  searched,  so  that  they  might  not, 
amid  the  labyrinths  of  the  wood,  give  themselves  increased  trouble  ;  and  in  the 
course  of  half  an  hour  they  had  gone  over  a  considerable  portion  of  the  wood. 

They  paused  at  an  open  spot,  and  Crotchet  lifted  from  the  ground  a  thick 
stick  that  appeared  to  have  been  recently  cut  from  a  tree. 

"  This  is  late  work,"  he  said. 

"  Yes  ;  and  here  are  the  marks  of  numerous  footsteps.  What  is  the 
meaning  of  this  strange  appearance  on  the  ground,  as  if  something  had  been 
dragged  along  it?" 

Crotchet  looked  at  the  appearance  that  Sir  Richard  pointed  out,  and  then 
with  a  nod,  he  said — 
''Let's  follow  this,  Sir  Richard,   It  strikes  me  that  it  leads  te  something." 


/ 


6^2 


TJ±E  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


CHAPTER  CXLVIH. 

SHOWS  HOW  TODD  HAD  A  VERY  NARROW  ESCAPE  INDEED. 

There  was  something  in  the  tone  of  Crotchet  that  made  the  magistrate  con- 
fident he  suspected  something  very  peculiar,  and  he  followed  him  without  a 

The  track  or  trail  upon  the  ground  was  very  peculiar.  It  was  broad  and 
defined,  and  had  turned  in  the  direction  that  it  went  every  little  weed  or 
blade  of  grass  that  was  within  its  boundaries.  A  number  of  decayed  leaves 
from  the  forest  trees  had  likewise  been  swept  along  it  ;  and  the  more  any  one 
might  look  at  it  the  more  they  must  feel  convinced  that  something  heavy  had 

been  dragged  along  it.  .  .  .  . 

What  that  something  heavy  was,  Mr.  Crotchet  had  his  suspicions,  and  they 

were  right* 

"  This  way,  your  worship,"  he  said,  "  this  way  j  it  goes  right  into  this 
hedge  as  nicely  as  possible,  though  the  branches  of  these  bushes  are  placed  all 
smooth  again/' 

As  he  spoke,  Crotchet  began  to  beat  the  obstructing  branches  of  a  wild  nut 
tree  and  a  blackberry-bush,  that  seemed,  by  their  entwining  arms,  to  have  struck 
up  a  very  close  sort  of  acquaintance  with  each  other  ;  and  then  he  suddenly  cried 

out— 

u  Here  it  is,  sir." 
<  What,  Crotchet  V9 
<<  The  dead  W 

'  Dead  !  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  one  such  is  here,  and  that  the  dead 
body  of  Todd  is  in  the  thicket  ?" 

Come  on,  s..,  I  don't  think  it  is  him.  It  don't  seem  long  enough;  but 
here's  somebody,  as  safe  as  possible,  sir,  fur  all  that.  Pu§h  your  way  through 
sir  :  it's  only  prickles." 

The  magistrate  did  push  his  way  through,  despite  the  vigorous  opposition  of 
the  blackberry-bush  ;  and  then — lying  upon  its  face — he  saw  the  dead  body  of 
a  man. 

The  readers  of  this  narrative  could  have  told  Sir  Richard  Blunt  what  that 
body  had  been  named  while  the  breath  of  life  was  in  it  ;  but  neither  he  nor 
Crotchet  could  at  first  make  up  their  minds up«n  the  subject. 

*'  Do  you  know  him  V9  said  Sir  Richard. 

u  I  guess  only.* 

c  Yes,  and  you  guess  as  I  do.   This  is  Lupin,  Todd's  prison  companion,  and 
the  companion  in  his  escape." 
Crotchet  nodded. 

him,  so  that  I 
w  and  have  a  good 

look  at  his  face." 

With  this,  Crotchet  carefully — by  the  aid  of  his  foot — turnfed  over  the  body, 
and  the  first  glance  he  got  at  the  dead  face  satisfied  him. 

*  Yes,  your  worship/'  he  said,  "  Lupin  it  is,  and  Todd  has  killed  him.  You 
may  take  your  oath  ol  that." 

"  Not  a  doubt  of  it :  such  is  the  result  of  the  association  of  such  men.  Todd 
has  found  him,  or  fancied  he  should  find  him,  an  encumbrance  in  the  way  of  his 
own  escape,  and  has  sought  this  wood  to  take  his  life/* 

"That's  about  it,  sir." 

"  And  now,  Crotchet,  we  may  make  certain  of  one  thing,  and  that  is,  that 
Todd  is  not  in  this  wood,  nor  in  this  neighbourhood  either.  I  should  say,  that 
after  this  deed,  the  first  thing  he  would  do  would  be  to  fly  from  this  spot." 

M  Not  a  doubt  of  that,  your  worship  ;  but  the  deuce  of  it  is  to  find  out 
which  way  he  has  gone. 

"  We  must  be  guided  in  that  by  the  same  mode  of  inquiry,  Crotchet,  that 


^rotcnet  nouyeu. 

u  I  went  to  Newgate/'  he  said,  "  and  had  a  good  look  at  hi 
should  know  him,  sir,  dead  or  alive ;  so  Til  just  turn  him  over,  and 


|i  lUMi  *  i  WiiiSlJiw  Ufa  *  it  »i 


M^I,-,.iV».;, 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


633 


brought  us  here.  We  were  successful  in  tracing  him  to  this  wood,  and  we 
may  be  equally  successful  in  tracing  him  from  it.  We  must  go  into  the  village 
of  Hampstead,  and  give  information  about  this  dead  body ;  and  we  will  make 
there  what  inquiries  we  can.5' 

They  were  neither  of  them  very  anxious  to  remain  in  Caen  Wood,  after  dis- 


JOHANNA  AND  COMPANY  LEAVE  CHELSEA  TO  AVOID  THE  VENGEANCE  OF  TODD. 

covering  how  it  was  tenanted ;  and  in  a  very  short  time  they  were  mounted 
again,  and  went  along  the  lane  until  they  emerged  upon  Hampstead  Heath,  and 
so  took  the  road  to  the  village,  where  Sir  Richard  gave  information  to  the 
authorities  concerning  the  finding  of  the  body  of  Lupin. 

There,  too,  he  heard  that  a  man  answering  the  desci  iption  of  Todd  had  passed 
through  the  village,  and  refused  to  partake  some  questionable  brandy,  at  a 


i»'i>mi'>#wi 


No,  80. 


634 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


public-house,  on  its  outskirts.  This  man  was  evidently  proceeding  to  London. 
Crotchet  heard  this  information  with  great  attention  j  and  when  he  and  Sir 
Richard  Blunt  were  alone,  he  said — 

"I  tell  you  what  it  is,  sir — the  country  will  never  suit  Todd." 

"How  do  you  mean,  Crotchet  r 

u  I  mean,  sir,  that,  in  my  opinion,  he  has  gone  back  to  London  again.  The 
country,  sir,  ain't  the  sort  of  place  for  such  men  as  he  \*»  You  may  depend 
upon  it,  he  only  came  to  the  little  wood  to  get  rid  of  Lupin,  and  he  has  gone 
back  to  try  and  hide  in  London  till  the  row  is  over." 

"  You  really  think  so  V[ 

"  I  do,  sir  ;  and  if  we  want  to  find  him,  we  must  go,  too." 

"  Well,  Crotchet,  of  one  thing  I  am  pretty  well  convinced,  and  that  is,  that  he 
is  not  in  this  part  of  the  country,  for  after  the  murder  in  the  wood,  which  he 
will  be  in  continual  fear  of  being  discovered,  it  is  not  likely  he  would  stay  about 
here  ;  and  so,  as  we  have  traced  him  a  little  on  the  road  to  London,  we  may  as 
well,  for  all  we  know  to  the  contrary,  assume  that  he  has  gone  there  at  once/' 

*'  Come  on,  then,  sir,"  said  Crotchet ;  "  I  feePs  what  you  call  s  a  sort  of  a— 
Oh,  dear  me,  what  is  it  ?    A  presentment — 1 

"  A  presentiment,  Crotche.." 

"  Ah,  sir,  that's  It.  I  ft-el  that  sort  of  thing  that  old  Todd  will  try  and  hide 
himself  in  some  old  crib  in  London,  and  not  at  all  trust  to  the  country,  where 
everybody  is  looked  at  for  ail  the  worid  as  though  he  were  a  strange  cat-  Lord 
bless  you,  sir,  if  1  had  done  anything  and  wanted  to  hide,  I  should  go  into  the 
very  thick  of  the  people  of  London,  and  I  ain't  quite  sure  but  I'd  take  a  lodging 
in  Bow  Street/' 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  was  himself  very  much  of  Crotchet's  opinion  regarding 
Todd's  proceedings,  for  his  experience  of  the  movements  of  malefactors  had 
taught  him  that  they  generally,  after  their  first  attempt  to  try  to  get  away,  hover 
about  the  spot  of  their  crimes  ;  and  it  is  a  strange  thing,  that  with  regard  to 
persons  who  have  committed  great  crimes,  there  is  a  great  similarity  of  action, 
as  though  the  species  of  mind  that  could  induce  the  commission  of  murder  from 
example,  were  the  same  in  other  respects  in  all  murderers. 

To  London,  then,  with  what  expedition  they  could  make,  Sir  Richard  Blunt 
and  Crotchet  went,  and  although  they  made  what  inquiry  they  could,  they  found 
no  news  of  Todd.  And  now  we  must  leave  them  for  awhile,  thrown  completely 
out  in  all  their  researches  for  the  escaped  criminal,  while  we  once  more  proceed 
to  the  house  in  Fleet  Street,  where  we  left  Todd  in  rather  an  uncomfortable 
situation. 

It  will  be  recollected  that,  locked  in  the  grasp  of  the  officer,  Todd  and  that 
individual  had  gone  down  with  the  chair  through  the  opening  in  the  floor  of  his 
shop. 

This  was  the  first  time  that  Todd  had  undertaken  that  mode  of  getting  into 
the  cellars  of  his  house;  and  when  he  found  the  chair  going,  he  gave  himself  up 
for  lost,  and  uttered  a  cry  of  horror.  It  seemed  to  him  at  that  moment  as  if 
that  were  the  species  of  retribution  which  was  to  come  over  him — death  by  the 
same  dreadful  means  that  had  enabled  him  so  often  to  inflict  it  upon  others. 

No  doubt  Todd's  anticipations  of  being  dashed  to  destruction  upon  the  stones 
below  would  have  been  correct  had  he  gone  down  alone,  or  had  there  been  no 
one  already  immediately  beneath  the  trap-door  in  the  shop  flooring  ;  but  as  it  was, 
he  fell,  fortunately  for  him,  uppermost,  and  they  both,  he  and  the  officer,  fell 
upon  the  other  man  who  had  gone  down  only  a  short  time  previous.  That  saved 
Todd ;  but  he  was  terribly  shaken,  and  so  was  the  officer,  and  it  was  a  few 
moments  before  either  of  them  recovered  sufficently  to  move  a  limb. 

The  lives  of  those  two  depended  upon  who  should  recover  his  strength  and 
energies  first.  Todd  was  that  man.  Hate  is  so  much  stronger  a  passion  than 
every  other,  and  it  was  under  the  influence  of  that  feeling  that  Todd  was  the 
first  of  the  two  to  recover  ;  and  the  moment  he  did  so,  the  yell  of  rage  that  he 
uttered  really  aught  have  been  heard  in  Fleet  Street.    It  was  very  indiscreet  of 

^mim  fr.  Ij'lf        '  i     i  i         -  i     ■      i    ...  ■    i     i  ■  .  .,     

— wwwr*v  ■-> ..^Ta^-^,.-  ,  ,.. -,       IM  .   ,  |LJ      "   '   '   ~  m.'"~~l     :       :         •  '  1  «M*tt:x*>  c  w, 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  635 


Todd,  but  at  that  moment  he  thought  of  nothing  but  revenge.    His  own  safety 
became  a  secondary  consideration  with  him. 
He  grasped  the  officer  by  the  throat ! 

At  the  moment  that,  by  the  feel  only,  for  that  place  was  in  the  most  profound 
darkness,  Todd  felt  sure  that  he  had  the  officer  by  the  throat,  he  knew  that  his 
triumph  was  certain.  It  would  have  been  as  vain  a  thing  to  attempt  to  escape 
the  chances  of  destiny,  as  to  dream  of  avoiding  the  grasp  of  that  iron  hand  that 
now  closed  upon  the  throat  of  the  unfortunate  officer. 

It  was  just  then,  though,  that  the  officer  began  to  recover  a  little  from  the 
shock  of  his  fall.  It  was  only  to  recover  to  die.  Better  for  him  would  it  have 
been  had  he  slept  on  in  insensibility  to  the  pangs  that  were  awaiting  him  ;  but 
that  was  not  to  be. 

"  Ah,  wretch  !"  shrieked  Todd,  "  so  you  thought  you  had  me  ?  Down— down 
to  death  !— Ha!— ha  !" 

The  officer  struggled  much,  and  dashed  about  his  feet  and  arms,  but  all  was 
m  vain. 

"  Ha  ! — ha!"  laughed  Todd,  and  that  hideous  laugh  awakened  as  hideous  an 
echo  in  the  dismal  place.  "Ha!— ha!  I  have  you  now.  Oh!  but  I  should 
like  to  protract  your  death  and  see  you  die  by  inches!  Only  that  my  time  is 
precious,  and  for  my  own  sake,  I  will  put  you  quickly  beyond  the  pale  of  life." 

The  man  tried  to  cry  out,  but  the  compression  upon  his  throat  of  those  bony 
fingers  prevented  him.  He  had  his  hand  at  liberty,  and  he  caught  Todd  by  the 
head  and  face,  and  began  to  do  him  as  much  mischief  as  he  could.  There  was 
for  a  few  seconds  a  fierce  struggle,  and  then  Todd,  keeping  still  his  right  hand 
clasped  about  the  throat  of  his  victim,  with  the  left  laid  hold  of  as  much  of  his 
hair  on  the  front  of  his  head  as  he  could,  and  raising  his  head  then  about  six 
inches  from  the  stone  floor  on  which  it  had  rested,  he  dashed  in  down  again  with 
all  his  might. 

The  officers  arms  fell  nerveless  to  his  sides,  and  he  uttered  a  deep  groan. 
Again  Todd  raised  the  head,  and  dashed  it  down,  and  that  time  he  heard  a 
crashing  sound,  and  he  felt  satisfied  that  he  had  killed  the  man. 

There  was  now  no  further  use  in  holding  the  throat  of  the  dead  man,  and 
Todd  let  him  go. 

«  Ha !— ha ! "  he  said.  "  That  is  done.  That  is  one— Ha !  Now  am  I  once 
more  lord  and  master  in  my  own  house — once  again  I  reign  here  supreme,  and 
can  do  what  it  may  please  me  to  do.  Ha  !  this  is  glorious  !  Why,  it  is  like 
old  times  coming  back  to  me  again.  T  feel  as  if  I  could  open  my  shop  in  the 
morning,  and  again  polish  off  the  neighbourhood.  It  seems  as  if  all  that  had 
happened  since  last  I  stropped  a  razor  above,  had  been  but  a  dream.  The  arrest 
—the  trial— the  escape — Newgate — the  wood  at  Hampstead  !    All  a  dream — a 

dream !"  •  .       ■  ,  , 

He  was  silent,  and  the  excitement  of  the  moment  of  triumph  had  passed  away. 
•<  No—no/'  he  said.  "No  !  It  is  too  real— much  too  real !  Oh,  it  is  real, 
indeed.  I  am  the  fugitive !  The  haunted  man  without  a  home— without  a 
friend  ;  and  I  have  this  night  nor  any  other  night  any  place  in  which  I  may  lay 
my  head  in  safety.  I  am  as  one  persecuted  by  all  the  world,  without  hope- 
without  pity  !    What  will  now  become  of  me  V 

A  low  groan  came  upon  Todd's  ear.  \  1Jf 

He  started  and  looked  around  him.  He  tried  hard  to  pierce  with  his  hall- 
shut  eyes  the  intense  darkness,  but  he  could  not ;  and  muttering  to  himself— 
"  Not  vet  dead— not  vet  dead  ?"  he  crept  to  an  obscure  corner  of  the  cellar,  and 
opened  a  door  that  led  by  a  ladder  to  the  floor  of  the  back  parlour,  where  there 
was  a  trap  door,  under  which  the  large  table  usually  stood,  and  which  he  could 

°PIn  ^hTpnlZr  Todd  got  a  light,  and  feeling  then  still  disturbed  about  the 
groan  that  he  had  heard  below,  he  armed  himself  with  an  iron ;  bar  that  belonged 
to  the  outer  door,  and  with  this  in  his  right  hand,  and  the  light  in  his  left,  he 
crept  back  again  to  the  cellar. 


636 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


A  glance  at  the  two  men  who  lay  there  was  sufficient  to  satisfy  him  that  they 
were  no  more  ;  and  after  then  taking  from  them  a  couple  of  pairs  of  pistols,  and 
a  small  sum  of  money,  he  crept  back  again  to  the  parlour.  As  he  did  so,  he 
heard  St.  Dunstans  clock  strike  the  hour  of  four. 

"  Four  !"  he  said.  4S  Four.  It  will  not  be  light  for  nearly  two  hours  yet,  and 
I  may  rest  myself  awhile  and  think.  Yes,  it  is  necessary  now  that  I  should 
think  ;  for  I  have  time — a  little  time — to  do  so,  and  much,  oh,  so  much  to  think 
of.    There's  some  of  my  own  brandy,  too,  in  the  parlour,  that's  a  comfort.5' 

The  fire  was  still  burning  in  the  parlour  grate.  Todd  raked  the  glowing  embers 
together  with  the  iron  bar,  and  then  he  took  a  good  draught  at  the  brandy.  It 
revived  him  most  wonderfully,  and  he  gave  one  of  his  old  chuckles,  as  he  mut- 
tered— 

<;  Oh,  that  I  could  get  a  few  whom  I  could  name  in  such  a  position  as  I  had 
yon  man  in  in  the  cellar  a  short  time  since*  That  would  be  well,  indeed.  Ha  ! 
I  am,  after  all,  rather  lucky,  though." 

A  sharp  knock  come,  at  thii  moment*  at  the  outer  door  of  the  shop,  and  1  odd 
sprang  ift  &lajrqa  to  his  feet, 


CHAPTER  CXLIX. 

TODD  IS  IN  GREAT  PERIL  IN  THE  EARLY  MORNING    IN  LONDON. 

The  silence  that  ensued  after  that  knock  at  his  door,  for  he  had  become  to 
consider  it  as  his  again,  was  like  the  silence  of  the  grave.  The  only  sound  that 
Todd  heard  then,  was  the  painful  beating  of  his  own  heart. 

The  guilty  man  was  full  of  the  most  awful  apprehensions. 

"  What  is  it  ?"  he  said.  "  Who  is  it  ?— who  can  it  be  ?  Surely,  no  one  for 
me.  There  is  no  one  who  saw  me.  No — no  !  It  cannot  be.  It  is  some  acci- 
dental sound  only.  I — begin — to  doubt  if  it  were  a  knock  at  all. — Oh,  no,  it 
was  no  knock." 

Bang  !  came  the  knock  again. 

Todd  actually  started  and  uttered  a  cry  of  terror,  and  then  he  crouched  down 
and  crept  towards  the  door.  He  might,  to  be  sure,  have  made  his  escape  from 
the  premises,  with  some  little  trouble,  by  the  way  he  had  got  into  them  ;  but 
he  was  most  anxious  to  find  out  who  it  was  that  demanded  admittance  to  the 
old  shop  in  Fleet  Street,  with  all  its  bad  associations  and  character  of  terror  ; 
so  he  crept  towards  the  door,  and  just  as  he  reached  it,  the  knock  came  again. 

If  the  whole  of  his  future  hopes— we  allude  to  the  future  that  might  be  for 
him  in  this  world  only,  for  Todd  had  no  hopes  nor  thoughts  of  another— had 
depended  upon  his  preserving  silence  and  stillness,  he  could  not  have  done  so, 
and  he  gave  another  start. 

"  Hush— hush  he  then  said.  "  Hush !  I  must  be  very  cautious  now — very 
cautious,  indeed.    Hush— hush  l" 

He  then,  in  atone  of  voice  that  he  strove  to  make  as  different  as  possible  from 
his  ordinary  tone,  and  which  he  was  very  successful  indeed  in  doing,  he  said— 

"  Who  is  there?1 

*\  It's  me,5'  said  a  voice,  in  defiance  of  all  probability  or  grammar,  "  It's 
only  me." 

*  Oh !  what  a  mercy,"  said  Todd. 

u  Open  the  door.  Is  it  you,  Joe?  Why  didn't  you  come  home,  eh?  You 
might  have  got  away  easy  enough.  I  have  brought  you  something  good  to  eat, 
old  fellow,  and  some  news.'' 

"Ah,  what  news,  my  boy  V? 

"  Why,  they  say  that  old  Todd  is  in  London." 

Todd  fell  to  the  floor  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  uttered  a  deep  groan.  It  was 
some  few  moments  before  he  could  summon  strength  and  courage  to  speak  to 
the  man  again.    But  he  began  to  feel  the  necessity  of  doing  something,  for  the 


1     at  w 


0*1 
I 'Sill* 

its  »:<?< 

j  Mdfcfw 

If  <b»,  Jo 
'fa  cat 
K  oleosa 

it  oped! 
but 


I  low  & 

*  tlU'l 


w 

"Oh 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


637 


man  began  to  hammer  away  at  the  door,  and  the  very  worst  thing  that  could 
happen  to  Todd,  just  then,  would  have  been  that  man  going  away  from  fhe  door 
of  the  shop  with  an  impression  that  all  was  not  right  within  it,  and  spreading 
an  alarm  to  that  effect. 

"J  will  open  the  door  just  wide  enough/  muttered  Todd,  "and  then  I  will 
drag  him  in  and  cut  his  throat,  and  throw  him  down  into  the  cellar  along  with 
the  two  others.  That  will  only  make  three  this  morning— yes,  this  morning,  I 
may  say,  for  it  is  morning  now." 

Acting  upon  this  resolve,  which  certainly  was  diabolically  to  the  purpose, 
Todd  spoke  to  the  man  again,  saying  in  the  same  assumed  tone  in  which  he  had 
before  addressed  him— 

"  All's  right— all's  right.   I'll  open  the  door/' 
"  That's  the  thing  ;  but  you  seem  to  have  a  bad  cold." 
u  So  I  have — so  I  have.   A  very  bad  cold;  and  it  has  affected  my  voice  so  that 
I  can  hardly  speak  at  all." 
*  So  I  hear." 

Todd  slowly  undid  the  fastenings  of  the  door,  and  an  infernal  feeling  of  joy 
came  over  him  at  the  idea  of  murdering  this  unhappy  man  likewise.  It  quite 
raconciled  him  to  the  danger  in  which  he  was,  for  he  could  not  but  know  that 
the  daylight  was  rapidly  approaching,  and  that  each  moment  increased  his 
peril. 

"  Yes,"  he  muttered,  "he  will  make  three  this  morning,  three  idiots  who 
fancy  they  are  a  match  for  me ;  but  I  will  soon  convince  them  of  the  contrary, 
I  will  soon  put  him  out  of  his  pains  and  anxieties  in  this  world.  Ha !  he  shnll 
be  an  independent  man,  for  he  shall  have  no  wants,  and  that  is  true  inde- 
pendence." 

Todd  drew  the  last  bolt  back  that  held  the  door.  I?  Mj 

*$  Come,  Joe,  are  you  coming  ?"  said  the  man. 

u  Soon  enough,  my  dear  friend,  soon  enough,"  said  Todd.  "  You  will  find 
me  quite  soon  enough.    Come  in." 

Todd  felt  quite  certain  that  if  the  man  caught  but  the  slightest  glance  at  him, 
It  would  be  sufficient  to  convincejhim  that|it/was  not  Joe,  and,  therefore,  he  only 
now  opened  the  door  wide  enough  to  let  him  slip  into  the  shop,  and  kept  him- 
self back  partially  behind  it,  so  as  to  be,  with  the  exception  of  one  arm,  quite 
out  of  sight. 

The  man  hesitated. 

"  Come  in/'  said  Todd.    "Come  in." 

"Why,  what's  the  matter  with  you,"  said  the  man,  "that  makes  you  so 
mighty  mysterious,  eh  ?    What  is  it,  old  fellow  V? 
"  Oh,  nothing.   Come  in." 

The  man  stepped  one  foot  across  the  threshold,  and  put  his  head  in  at  the 
shop-door. 

"  Come,  now,"  he  said.    "  None  of  your  jokes,  Joe.   Where  are  you  ?" 

Todd  felt  that  that  was  a  critical  moment,  and  that  if  he  failed  to  take  advan- 
tage of  it,  the  least  thing  would  give  the  man  the  alarm,  and  he  might  draw  back 
from  the  door  altogether,  and  so  stop  him  from  executing  that  summary  pro- 
ceeding against  him  which  he,  Todd,  thought  essential  to  his  interests. 

"  No,  old  fellow.    There's  no  trick.    "  Come  in." 

"Oh,  but  I  " 

The  man  was  drawing  back  his  head,  and  Todd  saw  that  the  moment  for 
action  had  come.  Darting  forward,  he  stretched  out  his  riobt  hand  and  caught 
the  man  by  the  throat,  saying  as  he  did  so,  in  the  voice  of  a  demon — 

"  In,  wretch— in,  J  say  !" 

The  man's  cravat  came  away  m  the  hand  of  Todd,  who  rolled  upon  his  back 
on  the  floor  of  the  shop.  The  man  finding  himself  free  from  the  terrific  gripe 
that  had  been  laid  upon  him,  fled  along  Fleet  Street,  crying— 

"Help— help  !  thieves!— murder!  Todd  !— help  !  fire  !  murder— murder  !" 

Todd  lay  upon  his  back  with  the  cravat  in  his  hand,  and  so  utterly  confounded 


a: 


J4- 


638 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS . 


was  he  by  this  accident,  that  for  a  few  moments  he  felt  disposed  to  lie  there  and 
give  up  all  further  contest  with  that  fate  that  never  seemed  weary  of  now  perse- 
cuting him  after  the  long  course  of  successful  iniquity  he  had  been  permitted  to 
carry  on. 

He  heard  the  loud  cries  of  the  man,  and  he  knew  that  even  at  such  an  early 
hour  how  those  cries  would  soon  rouse  sufficient  assistance  to  be  his  destruction. 
He  yet  did  not  like  to  die  withuut  a  struggle.  Newgate,  with  its  lonely  cells, 
came  up  before  his  mind's  eye,  and  then  he  pictured  to  himself  the  gibbet ;  and 
with  a  positive  yell,  partly  of  rage  and  partly  of  fear,  he  rose  to  his  feet. 

"  What  shall  1  do  V  he  said.  "  Dare  I  rush  out  now  into  Fleet  Street,  and 
by  taking  the  other  direction  to  that  in  which  this  man  has  gone,  try  to  find 

safety  T 

A  moment's  thought  convinced  him  of  the  great  danger  of  that  plan,  and  he 
gave  it  up.  There  lemained  then  nothing  but  the  mode  of  retreat  through  the 
church  ;  and  no  longer  hesitating,  he  took  the  light  in  his  hand  and  dashed  open 
the  little  door  that  communicated  with  the  narrow  stairs  that  would  take  him 
underneath  the  shop. 

Before  descending  them  he  paused  to  listen,  and  he  heard  the  cries  and  shouts 
of  men  afar  off.  He  found  that  his  foes  were  mustering  in  strong  force  to 
attack  him ;  and  clenching  his  double  fist,  he  swore  the  most  horrible  oaths. 
This  was  a  process  that  seemed  to  have  some  effect  upon  the  spirits  of  Todd. 
The  swearing  acted  as  a  kind  of  safety  valve  to  his  passion. 

He  descended  the  staircase,  and  when  he  reached  the  foot  of  it  he  paused 
again.  The  noise  in  the  street  was  not  so  acute.  It  had  sobered  down  to  a 
confused  murmur,  and  he  felt  that  his  danger  was  upon  the  increase.  Shading 
the  light  with  one  hand,  for  there  was  a  current  of  air  blowing  in  the  cellars 
and  secret  passages,  he  looked  like  some  fiend  or  vampire  seeking  for  some 
victim  among  the  dead. 

*'  They  come/'  he  said.  "  They  come.  They  think  they  have  me  at  Jast. 
They  come  to  drag  me  to  death.  Oh  that  I  had  but  the  power  of  heaping  de- 
struction upon  them  all,  of  submitting  them  all  to  some  wretched  and  l.ngering 
death,  I  would  do  it !    Curses  on  them— how  1  should  revel  in  their  misery  an& 

pain/'  ♦ 

rle  went  on  a  few  paces  past  the  dead  bodies  of  the  two  men,  and  then  he 
paused  again,  for  he  could  distinctly  hear  the  trampling  of  feet  upon  the  pave- 
ment n^ar  to  the  house  ;  and  then,  beiore  he  could  utter  a  word,  there  come  such 
a  thundering  appeal  to  the  knocker  of  the  outer  door,  that  he  dropped  his  candle, 
and  it  was  immediately  extinguished  in  the  start  that  he  gave. 

It  was  quite  evident  that  his  foes  were  now  in  earnest,  and  they  were  deter- 
mined he  should  not  escape  them  by  any  fault  of  theirs,  for  the  knocking  was 
continued  with  a  vehemence  enough  to  beat  in  the  door  ;  but  so  long  as  it  did 
continue,  it  was  a  kind  of  signal  that  his  enemies  were  upon  the  outside. 

** 1  may  escape  them  yet,"  he  said,  tremblingly.  "Oh,  yes,  who  shall  take 
upon  them  to  say  that  i  may  not  escape  them  yet  ?  I  can  find  my  way  in  the 
dark  well— quite  well.    I  am  sufficiently  familiar  with  this  place  to  do  so." 

That  was  true  enough  ;  but  yet,  although  Todd  was,  as  he  said,  sufficiently 
familiar  with  the  place  to  find  his  way  throught  it  in  the  dark,  he  could  not 
make  such  good  progress  as  when  he  had  a  lamp  or  a  candle  to  guide  him. 

He  heard  a  loud  crash  above. 

V  They  have  broken  open  the  door,"  he  said,  €t  but  yet  I  am  safe,  for  I  have  a 
wonderful  start  of  them.  1  am  safe  yet,  and  I  am  well  armed,  too.  I  hold  the  lives 
of  several  in  my  hands.  They  will  not  be  so  fond,  from  their  love  of  me.  to  throw 
away  their  lives.    Ha  !  I  shall  beat  them  yet— I  shall  beat  them  yet." 

With  his  hands  outstretched  before  him,  so  that  he  should  not  run  against 
any  obstacle,  he  took  his  way  through  the  gloomy  passages  that  led  to  the 
vaults  beneath  St.  Dunstan's  church.  The  distance  was  not  great,  but  his 
danger  was;  and  yet  such  was  his  insatiable  desgte  to  know  what  was  going  on 
in  his  house,  that  he  paused  more  than  once  again  to  listen. 


— 


J* 


«6b, 


Itektndc 
1 1  jet  hope 
rftbehoo 
kernel 
Hestoo 
lands  con 

beneatb  \ 
He  rap 
:o  iiis  old 
with  his  e 


•mil. til  i 


li, Hem 

teller  his 
re  upon  I 
being  able, 
Hi  shoe 

mania,  ' 
*Uito 


lis* 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  639 


From  what  he  heard,  he  felt  convinced  that  many  persons  had  made  their 
way  into  the  shop  and  parlour,  and  he  anticipated  a  thorough  search  of  the 
house. 

,  "  Let  them,"  he  said,  "let  them.  There  is  nothing  there  now  that  it  can 
interest  me  to  keep  secret— absolutely  nothing.  Let  them  search  well  iu  every 
room.    It  will  give  me  the  more  time." 

He  struggled  on  in  the  dark  a  little  lurther,  and  then  he  suddenly  paused.  A 
thought  had  struck  him. 

"  Oh,  what  a  glorious  thing,"  he  said,  **  if  I  could  only  now  fire  the  old  house, 
and  so  scorch  some  of  those  idiots,  who  are  no  doubt  running  from  room  to 
room  full  of  mad  delight  at  the  opportunity  to  do  so,  and  at  the  prospect  that 
they  may  light  upon  me,  and  so  share  the  money  among  them  that  is  offered  for 
my  blood.    It  is  a  tempting  thought." 

Todd  felt  in  his  pocket  for  the  matches  that  had  been  supplied  to  him 
by  his  departed  friend,  Mr.  Lupin,  and  he  found  that  he  had  some  of  them  left, 
although  all  the  little  bits  of  wax  ends  of  candles  were  gone. 

"A match  will  do  as  well  as  a  torch  to  set  fire  to  a  house.  I  will  chance  it, 
for  afterwards  I  shall  most  bitterly  repent  not  having  done  so.  Oh,  yes,  I  will  go 
back  and  chance  it.  I  know  how  to  do  it ;  and  if  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  whom 
I  yet  hope  to  see  in  death,  has  not  removed  the  materials  I  placed  for  the  firing 
of  the  house,  I  can  do  it  easily.  Oh,  that  will  be  most  capital !  I  think  ft  will 
make  me  laugh  again  !    Ha  !— ha !  yes,  it  will  make  me  laugh  again !" 

He  stood  for  the  space  of  time  of  about  two  minutes  in  deep  thought,  with  his 
hands  compressed  upon  his  brow;  and  then  he  muttered — 

"  Yes,  there  is  no  difficulty.  If  1  can  but  reach  the  flooring  of  that  cupboaid 
beneath  the  parlour,  it  will  do." 

He  rapidly  made  up  his  mind  to  attempt  this  most  perilous  act  of  setting  fire 
to  his  old  house,  after  all ;  notwithstanding  it  was  now  to  his  knowledge  filled 
with  his  enemies,  and  that  his  returning  was  a  matter  of  the  greatest  danger  to 
himself. 

He  crept  back  by  the  way  he  had  gone,  and  soon  reached  the  cellar  again 
under  his  shop.  That  cellar  run  partially  under  the  parlour  likewise  ;  and  it 
was  upon  that  circumstance,  well  known  to  him,  that  Todd  based  his  hopes  of 
being  able,  with  safety  to  himself,  to  fire  the  old  house. 

He  shook  a  little  as  he  reached  the  cellar  underneath  the  shop.  It  was  a 
natural  thing  that  he  should  do  so  ;  for  he  knew  that  he  was  doing  the  very 
reverse  of  what  impulse  would  have  prompted  him  to  do,  namely,  fly  from  his 
enemies.  The  mode  of  getting  into  that  cellar  might,  for  all  he  knew  to  the 
contrary,  be  found  out  at  the  most  inopportune  moment  for  him  that  could  be 
conceived,  and  he  might  find  himself  surrounded  almost  at  any  moment  by  his 
foes.       ^^i-i # J'r*/ ^ - i^^^^^^fflfei ^  Iti&^kk'k^  br*.u  h  ■  ^w^W^uifil&ci 

No  wTonder  Todd  shook  a  little. 

He  quite  forgot  that  the  bodies  of  the  two  men  were  there — his  two  latest 
victims  ;  and  as  he  went  crawling  along  with  excessive  care,  the  first  thing  he 
did,  was  to  fall  over  them  both,  and  measure  his  great  length  upon  the  floor  of 
the  cellar.  It  was  quite  astonishing  how  Todd  controlled  his  temper,  when  he 
had  any  object  in  view  which  an  ebullition  of  rage  would  have  had  the  effect  of 
jeopardising  in  any  way.  At  another  time,  his  oaths  upon  the  occasion  of  such 
a  fall  would  have  been  rather  of  the  terrific  order  ;  but  now  he  uttered  not  a  word, 
tut  gathered  himself  up  again  with  all  the  calmness  and  serenity  of  an  ancient 
martyr,  who  feels  that  he  is  suffering  for  some  great  and  good  cause,  dear  to  the 
interests  of  humanity. 

Sweeney  Todd,  however,  was  very  anxious  to  discover  if  in  his  fall  he  had 
made  noise  enough  to  alarm  those  who  were  above;  but  he  was  soon  satisfied 
that  such  was  not  the  case,  and  that  the  lower  part  of  the  house  was  quite 
deserted,  while  they  had  made  tl&eir  way  to  the  upper,  intent  upon  searching  in 
all  the  rooms  for  him  (Todd).  Ah !  they  little  knew  the  piece  of  obdurate  cun« 
ning  that  theyjhad  pitted  against  them  there ! 


i.nin  'in  iiMir«Bnai»rtMlliW mnn* 


i 


I 


640 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"^Tshali  do  it! — I  shall  do  it!"  muttered  Todd,  "  I  shall  easily  do  it  There 
is  no  one  to  prevent  me.  Ha !— ha !  I  do  believe  that  I  shall  smother  some  of 
them,  before  they  can  possibly  find  the  means  of  getting  down  stairs,  ihat 
would  be  quite  a  mercy  of  providence— oh,  quite  V* 


CHAPTER  CL. 

*fODD  SETS  tflfeE  TO  HtS  HOUSE,  AND  THEN  HIDES  IN  THE  CHURCH. 

Immediately  beneath  the  parlour,  where  a  portion  of  the  cellar  vent,  there 
was  a  quantity  of  old  lumber.  Perhaps  if  that  lumber  had  been  looked  very 
carefully  over,  among  it  there  might  have  been  found  some  fragments  ot  old, 
and  some  of  new  coffins  from  Sr.  Dunstan's;  for  with  the  rich,  who  had  vaults 
of  their  own,  it  was  the  arrogant  fashion  to  adorn  the  last  sad  and  narrow  home 
of  humanity  with  silver  plates  and  nails  ;  and  Todd  had  despoiled  the  grave  ot 
some  of  those  costly  trappings.  , 

Upon  the  heap  of  rubbish  he  scrambled,  and  that  just  enabled  him  comfortably 
to  reach  the  floor  of  that  parlour.  That  portion  of  the  floor  went  under  a  cup- 
hoard  in  one  corner,  and  in  the  floor  of  it  three  or  four  course  round  holes  had 
been  drilled  with  a  centre-bit.    Todd  had  had  his  own  motives  for  dulling  those 

holes  in  the  cupboard  floor. 

He  now  put  his  finger  through  one  of  the  holes,  and  when  he  did  so,  he  gave 
a  chuckle  of  delight,  for  he  was  convinced  that  the  contents  of  that  cupboard  had 
not  been  in  any  way  interfered  with ;  and  that,  as  a  consequence,  he  should  find 
no  difficulty  in  firing  the  house  completely.  , 

"  So,"  he  said,  "  this  is  the  cleverness  of  your  much-vaunted  Sir  Richard 
Blunt.  He  has  left  a  cupboard  as  crammed  with  combustible  materials  as  it 
well  can  be,  to  the  mercy  of  the  first  accident  that  may  set  fire  to  them  ;  and  now 
the  accident  has  come.    Ha  V* 

Again  Todd  listened  attentively,  and  was  still  further  satisfied  that  all  was 
profoundly  still  in  the  parlour,  although  he  heard  the  racket  and  the  banging  of 
doors  in  the  upper  part  of  the  house. 

"  This  is  good,5'  said  Todd.  «  This  is  capital.  All  is  well  now.  The  fire 
will  have  made  most  excellent  progress  before  they  will  discover  it,  and  I  will 
warrant  that  if  once  it  takes  a  firm  hold  of  the  wood  work  of  this  old  house,  it 
is  not  a  trifle  that  will  stop  its  roaring  progress. 

With  this,  Todd  ignited  one  of  his  matches  and  thrust  it  alight  through  one 
of  the  holes  in  the  floor  of  the  cupboard. 

A  slight  cracking  noise  ensued  immediately. 

"  That  will  do/'  said  Todd,  and  he  withdrew  the  match  and  cast  it  upon  the 
ground.  The  crackling  noise  continued.  He  turned  and  fled  from  the  place 
with  precipitation. 

*  In  the  lower  portion  of  that  cupboard  there  was  a  quantity  of  hay,  upon 
which  oil  and  turpentine  had  been  poured  liberally.  High  up  upon  a  shelf  was 
a  wooden  bowl,  with  eight  pounds  of  gunpowder  in  it,  and  Todd  did  not  know 
a  moment  when  the  flames  might  reach  it,  when  a  terrific  explosion  would  be 
sure  to  ensue. 

"  It  is  done  now,"  he  said.  "  It  is  done,  and  they  do  not  know  it.  More 
revenge — more  revenge !  I  shall  have  mare  revenge  now,  and  there  will  be  more 
death.' f 

He  knew  that  there  was  only  one  thing  that  could  by  any  possibility  prevent 
the  gunpowder  in  the  wooden  bowl  from  becoming  speedily  ignited,  and  that  that 
would  be  in  consequence  of  the  hay  being  packed  too  close  to  do  more  than 
smoulder  for  a  little  time  before  bursting  into  a  Same ;  but  that  it  must  and  would 
do  bo  eventually,  there  could  be  no  possible  doubt,  and  :t  was  in  that  hearty 
conviction  that  Sweeney  Todd  now  most  fully  gloried. 


THE  STRING  0£  fEARLS. 


641 


And  now,  as  he  had  done  before,  he  kept  his  arms  outstretched  before  him  to 
prevent  him  from  injuring  himself  against  any  of  the  walls  or  the  abrupt  turnings 
in  the  passages  between  his  own  house  and  old  St.  Dunstan's.  He  stooped, 
likewise,  in  order  that  he  might  not  strike  his  head  against  the  roof  at  in 
places  where  it  was  very  low,  and  rough,  and  rugged. 


TODD  TURNS  THE  TABLES  ON  THE  TWO  SHARPERS,  AND  ESCAPES. 

Once  only  Todd  got  a  little  bewildered,  and  did  not,  well  know  his  way,  and 
then  he  ignited  one  of  the  matches,  and  by  its  small  light  he  saw  in  a  moment 
which  way  he  was  to  go. 

H  All  is  well/'  he  said,  and  he  rushed  on  ;  but  yet  he  began  to  be  a  little  sur- 
prised that  he  heard  no  noise  from  the  house— no  sound  of  the  explosion  ;  and 
inclining  his  ear  to  the  ground,  he  stopped  in  one  of  the  old  vaults  to  listen. 


No.  81. 


t 


642 


THE  STRING  01*  PEARLS. 


i~.ru  rji  . 


A  low  moaning  sound  came  upon  his  ears  like  the  muttering  of  distant 
thunder,  and  then  a  report  as  though  some  heavy  piece  of  timber  had  fallen 
from  a  great  height  to  the  earth.  He  fancied  that  the  vault  in  which  he  was 
shook  a  little,  and  in  terror  he  rushed  forward.  The  gunpowder  had  exploded  in 
the  cupboard,  and  Todd's  imagination  was  left  to  revel  in  the  thought  of  the 
mischief  which  it  had  done  to  the  house  and  to  all  within  it. 

In  five  minutes  more  he  reached  the  foot  of  the  little  flight  of  stone-steps  that 
led  to  the  church.  All  was  profoundly  dark  still,  as  he  thought ;  but  he  had  not 
got  up  above  six  of  those  steps  when  he  became  conscious  that  the  light  of  early 
dawn  had  already  found  its  way  through  the  windows  of  the  church,  and  was 
making  evervthing  within  it  dimly  visible.    Todd  recoiled  at  this.    He  and  day- 


light were  decid 


"  It  is  mornim 


idedly  not  upon  good  terms  with  each  other  by  any  means, 
lins— it  is  morning  !"  he  exclaimed.    "  What  will  become 


of  me 


now?    It  is  light/' 

He  staggered  right  back  into  the  vaults  again,  and  there  gave  himself  to 
painful  thought  forawhile;  as  he  did  so,  he  heard  loud  shouts  in  the  streets- 
shouts  that  awakened  echoes  in  the  old  church  ;  and  if  anything  could  have  given 
to  Todd,  at  such  a  time  as  that,  very  great  satisfaction,  it  was  to  hear  that  those 
shouts  were  all  commingled  with  the  one  prevailing  cry  of— "  Fire— fire— fire  I" 
That  was  a  joy,  indeed,  to  him. 

"'"It  burns— it  burns  !"  he  said;  "but  I  am  here  a  prisoner ;  I  da^e  not  go  out 
into  the  daylight ;  but  the  old  house,  with  all  that  it  contains,  is  wrapped  in 
flames,  and  that  is  much— much  I  It  is  now  everything.  Oh,  that  I  could  hear 
the  cries  of  those  who  find  themselves  wrapped  up  in  the  unappeasable 
element,  and  have  no  means  of  escape !  They  would,  indeed,  be  music  to  my  ears." 

This  state  of  mental  exultation  passed  away  very  quickly,  as  it  was  sure  to  do, 
and  gave  place  to  the  most  lively  fears  for  his  own  personal  safety  ;  for,  after  all, 
that  was  the  great  thing  with  Todd— at  least  it  was  while  any  portion  of  his  deep 
revenges  remained  yet  to  be  accomplished. 

"What  shall  I  do?"  That  was  the  question  that  he  kept  repeating  to  him- 
5ng.  "  Wrrat  shall  I  do  ?*f  He  advanced  now  right  up  the  steps  into  the  body  of 
the  church.  There,  at  least,  he  knew  that  he  was  safe  for  the  present ;  and  as  he 
stood  and  listened,  he  thought  that  in  the  bustle  and  in  the  confusion  that  men's 
minds  were  in  regarding  the  fire,  he  might  emerge  from  the  church  and  no  one 
notice  him,  and  fairly  get  away  without  observation.  If  he  only  got  a  few  streets 
off  it  would  be  sufficient,  and'  he  should  be  able  to  tell  himself  that  he  had 
indeed  and  in  truth  escaped. 

With  these  thoughts  and  feelings,  he  approached  the  church  door. 

The  nearer  he  got  to  the  old  doors  of  St.  Dunstan,  the  more  appallingly  and 
distinctly  there  came  upon  his  ears  the  cries  and  the  shouts  of  the  people  who 
were  hurrying  to  the  fire,  and  he  muttered  to  himself — 

"  Ah,  it  must  be  blazing  briskly  nov^r-very  briskly.  It  must  be  quite  a  sight 
to  the  whole  of  London  to  see  the  old  den  burning  so  bravely." 

An  engine  came  rattling  on,  and  with  a  roar  and  a  crash  went  past  the  church 
door. 

*'  Capital!"  said  Todd.    *'  Upon  my  word  this  is  capital !" 

Another  engine,  with  the  horses  at  a  mad  gallop,  went  by,  and  Todd  quite 
rubbed  his  hands  at  the  idea  of  the  scene  of  confusion  that  he  had  by  his  own 
unaided  efforts  succeed  in  making  in  old  Fleet  Street. 

M  They  did  not  think/'  he  said,  "  when  they  closed  the  gates  of  the  old  prison 
upon  me,  and  told  me  I  should  die,  that  there  was  one  half  the  mischief  in  me 
yet  that  they  now  find  there  is.  Ay,  and  there  is  much  more  yet,  that  they 
dream  not  of,  but  which  they  shall  know  some  day." 

He  laid  his  hand  upon  the  lock  of  the  church  door.  A  long  ray  of  the  faint 
early  gray  light  of  dawn  streamed  through  the  massive  keyhole,  and  at  the 
moment  Todd  laid  his  hand  upon  the  lock  that  ray  of  light  "vanished.  It  was 
obstructed  by  some  one  on  the  outside.  He  recoiled  several  steps,  and  then 
from  the  outside  he  heard  a  voice  say— 


lip* 
;  -to*11 

■Vr 

Li* 

Be 

MM 

Ha£f* 

my  one  in 

tad  not  is 

opened  th 
Then, 
casual  o! 
Ihech 

ktbedi 
eicitinjtl 

(NIK,  fa 

tonl  that 
Oneof 
Ik  tower 
"And! 


KM 


■•rf»»i¥r>-it|-||1otill«Min>1riiii>^wrwtf»ii 


' '  "   "J'       n  ■r-»*i.-i-  ...■■,.»,..■.  ■  ■  -   wlujrf-  ir  r  ■■■  „,     n  Ullln    hi      <ri  II  ■ilTrTMii. 

-- If- -ng  ^TlTiftrirmniiM  r    i  i  p  n  -  ir  n  -    mm-  i  jm   11     h   Mn    >n  iwinii  i  _.-]nrir  1111"          i-mij_iji  gi    »nL  inn  i  T^nntun  -  '    'i  r   .  ~l  Ti~i  ^^■^yyniMi 

THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  643 


"  Lor  bless  us,  yes,  it's  that  old  villain  Todd's  house,  gentlemen,  in  course. 
It's  come  to  a  bad  end,  like  its  master  will  come  to,  if  he  hasn't.  When  T  saw 
the  flames  and  heard  'em  a-roaring,  I  said  to  my  missus  'Conwulsions  !'  says  I, 
'  if  that  ain't  Todd's  house  in  a  blaze/  " 

11  You  are  right>  Mr.  Beadle,"  said  a  voice  in  reply. 

"  Yes,  gentlemen,  perhaps  I  says  it  as  oughtn't  to  say  it,  but  I  is  commonly 
right  in  my  way,  you  know,  gentlemen  ;  and  so,  as  I  savs,  1  Conwulsions !  It's 
Todd's  house  a  fire/  " 

"  And  you  think,3'  said  another  yoke.  u  we  shall  get  a  good  view  of  it  from 
the  old  church  tower  ?" 

11  Yes,  gentlemen/'  replied  the  beadle,  whom  the  reader  will  not  fail  to  recog- 
nise as  our  old  acquaintance.  u  Yes,  gentlemen.  I'll  warrant  as  you  will  get  a 
capital  view  from  the  top  of  the  old  tower,  where  I  will  take  you.  Lor  a  mussy, 
how  it  is  a  roorin,  that  fire  !  I  know'd  it  was  Todd's  house,  and  I  said  to  my 
missus,  *  Conwulsions !'  says  I,  '  that's  old  villanous  Todd's  house  a-fire !'  " 

Todd  ground  his  teeth  together  with  rage  as  he  listened  to  this ;  but  he  fe!t 
that  if  he  would  provide  for  his  own  safety,  there  was  indeed  now  no  time  to 
lose,  and  he  rapidly  retreated  into  the  body  of  the  church. 

His  first  thought  was  to  hide  himself  in  one  of  the  pews,  but  the  divisions  be- 
tween them  were  not  so  high  as  to  prevent  a  person  of  very  moderate  height 
indeed  from  looking  over  one  ol  them,  and  there  was  quite  light  enough  now  for 
any  one  in  such  a  case  to  have  seen  him,  if  they  had  chosen  to  glance  into  the 
pew  in  which  he  might  take  shelter.  The  case  was  urgent,  however,  and  he 
had  not  much  time  for  thought,  so  being  close  to  the  pulpit  he  ran  up  its  steps, 
opened  the  little  door,  and  ensconced  himself  within  it  in  a  moment. 

There,  at  all  events,  he  felt  that  he  was  hidden  securely  from  any  merely 
casual  observation. 

The  church  door  was  opened  almost  before  he  could  get  the  pulpit  door  shut ; 
but  he  did  manage  to  close  it,  and  he  was  satisfied  that  he  had  done  so  without 
exciting  the  attention  of  those  who  were  entering  the  church.  Todd  could,  of 
course,  from  where  he  was,  hear,  with  the  greatest  clearness  and  precision,  every 
word  that  they  said  to  each  other,  as  they  walked  up  the  aisle. 

One  of  the  persons  who  were  coming  with  the  beadle  to  view  the  fire  from 
the  tower  of  the  church  went  on  speaking  to  his  companions. 

'*  And  so,"  he  said,  "I  think,  if  no  one  be  hurt,  and  the  fire  can  be  kept 
just  within  the  limits  of  Todd  s  house,  it  willbe  no  bad  thing  to  have  a  place 
that  is  such  a  continual  reminder  ot  atrocious  guilt,  swept  from  the  face  ot  the 
earth." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  other,  "  the  only  pity  is,  that  Sweeney  Todd  is  not  in  it  to 
go  with 'it.    Then  the  good  thing  would  be  complete." 

« It  would,  gentlemen,"  said  the  beadle.  "  Oh,  when  you  comes  to  think  of 
what  he  did  and  what  be  might  have  done— Oh,  it  makes  my  hair  stand  o  end, 
and  my  parochial  blood  curdle,  to  think  of  what  he  m'ght  have  done, 

gentlemen."  ,    ...  „ 

"  He  could  not  do  worse  than  he  did. 
"Not  wus?  kqXwus?    Oh,— oh!" 

u  how  is  it  possible  ?  He  committed  a  number  of  murders,  and  if  you  can 
find  me  anything  worse  he  could  have  done,  I  shall  indeed  be  very  much  sur- 

P™  Gentlemen,  he  might  have  polished  me  off  That's  what  he  might  have 
done,  for  he  has  actually  had  me  hold  of  by  the  nose.  Oh  conwulsions !  if  I 
had  only  then  thought  that  there  was  a  chance  of  his  polishing  off,  as  he  used 
to  call  it,  a  parochial  authority,  I  should  have-I  should  have-— 

«"  Jw  touBgS^e  Window,  sir,  that's  what  I  should  have  done,  and  told 
the  world  at  large  what  had  happened."  j} 
"  Well  certainly,  that  would  have  been  something.  . 
<<  Everjahing!"  said  the  other  gentleman,  in  a  tone  of  vo.ee  that  showed  how 


i 


much  he  was  enclinedto  enjoy  a  joke  at  the  expense  of  the  beadle.  44  It  would 
have  been  everything.  But  how  plain  you  can  hear  the  roaring  of  the  flames  now, 
even  in  this  church,  with  the  door  shut/' 

"  You  can,  indeed/  said  the  other.  u  Ah,  there  dashes  past  another  engine. 
Come,  Mr.  Beadle,  the  sooner  we  get  on  this  tower  the  better." 

"  In  a  minute,  gentlemen  ;  but  now  as  you  is  here  arter  the  blessed  old 
church  has  been  shut  up  all  night,  1  jest  ask  you  to  say  if  it  has  the  orrid  smell 
as  it  used  to  have,  which  offended  ttiVholy  nose  of  the  bishop  whea  he  came  to 
confirm  the  people/' 

"  I  smell  nothing/' 

"  Nor  I," 

"  Very  good  ;  then  that's  so  far  satisfactory.  Cos  you  see,  sirs,  only  yesterday 
Sir  Christopher  Wren  and  two  gentlemen  come  and  left  in  the  church  a  pailful 
of  chemists,  for  the  express  purpose  of  taking  away  the  smell/' 

"A  what?" 

<c  A  pailful  of  chemists/5 

u  Of  chemicals,  you  mean,  I  suppose,  although  that  would  be  a  singularly 
inappropriate  term.  But  come  on,  Mr.  Beadle,  we  are  very  anxious  to  get  on  the 
tower/1 

"  This  way,  gentlemen,  if  you  pleases.  This  will  lead  you  nicely  and  fairly  up 
those  little  stairs  and  right  on.    Oh,  what  a  world  we  does  live  in,  to  be  sure  !" 

With  this  general  philosophical  remark,  the  beadle,  opening  a  little  door  at  the 
extremity  of  the  south  aisle,  pushed  his  friends  up  a  narrow  staircase  that  led  to 
the  top  of  the  tower  of  old  St.  Dunstan's,  and  from  which  certainly  a  very  good 
view  of  the  surrounding  streets  and  of  the  Temple  could  be  obtained  ;  and  in  the 
clear  light  of  early  morning,  before  the  million  fires  in  London  were  lighted,  that 
view  was  seen  to  be  a  tolerably  distinct  one. 

Todd  muttered  the  bitterest  maledictions  upon  them,  as  he  heard  them  g  oup 
the  little  stairs. 

There  he  was,  certainly,  to  all  appearance,  safe  enough ;  and  he  might,  for  al1 
he  knew,  be  safe  enough  until  the  next  Sunday  ;  but  how  was  he  to  live  in  a 
pulpit  even  for  the  whole  of  a  day  ?  It  might  be  that  he  would  have  to  wait 
there  until  the  dim  shadows  of  the  night  should  come  again,  and  wrap  up  the 
whole  church  in  gloom;  but  how  many  weary  hours  must  pass  before  that 
time  would  come,  and  what  infinite  danger  there  was,  that  he  might  drop  into 
sleep  after  all  his  fatigues,  and  so  forget  his  caution,  and  discover  himself ! 

Already  the  great  fatigues  he  had  passed  through,  and  the  many  hours  he  had 
been  debarred  from  rest,  began  to  tell  upon  him  ;  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
he  kept  himself  from  dropping  into  slumber.  He  began  to  get  fearfully  alarmed 
at  his  situation. 

i€  What  shall  I  do  V7  he  said,  *'  I  must  escape — escape  !  Yes.  How  the 
fire  roars  !    I  will  not  sleep.   Oh,  no— no  J    It  is  done  now  ;  the  old  house  is 


gone— gone 


Todd  fell  fast  asleep  in  the  pulpit. 


CHAPTER  CLI. 

SHIFTS  THE  SCENE  TO  ONE  OF  QUIET  GOODNESS  AND  SERENITY. 

The  necessities  of  our  story  force  us  for  a  short  space  of  time  to  leave 
Sweeney  Todd  in  the  pulpit  of  St.  Dunstan's  Church,  and  his  house  in  process 
of  demolition  by  fire,  while  we  take  the  reader  back  again  to  Cheyne  Walk, 
Chelsea,  where  the  Ingestries  resided  in  such  loving  and  pleasant  union. 

The  communication  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  had  made  to  them,  had  had  the  effect 
of  disturbing  the  serenity  of  Mark  Ingestrie  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  he 
would  have  liked  to  admit,  or  than  he  was  at  all  likely  to  let  Johanna  know. 


H  i 


|  ■  t 


As  W 
The  old 
"Oh, 
»M 

llinoww 
1 !  escaped. 


She,  too,  the  fair  and  gentle  Johanna,  felt  an  acute  pang  as  she  thought  on 
the  stern,  revengeful  character  of  Todd ;  and  began  to  fancy,  that  if  he  wished 
to  work  her  any  woe,  he  would  take  a  means  of  doing  so  which  would  touch  her 
much  more  severely  than  as  if  he  aimed  at  her  own  life,  by  attacking  that  of  her 
husband,  to  whom,  after  so  many  perils,  she  was  at  length  so  very  happily  united. 

f£  Oh,  Mark,"  she  said,  "  you  will,  you  must  promise  me  that  you  will 
depart  at  once  from  here." 

We  will  be  gone  directly,  Johanna.    But  who  have  we  here  ?    Why,  there 
is  an  arrival  already.    I  will  go  and  see  who  it  is.   It  is  some  one  in  a  coach." 
"Oh,  no— no,  Mark,  do  not  go.3' 
"Notgo?" 

i€  No.  You  do  not  know  but  it  may  be  some  horrible  scheme  of  that  fiend 
in  the  shape  of  man,  Todd,  to  lure  you  to  the  door,  and  kill  you.  I  am  full  of 
fears,  Mark,  and  cannot  bear  to  let  you  go  from  my  sight  a  moment." 

"  Oh,  Johanna,  this  is  unlike  you,  indeed.  There  now,  look  from  the  window, 
dear,  and  you  will  soon  see  how  little  you  have  to  fear.  Why,  it's  your  father 
and  your  mother.  Do  you  not  see  them,  or  does  your  tears,  and  your  fears  to- 
gether, blind  you  ?" 

"  A  little  of  both,  Mark,5'  said  Johanna,  with  a  faint  smile  ;  iC  but  I  see  that 
my  dear  father  is  there,  and  my  mother,  too.  I  will  fly  to  welcome  them.  They 
have  heard  of  the  escape  of  Todd,  and  cannot  endure  to  have  us  out  of  their 
sight.** 

As'  Johanna  spoke,  she  hurried  to  the  door  to  receive  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oakley. 
The  old  man  caught  her  in  his  arms,  as  he  said — 

"  Oh,  my  own  dear  child  !    Thank  God  I  see  you  safe  again !" 
"  Safe,  father  T 

"  Yes,  my  darling.   You  know  that  dreadful  man  ?— that— that— Oh,  I  don  t 

know  what  to  call  " 

u  The  horried  Todd,"  put  in  Mrs.  Oakley,  as  she  kissed  Johanna.  "He  has 
escaped,  mv  dear,  from  Newgate  ;  but,  of  course,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  has  been 
here  to  telf  you,  as  he  said  he  would  ;  so  you  know  all  about  it." 

"Oh,  yes— yes.    Come  in  ;  I  am  so  glad  you  have  come." 

"And  so  am  I,"  said  Mark  Ingestrie,  making  his  appearance  in  the  hall; 
"for  here  is  Johanna  starting  at  every  little  noise,  and  I  do  believe  if  a  mouse 
were  now  to  run  across  the  floor  she  would  fancy  that  it  was  that  old  rascal, 

Sweeney  Todd."  „    _  ,  , 

"  Ah !  but,  my  dear  boy,"  said  Mr.  Oakley,  "  you  really  don  t  seem  to  have 

any  idea  of  what  a  dreadful  man  he  is— you  don't,  indeed." 
"  I  don't  care  either,  father  ;  but  I  only  wish  one  thing,  and  that  is,  that  he 

would  be  so  good  as  to  trust  himself,  for  about  half  a  minute,  withio  arms-length 

of  me,  that's  all."  „  „    -  .       ,    _  , 

« Heaven  forbid  !"  cried  Mrs.  Oakley.  "My  dear  son,  you  don t  know  he 

used  to— to— what  did  he  call  it,  Johanna  ?" 

"  Polish  people  off,  ma." 

"Ah,  to  be  sure."  ■        T     .  ,  T,„ 

«  Well,  it's  no  use  talking,"  said  Mark;  "  but  if  ever  I  get  hold  of  him,  111 

polish  him  off  to  some  purpose.   But  you  have  just  come  m  time  for  me  to  say 

a  very  serious  thing  to  you,  mother,  indeed." 
"  Oh,  what  is  it  ?"  cried  Mrs.  Oakley. 

«  Don't  agitate  us,"  said  old  Mr.  Oakley,  putting  on  his  spectacles  npside- 
dotvn.   "  Don't  agitate  us,  my  boy,  but  tell  us  at  once  what  the  dreadful 

"  Why,  pa,"  said  Johanna,  «  Mark  did  not  say  it  was  a  dreadful  thing  he 

was  going  to  say."  %  9 

4C  Well  then,  mv  dear,  what  is  it  ? 9  T  u 

"  Ah !  that,  indeld,  I  don't  know  ;  but  I  would  wager-yes  I  would  wager 

anything,  that  it  is  something  not  dreadful  at  all.    Come,  Mark,  wnat  is  it . 

Speak  out." 


.  -  I  ^  - 


m  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


"^fhen^s  just  this/'  said  Mark.  "  We  are  going  out  of  London,  and  I 
want  you  both  to  come  with  us,  for  I  know  very  well  if  you  don't,  that  you  will 
be  as  miserable  as  possible,  thinking  of  Johanna,  and  that  Johanna  will  be  in 
much  the  same  state  thinking  of  you,  and  that  you  will  dream  every  night  of 
Todd/' 

The  old  couple  looked  at  each  other  with  surprise  and  gratification.  Mr. 
Oakley  took  off  his  spectacles,  and  said — 

"  My  dear  boy,  do  you  know,  I  was  just  going  to  say  that — that  " 

"That,  in  fact/'  put  in  Mrs.  Oakley,  "  we  would  be  glad  to  go  with  you,  if 
you  would  let  us,  for  Sir  Richard  said  he  would  advise  you  both  to  go  out  of 
London,  and  leave  him  to  find  out  and  hang  Todd  at  his  leisure,  you  know/ 

<*  Yes,  that  was  it"  said  the  old  man.  That  was  the  very  thing  that  brought 
us  over  herer  my  dears  ;  so  if  you  will  only  be  so  good  

"  Come,  come/'  said  Mark,  "  it  is,  you  must  be  so  good.  I  asked  you  first, 
you  know,  so  you  do  us  the  favour.    Is  not  that  it,  Johanna  ?  Of  course  it  is." 

u  You  are  very,  very  good  and  kind,  Mark." 

"Oh,  stuff!  not  at  all;  I  say  what  I  like,  that's  all,  and  when  I  say  that  it 
would  please  me  mightily  to  have  your  father  and  mother  with  us,  Johanna, 
where  we  are  going,  I  mean  it  from  my  heart,  as  you  know  well. ' 

"  I  know  you  do,  Mark.  And  poor  Tobias,  father,  is  to  be  with  us  likewise. 
You  have  heard  all  about  poor  Tobias  ?" 

a  Oh,  yes—yes." 

"  Well,  then,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  told  us  that  it  would  be  the  death  of  the  poor 
lad  if  he  should  be  in  London  and  hear  that  Todd  has  escaped  from  Newgate. 
So  we  gladly  agreed  to  take  him  with  us,  for  he — more  than  any  one — has 
suffered  deeply  from  Todd's  wickedness." 

"  Hilloa  I'-  cried  Mark,  as  he  glanced  from  the  window.  MIf  here  is  not  another 
coach  at  the  door  IV 

"  Oh,  who  is  it  ?"  said  Mrs.  Oakley.  "It's  Todd,  of  course,  come  to  kill 
us  all!' 

"  I  hope  it  is/'  said  Mark.  "  I'll  soon  set  you  all  at  rest  about  him.  But 
only  look  !  It  it  ain  t  the  colonel,  and  Arabella,  and  Tobias.  Well,  if  Todd 
wants  to  be  down  upon  us  all  at  once,  now  is  his  time  certainly  to  do  so." 

In  a  few  moments,  the  colonel  and  Arabella  were  shown  into  the  room,  and 
they  were  quite  surprised  to  see  the  Oakleys  there ;  but  while  Johanna  and 
Arabel!a  were  embracing  each  other.  Mark  Ingestrie  went  up  to  the  colonel,  and 
pointing  slightly  to  Tobias,  he  whispered— 

"Does  he  know?" 

"Oh,  no—  no." 

r  Very  good  ;  but  he  had  better,  I  am  convinced,  for  it  will  be  sure  to  slip 
out  in  conversation,  some  time  or  another,  and  then  the  poor  lad  will  think 
much  more  of  it  than  as  if  it  were  told  to  him  in  a  quiet  manner  by  his  friends, 
for  he  will  think  that  there  is  more  to  conceal  than  there  really  is.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  such  will  be  the  ca^e  ' 

"  Then  we  will  take  an  opportunity  of  telling  him,  but  not  just  now.  I  want 
to  speak  to  Johanna," 
"There  she  is,  then.'' 

"  And  what  does  he  want  to  say  to  me  ?"  said  Johanna,  as  she  shook  hands 
with  the  colonel. 

«  Why,  a— the  fact  is  that— that,  in  fact,  Sir  Richard  told  me  he  would 
advise  you  to  go  out  of  town;  and  as  I  am  pretty  well  aware  that  you  set  suffi- 
cient store  by  his  advice  to  follow  it,  1  think  it  is  very  likely  you  will  go  out  of 


town." 


4  And  so,  dear,"  put  in  Arabella,  "  and  so,  dear,  in  a  word,  we  want  to  go 
with  you,  if  you  think  that  such  an  arrangement  will  not  be  disagreeable  to  you." 

"  Now,  that  is  the  unkindest  thing  you  have  said/Arabella,  for  a  long  time. 
How  could  you  suppose  that  it  would  be  other  than  most  agreeable  to  me  to 
have  with  us  such  valued  friends  ?" 


D 


} 


not  apprehend  anv  danger  to  you. 
They  all  spoke  to  Tobias  cheeringly,  and  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour  they 

.....  -  -  ■    -  •    ■    -   -  ■  ■  ---       ■  ...  ■  ■  i   ■  


"  There,  I  told  you  that"  said  the  colonel.  "Of  course  it  will  be  all  right, 
and  we  shall  make  quite  a  merry  party,  Vli  be  bound;  so  that's  as  good  as  settled, 
and  a  very  satisfactory  thing  it  is,  and  the  sooner  we  all  set  offthe  better.  Here's 
Tobias  quite  delighted  with  the  idea  of  his  little  excursion." 

"  Ah,  yes,"  said  Tobias,  "  and  it  is  so  kind  and  good  of  you,  colonel,  and  of 
all  of  you  ;  but  you  know  I  leave  my  heart  in  London  still,  "let  me  go  where  I 
may." 

"  Never  miad,  Tobias,"  said  Johanna.  "X  feel  quite  sure  that  you  will  find 
it  in  good  keeping  when  you  do  come  back  again  ;  so  now  we  will  make  prepar- 
ations at  once  for  departure,  and  I  hope  we  shall  be  quite  delighted  with  where 
we  are  going.  It  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  places,  they  tell  me,  on  the  coast, 
and  will  in  time  be  a  place  of  great  importance/' 

f  Well,"  said  the  colonel,  with  a  laugh,  "it's  quite  a  pleasant  thing  to  hear 
that  it  is  on  the  coast,  for  that  is  something  towards  a  knowledge  of  where 
t  is.* 

"Ah,  my  dear — By-the-by,''  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  "  I  should  like  to  know  where 
you  really  intend  to  take  us  all." 

"  To  the  little  fishing  village  of  Brighthelmstone,  for  it  is  nothing  more  ;  but 
then  it  lies  pleasantly  between  the  hills,  and  you  can  see  the  Channel  opening 
fairly  before  you,  and  there  is  an  air  upon  the  Downs  that  is  full  of  life  and  joy. 
You  will  be  sure  to  like  it,  mother,  and  so  will  you,  father,  and  you,  colonel, 
and  vou,  mv  dear  Arabella," 

"You  don't  mention  me,"  said  Mark. 

"  Oh,  that  is  because  you  know  you  are  of  no  sort  of  consequence  at  all.  You 
are  nobody." 
"  Thank  you  !" 

f1  Well  now,  my  dears,"  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  iC  don't  begin  to  quafrd  now,  I 
beg  of  you,  for  that  is  the  worst  thing  you  can  do  ;  and  so  long  as  we  get  out  of 
the  way  of  having  all  our  throats  cut  by  that  horrid  Todd,  I  don't  care  where  I 
go  to  or  how  many  inconveniences  I  put  up  with,  so  long  as  it  is  a  great  way  off; 
and  I  do  hope  that  Sir  Richard  wiL  soon  catch  him  again,  and  regularly  hang 
him,  as  he  deserves,  the  wretch,  that  I  do." 

A  complete  silence  followed  the  utterance  of  the  indiscreet  speech  of  Mrs. 
Oakley's,  which,  if  it  did  not  at  once  open  the  eyes  of  poor  Tobias  to  the  real 
reason  of  the  sudden  journey,  nothing  would.  All  eyes  were  bent  upon  the 
lad ;  and  rising  from  the  seat  which  Johanna  had  made  him  take,  he  looked 
about  him  with  dismay. 

"  Oh,  tell  me,  some  one,"  he  then  said,  "  what  does  it  all  really  mean  ?  Be- 
lieve me,  my  kind  and  dear  friends,  that  I  shall  suffer  less  from  the  truth  than 
as  if  I  were  left  to  make  myself  mad  by  thought.    Oh,  te  d  me  all !" 

"  You  shall  know  all,"  said  the  colonel. 

"  Oh,  mother— mother,"  said  Johanna.  "  why  did  you— — " 

Mrs,  Oakley  sat  looking  the  picture  of  dismay,  and  Colonel  Jeffrey  added— 

"  This  is  an  accident  that  I  don't  think  is  to  be  much  lamented.  Tobias 
must  have  known  at  some  time,  and  it  is  better  that  he  should  know  now  that 
he  is  surrounded  by  his  friends.  Give  me  your  hand,  Tobias.  You  see  that 
I  smile,  so  it  cannot  be  of  great  moment  after  all." 

"  Oh,  tell  me— tell  me  !" 

i€  I  will.  Todd  has  made  his  escape  from  Newgate,  that  is  all;  but  he  is 
friendless  and  penniless,  and  it  will  be  quite  impossible  that  he  cUn  remain 
many  days  at  large,  as  Sir  Richard  Blunt  is  already  upon  his  track.  Let  me 
beg  of  you  not  to  be  in  the  least  alarmed  at  this  intelligence.  It  ought  not  to 
alarm  you.  Todd  will  have  too  much  to  do  to  look  after  his  own  affairs  to 
enable  him  to  give  a  thought  to  anybody  else." 

"  You  will  save  me  ?"  said  Tobias, 

"  i  will.    We -will  all  stand  between  you  and  any  harm  ;  but,  I  repeat,  I  ao 


,  A..        ■   _________ 

THE  STRING  Off  £EARLl  

got  him  into  quite  a  different  state  of  mind ;  and  then,  as  he  wats  to  form  one  of 
the  party,  it  was  quite  a  relief  to  them  all  that  they  did  not  feel  compelled  to 
keep  a  guard  upon  their  tongues  in  his  presence.  In  the  evening  of  that  day 
they  were  all  at  Brighton. 


CHAPTER  CLIL 

TODD  HAS  SOME  KJRTHER  ADVENTURES  IN  FLEET  STftEET, 

We  left  Todd  in  the  pulpit  of  St.  Dunstan's  Church,  while  his  old  house  was 
rapidly  burning  down.    A  perilous  position  for  Todd  I 

Perhaps,  if  he  had  courage  sufficient  to  have  made  the  attempt,  he  might  have 
escaped  at  several  junctures,  but  the  dread  of  the  consequences  of  capture  was 
so  strong  ia'his  heart  and  brain,  that  while  he  felt  that  he  was  undiscovered  in 
the  pulpit,  he  preferred  remaining  there  to  making  any  precipitate  means  of 
escape. 

It  will  be  remembered  how  the  beadle  had  taken  up  several  gentlemen  to  the 
roof  of  the  church,  in  order  that  they  might  get  a  good  view  of  the  fire  ;  and  it  was 
during  that  time  that  Todd  thought  of  escaping,  but  the  rapid  approach  of  day- 
light daunted  him. 

u  Oh,  that  I  had  remained  in  the  wood  at  Hampstead,  or  anywhere  but  here 
in  London,  where  the  hands  of  all  men  are  raised  against  me  !  Oh,  I  was  mad 
— mad  to  come  here.  But  I  am  not  quite  lost.  If  I  thought  that,  my  senses  would 
go  from  me  this  moment.  Oh,  no— no,  I  will  be  calm  now  again  ;  I  will  not 
believe  that  I  am  quite'lost  yet/' 

Of  a  truth,  Todd  felt  that  if  he  really  gave  up  in  despair,  that  he  might  commit 
some  extravagance  which  would  at  once  draw  down  upon  him  his  enemies; 
and  there  he  lay  in  the  pulpit,  his  gaunt  form  huddled  up  so  as  completely  to 
hide  himself  in  it,  and  dreading  to  stay  as  much  almost  as  he  dreaded  to  leave. 

He  heard  still  the  loud  shouts  of  people  at  the  fire,  and  at  times  he  thought 
he  heard  even  the  flames  that  were  rapidly  consuming  the  old  den  of  iniquity  in 
which  he  had  committed  so  many  crimes.-  The  regular  clank,  clank,  too,  of  the 
engine  pumps  came  upon  his  ears,  and  he  muttered — 

€i  No,  no,  you  may  try  your  hardest,  but  you  will  not  subdue  that  fire.  It 
will  blaze  on  in  spite  of  you.  You  will  not— you  cannot,  I  say,  subdue  it.  The 
house  is  too  well  prepared.  I  had  a  care  for  that  before  I  left  home.  It  will 
burn  to  the  very  ground— ay,  and  below  the  ground,  too  ;  and  the  spot  of  earth 
only  will  remain  that  held  the  foundation  of  my  old  house.  Would  that  all 
whom  I  hate  were  at  this  moment  writhing  in  the  flames  !  Then  I  might  leel 
some  sort  of  satisfaction  with  myself,  and  even  this  place  of  peril  would  be  for 
the  time  quite  tolerable  to  me." 

No  doubt  it  would  have  been  a  vast  satisfaction  to  Todd  to  have  all  that  he 
hated  in  the  flames  of  his  burning  house;  but  as  vet  he  could  only  tell  himself 
that  the  puny  vengeance  he  had  achieved  had  been  upon  the  most  inferior  tools  of 
those  who  had  wreaked  his  ruin,  while  the  principals  remained  untouched  and 
most  completely  unscathed. 

What  had  he  yet  done  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt?  What  to  Tobias?  What  to 
Johanna  ?  What  even  to  the  dog  that  had  played  no  mconside  rable  a  part  in 
his  final  conviction  of  the  murder  ®f  its  master?  Little,  indeed;  and  the  thought 
that  his  revenges  were  all  to  do,  scared  his  imagination,  and  filled  him  full  of 
rage  as  well  as  terror. 

_  He  heard  the  sound  of  the  footsteps  of  the  people  who  had  gone  to  the  roof  of 
the  church  with  the  beadle  to  see  the  fire,  coming  down  again,  and  he  shrunk 
still  closer  into  the  bottom  of  the  pulpit. 

V  Oh,"  he  said  7  if  they  could  but  for  one  moment  guess  tl  tat  I  was  here, 
what  joy  it  would  give  them  to  drag  me  forth  to  the  light  of  day  !  To  once  again 
cast  me  into  the  condemned  one's  cell,  and  then  to  hoot  me  to  the  gallows !  But, 


*^-iS^»T>,«*"'",«*^»»>g**i»'.'«>i»M—         ,  1   mini  m»  pi  1  <  ji,  immiii  »  »V'f'  k 





— — 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


649 


^o—no  ;  I  will  not  die  a  felon's  death.  Rather  by  my  own  hands  will  I  fall,  if 
iuy  fortune  should  reach  such  a  'wretched  extremity.  Hush ! — oh,  hush!  Why 
do  I  speak  ?   They  come — they  come." 

««  Well,  gentlemen,  as  you  say,  the  old  house  is  gone  at  last,"  said  the  beadle 
«<  and  I  must  say,  though  fires  always  gives  me  a  turn,  and,  as  a  parish  authority 
perhaps  I  ought  not  to  say  it,  1  think  it  is  a  very  good  job." 


TODD  ENCOUNTERS  GREAT  PERILS  ON  THE  RIVER  THAMES. 

"Aeoodiob  Mr.  Beadle  V  said  one.   «'  How  do  >v>u  make  that  out  ?" 

^CsirrwlK.  would  have  lived  in  it?  Who  w-uld  have  paidrert .and 
rates,  and  taxes,  and  given  his  Christmas-box  to  the  beadle  like  a  Christian,  m 
Todd's  old  house,  I  should  like  to  know? 

«  Well,  you  are  right  there." 


No.  82. 


050  THE  STRING  OK  PBARLS. 


"  I  know  I  is,  sir.  The  fact  is,  that  nouse  would  have  been  like  a  great  blot, 
sirs,  in  the  middle  of  Fleet  Street ;  no  one  would  have  taken  it  for  love  or  money  ; 
and  it  a  very  good  thing  as  it's  gone  at  last" 

«  You  reason  the  matter  very  well,  Mr.  Feadle,"  said  another,  "and  I  for  a 
certainty  subscribe  to  your  opinion,  that  it  is  a  good  thing  it  is  gone  at  last,  and  I 
only  hope  that  its  late  owner  will  soon  be  in  the  hands  of  justice.  Somebody  is 
trying  the  door  of  the  church/' 

The  beadle  went  to  it,  and  upon  opening  it  two  persons  entered  the  church. 
One  of  them  spoke  at  once,  saying — 

"  Is  the  beadle  of  St.  Dunstan's  in  the  church  ?" 

Todd  knew  the  voice.  It  was  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  he  shook  so  that  the 
pulpit  creaked  again  most  ominously,  so  that  if  the  attention  of  any  one  had 
chanced  to  be  directed  towards  it,  they  might  have  felt  a  kind  of  suspicion  that 
it  was  occupied.  Luckily  for  Todd,  no  one  looked  up,  nor  in  any  way  noticed 
the  pulpit. 

*  Lor,  sir,  yes,"  said  the  beadle.   "Here  I  is,  and  if  I  don't  make  a  great 
mistake,  sir,  you  is  Sir  Richard  Blunt." 
u  I  am." 

«c  Lor  bless  you,  sir,  that's  the  way  with  me.  If  I  sees  a  indiwidal  once,  and 
knows  'em,  I  knows  'em  again." 

"  It's  a  capital  faculty,  Mr.  Beadle.  But  my  friend,  Mr.  Crotchet,  here, 
will  just  go  down  with  you  through  the  vaults  to  make  sure  that  the  fire  in 
Todd's  house  has  in  no  way  connected  with  this.  We  don't  want  to  burn  down 
the  church." 

"  Burn  down  the  church,  sir  ?  Oh,  conwulsions  !  Me  go  down  into  the  vaults 
with  this  gentleman  ?  Bless  you,  sir,  I  should  only  obstructify  him  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duty.  I  couldn't  think  of  doing  it,  1  assure  you,  sir.  He  can  go 
by  himself,  you  see,  and  then  he  will  have  the  advantage  of  nobody  to  contra- 
dict him." 

W  I'd  rather  go  without  him,  Sir  Richard,"  said  Crotchet,  who  was  the  gen- 
tleman.    u  He's  only  a  idiot !° 

The  beadle  marched  up  to  Crotchet,  he  got  within  about  two  inches  of 
that  gentleman's  nose,  and  then  slowly  shaking  his  head  to  and  fro,  he  said — 

"  Did  you  call  me  a  hidiot  p 

"Yes,  I  did." 

"  Yqu  did  ?  Now,  young  man,  mind  what  you  say,  because  if  you  call  me  a 

hidiot,  I  shall  be  bound  to  do  " 

"What?" 

n  Nothing  at  all.  I  see  you  are  rather  a  low  fellow,  so  I  shall  treat  you  with 
the  same  contempt  as  I  did  the  very  common  person  that  pulled  my  nose  last 
week — Silent  contempt!  That's  how  I  serve  people.  L  despise  you,  ac- 
cor* 


"  Werry  good,"  said  Crotchet.  ft  That's  by  far  the  safestest  way,  old  feller. 
So  nQjy  111  go  down  into  the  vaults." 

news  of  Todd  yet,  Sir  Richard  ?*  said  one  of  the  gentlemen,  walking  up 
to  the  magistrate. 

"  Oh,  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  the  magistrate.  "  I 
did  not  see  you  at  the  moment  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  although  we  have  some 
news  of  Todd,  we  have  not  yet  been  able  to  catch  him.  But  we  must  have  him, 
England  is  not  so  very  large  a  place  after  all,  and  I  don't  think  he  has  any  means 
of  getting  away  from  it." 

"  The  sooner  the  rascal  expiates  his  crimes  upon  the  scaffold  the  better.  I 
never  before  heard  of  a  criminal  in  whose  whole  career  there  was  nothing  found 
that  could  excite  the  faintest  feeling  of  compassion.' '  4 

u  He  is  a  desperate  bad  fellow,  indeed,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  "  but  I  hope 
that  he  will  not  long  trouble  society.  I  have  determined  to  give  up  all  other 
pursuits  until  I  take  him,  and  I  have  a  carte  blanche  from  the  Secretary  of 
State  to  go  to  any  expense,  and  to  do  what  I  please,  in  the  way  of  capturing  him." 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  651 


Todd's  heart  sunk  within  him  at  these  words.  Had  they  come  from  any  one 
else,  he  would  not  have  heeded  them  much,  but  from  him  they  were  of  fearful 
import. 

"  Oh,  that  I  could  kill  that  man/'  he  muttered,  ?!  then  I  should  know  some 
peace ;  but  while  he  lives  and  while  I  live,  we  are  like  two  planets  in  one  orbit, 
and  cannot  long  exist  together/' 

*  I  wish  you  every  success/'  said  Sir  Christopher  Wren. 

"  I  am  obliged  to  you,  Sir  Christopher.  The  fact  is,  that  Todd  left  his  house 
pretty  full  of  combustibles,  and  my  men  were  unwise  enough,  contrary  to  my 
positive  orders,  to  let  them  be  there ;  and  1  am  afraid  that  he  may  have  contrived 
some  mode  of  blowing  up  the  church  by  a  train  or  some  other  equally  diaboli- 
cal means,  as  he  had  such  free  and  unrestrained  access  to  it  for  so  long/* 

«  What !"  cried  the  beadle.    "  What  did  you  say,  Sir  Richard  ?" 

"I  merely  said  that  I  was  apprehensive  Todd  might  have  concocted  some 
means  of  blowing  up  the  church,  that  is  all/' 

"  And  me  in  it !    And  me  in  it !    Conwulsions  !" 

The  beadle  did  not  pause  for  another  moment,  but  rushing  to  the  door,  he 
flew  out  of  the  church  as  if  a  barrel  of  gunpowder  had  been  rolling  after  him, 
nor  did  he  stop  until  he  got  right  through  Temple-bar  and  some  distance  down 

the  Strand.  a^Aitf 
"  I  am  afraid  I  have  frightened  away  our  friend,  the  beadle/'  said  Sir  Richard 

Blunt.  m         /  _       _  _  . 

"  And  I  don't  wonder  at  it/'  replied  Sir  Christopher  Wren.    "  I  should  not 
like  exactly  to  be  blown  up  along  with  the  fragments  of  old  St.  Dunstan  s 
Church  myself,  so  I  will  go." 
"  Ah,  1  am  sorry  I  mentioned  it.  # 
"  Are  you  though?    I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  so  doing.  Excuse 
me,  Sir  Richard,  for  bidding  you  good-morning  rather  abruptly,  if  you  please. 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  laughed  as  he  bade  Sir  Christopher  and  his  friend  good- 
morning -by  the-by,  the  friend  had  already  made  his  way  outside  the  church- 
door,  and  was  waiting  for  Sir  Christopher  in  no  small  degree  of  trepidation. 
"For  God's  sake/'  he  said,  "come  along  at  once,  or  we  may  all  be  blown 


3» 


"  Well,"  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  as  he  paced  up  the  aisle  of  the  old  church, 
"  I  would  risk  a  little  scorching,  if  at  the  end  of  it  I  could  only  lay  my  hand 
upon  the  shoulder  of  Sweeay  Todd.  What  on  earth  can  have  become  of  the 
rascal?  But  I  must  be  patient-yes,  patience  will  do  it,  for  that  we  shall  come 
face  to  face  again,  I  feel  to  be  as  established  a  fact  for  the  future,  as  that  of  my 

own  existence  now."  ,    t,.    .    T(T  iJ|L  Aar„A 

'<  Oh,"  thought  Todd,  'f  if  I  now  only  dared  to  shoot  him  !  If  I  only '  dared 
do  it !  And  I  would  if  it  were  not  for  the  other  one  in  the  vaults-that  wretch 
they  call  Crotchet.  And  yet  I  have  a  pistol  here  If  I  thought  that  after 
shooting  him  through  the  head  or  through  the  heart,  I  could  by  one  boM  jush 
get  out  of  this  church,  what  a  glorious  piece  of  work  it  would  be  !  This  fcir 
Richard  Blunt  is  the  only  man  that  I  dread.  Were  he  no  more,  I  should  feel 
completely  at  peace.    I  could  shoot  him  now."  ..  .  -rpv:rp 

Todd  took  a  pistol  from  his  pocket  and  presented  it  ^S^Jf^iXTn 
of  the  very  slightly  open  door  of  the  pulpit.   The  door  would  open  a  little  in 

^"Ves^h'  ves  I  could  shoot  him  now;  but  the  report  of  the  pistol  would 
perhlps'brmgy  hat  otLr  villain  they  call  Crotchet  from  the  vauhs  and 
who  shall  say  what  would  happen  ?  And  yet  I  have  another  pistol  and  couW 
shoot  him  too.  Oh,  how  glorious,  if  I  could  take  the  lives  of  both  these  men . 
It  would  indeed  be  a  good  work."  miQDectine 
The  magistrate  paced  too  and  fro  waiting  for  Crotchet,  and  little <  "JjW 
that  Todd  was  so  near  to  him,  and  with  a  pistol  mmed  at  him !  If £  had  only 
guessed  aslmuch,  he  would  have  freely  risked  the  shot  and^°'XBlunt 
jbeen  in  the  pulpit  along  with  Todd.  But  it  was  not  to  be.   By  Richard  Blunt 


! 


652  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


had  not  any  supernatural  power  by  which  he  could  tell  of  the  proximity  of  Todd 
from  no  evidence  of  that  fact  at  all. 

"  Yes/'  said  Todd  suddenly,  "  I  will  shoot  him.  I  will  risk  all  and  shoot 
him  now.  If  I  die  for  it,  I  shall  have,  at  least,  had  a  great  and  glorious  revenge ! 
I  will  shoot  him  now,  when  he  turns  and  walks  up  the  aisle  again/' 

Todd  felt  calm  and  pleased  now  that  he  had  actually  made  up  his  mind  to 
shoot  Sir  Richard:  He  projected  the  barrel  of  the  pistol  about  an  inch  or  so 
through  the  crevice  caused  by  the  spring  of  the  door,  and  he  calmly  waited  for 
the  opportunity  of  sending  its  deadly  contents  into  the  heart  of  the  magistrate* 

The  aisle  down  which  Sir  Richard  had  slowly  paced  was  rather  a  long  one, 
and  he  had  walked  down  it  some  half-dozen  times,  in  deep  thought,  and  waiting 
for  Crotchet.  There  was  no  reason  on  earth  why  he  should  not  come  up  it 
again,  and  so  expose  himself  to  the  deadly  aim  of  Todd. 

He  did  commence  the  walk  up  it.  If  he  had  taken  twenty  steps  he  would 
have  been  a  dead  man ;  but  chance,  or  providence — it  is  not  for  us  to  say  which 
— had  it  otherwise.  After  going  about  ten  paces,  he  turned  abruptly  to  the 
left,  and  made  his  way  down  a  long  narrow  passage  between  the  pews  to  the 
opening  that  led  down  to  the  vaults,  where  Crotchet  was  pursuing  his  inquiries. 

Todd  was  foiled. 

He  drew  back  with  a  deep  sigh. 

"  He  is  saved  !"  he  said.    M  He  is  saved  !    It  is  not  to  be V 
Quite  unconscious  of  the  serious  danger  he  had  so  narrowly  escaped,  Sir 
Richard  went  to  the  mouth  of  the  opening  to  the  vaults,  and  called  out — 
"Cotchet!  Crotchet!" 

u  Here  you  is,  sir/'  replied  Crotchet  ;  c<  I  was  just  coming*-  It's  all  right. 
The  old  wagabone  has'nt  done  nothing,  sir,  to  spread  the  fire  out  of  his  own 
blessed  premises,  as  I  can  see.  The  church  isn't  in  danger,  sir,  I  take  it." 
H"  Very  good,  Crotchet ;  then  we  need  not  remain  here  any  longer.  I  cannot, 
for  the  life  of  me,  think  what  has  become  of  our  man  that  we  left  in  Todd's 
house.  In  all  the  riot  and  racket  of  the  fire,  no  one  seems  to  be  at  all  aware  of 
what  has  become  of  him.    Is  he  a  steady  sort  of  a  man,  Crotchet  ?" 

"  Why  yes,  Sir  Richard,  he  is.  But  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  he  has  got  the 
fault  of  many.    He  is  fond  of  the  — — " 

H  ere  Crotchet  went  througM  expressively  the  pantomime  of  placing  a  glass  to 
his  lips  and  draining  it  off,  after  which  he  rubbed  his  stomach,  as  much  as  to 
say — "  Isn't  it  nice  !* 

*'  I  understand,  Crotchet :  he  drinks." 

*'  Rather,  Sir  Richard." 

*?  Ah,  that  is  the  case  of  all — or  of  nearly  all— men  in  his  class  of  life.  I 
should  not  wonder  now,  at  all,  if  he  has  not  been  taking  a  glass  of  something, 
in  consequence  of  feeling  lonely,  and  so  set  fire  to  the  old  house." 


1  CHAPTER  CLIII. 

TODD  ASTONISHES  THE  BEADLE,  AND  ESCAPES  FROM  ST.  DUNSTAN'S. 

"  Oh!"  groaned  Todd  to  himself.  "  Oh,  if  I  had  but  shot  the  villain  before  the 
other  one  came  up  from  the  vaults,  and  all  would  have  been  well ;  but  I  cannot 
shoot  them  both  at  once.  It  is  not  often  that  1  lose  anything  by  procrastination, 
but  1  have  now— Oh,  yes,  I  have  now !  It  is  maddening  !— It  is  quite  mad- 
dening !  and  I  could  find  in  my  own  heart  almost  to  turn  this  pistol  against  my 
own  life,  only  that  1  hope  yet  to  live  a  little  while  for  vengeance." 
A  smart  tap  came  against  the  church  door. 

,:  Open  the  door,  Crotchet,"  said  Sir  Richard.  "  We  are  alone  in  the  church 
J  now,  for  the  beadle  was  too  careful  of  himself  to  remain  after  he  found  that 
|  there  was  some  little  danger." 


■-   —  1  — - — —   ■  ■  ■  .-i —  , 

"  Oh,  sir,"  said  Crotchet,  with  an  expression  of  disgust  in  his  face,  "  beadles 
is  humbugs,  sir  ;  and  this  beadle  of  tit  Dunstan's  is  the  very  worst  of  the 
worst  of  beadles.  Didn't  you  notice,  sir,  what  an  old  humbug  he  was  before, 
when  we  was  a-coming  here  on  the  hunt  about  Todd  and  that  beautiful  creature 
Mrs.  Lovett  ?  Then,  sir,  we  found  out  what  sort  of  a  beadle  that  was.  I 
rather  think  I  despises  beadles,  sir;  I  does,  your  worship." 

Tap  came  the  knock  at  the  church  door  again. 

"  You  forget,  Crotchet,"  said  Sir  Richard,  pointing  to  the  door. 

u  Lor,  yer  worship,  so  I  did.  1  begs  his  blessed  pardon  whosomever  it  is. 
Come  in.  There's  nobody  but  the  right  sort  here,  whoever  it  is.  Hilloa !  it's  our 
friend,  Green." 

11  Ah,  Green,  are  you  looking  for  me }"  said  Sir  Richard, 

"  I  was,  sir." 

"  Then  you  have  news.    What  is  it  ?" 

"  Todd  is  in  the  neighbourhood,  sir,  or  was  an  hour  or  two  ago,  I  am  well 
assured." 
•'Todd?" 

u  Yes,  sir.  He  was  in  his  own  house.  A  man  came  to  the  door  of  it  to  see 
the  person  minding  it,  and  the  door  was  opened  a  little  way,  and  Todd  tried  to  pull 
him  in,  and  would  have  pulled  him  in,  but  his  neckcloth  gave  way,  and  then  the 
fire  broke  out  directly  after.  The  man  has  been  in  too  great  a  fright  till  just  a 
little  while  ago  to  venture  into  the  street  again." 

"  You  have  seen  him  V* 

"  I  have,  sir." 

41  Bring  him  here,  Green. "  1 
Green  immediately  left  the  church,  and  Mr.  Crotchet  set  up  a  long  and  me- 
lancholy whistle. 

"  In  my  heart  I  thought  this  might  be,*  said  Sir  Richard,  <c  and  yet  having  no 
evidence  to  justify  the  suggestion  of  my  fancy,  I  did  not  liket  to  nurse  the  idea. 
Todd  in  this  neighbourhood — Todd  in  his  own  house !    Oh,  what  a  chance  V 

<f  Your  worship,"  said  Crotchet,  shaking  his  head  and  speaking  slowly,  with 
an  appearance  of  great  wisdom.  "Your  worship,  it's  mostly  always  the 
case.  There's  a  special  providence  that  always  brings  back  folks  as  has  done  a 
murder  back  again  to  the  place  where  they  has  done  it ;  and  the  next  time  I'm 
on  the  lay  for  a  cove  as  has  done  a  slaughtering  job,  I  shall  sit  myself  down, 
yer  worship,  in  the  room  where  he  did  it  and  wait  for  him.  It's  a  special  thing 
of  Providence,  it  is,  sir,  I  feel  as  sure  as  though  I  did  it  myself,  as  isn't  Provi- 
dence at  all,  but  just  Crotchet,  and  no  sort  of  mistake/' 

"  You  are  right,  Crotchet,  as  far  as  examples  go.  We  will  only  just  listen  to 
what  this  man  that  Green  has  gone  for  has  got  to  say,  and  then  we  will  be  off 

and  do  our  best." 
"Yes,  yer  worship,  we  will ;  and  here  he  is%" 

Green,  the  officer,  now  brought  into  the  church  the  very  man  with  whom  Todd 
had  had  the  little  adventure  at  the  door  of  his  shop;  and  notwithstanding  the 
time  that  had  elapsed  since  that  little  incident,  the  man  was  still  in  a  state  of 
terror,  which  was  quite  manifest  in  every  feature  of  his  face. 

"  Why,  what's  the  matter  with  you?"  said  Crotchet,  as  he  dealt  the  man  a 
blow  on  the  back  that  nearly  took  all  his  breath  away.  You  look  as  scared  as 
if  you  had  just  seen  a  ghost,  old  fellow,  that  you  do." 

u  It  was  worse  than  a  ghost/' 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  stepped  up  to  the  man,  and  eaid— • 

"  Do  you  know  me  ?    I  am  Sir  Richard  Blunt  the  magistrate. 9 

"  Oh,  yes,  sir,  I  know  you." 

"  Answer  me  then,  clearly  and  distinctly,  for  much  may  depend  upon  it.  W ha 
was  it  opened  the  door  of  Todd's  house  for  you,  and  strove,  as  1  hear,  to  dr*g 
you  into  it  ?" 

"  Sweeney  Todd,  sir/'  .     _  ' 

"  Are  you  quite  sure  ?   Do  you  know  him  well  by  sight  ? 


4\  e%  J*- 


654  THE  STRING  OF  PEAKLS. 


:  - —  


"  Oh,  yes,  sir,  I  could  swear  it/* 

"  And  you  thought  it  very  natural  that  he  should  be  there,  and  if  anybody 
there  had  so  laid  hold  of  you  in  the  dark,  you  would,  of  course,  at  once  have 
naturally  concluded  that  it  must  be  Todd  ?*' 

"  Oh,  dear  no,  sir,  I  hadn't  an  idea  that  it  could  be  him,  sir ;  and  if  I  hadn't 
seen  his  face,  that  I  know  quite  well,  I  couldn't  possibly  have  believed  it  to  be 
him/' 

f<  That  is  enough.  I  will  not  trouble  you  any  further.  I  am  much  obliged  to 
you  for  your  information/ ' 

'*  You  are  very  welcome,  Sir  Richard  ;  and  I  do  hope  you  may  catch  the 
rascal  soon.  I  shall  never  forget  his  having  hold  of  me,  for  the  longest  day  I 
have  to  live.* 

Still  shaking  at  the  bare  remembrance  of  the  danger  that  he  had  run,  the 
man  left  the  church  ;  and  peeping  over  his  shoulder  every  now  and  then  as  he 
went,  for  fear  Todd  should  be  close  at  hand,  he  took  his  route  to  quite  a  different 
quarter  of  the  town,  where  he  fancied  he  should  feel  more  secure  ;  for  he  could 
not  make  up  his  mind  to  anything  but  that  Todd  must  have  some  special  desire 
to  lay  hold  of  him,  and  add  him  to  the  already  formidable  muster-roll  of  his 
victims. 

When  he  left  the  church,  Sir  Richard  Blunt  turned  to  Crotchet,  and  said— 
**  Crotchet,  you  may  depend,  now,  that  Todd  is  in  London,  and  fancies  that 
among  its  crowds  will  be  his  greatest  chance  of  safety.  I  will  take  measures  at 
once  to  discover  him.  Come  along  with  me  to  Craven-street,  and  you  too, 
Green,  and  I  will  explain  to  you  both  what  I  think  will  be  the  best  plan  to 
adopt/* 

11  Alls  right,  sir  ;  we'll  have  him,"  said  Crotchet. 

"  I  think  we  shall,"  said  Green,  u  for,  large  as  London  is,  I  rather  think  we 
know  how  to  search  it  as  well  as  most  folks.  I  attend  you,  sir,  and  I  will 
run  any  risk  in  the  world  to  take  the  scoundrel  prisoner/' 

"  And  so  will  If  said  Crotchet. 

"  I  know  you  both  well/'  said  Sir  Richard,  "  and  I  cannot  desire  to  be  aided 
by  better  men  than  you  both  are.  Come  on.  I  will  not  speak  further  of  any 
plans  or  projects  except  in  my  own  office,  where  I  know  that  there  are  no  spies 
or  eaves-droppers/' 

*  This  blessed  church  is  pretty  safe,"  said  Crotchet.  "  It  ain't  very  likely 
that  anybody  is  on  the  listening  lay  in  it.  It  would  be  rather  cold  work,  I  take 
it.  But,  howsomdever,  there's  nothing  like  being  on  the  right  side  of  the  hedge, 
and  in  one's  own  crib,  that  one  knows  all  the  ins  and  all  the  outs  of,  after  all/' 

They  both  followed  Sir  Richard  Blunt  from  the  church,  and  Todd  felt  that  he 
was  once  again  alone  within  that  sacred  edifice,  the  very  atmosphere  of  which 
was  profaned  by  the  presence  of  such  a  wretch,  so  loaded  with  crimes  as 
he  was. 

M  Gone/  said  Todd,  looking  up  out  of  the  pulpit,  "  and  may  all  " 

We  cannot  repeat  the  maledictions  of  Todd.  They  were  additionally  awful 
spoken  in  such  a  building,  and  from  such  a  place  in  that  building.  It  was 
dreadful  that  the  roof  of  a  place  reared  to  the  worship  of  God,  should  be  dese- 
crated by  the  raving  curses  of  such  a  man  as  Todd. 

He  was  silent  after  he  had  satisfied  his  first  ebullition  of  rage,  and  then  he 
was  afraid  that  he  had  gone  too  far,  and  endangered  his  safety  by  making  an 
appearance  at  all  above  the  level  of  the  pulpit,  or  by  speaking.  How  did  he 
know  but  that  Sir  Richard  Blunt  might,  after  all,  have  some  sort  of  suspicion 
that  he  was  not  far  off,  and  be  listening  close  at  hand  ? 

As  this  supposition,  wild  and  vague  as  it  was,  and  quite  unsupported  bv  any 
evidence,  found  a  home  in  the  brain  of  Todd,  the  perspiration  of  intense  fear 
broke  out  upon  his  brow,  and  again  he  shook  to  the  extent  of  making  the  old 
pulpit  creak  dreadfully.  ° 

"  Oh,  hush !  hush  V  he  moaned.  «  Be  still— be  still.  I  am  safe  yet.  There 
is  no  one  here.   I  am  pt  safe,  surely.   There  is  no  one  in  tU  church.  Why 


f 


do  I  suffer  more,  much  more,  from  what  does  not  happen,  than  from  what 
does  ?» 

Still  the  notion  clung  to  him  for  a  little  while,  and  he  remained  at  the  bottom 
of  the  pulpit  quite  needlessly  for  the  next  half  hour,  listening  with  all  his  might, 
in  order  to  detect  the  slightest  noise  that  might  be  indicative  of  the  presence  ot 
a  foe.  But  all  was  as  still  as  the  grave,  and  by  slow  degrees  Sweeney  Todd  got 
more  assured. 

«  I  breathe  again,"  he  said.  "  They  do  not  suspect  that  I  am  here.  It  is 
much  too  unlikely  a  place  for  them  to  dream  of  for  a  moment.  Even  Sir 
Richard  Blunt,  with  his  utmost  prescience,  does  not  think  of  looking  for  me 
in  the  pulpit  of  St.  Dunstan's  Church.    I  am  safe— I  am  safe  for  the  present." 

He  agreed  with  thi3  feeling  that  he  was  quite  alone  in  the  church,  and^he  was 
right.  He  looked  over  the  edge  of  the  pulpit.  How  still  and  solemn  the  place 
looked  ! 

The  morning  had  advanced  quite  sufficiently  now  to  shed  a  dim  light  into  the 
church,  and  the  noise  in  the  street  contingent  upon  the  fire  had  nearly  passed 
away.  The  fact  was,  that  the  firemen  had,  after  making  a  few  efforts  and  find- 
ing them  of  no  use,  let  Todd's  house  burn  to  the  ground,  and  turned  ail  their 
efforts  towards  saving  the  edifices  on  either  side.  In  that  object  they  weie  suc- 
cessful, so  that  the  conflagration  was  over,  and  nothing  remained  but  the  frail 
wall  of  Todd's  house. 

And  so  the  clank  of  the  engine-pumps  no  longer  sounded  in  his  ears,  but  he 
could  yet  be  certain  that  there  was  a  great  crowd  in  Fleet  Street,  for  he  heard 
the  hum  of  voices,  and  occasionally  the  trouble  that  ensued  when  a  vehicle  tried 
to  force  its  way  through  the  dense  mass  of  people  that  blocked  up  the  thorough- 
fare, which  at  the  best  ot  times  was  none  of  the  clearest. 

u  Is  there  a  chance  now  of  escape,"  said  Todd,  "  if  I  could  only  make  up  my 
mind  to  it  ?  I  do  not  forget  that  I  am  disguised— I  ought  not  to  forget  that, 
Who  will  know  me  ?  and  yet  that  man  knew  me— that  man  that  I  missed 
killing  at  the  old  place.  Yes,  he  knew  me.  He  said  he  could  swear  to  me. 
Confound  him  !  I  wish  I  could  have  sworn  to  his  dead  body.  I  wonder  if  they 
have  left  the  church-door  open,  or,  rather,  only  upon  the  latch  ?  I — I  will  descend 
from  here,  and  make  a  bold  attempt." 

He  opened  the  pulpit-door,  and  had  got  about  three  steps  down  the  little 
ornamental  flight  of  winding  stairs  that  led  from  the  pulpit  to  the  body  of  the 
building,  when  the  church-door  was  suddenly  opened,  and  he  fled  back  with  a 
precipitation  that  made  some  noise,  when  he  might  have  done  so  in  perfect 
quietness,  for  it  was  not  very  likely  that  any  one  would  have  looked  up  to  the 
pulpit  immediately  upon  their  entrance  to  the  building. 

A  glance  towards  the  door  convinced  Mr.  Todd  that  it  was  the  beadle. 
"Oh,  dear,  I  thought  I  heard  something,"  said  the  beadle,  as  he  closed  the 
door  after  him.  «  But  I  suppose  it  was  only  fancy,  after  all.    Now  they  say  that 
all  the  fire  is  out,  and  that  it  is  quite  impossible  for  the  church  to  be  Mowed  up, 
I  suppose  I  may  come  in  without  any  danger.    Lor  bless  us,  that  Sir  Richard 
Blunt,  I  do  believe,  would  think  no  more  of  blowing  up  a  beadle,  than  he  would 
of  eating  a  penny  bun,  that's  my  opinion  of  him." 
"  Curses  on  your  head  !'*  muttered  Todd. 
u  Bless  me,  what  a  world  we  live  in,"  said  the  beadle. 

"  Wretch— beast,"  muttered  Todd  ;  "  what  does  he  want  here  at  this  time  of 
day 

«<  Yes,  to-morrow's  Sunday,"  said  the  beadle,  as  if  pursuing  a  train  of  thought 
that  had  found  a  home  in  his  brain.  "  How  the  weeks  do  run  round,  to  be^sure, 
and  one  Sunday  comes  after  another  at  such  a  rate,  that  it  seems  as  if  there  was 
weeks  and  weeks  and  weeks  of  'em,  without  any  of  the  ©ther  days  at  ail.  l 

wish  I  hadn't  to  come  here."                                      .    —          ...  '.»w_-,h 
Todd  uttered  faintly  some  dreadful  imprecations,  and  the  beadle  continued 
talking  to  himself  to  keep  his  courage  up,  as  was  evident  from  his  nervous 
and  fidgetty  manner,  


I 


656  THS  STRING  Of  PEARLS. 


 - 


"Ah,  dear  me*    Conwulsions!  I  tried  to  pursuade  my  wife  to  come;  and  dust 
the  communion  table  and  the  pulpit- cushions  for  to-morrow,  but  she  politely  * 
declined;  she  needn't  have  thrown  the  bellows  at  my  head  though,  for  all 

that/1  ! 
**•  Dust  the  pulpit- cushions !"  thought  Todd.  "  The  wretch  is  coming  up  here  ! 

I  shall  have  to  cut  his  throat,  and  leave  him  at  the  bottom  of  the  pulpit  for  the 

parson  to  tread  upon  the  first  thing  he  does  to-morrow,  upon  coming  up  here  to 

preach/' 

As  Todd  spoke,  he  took  a  clasped  knife  out  of  his  pocket,  and  opened  it  with  his 
teeth.  "  Oh,  yes,  my  old  friend,  I  shall,  I  see,  be  under  the  painful  necessity  of 
cutting  your  throat,  that  I  shall,  and  I  shall  not  hesitate  about  it  at  all." 

"  Yes/'  added  the  beadle,  ft  I  mean  to  say  that  to  throw  the  bellows  at  the 
man  is  like  adding  insult  to  injury,  for  it  is  blowing  him  up  in  a  kind  of  way 
that's  anything  but  agreeable.  Lor !  how  cold  and  rum  the  church  does  feel. 
Rum  ?  why  did  I  say  rum  and  put  myself  in  mind  of  it  ?  Oh,  don't  I  like  it, 
rather!  If  I  only  now  had  a  glass  of  real  fine  old  Jamaica  rum  at  this  moment, 
I'd  be  as  happv  as  a  bishop." 

«*  Oh,  I'll  rum  you  \"  growled  Todd. 

"Eh?  Eh?" 

The  beadle  turned  round  three  times,  as  though  he  were  going  to  begin  a 
game  at  blind-man's-buff,  and  then  he  said — 

Ci  I  thought  I  heard  something.  Oh  dear,  how  shivery  I  do  get  to  be  sure, 
when  I'm  alone  in  the  church.  I'll  just  get  through  the  dusting  job  as  quick 
as  I  can,  and  no  mistake.  Amen  !  Amen!  I'm  a  miserable  sinner — Amen!" 


CHAPTER  CUV, 

DETAILS  THE  PERILOUS  SITUATION  OP  THE  BEADLE. 

ToBB  had  heard  all  this  with  anger  and  impatience  rankling  at  his  heart.  He 
4  began  to  have  the  most  serious  thoughts  of  sacrificing  the  beadle — indeed,  if  any 
good  could  have  been  got  to  himself  by  so  doing,  he  would  not  have  scrupled  to 
do  so  with  the  greatest  speed.  As  it  was,  however,  he  could  not  concoct  any 
plan  of  proceedings  quickly  which  would  benefit  him,  and  so  he  was  compelled 
to  remain  an  auditor  of  the  beadle's  private  thoughts,  and  a  spectator  of  what  he 
was  about,  when  he  chose  to  peep  over  the  edge  of  the  pulpit. 

"Well,  itr's  astonishing,"  continued  the  beadle,  "  what  a  fever  that  fellow  Todd 
I  has  kept  me  in  for  I  don't  know  how  long,  one  way  or  another  :  me  and  Fleet 
Street  have  been  regularly  bothered  by  him.  First  of  all,  I  was  in  all  sorts  of 
doubts  and  uncertainties  about  the  matter  before  they  took  him  and  tried  him, 
and  was  a-g  oing  to  hang  him,  and  then  I  did  think  that  he  was  as — good — as 
done — for — " 

As  he  uttered  these  last  words,  the  beadle  was  banging  one  of  the  cushions 
of  the  commxinion-table,  so  that  he  was  compelled  for  want  of  breath  to  utter 
th(  ?m  at  intervals. 

,uOh,  confound  you!''  muttered  Todd,  "  if  I  only  had  hold  of  you,  I  would 
thr  ottle  you,  and  then  think  of  what  to  do  afterwards."  j 
1  ?odd's  great  difficulty  arose  from  the  fact  that  he  thought  if  he  tried  to 
des<  :end  from  the  pulpit,  the  beadle  might  see  him  and  get  the  start  of  him  in 
leav  ing  the  church,  in  which  eveRt  the  alarm  that  he  would  raise  in  Fleet  Street 
wot  ild  ibe  such,  that  any  attempt  to  escape  would  be  attended  by  the  greatest 
haz  ard.  '  I 

4  'There  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  wait,"  said  Todd  to  himself  gloomily.  "  I  can 
do    nothing  else  ;  but  woe  to  him  when  I  do  catch  him  V* 

*  *This  dusting  job  on  a  Saturday,"  said  the  beadle,  *  does  seem  to  me  to  be 
or  te  of  the  most  disagreeable  of  all  that  has  to  be  done  with  the  church.  I  don't 
m    ind  one's  duty  on  a  Sunday,  but  this  is  horrid.   On  a  Sunday  there's  lots  of 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


657 


people,  and  the  old  place  has  a  sort  of  cheerful  look  about  it,  but  now  I  don't 
like  it,  and  I've  a  good  mind  to  get  one  of  the  charity-boys  of  the  blessed  parish 
to  keep  me  company." 

"  1  will  kill  him,  too,  if  you  do,"  muttered  Todd. 

The  beadle  paused  upon  this  thought  concerning  the  charity-boy ;  but  as  he 


TUB  MUllDLH  ON  THE  THAMES— TODD'S  NAJUIOW  ESCAPE. 


had  finished  the  communion-table,  he  did  not  flunk  that  for  the  mere  dust.ng 
the  pulpit  and  it*  cushions,  it  was  worth  while  to  mate  arty  fliss, 

«  It  will  soon  be  over,"  he  said,  "  very  soon.    I'll  just  pop  up .  and  settle ^  the 
pulpit  and  then  get  home  again  as  quick  as  I  possibly  can.    I  do  wonder,  no*, 
if  that'old  Todd  will  be  caught  soon  ?   The  old  wretch  . 
Th  ebeadte  begf  n  the  ascent  of  the  pulpit. 


ill 


h  it»s  my  opinion/'  he  said,  '/that  Todd— as  he  had  other  folks  made  up  into 
pies— ought  te  be  made  into  one  himself,  and  then  given  to  mad  dogs  for  a 
supper— Ha!  ha  !    That's  a  very  good  thought  of  mine,  and  when  I  go  to  the 


and  Tinder-box/  " 

By  this  tims  the  beadle  had  got  quite  to  the  top  of  the  pulpit  stairs,  and  had 
his  hand  on  the  door.  Todd  was  crouched  down  at  the  bottom  of  the  pulpit, 
waiting  for  him  like  some  famished  tiger  ready  to  pounce  upon  his  prey.  He 
fully  intended  to  murder  the  unfortunate  beadle. 

"Well,  here  goes/'  said  that  most  unhappily-situated  functionary,  as  he 
stepped  into  the  pulpit. 

Todd  immediately  grasped  his  legs. 

"  If  you  say  one  word,  you  are  a  dead  man  !  * 

The  shock  was  too  much  for  the  nerves  of  the  poor  beadle  of  St.  Dunstan's, 
and  on  the  instant  he  fainted,  and  fell  huddled  up  at  the  bottom  of  the  little 
place. 

Todd  immediately  stood  upon  the  prostrate  form  of  the  parochial  authority. 
"Ha!  ha!"  he  laughed,  "I  have  him  now,  and  I  shall  be  able  to  leave  St. 
Dunstan's  yet." 

He  trampled  as  hard  apon  the  beadle  as  he  could,  and  then  he  took  the  clasp 
knife  from  his  pocket,  and  said- — 

"  It  will  be  better  to  kill  him.  Rise,  idiot,  rise,  and  tell  me  if  you  can,  why 
I  should  not  cut  your  throat  V9 

The  beadle  neither  moved  nor  spoke. 

"  Is  he  dead  I*  said  Todd,  "  Has  the  fright  killed  him  ?  It  is  strange  ;  but 
I  have  heard  of  such  things.  Why  it  surely  must  be  so.  The  sudden  shock 
has  been  the  death  of  him,  and  it  would  be  &  waste  of  time  for  me  to  touch  him. 
Ee  is  dead — he  must  be  dead  V 

Todd,  full  of  this  feeling,  retreated  two  or  three  steps  down  the  little  winding 
staircase  of  the  pulpit,  and  then  reaching  in  his  hand,  he  caught  hold  of  the 
poor  beadle  by  the  hair  of  his  head,  and  dragged  him  sufficiently  out  of  the 
pulpit  to  be  enabled  to  look  him  in  the  face.  The  eyes  were  closed,  the  inspi- 
ration seemed  to  be  stopped,  and  there  was,  in  truth,  every  appearance  of  death 
about  the  unfortunte  functionary  of  the  old  church. 

"  Yes,  dead,"  said  Todd;  *  but  it  will  be  better  forme.  He  will  be  found 
here,  and  as  no  violence  will  show  upon  him,  the  doctors  will  learnedly  pro- 
nounce it  a  case  of  apoplexy,  and  there  will  arise  no  suspicion  of  my  having  been 
here  at  all.    It  is  much  better,  oh,  much,  than  as  if  I  had  killed  him." 

With  this  feeling,  Todd  pushed  what  he  considered  to  be  the  dead  body  of  the 
beadle  back  into  the  pulpit  again,  and  then  himself  rapidly  descended  the  little 
spiral  flight  of  stairs. 

The  clock  of  St.  Dunstan's  struck  the  hour  of  ten,  and  Todd  carefully  counted 
the  strokes. 

"Ten,"  he  said.  "A  busy  hour— a  hour  of  broad  daylight,  and  I  with 
such  a  price  upon  my  head,  and  the  hands  of  all  men  lifted  against  me,  in  one 
of  the  most  populous  streets  in  the  City  of  London  !    It  is  a  fearful  risk  ]" 

It  was  a  fearful  risk,  and  Todd  might  well  shudder  to  find  that  his  temerity  had 
brought  him  into  such  a  position  ;  but  yet  he  felt  that  if  anything  were  to  save 
him,  it  would  be  boldness,  and  not  shrinking  timidity.  One  great  cause  of 
dread  had  passed  away  from  Todd  when  Sir  Richard  Blunt  left  the  church.  If 
in  anyway  Todd  had  had  to  encounter  him,  he  would  have  shrunk  back  appalled 
at  the  frightful  risk. 

When  he  gained  the  body  of  the  church,  he  glanced  again  up  to  the  pulpit, 
but  all  was  there  profoundly  still ;  and  the  fact  of  the  death  of  the  beadle  ap- 
peared to  him,  Todd,  to  be  so  very  firmly  established,  now,  as  to  require  no 
fuither  confirmation,  * 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  659 


Although  the  beadle  had  closed  the  church  door,  he  had  placed  the  key,  most 
probably  for  security,  in  the  inner  side  of  the  lock,  and  there  Todd  found 
it.  He  thought  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  put  it  in  his  pocket,  and  he  did 
so  accordingly  ;  and  when  the  key  was  removed,  he  placed  his  eye  to  the  key- 
hole, and  peeped  out  into  Fleet  Street. 

Todd  could  see  the  people  passing  quickly,  but  no  one  cast  a  glance  tov/ards 
the  old  church,  and  he  began  to  reason  with  himself,  that  surely  there  could  be 
no  difficulty  in  getting  into  the  street  quite  unnoticed,  if  not  quite  unobserved. 
Again  he  told  himself  that  he  was  well  disguised. 

"  I  dread  no  eye,"  he  said,  "  but  that  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  he  is  not 
here  to  look  upon  me.  There  is  not  one  else,  I  think,  in  London  that  would  know 
me  through  this  disguise.  There  was  never  but  one  who  could  do  so,  and 
she  is  dead.  Yes,  Mrs.  Lovett  might  have  known  me,  but  she  is  no  more ;  so^i 
•will  venture.   Yes,  I  will  venture  now." 

His  heart  failed  him  a  little  as  he  placed  his  hand  upon  the  lock  of  the  church- 
door.  It  well  might  do  so,  for  the  risk  he  run,  or  was  about  to  run,  was  truly 
fearful.  He  was  on  the  point  of  sallying  out  among  a  population,  the  whole  of 
whom  were  familiar  with  his  name,  and  to  whom  he  was  as  a  being  accursed, 
who  would  upon  the  slightest  hint  of  identity  be  gladly  hunted  to  the  death. 

Truly,  Todd  might  well  hesitate. 

But  yet  to  hesitate  was  perhaps  fo  be  lost.    How  could  he  tell  now  one 
moment  from  another  when  some  one  might  come  to  the  church-door?  and  then 
he  would  be  in  a  worse  position  than  before.    Yes,  he  telt  that  he  must  make 
the  attempt  to  leave,  whether  that  attempt  should  involve  him  in  destruction  or 
not,  for  to  stay  were  far  worse. 
He  opened  the  door  and  coolly  closed  it  again,  and  matched  into  Fleet  Street. 
We  say  he  did  this  coolly,  but  it  were  better  to  say  that  he  acted  a  coolness 
that  he  was   far  from  feeling.    A  very  tempest  of  terror  was   at  his 
heart.    His  brain  for  a  moment  or  two  felt  like  a  volcano,  and  he  reeled  as  he 
felt  himself  in  the  broad  open  light  of  day  in  Fleet  Street  among  the  throng  of 
the  population,  and  yet  in  that  throng  was  in  truth  his  greatest  safety. 
"Ain't  you  well,  sir  P  said  a  man.  t 
Todd  started  and  placed  his  hand  upon  the  knife  that  he  had  handy  in  his 
pocket ;  and  then  he  thought  that  after  all  it  might  only  be  a  civil  inquiry,  and 
he  replied— 

"  Oh,  yes,  thank  you— -thank  you,  sir.   But  I  am  old." 
"  I  beg  your  pardon*  sir." 

The  man  passed  on.  ,      ,  « 

"  Oh,  curse  you !  I  should  like  to  settle  you,"  said  Todd  to  himself  as  he 
passed  through  Temple  Bar;  but  what  a  relief  it  was  to  pass  through  Temple 
Bar  at  all !  To  leave  that  now  frightfully  dangerous  Fleet  Street  behind  Him. 
Oh,  yes,  that  was  a  relief  indeed  ;  and  Todd  felt  as  if  some  heavy  weight  had 
been  taken  off  his  heart  upon  the  moment  that  he  set  foot  in  the  Strand. 
«  Am  I  safe  ?"  he  muttered.    w  Am  I  safe  ?    Oh,  no,  no.   Do  not  let  me  be 

too  confident."  ,        '        „  ,    . ,    .  ^ 

He  was  superstitiously  afraid  of  pluming  himself  upon  the  fact  pf  having  got 
so  far  in  safety,  lest  at  the  moment  that  he  did  so,  malignant  destiny  might  De 
revenged  upon  him,  by  bringing  in  his  way  some  one  who  might  know  him,  even 
through  his  capital  disguise  ;  so  he  went  on  tremblingly. 

I    Todd  did  not  like  large  open  thoroughfares  now,  and  yet,  perhaps,  if  he  had 
set  to  work  reasoning  upon  the  subject,  he  would  have  come  to  the 
that  they  were  quite  as  safe,  if  not  a  few  degrees  safer  foi  him,  than  by-st reers 
but  there  was  something  in  the  glaring  publicity  of  such 
Strand  that  he  shrunk  from,  and  he  was  glad  to  get  from  it  into  the  gloomy  pre- 

cincts  of  Holywell  Street.  ,  .    -       wnaf  rhn\ce>  of 

I  That  st,eet  then,  as  now,  was  certainly  not  the  resort  of  the  most  choice  ot 
I  the  population  of  London,  but  Todd  liked  it,  and  he  was  wonde fully 

by  a  dirty-looking  little  public-house  which  was  then  in  it.   A  murder  was  com- 


060  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS . 


^htoTilthat  house  afterwards,  and  it  lost  its  licence,  and  was  eventually  de- 
.  1)  fire 

St^55areyi  go  "h  here?"  said  Todd-  "  I  am  faint  for  want  of  food,  and  if  1  do 
not  have  something  soon  I  feel  that  I  shall  sink,  and  then  there  will  be  a  fuss, 
and  who  knows  what  horrible  discovery  might  then  take  place  t  This  house  is 
dark  and  gloomv,  and  in  all  likelihood  is  the  resort  of  gentlemen  who  are  not 
in  the  habit  of  having  any  superfluous  questions  asked  of  them;  so  it  will  suit  me 

WCHe  dived  in  at  the  narrow  doorway,  and  found  himself  in  one  of  the  smallest 
and  darkest  public-houses  that  he  had  ever  beheld  in  all  his  life,  for  although  he 
had  lived  so  long  in  Fleet  Street  so  close  at  hand,  he  bad  never  ventured  into 

that  den.  ;  t    _ .  . 

"  A  nice  parlour  to  the  right,  sir,    said  a  rather  masculine-looking  specimen 

of  the  fair  sex  in  the  bar. 
*  Thank  you,  madam/' 

Todd  went  to  the  right,  and  opening  a  little  door,  which,  in  consequence  of 
having  a  cord  and  pulley  attached  to  it,  made  a  great  resistance,  he  entered  a 
little  grimy  room,  the  walls  of  which  were  of  wainscot,  but  so  begrimed  with 
tobacco  smoke  were  they,  that  they  were  of  the  colour  of  the  darkest  rose-wood, 
and  the  ceiling  in  no  way  differed  from  them  in  tint.  A  fire  was  burning  in  a 
little  wretched  grate,  and  the  floor  was  covered  with  coarse  sand,  which  crackled 
under  Todd's  feet.  vW 

The  furniture  of  this  little  den,  which  certainly  had  the  name  of  ?  Parlour' 
from  courtesy  only,  consisted  of  the  coldest-looking  rigid  wooden  chairs  and 
tables  that  could  be  imagined.  Two  men  sat  by  the  fire  trying  to  warm  them- 
selves, for  a  cold  wind  was  blowing  in  the  streets  of  London,  and  the  season 
was  chilly  and  wintry  for  the  time  of  the  year. 

Todd,  when  he  found  the  parlour  had  some  one  in  it,  would  gladly  have 
effected  a  retreat  ;  but  to  do  so,  after  he  had  made  his  way  into  the  middle  of 
the  room,  would  have  only  aroused  suspicion,  so  he  resolved  to  go  on,  and  carry 
the  affair  through  ;  and  for  greater  safety,  he  put  on  a  very  infirm  aspect,  and 
appeared  to  be  bent  double  by  age  and  disease. 

He  coughed  dreadfully. 

44  You  don't  seem  to  be  verv  well,  sir,"  said  one  of  the  men. 
" Oh,  dear  me,  no,"  said  Todd.    u  When  you  areas  old  as  I  am,  young  man, 
you  won't  wonder  at  infirmities  coming  upon  you." 
i6  Young  man,  do  you  call  me  ?    I  am  forty/1 

f<  Ah,  forty!  When  I  was  forty,  and  that  was  thirty  years  ago,  I  thought 
myself  quite  a  youth.  Oh,  dear  me,  but  what  with  the  gout,  and  the  lumbago, 
and  two  or  three  more  little  things,  I  am  nearly  done  for  now.  Oh,  dear  me, 
life's  a  burthen/ 

"  What  would  you  like  to  have,  sii  ?'*  said  a  girl  who  waited  upon  the  parlour 
guests,  and  who  came  in  for  Todd's  order. 

i(  Anything,  my  dear,  you  have  in  the  house  to  eat,  and  some  brandy  to  drink, 
if  you  please." 

M  Sit  by  the  fire,  sir,"  said  one  of  the  men  ;  "you  will  be  more  comfortable. 
We  ought  to  make  way  for  age." 

u  Oh,  dear  no,  I  thank  you.  I  must  be  somewhere  where  I  can  rest  my  poor 
back  at  times,  so  I  like  this  corner/  It  was  a  dark  corner,  and  Todd  preferred 
it.  "  It  will  do  very  well  for  me,  if  you  please.  Oh,  dear  me;  don't  disturb 
yourselves,  gentlemen,  on  my  account,  1  beg  of  you.  I  am  an  old  breken-down 
man,  and  have  not  long  to  live  now  in  this  world  of  care  and  sorrow/ 


V* 
\ 


■  —  Ml  ....      I  l  .11  p.        .  ■ —  ■-  111  ■-■II       mi    ,  ,  


TUB  If 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS*  CGI 


CHAPTER  CLY. 

TODD  GETS  THE  BETTER  OF  THE  SHARPERS,  ANt)  TAKES  A  COAT. 

The  girl  brought  Todd  a  plate  of  roast-beef,  a  loaf,  and  some  brandv,  with 
which  he  regaled  himself  tolerably  well;  but  he  was  uncomfortably  conscious 
that  the  two  men  were  looking  at  him  all  the  while. 

«  Gentlemen/'  he  said,  « it  s  a  very  odd  thing,  but  my  appetite  continues 
good  notwithstanding  all  my  infirmities.  1  eat  well,  and  I  drink  well,  and  the 
doctors  say  that  that  is  what  keeps  me  alive.'5 

"  1  should  not  wonder/5  said  one  of  the  men  dr'ilv. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  other,  with  a  laugh,  "  you  a.re  like  us,  old  gentleman  :  we 
live  by  victuals  and  drink.3' 

"  Ah,  1  didn't  mean  that/'  said  Todd  ;  u  you  young  people  are  so  fond  of 
your  jokes.  Dear  me,  when  I  was  young  I  used!  to  be  fond  of  my  joke,  likewise, 
but  now  I  am  so  old,  that  what  with  my  winteir  cough,  and  the  gout,  and  all 
that  sort  of  thing,  my  joking  days  are  long  since  gone  by,  I  lost  my  poor  wife, 
too,  a  little  while  ago — bless  her  heart !    Ah,  m  e !" 

Todd  had  the  greatest  inclination  in  the  world  to  make  up  one  of  his  old 
diabolical  faces  at  this  juncture ;  but  he  restrained  himself,  for  he  felt  the  danger 
of  doing  so  ;  and  then  affecting  to  wipe  away  ;a  tear,  he  added — 

"But  I  find  my  consolation  in  religion.  There's  where,  gentlemen,  an  old 
man  may  look  for  comfort,  and  that  strength  of  heart  and  soul,  which  in  this 
world  is  denied  to  him." 

"Very  true,  sir— very  true." 

°  Ah,  gentlemen,  it  is  true  ;  and  there's  nothing  in  all  the  world  like  an  easy 
conscience.  That's  the  sort  of  thing  to  make  a  man  ftel  serene  and  happy 
in  this  world,  while  he  is  preparing  for  the  joys  of  the  next." 

"  How  delightful  it  is,  sir/  said  one  of  the  men.  "  f  or  us  to  meet  with  a  gen- 
tleman who  has  the  same  opinion  as  ourselves.  Will  you  join  us  in  a  glass,  sir, 
if  you  please  V9 

11  Oh,  yes— yes,  with  pleasure.  What  a  shocking  7bad  fire,  they  tell  me,  has 
been  in  Fleet  Street/' 

"  Yes,  it's  the  notorious  Todd's  house." 
"  In— deed  V* 

The  man  who  had  proposed  the  social  glass  rang  the  bell,  and  ordered  three 
tumblers  of  brandy-and-water,  and  then  he  said — 

f<  Ah,  sir!  if  you  or  I  could  only  lay  hold  of  Sweeney  Todd  it  would  be  rather 
a  good  day's  work/7 

"  Oh,  dear,  God  forbid  !"  said  Todd.  u  He  would  soon  lay  me  low  if  I  were 
to  try  to  lay  hold  of  him,  with,  as  I  may  say  in  a  man  ner  of  speaking,  one  foot 
in  the  grave.  I  am  not,  in  the  natural  order  of  things,  loiag  for  this  world,  gentle- 
men, and  it  is  not  for  me  to  lay  hold  of  desperate  characters." 

"That's  true,  sir ;  but  do  you  know  the  reward  that  is  offered  for  him  by  the 
Secretary  of  State  ?* 

M  No  *    Is  there  really  a  reward  for  him  V 

"  Yes,  a  thousand  pounds  clear  to  any  one  who  will  lodge  him  in  any  jail.  A 
thousand  pounds  !  Why,  it  makes  a  man's  mouth  water  to  think  of  it.  One 
might  retire,  Bill,  mightn't  one,  and  give  up  all  sorts  of  

Bill  gave  his  enthusiastic  comrade  rather  a  severe  cautionary  kick  under  tne 
table,  and  it  seemed  to  have  the  effect  of  stopping  the  word  thieving  from 
coming  past  his  lips  quite  at  unawares— at  least  that  was  the  way  lodd  trans- 
lated  it.  He  had  not  the  smallest  doubt  but  that  the  public-house  was  a  very 
indifferent  one,  and  that  the  two  men  whom  he  was  in  company  with  m  it  weie 
two  of  the  most  arrant  thieves  in  all  London. 

Todd  resolved  to  act  accordingly,  and  he  did  not  let  them  see  that  he  had  tne 
least  suspicion  gf  them  ;  but  he  kept  such  a  wary  eye  upon  their  movements, 


jfrMMinTfflBri^r  — — — 1 


is 


662 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS; 


that  nothing  they  did  or  looked  escaped  him.  They  little  supposed  that  so  keen 
an  observer  watched  them  as  Sweeney  Todd  was. 

The  brandy-and-water  that  had  been  ordered  soon  made  its  appearance  ;  and 
Todd,  while  perpetrating  a  very  well-acted  fit  of  caughing,  saw  one  of  the 
men  just  slightly  wink  at  the  other,  and  take  a  little  way  from  his  waistcoat 

pocket  a  small  bottle. 

**  Oh  !*  thought  Todd,  11  my  brandy-and-water  will  be  prepared,  I  see  j  and 
if  I  do  not  look  sharp,  these  fellows  will  rob  me  of  all  that  I  have  run  so  much 
risk,  and  took  so  much  trouble  to  get  out  of  the  old  house." 

After  a  moments  thought,  he  rose  and  said — 

"  I  will  only  go  and  pay  for  what  I  have  had  at  the  bar,  and  you  must  permit 
me  likewise  to  pay  for  this/' 
"Oh,  no— no  !" 

«  Oh,  yes,  but  I  will— I  will !  I  dare  say  that  T  have  the  most  money,  after 
all,  for  I  have  been  very  careful  in  my  time,  and  saved  a  trifle,  so  you  must 
permit  me.,? 

The  two  thieves  were  so  delighted  at  getting  rid  of  him  for  a  few  moments, 
that  although  they  declared  it  was  too  bad,  they  let  him  go.  The  moment  he 
was  gone,  one  said  to  the  other,  with  a  grin — 

"  Bill,  put  a  good  dose  into  the  old  chap's  g^ass.  He  has  got  a  rare  gold 
watch  in  his  pocket,  and  there's  a  ring  on  his  finger,  that  if  it  isn't  a  diamond, 
its  as  near  like  one  as  ever  I  heard  of.    Give  him  a  good  dose." 

%  Well,  but  you  know  that  even  a  few  drops  will  settle  him  ?" 

€*  Never  mind  that.    It's  all  right  enough  ;  pour  it  in/' 

They  put  enough  of  some  deadly  drug  into  the  glass  of  brandy-and  water  that 
stood  next  to  where  Todd  had  been  sitting  to  kill  a  horse  ;  and  then  he  returned 
and  sat  down  with  a  groan,  as  he  said — 

"It's  quite  a  funny  thing!  There  s  a  man  at  the  bar  inquiring  for  some- 
body ;  and  he's  got  a  red  waistcoat  on." 

<*  A  red  waistcoat !"  cried  both  the  the  thieves,  jumping  up.  u  Did  you  say  a 
red  waistcoat  ?" 

"  Why,  yes  ;  and  I  think  he  is  what  they  call  a  Bow  Street  thingamy — Lord 
bless  my  old  brain  !  what  do  they  call  them — — " 
€t  A  runner  ?" 

"  Ah,  to  be  sure,  a  Bow  Street  runner,  to  be  sure." 

Both  the  thieves  bundled  out  of  the  parlour  in  a  moment,  and  Todd  was  not 
idle  while  they  were  gone.  The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  decant  his  own 
brandy-and-water — which  had  been  drugged — into  an  empty  glass.  Then  he 
filled  his  glass  with  the  contents  of  one  of  the  thieves'  glasses.  After  that,  he 
half  filled  that  glass  with  the  drugged  spirit,  and  filled  it  up  from  the  other 
thief's  glass,  and  that  again  he  filled  up  with  the  drugged  spirit. 

By  this  means,  each  of  them  had  half  from  the  glass  they  had — as  they  thought 
—so  very  cleverly  drugged  for  him,  to  drink  from;  and  as  they  had  not  scrupled 
to  put  m  an  over  dose,  it  may  be  fairly  presumed  that  there  was  in  each  of  their 
glasses  quite  enough  to  make  them  very  uncomfortable. 

They  both  returned. 

u  There's  nobody  there  now,"  said  one.  "Are  you  sure  you  saw  him,  sir? 
We  can't  see  any  one/' 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you  he  was  going  away  when  I  saw  him  ?  It  was  only  the 
latch  of  the  door  catching  his  top-coat  that  made  me  see  his  red  waistcoat ;  and 
it  was  a  wonder  then  that  I  saw  it,  for  I  am  not  very  noticable  in  those  things. 
Oh,  dear,  how  bad  my  cough  is." 

"Take  some  of  your  brandy-and-water,  sir,"  said  one  of  the  thieves,  as  he 
winked  at  the  other,   f*  It  will  do  you  good,  sir." 

"  Not  a  doubt  of  it,"  said  the  other. 

V  Do  you  think  so  ?  Well— well,  perhaps  it  may.  Here's  my  friendship  to 
both  of  you,  gentlemen ;  and  I  hope  we  shall  none  of  us  repent  of  this  happy 


i 


I* 


ft 


THE  STRING  OF  PEAULS.  663 


meeting.    I  am  much  pleased,  gentlemen,  to  see  you  both,  and  hope  the  brandy, 
and-water  will  do  us  all  a  world  of  good.    I  will  give  you  a  toast  gentlemen/ 
4<  Ah,  a  toast !— a  toast !" 

11  But  mind>  gentlemen,  you  must  take  a  good  draught,  if  you  drink  my  toast 
—Will  you  ?  3 
<*  Will  we  ?    Ay,  to  be  sure,  if  you  will.* 

« I  promise,  gentlemen;  so  here's  the  toast— It's  to  the  very  cunning  fox  who 
laid  a  trap  for  another,  and  caught  his  own  tail  in  it  !** 

«  What  a  droll  toast  !"  said  the  two  thieves.  They  paused  a  moment,  but  as 
they  saw  their  new  friend  drink  at  least-one  half  of  his  brandy-and-water  in 
honour  of  the  toast,  they  did  the  same  thing,  and  looked  at  each  other  quite  con- 
tented and  pleased  as  possible  that  the  drugged  spirit,  at  the  very  first  pull,  had 
been  so  freely  partaken  of— for  they  had  found,  by  experience,  the  victims'  they 
would  have  made  perceived  a  disagreeable  taste,  and  would  not  drink  twice. 

«  Hilloa  !"  said  Todd. 

«  What's  the  matter,  old  gentleman  ?" 

"Do  you  know,  this  is  very  good  brandy-and-water?51 

"  Glad  you  like  it." 

"  Like  it  ?— I  couldn't  be  off  liking  it.  It's  capital!  Lets  finish  these  glasses, 
and  have  others  at  once." 

As  he  spoke  he  finished  his  glass,  and  the  two  thieves  were  so  delighted  that 
he  hed  taken  it  all,  that  they  at  once  finished  their's  likewise  ;  and  then  they 
looked  at  him,  and  then  at  each  other,  until  one  said  to  the  other,  as  he  made  a 
wry  face—* 

*'  I  say,  Bill,  I— I  don't  much  like  my  glass.    How  did  yours  taste,  eh,  old 
fellow?" 
"  Very  queer." 

"How  strange,0  said  Todd  ;  "  mine  was  beautiful !  I  hope,  gentlemen,  you 
have  not  made  a  mistake  and  put  anything  out  of  the  way  in  your  own  glasses 
instead  of  mine  V 

.    "  Oh,  dear.    Oh— oh !    I  am  going,  Bill.'* 

"  And  so  am  1.  Oh,  murder!  My  head  is  going  round  and  round  like  a 
humming-top  as  big  as  St.  Paul's." 

"  And  so  is  mine." 

"  Then,  gentlemen/'  said  Todd,  rising,  "  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  bidding 


pleasure  of  informing  you  that  J  am  Sweeney 
The  two  thieves,  quite  overcome  by  the  powerful  and  death-dealing  nar- 
cotic they  had  placed  in  the  liquor,  fell  to  the  floor  in  a  state  of  perfect  insensi- 
bility, and  Todd  very  calmly  walked  out  of  the  public-house. 

"This  will  not  do,"  he- said,  when  he  reached  the  west-end  of  Holywell 
Street.  **$  must  not  run  such  risks  as  this.  I  must  now  be  off.  But  where  to  P 
That  is  the  question.  Out  of  London,  of  course.  The  river,  I  think— ay,  the 
river.  That  will  be  the  best.  1  will  house  myself  until  night,  and  then  I  will 
hire  a  boat  and  go  to  Gravesend.  From  there  I  shall  not  find  much  difficulty  in 
getting  on  board  some  foreign  vessel,  and  with  what  I  have  in  my  pockets  I  will 
bid  adieu  to  England  for  a  little  while,  until  I  can  sell  my  watches  and  jewels, 
and  then  T  will  come  back  and  have  my  revenge  yet  upon  those  whom  1  only  live 

now  to  destroy/'  i  ^1'"! 

Full  of  these  thoughts,  Todd  went  down  one  of  the  narrow  streets  leading  to 
the  Thames,  and  as  he  saw  a  bill  in  a  window  of  lodgings  to  let,  he  thought  he 
should  be  safer  there  than  in  a  house  of  public  entertainment.  He  resolved  upon 
taking  a  lodging  for  a  week  at  any  cost,  and  then  leaving  it  in  the  evening  alter 
he  should  have  had  some  rest  at  'it,  which  he  might  do  for  the  reminder  of 
the  day,  provided  the  people  would  take  him  in,  which  he  had  very  lutle  doubt 
of  them  doing,  as  he  did  not  intend  to  object  to  their  terms,  and  he  did  intend  to 
pay  in  advance. 


664  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Todd  knocked  at  the  door.  .  .  . 

It  was  answered  by  a  woman  of  the  true  landlady  species,  who,  upon  hearing 
that  it  was  the  lodging  Todd  was  after,  was  all  smiles  and  sweetness  lmmedi- 

ate/f  have  come  up  from  the  country,  madam/'  said  Todd,  "  and  my  luggage  is 
at  an  inn  in  Gracechurch  Street.  I  intend  to  send  for  it  in  the  morning  ;  and  as  I 
am  weary,  if  vou  can  accommodate  me  with  a  lodging,  as  I  have  some  business 
to  transact  for  my  son,  the  Deacon,  in  London,  I  shall  be  much  obliged.' 

"  Oh,  dear,  yes  sir;  walk  in.  We  have  every  accommodation,  lne  drawing- 
room  floor,  sir,  at  three  guineas  and  a  few  extras." 

"That  will  just  do,"  said  Todd.    a  Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  show  me  the 

rooms,  madam  ?"  #     ,  .  ,        ,  , 

Todd  saw  the  rooms,  and  of  course  admired  them  very  much ;  and  then  he  said, 

in  the  blandest  manner— 

I  think  the  rooms  very  cheap,  madam,  and  will  take  them  at  once,  it  you 
please.  The  reference  I  will  give  you,  is  to  the  Principal  of  Magdalen  College, 
Oxford,  the  Reverend  Peter  Sly,  madam.  My  own  name  is  Bones,  and  my  son 
is  the  Reverend  Archdeacon  Bones.  I  will  pay  you  now  a  week  in  advance; 
and  all  I  have  to  beg  of  you  is,  that  you  do  yourself  justice^  as  to  charges.  I 
will  lie  down  and  rest  for  a  few  hours,  if  you  please,  madam." 

a  Oh,  dear,  sir  !  yes,  certainly,  Mr.  Bones.  I  here  shall  be  no  noise  to  disturb 
you,  and  anything  you  want,  if  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  ring  for,  I  will  supply 
you  with  the  greatest  pleasure." 

"  Thank  you,  madam.0 

Thus  then  was  it  that  Todd  secured  himself  what  appeared  to  be  a  wonder- 
fully safe  asylum  until  night.  He  got  into  the  bed  with  all  his  clothes  on  ;  for 
he  did  not  know  how  sudden  the  emergency  might  be  that  might  induce  him  to 
rise  ;  and  he  soon  fell  into  a  deep  sleep,  for  he  had  undergone  the  greatest  fatigues 
of  late, 


CHAPTER  CLVI. 

Sill  RICHARD  BLUNT  IS  VERY  NEAR  TAKING   II IS  PRISONER. 

We  left  the  poor  beadle  in  anything  but  a  pleasant  situation  in  the  pulpit  of 
St.  Dunstan's  Church. 

Now  it  so  happened  that  the  beadle  was  particularly  wanted  at  home  ;  and  as 
he  did  not  make  his  appearance,  his  wife  repaired  to  the  church  to  search  for 
him  ;  but  it  was  locked  by  Todd,  who  had  swung  the  door  shut  after  him,  and 
as  he  had  taktn  the  key  with  him,  she  could  not  make  her  way  into  the  sacred 
edifice. 

As  she  stood  at  the  door,  however,  she  distinctly  heard  deep  groans  issuing 
from  some  one  within  the  church  ;  and  in  a  state  of  great  alarm,  she  ran  off  to 
one  of  the  churchwardens,  who  had  a  duplicate  key,  and  related  what  she  had 
heard. 

The  churchwarden  not  being  one  of  the  most  valorous  of  men,  rather,  upon 
the  whole,  declined  to  go  into  the  church  with  no  other  escort  than  the  beadle's 
wife  ;  and  as  he,  too,  upon  listenting  at  the  key-hole,  heard  the  groans  distinctly, 
he  called  upon  the  passers-by  to  assist,  and  got  together  quickly  enough  about 
twenty  people  to  go  into  the  church  with  him. 

"  Gentlemen, "  he  said,  u  I  don't  know  what  it  is,  but  there's  groans  ;  and 
in  these  horrid  times,  when,  for  all  we  know,  Sweeney  Todd  is  about  the  neigh- 
bourhood, one  can't  be  too  cautious. 99 

u  Certainly/'  said  everybody. 

"  Then,  gentlemen,  if  we  all  go  in  together  when  I  open  the  door,  it  will  be 
the  very  best  plan/5 

This  was  duly  agreed  to;  and  the  churchwarden,  with  a  trembling  hand, 
turned  his  key  in  the  lock,  and  opened  the  door.    He  then  stepped  aside,  and  let 


i 

i 


.-->U4.   tar*  


THE  STRING  Otf  PEARLS. 


665 


all  the  crowd  go  in  first,  thinking  that,  as  he  was  a  man  in  office,  the  parish 
could  not  afford  to  lose  him,  in  case  anything  serious  should  happen. 

"Well,  gentlemen,"  he  cried,  u what  is  it V 

"  Nothing,"  said  everybody. 

«  Then  I  will  soon  let  nothing  see  that  f,  a  churchwarden,  am  not  to  be  fright- 


ened  with  impunity— that  is  to  say,  when  I  say  frightened,  I  don't  exactly  mean 
that,  but  astonished,  I  mean.  Come,  come— if  any  one  be  here,  I  call  upon 
them  to  surrender  in  the  king's  name  !"  w^-jfl© 
A  deep  groan  was  the  only  response  to  this  valorous  speech  ;  and  the  mo- 
ent  the  churchwarden  heard  it,  he  bolted  out  of  the  church,  and  ran  right 
IPross  the  way  into  a  shop  opposite. 


No,  14* 


666  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"FoT^oraent  or  two,  this  precipitate  retreat  of  the  churchwarden  had  some- 
thing  contagious  in  it,  and  the  whole  of  the  men  who  had  been  induced  to  stop 
and  |o  into  the  church  with  him  were  inclined  to  retreat  likewise ;  but  curiosity 
detained  some  three  or  four  of  them,  and  that  gave  courage  to  the  others. 

"  What  was  it  ?"  said  one.  ,     • ,  „ 

"A  groan,"  said  another;  "  and  it  came  from  the  pulpit. 
"  The  pulpit !"  cried  everybody. 

"  Who  ever  heard  of  a  pulpit  groaning  k    cried  a  third. 
"You  stupid  !"  cried  the  second  speaker  :  "  might  it  not  be  some  one  in  the 
pulpit?— and— Oh  Lord— there's  a  head!" 
At  this  they  all  took  to  flight ;  but  at  the  door  they  encountered  a  man,  who 

C*l!  WhatT the  matter  ?    Can't  you  tell  a  fellow  what  the  blessed  row  is— eh  ? 

This  was  no  other  than  our  old  friend  Crotchet,  who  was  returning  from  a 
coherence  with  Sir  Richard  Blunt  at  his  private  office  m  Craven  Street. 

«  Oh,  it's  a  ghost !    A  ghost  t 

"  A  what  V  , 

u  A  ghost  in  the  pulpit,  and  there  is  his  head. 

"  You  don't  say  so  ?"  said  Crotchet,  as  he  peered  into  the  church,  and  shading 
his  eves  with  his  hand,  saw  the  beadle's  head  just  peeping  over  the  side  of  the 
pulpit  in  a  most  mysterious  kind  of  way.    "  I'll  soon  have  him  out,  ghost  or  no 

Courage  is  as  contagious  as  fear,  especially  when  somebody  else  volunteers  to 
run  all  the  risk  ;  and  so  when  Crotchet  said  he  would  soon  have  the  somebody 
out  «f  the  pulpit,  the  whole  crowd  followed  him  into  the  church,  applauding 
him  very  greatly  for  his  prowess,  and  declaring  that  if  he  had  not  then  arrived, 
they  would  soon  have  had  the  ghost  or  no  ghost  out  of  the  sacred  building,  that 
they  would.  But  they  kept  within  a  few  paces  of  the  door  for  all  that,  so  that 
they  might  be  ready  for  a  rush  into  Fleet  Street,  if  Mr.  Crotchet  should  be 
overcome  in  the  adventure. 

That  was  only  prudent.  . 

But  Crotchet  was  not  exactly  the  man  to  be  overcome  in  any  adventure,  and 
with  an  utter  oblivion  of  all  fear,  he  marched  right  into  the  middle  of  the  church, 
and  commenced  the  ascent  of  the  pulpit  stairs. 

"  Come— come,"  said  Crotchet.  -  This  won't  do,  Mr.  Ghost,  if  you  please ; 
just  let  me  get  hold  of  you,  that's  all." 

"Oh!"  groaned  the  beadle. 

«  Oh,  yer  is  remarkably  bad,  is  yer?  but  that  sort  of  thing  won  t  nswer,by 

no  means.    Where  is  yer  ?" 

Crotchet  opened  the  pulpit  door,  and  reaching  in  his  hand,  he  caught  hold  of 
the  beadle  by  the  leg,  and  fairly  dragged  him  out  on  to  the  little  spiral  stairs, 
down  which  he  let  him  roll  with  a  great  many  bumps,  until  he  landed  in  the 
body  of  the  church  all  over  bruises. 

"  Why,  goodness  gracious  !"  cried  the  beadle's  wif  e,  '*.  it's  my  wretch  of  a 

husband  after  all ! " 

The  beadle  had  just  strength  to  assume  a  sitting  posture,  and  then  he  cried — 
"Murder! — murder!—  murder  1"  until  Mr.  Crotchet,  seizing  a  cushion  from  a 
pew,  held  it  up  before  his  mouth,  to  the  imminent  danger  of  choking  him,  and 
said — 

"  Hold  your  row !  If  you  wants  to  be  murdered,  can't  you  get  it  done  quietly, 
without  alarming  of  all  the  parish  ?  If  you  has  got  anything  to  say,  say  it ;  and 
if  you  has  got  nothink,  keep  it  to  yourself,  stupid." 

"Toddl"  gasped  the  beadle,  the  moment  the  pew-cushion  was  withdrawn 
from  his  mouth.  "Todd — Sweeney  Todd !" 

"  What  ?"  cried  Crotchet. 

"  Here ! — he  has  been  here,  and  I'm  a  dead  man — no,  I'm  a  beadle.  Oh, 
murder!  murder!" 
"  Don't  begin  that  again.   Be  quiet,  will  you?   If  you  have  got  anything  to 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  667 


say  about  Todd,  say  i£,  for  Pm  the  very 
it.    Speak  up,  and  don't  wink.'* 


man  of  all  the  world  as  wants  to  hear 


"  Oh,  I've  seen  him.  He's  been  here.  I  came  to  dust  the  bellowses,  you  see, 
after  my  wife  had  thrown  the  pulpit  at  my  head,  for  asking  her  to  come 
with  me." 

"  Oh,  he's  a- raving  gentlemen/'  said  the  wife.  "  As  I'm  a  sinner,  it  was 
the  bellowses  as  I  throwed  at  his  stupid  head,  and  'not  the  pulpit  as  never 


was.,J 


"Go  on,'  said  Crotchet.  "  Confound  the  pulpit  and  the  bellows  too.  It's 
about  Todd  I  want  to  hear.   Drive  on,  will  you  V 

u  Oh,  yes,  I'm  a  coming  to  that ;  but  it  curdles  my  blood,  and  makes  my  wig 
stand  on  end.    I  had  dusted  the  communion  table,  and  banged  the  cushions, 
and  upl  goes  to  the  pulpit,  meaning  to  do  for  that  as  soon  as  I  could,  when  who 
should  be  there  but  Sweeney  Todd  \u 
"  In  the  pulpit  !M  cried  everybody. 
f1  In  the  pulpit,"  said  the  beadle. 
H"  Why  didn't  you  nab  him  at  once  p"  roared  Crotchet. 

€S  Because,  my  good  friend,  he  nabbed  me  at  once.    He  laid  hold  of  me  by 
this  leg — no,  it  was  this— no  it  wasn't.   It  was  this— that  is— no — — w 
"  Confound  both  your  legs  !    Where  is  he  now  ?" 

*  Why,  really  I  can't  exactly  say,  for  after  stamping  upon  my  inside  for  about 
half  an  hour,  he  left  me  for  dead,  and  I  was  about  half  gone  that  way,  and  I 
have  been  a  groaning  ever  since,  till  now.  I  am  going  fast— very  fast,  and  there 
will  be  an  election  for  beadle  again  in^this  here  parish.  Oh  dear — oh  dear  ! 
Murder — murder — mur  ° 

€4 


*  What,  you  is  coming  that  agin,  is  you,"  cried  Crotchet,  as  he  again  caught 
up  the  pew-cushion,  "  I  shall  be  obligated,  after  all,  for  to  push  this  down  your 
blessed  throat.    Hold  your  noise,  will  you,  Mr.  What's-your-name." 

The  beadle  was  so  terrified  at  the  idea  of  the  pew-cushion  again  nearly 
smothering  him,  that  despite  all  his  injuries,  he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  bolted 
out  of  the  church. 

V  Well,  did  yer  ever  know  sich  a  feller  ?,?  said  Crotchet.  "  Why,  one  would 
think  he  was  afraid  of  Todd." 

The  spectators  thought  that  nothing  was  more  probable  ;  and  as  Mr.  Crotchet 
considered  that  he  had  got  all  the  information  he  was  at  all  likely  to  get  from 
the  beadle,  he  did  not  at  all  trouble  himself  to  go  after  him,  but  after  considering 
for  a  few  moments,  decided  upon  seeking  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  telling  him 
that  he  had  heard  some  unexpected  news  of  Todd. 

Crotchet  knew  where  to  pitch  upon  Sir  Richard  at  once;  and  when  he  related 
to  him  what  had  taken  place,  a  look  of  great  chagrin  came  over  the  face  of  the 
magistrate. 

"  Crotchet,'*  he  said,  "  I  have  missed  Todd,  then,  by  what  maybe  considered 
a  hair's  breadth.  He  must  have  been  in  the  pulpit  while  I  was  in  the  church 
alone.  Oh,  that  I  could  but  for  a  moment  have  guessed  as  much  ^  You,  if  you 
recollect,  Crotchet,  were  in  the  vaults,  and  I  was  waiting  for  you."  ? 

"To  be  sure,  Sir  Richard.'1 

"  And  so  the  rascal  was  almost  within  arm's  length,  and  yet  escaped  me. 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  paced  to  and  fro  in  an  agony  of  impatience  and  regret. 
To  be  so  near  apprehending  Todd,  and  yet  to  miss  him,  was  truly  terrific. 

"  Lor,  sir,"  said  Crotchet,  "  what's  the  use  of  fretting  and  pining  about  it  ? 
That  won't  bring  it  back,  sir,  I  can  tell  you.  After  all,  sir,  you  can't  do  better 
than  grin  and  bear  it,  you  know,  which  is  the  out  and  outest  policy  on  all  these 
here  occasions,  you  know,  yer  worship.  I  wish  as  I'd  a  knowed  he  d  been  m 
the  church  as  much  as  you  do ;  but  you  don't  see  me  a  cussm  and  a  knocking 

my  own  head  about  t,  no  how.'*  _  .  ^„„t,:„ 

"  You  are  right,  Crotchet,  but  in  good  truth  it  is  most  dcsperatdyprovoki^ 
You  will  proceed  as  I  have  directed  you,  and  I  will  run  down  to  Norfolk  Street 


668  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


river,  for  fear  Todd  should  try  to  escape  us  that  way.  You  will  be  so  good, 
Crotchet,  as  to  be  as  vigilant  as  possible*    You  know  how  to  find  me  if  you 

want  me." 

"  Rather,  sir/' 

At  this  moment,  and  just  as  Crotchet  was  upon  the  point  of  leaving  the  room, 
an  officer  brought  in  a  little  slip  of  paper  to  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  upon  which  was 
the  word  "  Ben." 

<•  Ben— Ben  ?"  said  Sir  Richard,  "  who  is  Ben  ?  Oh,  I  think  1  know.  Pray 
show  him  in  at  once.    It  is  my  friend  the  beef-eater,  from  the  Tower." 

u  Ea  y  does  it,"  said  Ben,  popping  his  head  in  at  the  door  of  the  room. 
"  Easy  does  it." 

€i  So  it  does,  Ben.  Come  in.  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  You  can  go,  Crotchet. 
Pray  be  seated,  Ben,  and  tell  me  bow  I  can  serve  you  in  any  way,  my  good 
friend,  and  you  may  be  assured  that  1  shall  have  exceeding  pleasure  in  doing  so, 
if  I  possibly  can  in  any  way/ 

"Lord  bless  you,,,  said* Ben,  "  I  hardly  knows.  There's  ups  and  downs  in 
this  here  world,  and  ins  and  outs." 

"  Not  a  doubt  of  it,  Ben/' 

"  And  retreats  within  retreats,  Sir  Richard,  and  foxes,  and  laughing  hyenas, 
as  you  can't  concilliorate  no  how,  if  you  woilop  'em  till  you  can't  wolbp  'em 


no  more/ 


"  Precisely,  Ben.  If  I  were  a  hyena,  I  don't  exactly  think,  do  you  know, 
that  such  a  process  would  conciliate  me." 

Oh  dear  yes — it's  the  only  way.  But  what  I've  come  about,  Sir  Richard,  is 
what  I  calls  a  delicate  affair.    Oh,  dear  yes — I  tries  to  take  it  easy  but  I  can't — 

I'm— I'm  " 

"What,  Ben  t% 

m  I'm  in  love!  Oh!" 

Cf  Well,  Ben,  there  is  no  great  wonder  in  that.  I  have  been  in  love  myself, 
and  I  believe  very  few  indeed  escape  the  soft  impeachment.  I  hope  your  love  is 
prosperous,  Ben  ?" 

"  Thank  you  kindly,  Sir  Richard,  thank  you  ;  but,  you  see,  I  thought  you 
might  tell  me  if  there  was  any  vice  or  natural  kicking  running  in  the  family, 
and  that's  why  I  corned  here." 

"  I  tell  you,  Ben?    Why  I  don't  even  know  the  name  of  the  family.*' 

u  Yes,  you  does,  Sir  Richard.  The  young  voman  as  I  fell  in  love  with,  is 
Miss  Julia  Hardman,  and  her  father  is  one  of  those  chaps  as  nabs  the  bad  un's 
for  you,  you  know,  Sir  Richard." 

"One  of  my  officers  ?" 

"  To  be  sure  he  is." 

u  Does  he  reside  in  Norfolk  Street,  Strand?" 

"  Does  he  ?  Ay,  he  does;  and  that's  how  I  came  to  know  the  little  morsel  of 
a  cretur  as  has  made  for  the  first  time  an  impression  upon  my  heart.  Oh,  Ben, 
Ben,  little  could  anybody  think  as  you  was  a  marryin  gsort  of  person,  and  here 
you  is  in  love  with  Miss  Julia!" 

"It  does  seem  to  me  a  little  extraordinary,  Ben,  for  I  must  confess  I  have 
heard  you  say  some  rather  severe  things  against  the  married  state." 

"I  have— I  have;  and  if  it  hadn't  a  been  for  all  the  marrying  set-out  with 
those  two  girls,  Johanna  and  Arabella,  I  never  should  have  got  sich  a  idea  in 
my  head.  Howsomedever,  there  it  is,  and  there  it  is  likely  to  remain.  It's  a 
agravation,  but  there  it  is!" 

"  And  how  did  you  get  acquainted  with  Julia  Hardman  V$ 

u  Oh,  dear!  There's  a  public  house  at  the  corner  of  her  street,  and  after  I 
had  been  to  Cousin  Oakley's,  I  used  to  go  there  at  times  and  get  a  drain  of  some- 
thing, you  see,  and  then  she  used  to  come  tripping  in  with  a  mug  for  the  family 
beer,  you  see  ;  and  once  it  rained,  so  I  took  her  up  and  carried  her  home  beer 
and  all,  and  that  was  how  we  got  acquainted,  you  see,  Sir  Richard." 

"  A  very  natural  way  too,  Ben.   All  I  can  say  is,  that  I  know  her  father  to 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


be  a  very  worthy  man  indeed,  and  I  believe  the  daughter  is  a  good  and  virtuous 
girl." 

m  You  don't  say  so  ?  Then  as  there's  no  vice  and  kicking,  I  do  believe  1  shall 
have  to  marry  her  out  of  hand." 

■  11  mum 

CHAPTER  CLV1I. 

TODD  FIxVDS  THA.T  HE  HAS  GOT  OUT  OP   THE  FRYING-PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE. 

After  this  little  explanatory  conversation  between  Ben  and  Sir  Richard 
Blunt,  the  reader  will  probably  guess  that  Todd's  evil  fortune  had  actually 
carried  him  to  that  very  house  in  Norfolk  Street,  Strand,  occupied  by  the  Hard- 
man  family,  to  which  he,  Sir  Richard,  talked  of  going  to,  to  give  instructions 
to  his  officer,  and  in  which  resided  the  identical  Julia,  that  Ben  had  carried 
home,  beer  and  all,  in  the  shower,  and  to  whom  his  large  heart  had  become  so 
deeply  attached. 

Todd  could  hardly  have  fairly  expected  to  be  way-laid  by  such  a  conjunction 
of  events ;  and  certainly  when  he  laid  himself  down  so  comfortably  and  easily 
in  the  bed  at  the  lodging-house  for  the  luxury  of  a  few  hours'  sleep,  for  which, 
if  sleep  he  could,  he  had  paid  the  moderate  price  of  three  guineas,  he  little 
dreamt  that  his  enemies  were  rallying,  as  it  were,  around  that  house,  and  that  in 
a  short  time  their  voices  would  be  actually  within  his  hearing. 

Truly  it  seemed  as  though  there  were  henceforth  to  be  no  peace  in  this  world 
for  Todd ;  although,  by  circumstances  little  short  of  absolutely  miraculous,  he 
did  continue  to  avoid  absolute  capture,  near  as  he  was  to  it  at  times. 

The  great  fatigue  he  had  undergone,  combined  with  the  little  refreshment  he 
had  taken  at  the  public-house  in  Hollywell  Street,  induced  a  feeling  of  sleep  in 
Todd's  frame ;  and  after  he  had  lain  in  the  bed  at  the  lodging-house  for  about 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  found  the  house  perfectly  still,  and  that  the  bed  was 
very  comfortable,  he  pulled  the  clothes  nearly  right  over  his  face,  and  fell  fast 
asleep. 

Nothing  but  sheer  fatigue  could  have  given  Todd  so  unbroken  a  repose  as  he 
now  enjoyed.  It  was  for  an  hour  or  more  quite  undisturbed  by  any  images 
calculated  to  give  him  uneasiness;  and  then  he  began— for  there  was  some  noise 
in  the  house-to  dream  that  he  was  hunted  through  the  streets  of  London  by  an 
infuriate  mob  j  and  by  one  of  those  changes  incidental  to  dreams,  when  the 
reason  sleeps  and  imagination  ascends  the  mental  throne,  he  thought  that  the 
f  all  the  mob  were  armed  with  horns,  like  those  cf  cattle,  and  that  they 


ana  more  man  once  uueicu  wc  ,     *  ,  ,  „„„.»j 

Suddenly  he  started  wide  awake  as  a  knock  came  at  the  door  and  roused  h  ^ 
Todd  blessed  that  knock  at  the  moment ;  for  by  waking  him  it  had  rescued  him 
from  the  dream  of  terrors  that  had  been  vexing  lus  brain.  wtM*r*l 
He  sat  up  in  bed,  and  for  a  moment  or  two  could  ha rdly  collec t . ^*red 
senses  sufficiently  to  assure  himself  that  it  was  all  a  dream, and  tha  thewasm 
the  lodeine-house  in  Norfolk  Street ;  but  the  brain  rapidly  recovers  from  sucn 
to^cJSna ;  and  Todd,  with  a  long  breath  of  immense  relief,  gasped 

°U«k<7t  was,  after  all,  but  a  dream-only  a  dream  !    Oh,  God !  but  it  was 

h°SLbftll  back  upon  the  pillow  again  ,  but  sleep  did  not  ^^t^o^ 

he  began  to  fe/a  vaguAind  of  ^f^^^^X^^ 
at  the  door;  and  yet,  he  told  himself,  that  it  could  no*™™e*    ■     and  „oing( 
in  a  house  like  thai  of  course,  there  must  be  P^ty  ofpjoge  =  ™U  & 
and  that,  although  the  persons  who  kept  it  ™gM  contto * 
house,  they  could  not  possibly  have  any  influence  upon  the  KnocKer. 


I 


"  Oh,  it's  all  right/1  said  Todd.  u  It's  all  right.  I  will  sleep  again— I  must 
sleep  again  ;  for  it  yet  wants  hours  and  hours  to  the  night,  when  I  may,  at 
least,  make  the  attempt  to  get  off  from— from  England  for  ever  I" 

A  faint  sort  of  doze — it  could  not  be  called  a  sleep — was  coming  over  Todd, 
when  he  suddenly  heard  the  sound  of  voices ;  and  he  was  startled  wide  awake 
by  hearing  his  own  name  pronounced.  Yes,  he  clearly  heard  some  one  say— 
"  Todd  !" 

In  a  moment  he  sat  up  in  bed,  and  intently  listened.  He  held  his  breath,  and 
he  shook  again,  as  his  imagination  began  to  picture  to  him  a  thousand  dangers. 

There  were  footsteps  upon  the  staircase,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  heard  per- 
sons go  into  the  next  room— that  is  to  say,  the  front  one  to  that  in  which  he  lay, 
the  room  that  he  had  paid  for  a  few  weeks'  occupation  of,  and  which  was  only 
divided  from  that  in  which  he  lay  by  a  pair  of  folding-doors,  that  he  knew  were 
just  upon  the  latch,  and  might,  at  any  moment,  be  opened  to  discover  hinu 
He  then  heard  a  female  voice  say— 
"  I  do  wish  you  would  be  quiet,  Mr.  Ben." 

"Ah/'  said  another  voice,  "keep  him  in  order/ Julia,  for  he  has  been  quite 
raving  about  your  beauty  as  we  came  along  the  street,  I  can  tell  you.  Do  you 
think  the  servant  will  be  able  to  find  your  father  Vy 

"  Oh  yes,  Sir  Richard.  If  ma  were  at  home  she  could  have  said  at  once  where 
he  was ;  but  Martha  will  find  him,  I  dare  say." 

Todd  threw  the  bed-clothes  right  over  his  head.  It  was  no  other  than  Sir 
Richard  Blunt  who  was  in  the  front-room  of  that  diabolical  lodging-house,  and 
Todd  looked  upon  himself  as  all  but  in  custody.  His  sense  of  hearing  seemed 
to  be  preternaturally  acute,  and  although  the  bed-clothes  covered  up  his  ears,  and 
he  could  not  be  said  to  be  exactly  in  his  usual  state,  inasmuch  as  terror  had 
half  deprived  him  of  his  reasoning  powers,  yet  he  heard  plainly,  and  with  what 
might  be  called  a  perfect  distinctness,  every  word  that  was  spoken  in  the  front 
room. 

Perhaps,  even  in  the  condemned  cell  of  Newgate,  Todd  did  not  suffer  such 
terrors  as  he  was  now  assailed  with  in  that  lodging,  where  he  thought  he  was  so 
safe,  and  which  he  had,  as  he  fancied,  managed  so  cleverly. 
*[  Will  you  be  quiet,  Ben  V9  said  the  girl's  voice  again.  " 
"  Make  him— make  him,  Julia,"  said  Sir  Richard. 

"V  Lor  bless  your  little  bits  of  eyes,"  said  Ben.   "  Do  now  come  and  sit  in  my 
lap,  and  I'll  tell  you  such  a  lively  story  of  how  the  leopard  we  have  got  at  the 
Tower  lost  a  bit  off  the  end  of  his  tail  V 
u  I  don't  want  to  hear  it." 

"You  don't  want  to  hear  it  ?  Come— come,  my  lambkin  of  a  Julia—when 
shall  we  be  married  ?  Oh.  do  name  the  day  vour  Ben  will  be  done  for  for  life. 
I  want  it  over.1' 

«  Well,  I'm  sure,"  said  Julia,  «  if  you  think  you  will  be  done  for,  you  had 
better  not  think  of  it  any  more,  Mr.  Benjamin/' 

« It  won't  bear  thinking  of,  my  dear.  It's  like  a  cold  batli  in  January  :  you 
had  better  shut  yer  eyes  and  tumble  in." 

it  VF°n  T£  r  °rd'  BtV  S?id  Sir  Eichard>  laughing,  «  you  are  anything  but 
gallant;  and  if  I  were  Julia,  I  would  not  have  you."  J 

*  ^0t,,hav.e,mTe Lo/d>yes,  she'll  have  me.  Only  look  at  me*" 

a  *.     \  ,l ?\  "  you  thmk'  because  y°u  are  a  great  monster  of  a  fellow, 

tUt  an tybody  would  have  you;  but  I  can  tell  you  that  a  husband  half  vour  size 
would  be  just  as  well,  and  I  only  wonder,  after  you  have  made  all  the  neighbours 

you5 wretcTl"  a  WOTd  l°  ™Y  t0  SU°h  a  mountain  of  *  ™™>  that  I  do, 

£,  ?  catr;hiiaucghW;.why' my  iacK  what  do  ,hey  ^ at  ?  1  shouid 

rnS^  k;°Y  5?u  wretch>  that  that  day  it  rained  as  if  cats  and  dogs  were 

W  gi  °°-  mVP  ¥  if-X  had  been  a  bab*  ^  did,  and  carried  me 
home,  and  me  with  a  jug  of  porter  in  my  right  hand/and  the  change  out  of  a 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  67 1 


shilling  in  my  left,  so  that  I  could  not  help  myself  a  bit,  and  all  the  street  laugh- 
ing.  Oh,  I  hate  you  V 

"She  hates  me !"  said  Ben.    " Oh  I? 

"Bat  she  don't  mean  it,  Ben,"  said  Sir  Richard. 

u  Do  you  think  she  doesn't,  sir  V9 

"  I  am  sure  of  it.    Do  you,  now,  Julia  ?'* 

«  Yes,  Sir  Richard,  indeed  I  do,  really  now,  for  he  is  quite  a  horrid  monster, 
and  I  only  wonder  they  don't  put  him  in  one  of  the  cages  at  the  Tower  along 
witht  he  other  wild  beasts,  and  make  a  show  of  him.  That's  all  that  he  is  fit  for." 

"Oh,  you  aggravating  darling,"  said  Ben,  making  a  dart  at  Julia,  and  catch- 
ing her  up  in  his  arms  as  you  would  some  little  child.  €i  How  can  you  go  on 
so  to  your  Ben  ?* 

"  Murder  V9  cried  Julia. 

44  Oh,  if  you  are  going  to  have  a  fight  for  it/1  said  Sir  Richard,  a  I  will  go 
and  wait  down  stairs,  Julia. 99 
Bang  came  a  knock  at  the  street-door. 

"  Oh,  Ben,  there's  ma  or  pa,"  said  Julia*    "Let  me  down  directly.  Do 
Ben — oh,  pray  do.    Let  me  down,  Ben." 
*rDo  yer  love  your  Ben?" 
"  Anything  you  like,  only  let  me  down.1' 

u  Very  good.  There  yer  is,  then,  agin  on  yer  little  mites  of  feet.  Lor  bless 
you,  Sir  Richard,  that  girl  loves  the  very  ground  as  I  walks  on,  she  does,  and  she 
has  coined  over  me  with  her  fascinations  in  such  a  way  as  never  was  known. 
Ain't  she  a  nice  'un  ?<—  sleek  and  shiny,  with  a  capital  mane.  But  you  should 
see  her  at  feeding-time,  Sir  Richard,  how  nice  she  does  it— quite  delicate  and 
pretty  ;  and  you  should  see  her— ■-— " 

The  door  of  the  room  opened,  and  Hardman,  the  officer,  made  his  appearance. 

H  Your  humble  servant,  Sir  Richard.  I  hope  I  have  not  kept  you  waiting 
long  ?    I  was  only  in  the  neighbourhood. 99 

"  No,  Hardman,  thank  you,  it's  all  right.  I  have  not  been  here  above  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour." 

"  I  am  glad  of  that,  sir.    How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Ben  ?" 

«  Pretty  well,*  said  Ben,  "only  a  little  hungry  and  thirsty,  that's  all;  but 
don't  trouble  yourself  about  that,  Mr.  Hardman ;  I  always  do  get  hungry  when  I 
look  at  Julia.'* 

* I  hope,  Mr.  Ben,  that  don't  mean  that  you  will  dine  off  her  some  day 
when  you  are  married  i" 
"Oh,  lor,  no.    Bless  her  heart,  no.   She  loves  me  more  and  more,  Mr. 

Hardman  99 

"  I  am  glad  to  here  it,  Ben— very  glad  to  hear  it.  But  I  presume,  Sir  Richard, 
that  you  have  some  orders  for  me  V 

*'  Why,  yes,  Hardman.  There's  that  rascal  Todd,  you  know,  still,  continues 
to  elude  us.  What  I  want  vou  to  do  is,  to  take  charge  entirely  on  the  river, 
and  to  make  what  arrangements  you  like  at  the  various  quays  and  landing- 
places,  and  with  all  the  watermen,  so  that  he,  shall  not  have  a  chance  of  escaping 
in  that  way." 

"  Certainly,  sir  j  I  will  set  about  it  directly."  4  * 

u  Do  so,  Hardman.  Expense  in  this  case  is  of  no  object,  for  the  Secretary  of 
State  will  guarantee  all  that ;  but  of  course  I  don't  wish  you  to  be  extravagant 

on  that  account."  -         ,  , 

"  I  quite  understand  you,  Sir  Richard,  and  will  do  my  best. 
"  That  I  am  sure  you  will,  Hardman ;  and  now  I  will  go.    I  shall  teel  no 

peace  of  mind  untd  that  man  is  dead,  or  in  the  cell  again  at  Newgate. 
Todd  popped  his  head  out  from  under  the  clothes,  and  making  the  most 

hideous  face,  he  shook  one  of  his  clenched  fists  »  <h»  direction  of      front  room. 

It  would  have  been  some  satisfaction  to  him  to  have  given  a  ^J^J/^vX 

but  he  dared  not  venture  upon  it  ;  so  he  was  forced  to  content  himself  witu  tne 

pantomime  of  passion  instead  of  its  vocal  expression. 


S3 


m  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS- 


^TdcThope,  sir,  we  shall  soon  have  him,"  sa*"d  Hardman.  "  It  seems  to  me 
to  be  next  thing  to  impossible  he  should  escape  us  for  long.    Do  you  think  he 

has  any  money,  sir  V9  c , -  -  , .  \' 

"  He  cannot  have  much,  for  all  he  has,  if  any,  must  be  but  the  produce  of  de. 
predation  since  his  escape  from  Newgate.    He  certainly  has  not  extensive  means, 

Hardman/'  .  . 

"  Then  he  must  fall  into  our  hands,  sir.    Julia,  is  that  your  mother  just 

arrived,  do  you  think?"  _L  ,  ,  ■ 

"  Yes,  pa,  it  is  ma's  step.  She  has  been  out  to  get  something  or  another,  but 
I  don't  know  what,  as  I  was  out  myself  all  the  morning ;  but  it  is  ma,  I  know." 

Mrs.  Hardman  came  into  the  room,  looking  very  red  and  flushed,  and  with  a 
large  basket  on  her  arm.  She  looked  from  one  to  the  other  of  the  assembled 
guests  with  surprise  and  horror. 

"What's  the  matter?"  said  her  husband.  "  Why  wife,  you  look  panic- 
stricken.    What  has  happened  ?" 

"  Oh,  gracious !  where*  s  the  gentleman 

•4  The  gentleman  V9  cried  everybody. 

Cl  Yes,  the  lodger.  The  highly  respectable  gentleman  who  took  the  first-floor 
only  a  couple  of  hours  ago.  Oh,  gracious,  where  is  he?  and  a  capital  lodger 
too,  who  paid  in  advance,  and  didn't  mind  extras  at  all.* 

i4  But  what  lodger,  mother  ?'*  said  Julia. 

"Oh,  mum,  I  forgot— 1  forgot/'  said  Martha,  suddenly  coming  into  the  room, 
"  I  forgot  to  tell  Miss  Julia,  mum,  that  an  old  gentleman  had  taken  the  first 
floor,  mum,  and  gone  to  bed  in  the  next  room/' 

u  Tn  bed  in  the  next  room  V  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt 

« I  am  lost !"  thought  Todd.  "  1  am  lost  now,  I  am  quite  lost !  and  the  only 
thing  I  can  do  is  to  kill  as  many  of  them  as  possible,  and  then  blow  my  own 
brains  out." 

"Do  you  mean  to  say,  ma,"  said  Julia,  "that  there's  a  gentleman  asleep  in 
the  next  room  in  the  bed  ?'* 

"  Lor!'  said  Ben,  u  you  don't  mean  to  say  that,  Mrs.  Hardman  V9 

H  He  may  be  in  bed,  but  if  he  is  asleep/'  said  Sir  Richard,  "  he  is  a  remark- 
able man  ;  of  course  if  we  had  had  the  least  idea  of  such  a  thing,  we  should 
not  have  come  up  here  ;  but  here  we  were  showrn  by  the  servant/' 

"  Oh,  yes,  it's  all  that  frightful  Martha's  fault.  I'll— I'll  kill— no- Til  dis- 
charge that  odious  hussy  without  a  character,  and  leave  her  to  drown  herself! 
For  Heaven's  sake  go  down  stairs  all  of  you,  and  Til  go  and  speak  to  the  old 
gentleman,  and  apologise  to  him." 

"  Let  me  go,"  said  Ben,  u  and  roll  on  him  on  the  bed,  and  if  that  don't  settle 
him  I  don't  know  what  will/* 

"  Shall  I  apologise  to  him      said  Sir  Richard. 

Todd  nearly  fainted  when  he  heard  this  proposition  ;  but  when  Mrs.  Hard- 
man  rejected  it,  and  insisted  upon  going  herself,  he  felt  quite  a  gush  of  gratitude 
towards  her,  and  breathed  a  little  more  freely  once  again.  / 


CHAPTER  CLVJir. 
todd's  fearful  adventures  on  the  river.  I 

"  Shall  I  lay  hold  of  her/'  thought  Todd,  "  and  choke  her  the  moment  she 
comes  into  the  room,  or  shall  I  answer  her,  and  let  her  go  again?  Which  will 
he  the  safest  course  ?  I  suppose  I  must  let  her  go,  for  she  might  possibly  make 
a  roise.    Ah  !  how  I  should  like  to  have  my  hand  upon  all  their  throats  !M 

Mrs.  Hardman  came  into  the  room  on  tip-toe,  leaving  the  folding-door  just 
a  1  tie  ajar. 

'My  dear  sir/  she  said,  "  are  you  awake  ?" 


* 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


673 


"  Oh,  go  to  the  deuce,"  said  Todd. 
"  What  did  you  remark,  my  dear  sir  ?" 

"  Go  along—go  along— Eugh!—eugh !    Oh,  dear,  how  bad  my  cough  i 


dreamt  that  no  end  of  people  were  talking  and' talking  away  In  the^next  Voom  ; 

t't  be,  as  I  have  paid  for  it.   Oh,  dear !— oh !" 


bat  that  can' 


TODD  COMPELS  BILL  WHITE  TO  ASSIST  HIS  ESCAPE  FROM  THE  THAMES  POLICE. 

Mrs.  Hardraan  took  her  cue  from  this ;  and  she  was  at  once  resolved  to  pass 
off  the  disturbance  in  the  next  room  as  merely  a  dream  of  her  new  lodger. 

*' Dear  me,  sir,"  she  said  in  the  blandest  possible  accents  ;  "  have  you  indeed 
had  a  dream  ?    What  a  singular  thing  !" 

"  Eugh  !    Is  it  ?   I  don't  think  so."  ,  T 

"  Well,  sir,  when  I  say  singular,  of  course  I  mean  that  it's  very  natural,  l 


674 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


always  dream  when  I  sleep  in  a  strange  bed,  do  you  know,  sir,  and  sometimes 
the  most  horrid  dreams." 
"  Oh,  go  along/' 

"  Yes,  sir,  directly.   Would  you  like  anything  got  for  you,  sir  ?    A  nice 
mutton  chop  for  instance,  or — or — ~  * 
"  No— no  !    Good  God,  why  don't  you  go  ?" 

"I  am  going,  sir.    Thank  you.   There  will  be  a  very  quiet  house  here,  I 

assure  you,  sir.'1  t 

With  these  words,  Mrs.  Hardman  was  about  to  leave  the  room,  flattering  her- 
self that  it  was  all  passing  off  quite  comfortably  as  a  mere  dream,  when  Ben, 
thinking  it  incumbent  upon  him  to  do  something  civil,  suddenly  popped  his  head 
into  the  room,  and  in  a  voice  that  sounded  like  the  growl  of  some  bear  for  his 
food,  he  said-— 

€€  Take  it  easy,  old  gentleman.  You'll  find  that  easy  does  it  all  the  world  over ; 
and  if  so  be  as  you  ever  comes  near  the  Tower,  just  you  ask  for  Ben,  and  Til 
show  you  the  beasteses,  all  gratis,  and  for  nothing.  Feeding  time  at  four 
o'clock." 

"  Oh,  you  great  ugly  wretch!"  cried  Mrs.  Hardman,  dealing  Ben  a  sound 
box  on  the  ear.  *'  How  dared  you  interfere,  I  should  like  to  know,  you  monster 
in  inhuman  shape 

11  Oh,  lor I"  said  Ben,  "  I  only  hope  another  of  the  family  ain't  so  handy  with 
her  front  paws/' 
«  Oh— oh  !"  said  Todd.    "  No  peace !— no  peace  t" 

Mrs*  Hardman  at  once  closed  the  door  of  communication  between  the  two 
rooms  ;  for  she  quite  despaired  now  of  being  able  to  make  any  apology  to  her 
lodger,  and  she  seemed  much  inclined  to  execute  further  vengeance  upon  Ben, 
but  Sir  Richard  Blunt  interfered,  saying —  * 

"  Come— come,  Mrs.  Hardman,  you  should  recollect  that  what  Ben  said  was 
with  the  very  best  of  motives,  and  any  one,  you  know,  may  go  wrong  a  little  in 
trying  to  do  good.  Let  us  all  adjourn  down  stairs,  and  be  no  further  disturbance 
to  this  old  gentlman,  who,  taking  everything  into  consideration,  has,  I  think, 
shown  quite  an  exemplary  amount  of  patience." 

Todd  heard  those  words.  They  seemed  to  him  quite  like  a  reprieve  from 
death. 

4<I  will  come  down  stairs,  of  course/*  said  Mrs.  Hardman,  in  an  under  tone; 
€i  but  for  all  that,  this  great  monster  of  a  Ben  ought  to  be  put  in  one  of  his  own 
cages,  at  the  To#lr,  and  there  kept  as  a  warning  to  all  people.'* 
A  warning  o'  what,  mum  ?"  said  Ben. 
.  Hardman  was  not  very  clear  about  what  he  would  be  a  warning  of,  so 
she  got  out  of  the  difficulty  by  saying — \"  What's  that  to  you,  stupid  ?" — and 
as  Ben  was  rather  slow  in  explaining  th  at  it  did  rather  concern  him,  she  walked 
down  stairs  with  a  look  of  triumph  thaft  was  highly  amusing  to  Sir  Richard 
Blunt,  as  well  as  to  Mr.  Hardman,  the  officer. 

How  Todd  listened  to  the  footsteps  -as  they  went  down  the  stairs  !  How  his 
heart  beat  responsive  to  every  one  of  tihem  !  and  when  he  felt  for  certain  that 
that  immediate  and  awful  danger  had  p  assed  away,  he  peeped  out  from  amid  the 
mass  of  bed-clothes,  with  his  eyes  almost  starting  from  his  head. 

"  Gone  !  gone  V*  he  gasped.  "  He  h  tas  really  gone.  My  mortal  enemy— the 
only  man  who  can  make  me  tremble,  tt  tat  terrible  Sir  Richard  Blunt !  That  he 
should  be  withirt  half-a-dozen  paces  of  me ;  that  he  should  hear  me  speak ;  that 
he  should  only  have  to  stretch  out  his  hand  to  lay  it  upon  my  shoulder,  and  yet 
that  I  should  escape  him!    Oh,  it  camn  ot  be  real  1" 

Todd  heard  some  accidental  noise  in  the  house,  and  he  immediately  dived  his 
head  under  the  bed-clothes  again. 
"They  are  coiming  again  !—  they  are  coming  again  !"  he  gasped. 
The  noise  led  to  nothing,  and  after  a  few  moments,  Todd  became  convinced 
that  it  had  nothitng  to  do  with  him,  so  h<  3  ventured^  half-suffocated,  to  look  up 
again.  * 


I  1 
listen 

the  p< 
cert** 
tared . 
bouse, 

:  itj 

was  oj 

% 

The 

j  todes< 
\  roand 
i  Joor< 
\  An( 
:  come  * 
in  gre 
ail  his 
Thi 
drops 
Av 
resolv 
torbai 
Ben  gi 
of  Sir 
Thami 
lersell 
Tod 
Todd, 
for  qo 
Tti( 
tie  fro 
Hall 

loath 
The 
the  wi 

"! 
He 
back  1 

|  ,aB 


li 


IT 

lift 


"  I  must  listen— I  must  listen;'  he  said,  in  a  low  anxious  tone.  "  I  must 
listen  until  he  has  gone.  When  I  hear  the  street-door  of  the  house  shutf  I  shall 
think  that  they  have  let  him  go*  and  then  I  shall  be  able  to  breathe  again ;  but 
not  before.   Oh,  no—no,  not  before— hush— hush !    What  is  that  V9 

Every  little  accidental  sound  in  the  house  now  set  the  heart  of  Todd  wildly 
beating.  If  one  had  come  into  the  room,  and  said— "  You  are  my  prisoner/' — 
the  probability  was,  that  he  would  have  fainted  ;  but  if  he  did  not,  it  is  quite 
certain  that  he  could  not  have  offered  any  resistance.  A  child  might  have  cap- 
tured him  then,  during  the  accession  of  terror  that  had  come  over  him  in  that 
house,  whither  he  had  slunk  purposely  for  safety  and  for  secrecy. 
:  At  length  he  heard  a  noise  of  voices  in  the  passage,  and  then  the  street-door 
was  opened.  As  he  lay,  he  could  feel  a  rush  of  cold  air  in  consequence.  Then 
it  was  closed  again,  and  the  house  was  very  still. 
"  He  has  gone!    He  has  gone  !"  said  Todd. 

The  manner  in  which  Todd  pronounced  these  few  words  it  would  be  impossible 
to  describe.  No  shivering  wretch  reprieved  upon  the  scaffold,  with  the  rope 
round  his  neck,  could  feel  a  greater  relief  than  did  Todd,  when  he  found  that  the 
door  of  that  house  was  really  closed  upon  Sir  Richard  Blunt. 

And  then  he  began  to  felicitate  himself  upon  the  fact  that,  after  all,  he  had 
come  to  that  place ;  €i  for  now,"  he  thought,  "  I  know  that,  although  I  have  been 
in  great  danger,  it  has  passed  away ;  and  as  Sir  Richard  Blunt  has  transacted 
all  his  business  in  this  house,    he  is  not  likely  to  come  to  it  again/* 

That  was  a  pleasant  thought,  and  as  Todd  dashed  from  his  brow  the  heavy 
drops  that  intense  fear  had  caused  to  assemble  there,  he  almost  smiled. 

A  very  profound  stillness  now  reigned  in  the  house,  for  Mrs.  Hardman  was 
resolved  to  make  up  to  her  lodger— as  well  as  she  could— for  the  noise  and  dis- 
turbance that  had  been  so  unwittingly  caused  in  her  front  room.  She  had  made 
Ben  go  away,  and  as  her  husband  had  likewise  gone,  in  pursuance  of  the  orders 
of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  to  take  measures  lest  Todd  should  make  an  escape  by  the 
Thames,  the  place  remained  aS  calm  and  still  as  if  no  one  were  in  it  but 
herself. 

I  Todd  closed  his  eyes,  and  wearied  nature  sought  relief  in  sleep.  Even  Sweeney 
Todd,  with  more  than  twenty  mortal  murders  on  his  conscience,  slept  calmly 
for  no  less  than  six  hours  of  that,  to  him,  most  eventful  day. 

Twice  during  this  long  sleep  of  her  lodger's  had  Mrs.  Hardman  stolen  into 
the  front-room  to  listen,  and  been  quite  satisfied  by  the  regular  breathing,  that, 
at  all  events,  her  lodger  was  not  dead  ;  and  she  kept  herself  upon  the  alert 
to  attend  to  him  whenever  he  should  awake  from  that  deep  sleep. 
|  The  long  shadows  of  the  houses  on  the  other  side  of  the  street  had  fallen  upon 
the  windows  of  the  Hardmans  abode,  and  a  slight  fog  began  to  make  itself  per- 
ceptible in  London,  when  Todd  awoke. 
"  Help—help!    Oh,  God,  where  am  I  ?"  he  cried; 

He  sprang  half  out  of  the  bed,  and  then  the  full  tide  of  recollection  came 
back  to  him,  and  he  fully  comprehended  his  situation  m  a  moment. 

a  Hush  !~hush !— hush  f  he  said ;  and  he  listened  most  intently  to  hear  if 
his  sudden  exclamation  had  attracted  any  attention. 

He  heard  a  footstep  on  the  stairs.  m  r 

"  Hush  !-hush  l»  he  said  again,  "  hush -who  is  it  ?    I  must  be  very  careful 

now Oh  very'"  j 
The  footstep  paused  at  his  door,  and  then  he  heard  it  in  the  next  room,  and 
Mrs.  Hardman  advancing  to  the  folding  doors,  said,  m  the  blandest  of  accents- 
Tot  y£^^^^^  ^  had  formerly  addressed  her,  and 

replied—  i 
"  Yes,  madam,  yes.   I  am  awake  1" 
"  And  how  do  you  feel  now,  sir,  if  you  please  ? 

"  Oh,  a  great  deal  better,  ma'am,  a  great  deal  better.  Indeed,  I .feel  quite 
refreshed.    I  will  come  out  directly,  my  dear  madam.    Prayjiave  the  goodness 


1 


676  THE  STRING-"  OF  PEAPT 


I 


to  take  this  guinea,  I  shall  want  a  cup  of  tea  at  times,  and  I  think  I  could  take 
a  cup  now,  my  dear  madam.  You  can  get  it  out  of  that,  and  keep  the  change, 
you  know,  till  I  want  something  else." 

"Oh,  really,  sir/'  said  Mrs.  Hardmam,  as  she  put  her  hand  through  a 
small  opening  of  one  of  the  folding  doors  and  took  the  guinea.  "It  is  quite 
dalightful  to  have  so  pleasant  a  lodger  as  yourself— oh,  quite. — I  will  get  the 
tea  directly,  my  dear  sir,  and  pray  make  yourself  quite  at  home,  if  you 
please." 

*'  Yes,  ma'am,  I  will— I  will." 

ff  Do,  sir.   I  should  be  really  unhappy  now,  if  I  did  not  think  you  were  com- 
fortable." 

"  Oh  it's  all  right,  ma'am.  Eugh !  Oh,  dear  !  I  do  think  my  cough  has 
been  better  since  I  have  been  here." 

u  How  delightful  to  hear  you  say  that!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Hardman,  speaking 
in  quite  a  tremulous  voice  of  sympathetic  emotion.  <c  I  will  get  the  tea,  directly, 
sir." 

She  left  the  room,  and  as  she  went  down  the  stairs,  she  said  to  herself— 
"  What  a  pearl  of  a  lodger,  to  be  sure !  He  pays  for  everything  over  and  over 
again.  I  should  not,  now,  in  the  least  wonder  but  the  dear  old  gentleman  will 
quite  forget  the  change  out  of  this  guinea  ;  if  he  does,  it  is  not  for  me  to  vex 
him  by  putting  him  in  mind  of  it.  I  know  well,  that  old  people  never  like  it 
to  be  supposed  that  their  memory  fails  them  ;  so  if  he  says  nothing  about  it,  I 
am  sure  1  shall  not    Oh,  dear,  no  V9 

<'  Wretch !"  muttered  Todd,  as  he  crept  out  of  the  back  room  into  the  front. 
u  Wretch,  I  find  that  money  will  purchase  anything  in  this  house  ;  but  am  I 
surprised  at  that?  Oh,  no — no.  Will  not  money  purchase  anything  in  this 
great  world?  Of  course  it  will.  Why,  then,  should  this  house  bean  exception 
to  the  rule  so  general?  No — no.  It  is  no  exception  ;  and  I  may  be  very  safe  for 
a  few  guineas  well  spent;  and  they  are  well  spent,  indeed.    Oh,  so  well  !" 

Todd  then,  as  he  flung  himself  into  the  depjhs  of  an  easy  chair,  that  was 
really  easy  for  a  wonder,  considering  that  it  was  in  a  lodging-house,  began  to 
arrange  in  his  own  mind  his  course  of  proceeding  for  the  night. 

"Let  me  think — let  me  think/*  he  muttered.  "I  am  now  very  much  re- 
freshed  indeed,  and  feel  quite  strong  and  well,  and  equal  to  any  emergency. 
That  sleep  has  done  me  a  world  of  good,  and  it  is  strange,  too,  that  it  has  been 
the  calmest  and  the  quietest  sleep  I  have  enjoyed  for  many  a  m«nth.  I  hope  it 
is  not  prophetic  of  some  coming  evil." 

He  shuddered  at  the  thought.  Todd  was  each  day — ay,  each  hour,  becoming 
more  and  more  superstitious. 

u  No— no.  I  will  not  think  that.  I  will  not  be  so  mad  as  to  disarm  myself  of 
my  courage,  by  thinking  that  for  a  moment.  I  will  take  my  tea  here,  and  then 
I  will  sally  forth,  telling  this  woman  that  I  will  soon  return,  and  then,  afrer  a 
dose  of  brandy,  I  will  hire  a  boat  and  take  to  the  river.    What  is  that  ?" 

The  wind  with  a  sudden  gust  came  dashing  against  the  windows,  giving 
them  such  a  shake,  that  it  seemed  as  if  it  were  intent  upon  getting  into  the  room 
to  buffet  Todd. 

I    He  immediately  rose,  and  going  to  the  window,  he  placed  his  hideous  face 
close  to  one  of  the  panes,  and  looked  out. 

|    The  sky  was  getting  very  black,  and  huge  clouds  were  careering  about  it.  The 
wind  was  evidently  rising,  and  there  was  every  appearance  of  its  being  most 
squally  and  tempestuous.    Todd  bit  his  lips  with  vexation. 
!    "Always  something !"  he  said.    "Always  something  to  annoy  me,  and  to 
crops  me.    Always — always!" 
<c  The  tea,  sir,  if  you  plea**." 

Todd  turned  round  so  suddenly,  that  he  almost  upset  the  servant  with  the  tea 
equipage. 

?  "  Oh,  very  well.  That  will  do -that  will  do.  lou  are  the  servant  of  the 
jiouse  }* 


.101  <v  '*. 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  677 


**  Ah,  you  will  then  have  to  attend  upon  me  while  I  am  here,  my  dear,  I  pre- 


'  If  you  please,  sir. 
J 

sume? 

"  Yes,  sir,  if  you  please." 

"  Very  good — very  good.  You  are  a  very  nice  young  woman,  and  there's  half- 
a-guinea  for  you.    Eugh!    I  shall  give  you  that  sum  every  week  while  I  stay 
here,  you  know." 
"Lor,  sir,  will  you  ?M 

"  Yes,  yes.    You  can  go  now.    Is  the  tea  all  right  f% 
}"  Oh,  dear,  yes;  sir.    You  are  very  good  indeed.   Misses  said  as  you  was  a 
very  good  lodger,  which  I  knowed  to  mean  as  you  didn't  be  petikler  about  your 
money,  and  now  I  sees  you  ain't.    Thank  you,  sir,  for  me.   I'll  get  up  in  the 
night  if  you  want  anythink." 


CHAPTER  CLIX. 

TODD  MAKES  A  VIGOROUS  ATTEMPT  TO  REACH  GRAVESEND. 

The  servant  was  so  profuse  in  her  acknowledgments  for  the  half-guinea,  that 
she  seemed  as  if  she  would  never  get  out  of  the  room,  and  Todd  had  to  say — 

"  There— there,  that  will  do.  jNow  leave  me,  my  good  girl— that  will  do," 
before  she,  with  a  curtsey  at  every  step,  withdrew. 

u  Well,"  she  said,  as  she  went  down  stairs.  "  If  I  tell  misses  of  this,  I'm  a 
Prussian.  Oh,  dear,  I  keeps  it  to  myself  and  says  nothing  to  nobody,  excepting 
to  ray  Thomas  as  is  in  the  horse- guards.  Ah,  he  is  a  nice  fellow,  and  out  o'this 
I'll  make  him  a  present  of  a  most  elegant  watch-ribbon,  that  he  can  put  a  bullet 
at  the  end  of,  and  let  it  hang  out  of  his  fob  all  as  if  he  had  a  real  watch  in  his 

pocket."  ...  r 

"  Humph  !"  said  Todd.  /M  have  bought  her  good  opinion  cheap.  It  was 
well  worth  ten-and -sixpence  not  to  have  the  servant  watching  me,  with,  for  all  I 
know  to  the  contrary,  eyes  of  suspicion— well  worth  it." 

It  was  not  rery  often  that  Todd  indulged  himself  with  a  cup  of  tea.  Something 
stronger  was  commonly  more  congenial  to  his  appetite ;  but  upon  this  occasion, 
after  his  long  sleep,  the  tea  had  upon  him  a  most  refreshing  effect,  and  he  took 
it  with  real  pleasure.  Mrs.  Hardman,  in  consideration  of  the  guinea  she  had  re- 
ceived beforehand,  had  done  him  justice,  as  far  as  the  quality  of  the  tea  was 

concerned,  and  he  had  it  good. 

"  Well  "  he  said,  after  his  third  cup,  "  I  did  not  think  that  there  was  so  much 
virtue  in  a  cup  of  tea,  after  all ;  but  of  a  surety,  1  feel  wonderfully  refreshed  at  it. 

How  the  wind  blows."  A  f     t.  -L 

The  wind  did  indeed,  blow,  for  all  the  while  that  Todd  was  taking  his  tea  it 
banged  and  buffetted  against  the  window  at  such  a  rate,  that  it  was  really  quite 

a  fearful  thing  to  listen  to  it.  ,  ;  -     .  ,  .  . 

A  couple  of  candles  bad  been  lighted  and  brought  into  the  room,  but  the  gale 
without  soon  laid  hold  of  their  little  flames,  and  tossed  them  about  so,  that  they 
gave  but  a  dim  and  sepulchral  kind  of  light. 

Todd  rose  again,  and  went  to  the  window-agam  he  placed his -face  close  to 
the  pane  of  glass,  and  shading  his  eyes  with  his  hands,  he  looked  out.  A  dashing 

^«^^?tiiat  when  the  rain  comes  the  wind  moderates,"  he  muttered ; 
4 '  but  I  see  no  signs  of  that,  yet.    it  is  almost  a  gale  already.  . 

At tha ^mo^SaL  came7  such  a  gust  of  wind  howling  down  the  street,  that 
■Wd  mShaSy  withdrew  his  head,  as  though  it  were  some  tangible  enemy 

^A^irething  to  foil  me  here,"  he  said  J  "  always  something ;  but  out 
I  mus  7  loS  as  strange  as  it  may,  I  cannot  stay  a  night  in  this  house, 
foMf  Vwer^  to  do  so,  that  would  involve  the  staying  a  day  likewise;  and  it 


THE  STEING  OF  PEARLS. 


wouldTelhTs  time  to-^norrov^before  I  dared  venture  abroad ;  and  who  knows 
what  awful  things  might  happen  in  that  space  of  time  ?  No,  I  must  go  to-night. 
I  must  go  to-night."  ./ 

He  could  not  help  feeling  that  his  going  out  while  the  weather  was  m  such  a 
state  would  excite  a  great  amount  of  wonder  in  the  house ;  but  that  was  a  minor 
event  in  comparison  to  what  might  possibly  ensue  from  remaining,  so  he  put  on 
his  hat. 

Tap—tap  !  came  against  the  panel  of  his  door. 
Todd  muttered  an  awfui  oath,  and  then  said, — 
U  Come  in." 

Mrs.  Hardman  entered  the  room. 

u  I  hope  I  don't  intrude  upon  you,  sir,  but  I  was  so  very  anxious  to  know  if 
th*  tea  was  just  as  you  like  it,  sir  V9 

"  Oh,  yes— yes.  I  am  going  out  a  little  way,  my  good  madam.  Only  ft  little 

way." 
"  Out,  sir  ?" 

"  Yes,  and  why  not  ?~  why  not  ?  Oh,  dear  me  !  How  bad  my  cough  is  to  be 
sure,  to-night.  Eugh! — eugh!" 

u  Goodness  gracious !  my  dear  sir,  you  will  not  think  of  venturing  out  to- 
night? Oh,  sir!" 

"  Why  not,  madam  ?" 

<cThe  wind,  sir — the  rain,  sir— and  the  wind  and  the  rain  together,  sir.  Oh, 
dear !  It  isn't  a  night  to  turn  out  a  dog  in,  not  that  I  like  dogs,  but  I  beg,  sir, 
you  won't  think  of  it.  Only  listen,  sir.  How  it  does  blow,  to  be  sure  !* 

"  Madam  !M  said  Todd,  putting  on  a  solemn  look,  "  I  must  go.  It  is  my  duty 

to  go." 

u  Your  duty,  sir  ?" 

"Yes.  Whenever  the  wind  blows  and  the  rain  comes  down,  I  put  a  quantity 
of  small  change  in  my  pocket,  and  I  go  out  to  see  what  objects  of  distress  in  the 
streets  I  can  relieve.  It  is  then  that  1  feel  myself  called  upon  in  the  sacred  name 
of  heavenly  charity  to  see  to  the  wants  of  my  poorer  fellow- creatures.  It  is  then 
that  I  can  find  many  a  one  whom  I  can  make  happy  and  comfortable  for  a  brief 
space,  at  all  events  ;  and  that's  the  way  that  I  am  always,  you  see,  madam,  with 
a  bad  cold." 

"  Generous  man  W  said  Mrs.  Hardman,  wiping  her  eyes  with  the  corner  of 
her  apron. 

"  Not  at  all,  madam,  not  at  all.  It  is  one's  duty,  and  nothing  else.  I  feel 
bound  to  do  it.  But  I  shall  want  a  little  something  for  supper.  A  nice  boiled 
chicken,  if  you  please,  and  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  get  it  for  me,  madam. 
Take  this  guinea,  if  you  please,  and  we  can  talk  about  the  change,  you  know, 
when  I  want  anything  else,  my  good  madam." 

"My  word!"  thought  Mrs.  Hardman.  "He  is  a  wonderful  lodger,  for 
he  forgets  all  about  his  change.  I  feel  that  it  would  only  vex  the  poor  old  gen- 
tleman to  remind  him  of  it,  and  that  I  do  not  feel  justified  in  doing.  A-hem  ! 
yes,  sir.    Oh,  certainly,  I  will  get  the  finest  chicken,  sir,  that  can  be  had.'^ 

4i  Do  so,  madam,  do  so.    Now  Pm  going." 

u  Oh,  Lord !  there's  a  gust  of  wind  !H 

"  I  like  it — I  like  if 

"  And  there's  a  dash  of  rain  P 

"  So  much  the  better.  Delightful,  delightful,  my  dear  madam.  I  shall  find 
plenty  of  poor  objects  tQ  relieve  to-night.  Under  gateways,  I  ^iall  find  them, 
crouching  upon  door-steps,  snd  shivering  on  spots  where  a  little  shelter  can  be 
found  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  This  is  my  time  to  try  and  do  a 
little  good  with  that  superfluous  wealth  which  Providence  has  given  me," 

Mrs.  Hardman  made  no  further  opposition  to  the  benevolent  intentions  of  a 
lodger  who  continually  forgot  his  change,  and  Todd  fairly  left  the  house. 

Little  did  the  landlady  think,  while  she  was  graspjng  at  the  guineas,  that  there 
was  a  reward  of  a  thousand  pounds  for  the  apprehension  of  her  lodger,  and  that 


——————  . 

it  would  every  penny-piece  of  it  have  been  duly  paid  to  her  at  the  Treasury,  if 
she  could  but  have  managed  to  lock  him  in  a  room  until  the  officers  of  justice 
could  be  sent  for,  to  pounce  upon  him  and  load  him  with  irons,  and  take  him 
off  to  prison. 

But  p©or  Mrs.  Hardman  had  really  no  idea  of  how  near  she  was  to  fortune ; 
and  when  the  street-door  closed  upon  Todd,  she  little  suspected  that  she  shut" 
out  such  a  sum  as  one  thousand  pounds  sterling  along  with  him. 

"  That  is  managed  so  far/'  said  Todd,  as  he  shrank  and  cowed  before  the 
storm-laden  gale  that  dashed  in  his  face  the  rain,  as  he  reached  the  corner  of 
the  street. 

There  Todd  paused,  for  a  new  fear  came  across  him.  It  was  that  no  water- 
man would  venture  upon  the  river  with  him  on  such  a  night ;  and  yet,  after 
reasoning  with  himself  a  little  time,  he  said— 

v  Watermen  are  human,  and  they  love  gold  as  much  as  any  one  else.  After 
all,  it  only  resolves  itself  into  a  question  of  how  much  I  will  pay.'* 

Full  of  this  idea,  which,  in  its  way,  was  a  tolerably  just  one,  he  sneaked  down 
the  Strand  until  he  got  right  to  Charing  Cross.  He  had  thought  of  going  down 
one  of  the  quiet  streets  near  that  place,  and  taking  a  boat  there  ;  but  now  he 
considered  that  he  would  have  a  much  better  chance  by  going  as  far  as  West- 
minster Bridge ;  and,  accordingly,  despite  the  rain  and  the  wind,  he  made  his 
way  along  Whitehall,  and  reached  the  bridge. 

A  few  watermen  were  lounging  about  at  the  head  of  the  stairs.   They  had 
little  enough  expectation  of  getting  a  fare  at  such  a  time,  and  upon  such  a  day. 
One  of  them,  however,  seeing  Todd  pause,  went  up  to  him,  and  spoke — 
"  You  didn't  want  a  boat,  did  you,  sir  V 

u  Why,  yes/'  said  Todd,  14  I  did;  but,  I  suppose,  you  are  ail  afraid  to  earn  a 
couple  of  guineas  V9 
"  A  couple  of  guineas  V 

€€  Yes,  or  three,  for  the  matter  of  that ;  one  more  or  less  don't  matter  to  me  ; 
but  it  may  to  you." 

€i  Indeed,  it  does,  sir.   You  are  right  enough  there.  But  where  do  you  want 
to  go  to  sir  ?    Up  or  down  i" 
"To  Greenwich." 

Todd  thought  if  he  mentioned  Gravesend,  he  might  frighten  the  man  at  once. 

"  Greenwich  ?  Whew !"  The  waterman  perpetrated  a  long  whistle  ;  and 
then,  shaking  his  head,  he  said — u  I'm  very  much  afraid,  sir,  that  it  isn't  a  ques- 
tion of  guineas  that  will  settle  that;  but  I  will  speak  to  my  mate.  Hilloa, 
Jack!— Jack!    I  say,  old  boy,  where  are  you?" 

"  Here  you  are/'iaid  an  old  weather-beaten  man  coming  up  the  steps.  "  I  ve 
only  been  making  the  little  craft  fast.    What  is  the  row  now,  Harry— eh  V* 

"  No  row,  old  mate  ;  but  this  here  gentleman  offers  a  matter  of  three  guineas 
for  a  cruise  to  Greenwich." 

"  Ay,  and  why  not,  Harry  ?" 

u  Why  not  ?   Don't  yau  hear  how  it's  blowing  ?" 

*'  Yes,  I  do,  Harry  ;  but  it  won't  blow  long.  I've  seen  more  gales  than  you 
have,  lad,  and  I  tell  you  that  this  one  is  all  but  over.   The  rain,  in  another 

«  mi  *  a.  fi.  -n  j   Ti>    f~~4.  ~~:«r^  «/vc«.       Tt  will  he*  a  wpt 


you  say 
swear  to  it." 
The  old  man  smiled,  as  he  added-— 

"  Ah,  dear  r*,  yes,  and  so  you  may,  Harry.  I  haven't  been  so  long  out  of 
doors  that  I  don't  know  the  fancies  of  the  weather.  I  can  tell  you  a  most  what 
it's  a  going  to  do  beforehand,  better  than  it  knows  itself.  There,  don  t  you 
hear  how  it's  coming  in  puffs,  now,  the  wind,  and  each  one  is  a  bit  fainter  nor 
the  one  as  corned  afore  it  ?  Lord  bless  you,  it's  nothing !  We  shall  get  a  wet 
jacket,  that's  all ;  and  if  so  be,  sir,  as  you  really  do  want  a  cruise  down  to  Green- 
wich, come  on,  and  Harry  and  me  will  soon  manageitfbr  you.   , 


i 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS  • 


These  words  were  very  satisfactory  to  Todd.  He  had  no  objection  in  the 
world  to  its  being  rather  a  bad  night  on  the  river  ;  but  he  certainly  had  a  great 
!  objection  to  risking  his  life.  Discomfort  was  a  thing  that  gave  him  no  concern. 
He  knew  well  that  that  would  pass  away* 

"  If  you  are  willing/' he  said,  "  let  us,  then,  start  at  once,  and  I  will  not 
hold  you  to  your  bargain  if  the  weather  should  happen  to  turn  very  bad.  We 
can,  in  such  a  case,  easily,  ldare  say,  put  in  at  some  of  the  numerous  stairs  on 
one  side  or  other  of  the  river." 

"There  will  be  no  need  of  that,  sir,"  said  the  old  waterman.  "If  you  go, 
and  if  you  choose  to  go  all  the  way,  we  will  put  you  on  shore  at  Greenwich/' 

"  How  about  London  Bridge?"  said  the  younger  man,  in  atone  of  some 
anxiety. 

*  Better  than  usual/'  said  Jack.  "  It  is  just  the  time  to  shoot  it  nicely,  for 
the  tide  will  be  at  a  point,  and  won't  know  exactly  whether  to  go  oneway  or  the 
other/' 

*  It's  all  right,  then  t* 
"It  is." 

Todd  himself  had  had  his  suspicions  that  the  passage  of  old  London  Bridge 
would  be  one  of  no  ordinary  difficulty  on  such  a  night  as  that,  but  he  knew: 
that  if  the  tide  was  at  that  point  which  the  old  man  mentioned,  that  it  might 
be  passed  with  the  most  perfect  safety,  and  it  was  a  matter  of  no  small  gratifica-| 
tion  to  him  to  hear  from  such  a  competent  authority  that  such  was  the  fact  just 
then.  I 

"  Let  us  go  at  once/'  he  said.  ! 

"All's  right,  sir.  Our  wherry  is  just  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  here.  I  will 
pull  her  in,  Harry."  j 

The  old  man  ran  down  the  slinpery  stairs  with  the  activity  of  a  boy,  and  as 
Todd  and  Harry  followed  him,  the  latter  said,  in  quite  a  confidential  tone  of 
voice-—  j 

"Ah,  sir,  you  may  trust  to  his  judgment  on  anything  that  has  anything  to 
do  with  the  river." 

H  I  am  glad  to  hear  it." 
" 4<  Yes,  sir,  and  so  am  I.    Now  I  thought  I  knew  something,  and  I  shouldn't 
have  ventured  to  take  you,  or  if  I  had,  it  would  have  been  with  rather  a  faint 
heart ;  but  now  that  the  old  man,  sir,  says  it's  all  right,  I  feel  as  comfortable  as 
needs  be  in  the  matter/' 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  foot  of  the  steps,  which  was  being  laved 
by  the  tide,  and  there  the  old  man  had  the  boat  safely  m  hand.  j 

"  Now  for  it,  sir/'  he  said.    M  Jump  in."  j 

Todd  did  so,  and  the  younger  waterman  followed  him.  He  and  his  aged 
companion  immediately  took  their  places,  and  Todd  stretched  himself  in  the 
stern  of  the  little  craft.  \ 

The  rain  now  came  down  in  absolute  torrents  as  the  boat  was  pushed  off  by 
the  two  watermen  into  the  middle  of  the  stream. 


CHAPTER  CXX 

the  Police-galley  on  the  Thames,  and  its  fate. 

What  an  anxious  and  protracted  glance  Todd  cast  around  him  when  he 
found  that  he  was  fairly  upon  the  river.    How  his  eyes,  with  fox-like  cunning, 1 
glistening  like  two  lead-coloured  stars,  were  here,  and  there,  and  everywhere,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  moments.   Then  he  contrived  to  speak,  as  he  thought, 
craftily  enough.  * 

M  There  are  but  few  boats  on  the  liver." 

"  No,  sir,"  said  the  young  waterman.  «  It  isn't  everybody  that  cares  to 
come  on  the  water  m  such  weather  as  this.* 


tt 


k 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


681 


rt  No— no.    But  I  have  business.55 
"  Exactly  so,  sir.    That's  it." 

H  Yes/5  added  Todd,  in  quite  a  contemplative  tone  of  voice,  "the  fact  is,  that 
I  have  just  heard  that  at  Gravesend  there  resides  a  family,  with  whom  I  was 
once  intimate,  but  had  lost  sight  of.    They  have,  as  I  hear,  dropped  into  poverty, 


TODD  RBSORTS  TO  A  FRIGHTFUL  STRATAGEM  WiTH  A  MOTHER  AND  CHILD. 

amounting  to  destitution,  and  I  could  not  rest  until  I  had  gone  after  them  to 
relieve  them.55 

"  Did  you  sav  Gravesend?"  said  the  old  man.  convev- 
"  Whv  vea  •'  but  I  don't  ask  you  to  go  so  far.    I  will  try  and  find  a  convey 
tvn>,  yes ,  out  i  uimt      j        e  ,  t  Gravesend, 

ance  on  land  at  Greenwich  ;  but— if— you  like  to  pun  au  roe  way 

1  don't  mind  paying,  for  I  prefer  the  water. 


No,  86. 


Mil  li 


f 


682  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  

"  Couldn't  do  it,"  said  the  old  man. 
"  Certainly  not,"  said  the  young  one. 

Todd  felt  mortified  that  his  plan  of  getting  to  Gravesend,  by  the  aid  of  the 
boat,  was  thus  put  an  end  to  ;  but  he  could  not  help  feeling  how  very  impolitic 
it  would  be  to  show  any  amount  of  chagrin  upon  such  a  subject,  so  he  spoke  as 
cheerfully  as  he  could,  merely  saying—  ^  j 

"  Well,  of  course,  1  don't  want  you  to  do  it ;  I  merely  offer  you  the  job,  as  I 
am  so  fond  of  a  little  boating,  that  I  would  not  mind  a  few  guineas  more  upon 
such  an  account." 

H  No  use  trying  it,"  said  the  old  man,  sententiously.  "There's  several  turns 
in  the  river,  and  we  should  be  down  one  at  this  time  before  we  could  get  there. 
Gravesend  is  quite  another  thing." 

"So  it  is,"  said  Todd. 

He  felt  perfectly  certain  by  the  tone  and  the  manner  of  the  old  man,  that  it 
would  be  of  no  uee  urging  the  matter  any  further ;  and  the  great  dread  he  had 
of  exciting  suspicion  that  he  was  a  fugitive,  had  the  effect  of  making  him  as 
cautious  as  possible  regarding  what  he  said.  In  stern  and  moody  silence,  then, 
he  reclined  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  while  it  cleaved  through  the  black  water ; 
and,  as  the  old  boatman  prophesied,  the  wind  each  moment  went  down  until  it 
left  nothing  but  a  freshness  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  which,  although  it 
was  bitterly  cold,  in  no  way  effected  the  progress  of  the  boat. 

But  a  slight  rain  now  began  to  fall,  and  every  moment  the  night  got  darker 
and  darker  still,  until  the  lights  upon  the  banks  of  the  river  looked  like  little 
stars  afar  off ;  and  it  was  only  when  they  got  quite  close  to  it,  that  they  became 
aware  of  the  proximity  of  Blackfnars  Bridge.  It  was  Todd  that  saw  it  first 
appearing  like  some  gigantic  object  rising  up  out  o?  the  water  to  destroy  them. 
He  could  not  resist  uttering  an  exclamation  of  terror,  and  then  he  added — * 

"  What  is  it  ?*    Oh,  what  is  it  ?" 

"  What — what  ff  said  the  young  waterman,  shipping  his  oars  and  looking 
rather  terrified. 

The  old  man  gave  his  head  a  slight  jerk  as  he  said — 

$<  I  fancy  it's  Blackfriars." 
,   "  Oh,  yes,  yes/'  said  Todd,  with  a  feeling  of  great  [relief.    u  It's  the  bridge, 
of  course— it  s  the  bridge ;  but  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  it  looked  awful  and 
strange  ;  and  as  we  approached  it,  it  had  all  the  effect  as  if  it  were  something 
big  enough  to  crush  the  world  rising  up  out  of  the  water. 

M  Ay — ay,"  saidtheold  man.  "I  have  seen  it  on  all  sorts  of  nights,  and  was 
looking  out  for  it.  Its  all  right.  Easy  with  your  larboard  over  there.  That 
will  do — there  we  go." 

The  boat  shot  under  one  of  the  arches  of  the  old  bridge,  and  for  a  moment, 
the  effect  was  like  going  into  some  deep  and  horrible  cavern,  the  lower  part  of 
which  was  a  sea  of  ink. 

Todd  shuddered,  but  he  did  not  say  anything.  He  thought  that  after  his 
affected  raptures  at  sailing,  that  if  he  made  any  sort  of  remark  indicative  of  his 
terrors  at  the  passage  of  the  bridge,  they  would  sound  rather  inconsistent. 

It  was  quite  a  relief  when  they  had  shot  through  the  dim  and  dusky  arch, 
and  emerged  again  upon  the  broad  open  water  ;  and  owing  to  the  terrible  dark- 
ness that  was  beneath  that  arch,  the  night  upon  the  river,  after  they  had  passed 
through  it,  did  not  seem  to  be  nearly  so  black  as  it  had  been  before,  thus 
showing  that,  after  all,  most  of  our  sensations  are  those  of  comparison,  even 
including  those  dependant  upon  the  physical  changes  of  nature. 

"  This  is  cheering,"  said  Todd.  It  is  lighter  now  upon  the  river.  Don't 
you  think  it  is  ?" 

"  Why/'  said  the  old  man,  «  perhaps  it  is  just  a  cloud  or  two  lighter  ;  but 
it's  after  coming  through  the  arch  that  it  makes  the  principal  difference,  1 
take  W* 

"  Yes,"  said  the  other,  "that's  it;  and  the  rain,  to  my  thinking,  will  be  a 


it 


Hi 

•I 


'•■I.. 


lib  I 

aw  it  first 


fal  and 


HTML  f 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


683 


lasting  one,  for  it  comes  down  straight,  and  with  a  good  will  to  continue.  Don't 
you  think  so  ?" 

The  question  was  addressed  to  the  old  man,  who  answered  it  slowly  and  sen- 
tentiously,  keeping  time  with  his  words  to  the  oars  as  they  made  a  slight  noise 
jerking  in  the  rollocks. 

"  If  it  don't  rain  till  sun-rise,  just  ask  me  to  eat  the  old  boat,  and  Fil 
do  it  !" 

"  That's  settled/  said  the  young  waterman. 

The  weather,  in  so  far  as  rain  or  not  rain  was  concerned,  was  not  to  Todd  a 
matter  of  much  concern.  So  long  as  there  was  no  stormy  aspect  of  the  elements 
to  prevent  him  from  speeding  upon  his  journey,  he,  upon  the  whole,  rather  liked 
the  darkness  and  the  raih,  as  it  probably  acted  as  a  better  shield  for  his  escape, 
and  he  rather  chuckled  than  not  on  the  klea  that  the  rain  would  last.  Besides, 
it  was  evident  that  as  it  fell,  it  smoothed  the  surface  of  the  river,  so  that  the 
oars  dipped  clear  into  the  stream,  and  the  boat  shot  on  the  better. 

"  Well — well*"  he  said,  **  we  can  but  get  wet." 

"  That's  all/'  said  the  old  man,  "  and  I  hold  it  to  be  quite  a  folly  to  make  a 
fass  about  that.  If  you  sit  still,  the  rain  will,  of  course,  soak  into  your  clothes  ; 
but  if  you  go  on  sitting  still,  it  will  in  time  give  you  up  as  a  bad  job,  and  begin 
to  run  out  again.  So  you  have  nothing,  you  see,  to  do,  but  take  it  easy,  and  think 
of  something  else  all  the  while." 

"That  is  very  true,  my  friend,"  said  Todd,  in  a  kind  and  conciliatory  tone; 
«  but  you  get  wet  through  in  the  process." 

"  Just  so.  Pull  away/' 

The  younger  man,  for  the  last  five  minutes,  had  glanced  several  times  through 
one  of  his  hands  along  the  line  of  the  surface  of  the  river,  and  the  injunction  to 
pull  away  was  probably  on  account  of  his  having  been  a  little  amiss  in  that  parti- 
cular.   The  old  man  had  spoken  the  words  rather  sharply  than  otherwise. 

«  Yes  yes,"  said  the  other.  u  Fll  pull  away  ;  but  there's  another  craft  upon 

the  river,  in  spite  of  the  rain,  and  they  are  pulling  away  with  a  vengeance 
rather.  Look,  they're  in  ®ur  wake." 

"  It's  no  use  me  looking.  You  know  that  well  enough.  I  ain't  quite  so 
good  with  my  eyes  as  I  was  a  matter  of  twenty  years  ago.  I  suppose  it's  the 
police-craft.  Of  late,  you  know,  they  have  taken  to  cutting  along  at  all  times." 

"Yes,  it's  them!"  " 

Todd  stooped  in  the  boat,  until  his  eyes  went  right  along  the  line  of  the  water's 
ed^e,  and  there  he  saw  coming  on  swiftly  a  bigish  bulky  object,  and  as  the  oars 
broke  the  water,  he  could  see  that  there  were  five  or  six  of  them  on  each  side. 
It  looked  altogether  like  some  great  fish  striking  through  the  water  with  a  num- 
ber of  strange-looking  fins. 

The  coward  heart  of  Todd  smote  him,  as  well  it  might,  when  he  saw  this 
sight .  For  a  moment  or  two  he  sat  bewildered,  and  he  thought  that  he  should 
faint  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and  then  that  nothing  in  the  world  could  save  him 
from  capture,  if  that  were  in  reality  the  police-boat.  It  was,  perhaps,  only  the 
rain  falling  upon  his  face  that  revived  him,  as  it  came  upon  him  with  its  cold, 
refreshed  splash.  To  be  sure  he  was  well  armed  for  one  individual,  but  what 
could  he  do  against  some  dozen  of  men  ?  Suppose  that  he  did  shoot  two  or  three 
of  them,  that  would  be  but  a  poor  recompense  for  his  capture  by  the  others.  He 
was  bewildered  to  know  what  to  do.  He  spoke  in  a  low,  anxious  tone,— 

"  Are  you,  from  your  knowledge  of  the  river,  quite  sure  that  that  is  a  police- 
boat!" 

M  Ah  to  be  sure." 

«'  Do' you,  then,  think  likewise  that  that  is  upon  our  track  ?  Answer  me  that. 

jA.nswer  it  fairlv."  , 
"  Our  track !" 'said  the  old  man,  as  he  almost  ceased  rowing.  "  Hilloa!  There's 
something  more  in  this  affair  than  meets  the  eye.  It  won't  exactly  pay  us  to  be 
overhauled  by  the  police,  after  a  chase.  Who  and  what  are  you,  my  friend  i 


m   THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  

If  you  are  afraid  of  the  police-boat,  we  are  not,  and  you  am  t  quite  the  sort  of 
customer  to  suit  us  exactly,  I  should  say."  b  j 

**  I  have  both  their  lives,"  thought  Todd,  as  in  the  dark  he  felt  for  his  pistols. 
"I  have  both  their  lives,  and  if  they  show  any  disposition  to  give  me  up,  they; 
shall  not  live  another  five  minutes.  I  will  shoot  them  both— cast  tbeir  bodies 
into  the  river,  and  land  myself  at  the  first  stairs  I  come  to. 

"  Listen  to  me,"  he  said,  in  a  mild  tone  of  voice.  "  It  would  only  tire  you, 
and,  besides,  it  would  take  too  long  to  tell  why  I  have  a  fear  of  the  police.  But 
I  have  such  a  fear.  I  assure  you,  that  I  am  quite  innocent  of  what  they  accuse 
me.  But  until  I  can  get  from  Hamburgh  the  only  witness  who  can  prove  my 
innocence,  I  do  not  want  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  my  enemies.    I  implore  you 

not  to  sacrifice  me!" 

"  Humph  !"  said  the  old  man,  "  What  have  you  done  ? ' 

"  Nothing— nothing !  as  Heaven  is  my  witness  V9 

"But  what  do  they  say  you  have  done  ?"  said  the  young  waterman. 

«  Ay  !"  said  the  other,  "  that's  the  question  I* 

"Why,  they  say  that  I  was  wrong  in  helping  a  poor  lad,  who  certainly  had 
done  some  wrong  thing,  to  escape  from  the  country ;  but  then  it  would  have 
broken  his  poor  mother's  heart  if  they  had  hanged  him.  It  was  for  forgery  only, 
and  it  was  all  owing  to  bad  company  he  did  it.  Alas!  I  did  not  think  it  a  crime 
to  aid  the  poor  boy  to  get  away.  What  good  would  his  death  have  done  to  any 

me?" 

"Was  that  all  ?" 

"  Yes ;  that  was  all.  But  it  appears  in  law,  you  see,  a  very  serious  offence  to 
aid  and  abet,  as  they  call  it,  a  felon.   Poor  boy ! — poor  mother  I* 

11  Oh,  hang  it,  we  won  t  give  you  up  to  the  bloodhounds  of  the  law  for  that," 
said  the  old  man ;  "but,  hark  you,  sir,  it's  out  of  the  question  that  we  two 
should  be  able  to  hold  our  way  against  the  police- galley,  with  six  young  fresh 
rowers;  so  all  we  can  do  is  to  put  you  ashore  somewhere,  and  then  you  can  shift 
for  yourself  the  best  way  you  may.  I  don't  see  what  else  we  can  do  for  you.'* 

"Nor  I,"  said  the  young  waterman  ;  " and  in  a  few  moments  it  will  be  best 
to  do  that.  Is  there  a  stairs  close  at  hand  V* 

"  Not  one,"  said  the  old  man.  u  It's  a  done  thing.  We  can't  land  you,  except 
in  the  water,  if  that  can  be  called  landing  you  at  all.  I  don't  know  what 
to  be  at." 

"  Oh,  save  me  !"  said  Tood* 

"  But  how  can  we  ?" 

"Yes,"  said  the  young  waterman,  "there's  one  way  of  managing  that,  I 
think,  will  do  it,  and  do  it  well,  too." 
"  Oh,  how  can  I  thank  you  ?" 

u  Don't  mention  it.  Suppose  we  put  him  on  to  the  first  craft  we  come  along, 
side  of  in  the  river,  that  is  moored,  and  has  got  no  one  on  board  ?  It  won't  be. 
noticed, like  our  putting  into  a  landing  would,  you  know.  They  would  be  sure  to! 
say  we  had  put  some  one  on  shore.  But  if  we  just  ease  the  boat  for  a  moment 
as  we  pass  some  craft,  our  fare  can  scramble  on  board,  and  we  can  go  right  on, 
and  let  the  police  overtake  us,  and  overhaul  us  in  due  course.  I'll  be  bound  that  j 
by  this  light  there's  not  a  man  on  board  of  yonder  craft  can  take  upon  himself 
to  say  whether  there's  one,  two,  or  three  people  in  our  wherry." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  old  man,  "  that  will  do  if  anything  will,  and  if  that  don't  do, 
nothing  will." 

"It  will  do,"  said  Todd;  "  it  will  do.  I  thank  you  from  my  heart  for  the 
suggestion.  It  will  do  well.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  let  me  board  the  craft  in 
the  river,  upon  the  side  furthest  removed  from  the  police  boat.  Oh !  you  will 
have  the  prayers  of  the  widow  and  the  fatherless,  for  this  kind  act." 

"  Never  mind  about  that.  Pull  away."  ! 

"And— and  when  the  police-boat  is  past,  will  you  then  come  and  take  me  off 
again  ? 

€<  That's  awkward,"  said  the  old  man. 


"  We  will,  if  we  can/'  said  the  young  one  ;  "  but  don't  depend  upon  us.  We 
don't  know,  as  yet,  what  the  police  may  say  to  us.  For  all  we  know,  they 
know  more  than  we  would  wish  them,  of  your  being  in  our  boat ;  and  all  we 
can  say ,  then,  is,  that  we  put  you  ashore  ;  but  they  may  keep  a  watch  upon  us 
after  that,  and  if  they  do,  it  will  be  only  to  give  you  up  to  them  that  we  could 
push  off  to  you.'* 

"Yes — yes,  I  understand/'  said  Todd.    <fI  thank  you,  and  will  take  my 
chance  of  all  that  may  happen." 
'*  You  must." 

"There's  something  a-head/'  said  the  old  man.    €t  What  is  it?" 

u  It's  the  pile- driving  barge.  They  are  mending  up  the  bank  of  the  river.  I 
know  that  the  men  leave  that  all  flight,  as  there  is  nothing  to  take  from  it 
that  any  one  can  lift.    Will  vou  go  on  board  that,  sir  ?" 

«  Yes,  yes,"  said  Todd,    "  That  will  do." 

u  Be  quick,  then,  about  it/'  said  the  old  man,  u  for  they  gain  upon  us."  \ 
"  Boat  a-hoi  !"  cried  a  voice  over  the  river. 


CHAPTER  CLXI.  ' 

TODD  REACHES  GRAVESEND,  AND  DULY  EMBARKS  FOR  HOLLAND. 

Todd,  when  he  heard  that  voice,  quite  sank  down  into  the  bottom  of  the 
boat,  and  felt  as  though  his  last  hour  were  come. 

*  Don't  answer/'  said  the  old  man.  "  Pull  away  for  the  pile-driving  barge 
as  hard  as  vou  can." 

«  Oh,  yes,  pull— pull !"  cried  Todd.    "  Save  me  !" 

"If  you  make  that  noise,"  added  the  old  man,  "  we  may  as  well  be  off  at 
once,  for  the  river,  when  it  is  as  smooth  as  it  is  now,  carries  voices  well." 
"  Boat  a-hoi !"  cried  the  voice  again. 

"  We  must  answer  them  now,"  said  the  old  waterman.    "Ay,  ay!    Is  it 

here  ?    Boat  a-hoi !" 
"  Ay,  ay!"  came  the  voice  from  the  police-galley. 

At  that  moment  the  two  watermen  succeeded  in  reaching  the  broad  stern  of 
the  barge,  in  which  was  centred  the  pile-drivng  machinery,  and  the,  young 

man  said  to  Todd—  _  /  , 

«« Now  clamber  in,  and  good  luck  attend  you.  If  we  don  t  come  to  you  in 
the  course  of  an  hour,  don't  expect  us,  that's  all/' 

Todd  was  not  very  young  and  supple  in  his  joints,  but  the  sense  of  present 
and  serious  danger  has  an  effect  upon  every  one,  and  in  a  moment  he  seized  the 
side  of  the  pile-driving  barge,  and  drew  himself  in. 

"  All  right,"  said  the  old  man.  .       ,  . 

°  Ob,  yes— yes/"  said  Todd,  as  he  crouched  down  with  his  chin  touching  the 

side  of  the  barge. 

"  Good-night,  then." 

"  Good-night !    You  will  come  for  me  if  you  can  I 

«  Yes,  but  don't  expect  us.    Pull,  now,  as  hard  as  you  can,  and  get  out  into 

the  stream.    Pull!  pull !"  .  , 

By  the  strenuons  united  exertions  of  the  two  men,  the  boat  shot  along  at 

good  speed,  and  soon  got  to  a  considerable  distance  from  the  barge  m  whch 
Todd  had  taken  refuge.  It  was  then  that  the  police-galley  hoisted  a  strong  light 
that  shed  a  bright  glare  through  the  rain,  and  over  the  surface  of  the  river. 

"  Am  I  saved  V>  said  Todd.    "  Am  I  saved,  or  am  i  not  ? 

He  sank  quite  down  into  the  body  of  the  barge.  Ihere  ^as  a  sort  of ^plat- 
form over  oLhfilf  of  it,  and  upon  that  platform  he  felt  the  mass  of  iron  wee- 
ing about  a  couple  of  hundred  we  ight^jorm^ 


686_  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  

3ZZZZL______  —   1     ■  "~  r-   ■  - 

into  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  which,  when  liberated  from  a  height,  and  allowed 
to  fall  upon  the  end  of  the  pile,  comes  with  a  most  tremendous  force. 
That  piece  of  metal  so  used  is  called  "  the  monkey." 

«  They  come— they  come !"  said  Todd.  "  Oh,  if  they  only  chanced  to  see 
the  boat  place  me  here,  I  am  lost.  Quite  lost!  What  will  become  of  me,  then, 
with  nothing  but  the  cold,  cold  river  all  round  me  ?  Death,  indeed,  now  stares 
me  in  the  face  !" 

Truly,  the  situation  of  Todd  now  was  rather  a  critical  one.  There  was  no  saying 
how  far  the  men  on  board  the  police-galley  might  not  think  themselves  justified 
in  boarding  any  craft  that  was  moored  upon  the  river;  and,  indeed,  if  they  were 
searching  for  him,  and  had  really  any  idea  that  he  was  trying  an  escape  by  the 
Thames,  it  was  highly  improbable  that  they  would  omit  to  have  a  good  look  in 
the  barge  where  he  was.  There  was  another  great  danger,  too,  that  suddenly 
flashed  across  his  mind,  and  drove  him  nearly  mad. 

i(  If  the  police,  when  they  overtake  the  wherry ,v  he  thought,  "  should  mention  I 
who  it  is  they  are  in  pursuit  of,  may  not  the  two  watermen  at  once,  upon  finding 
that  their  sympathy  has  been  excited  for  me,  declare  where  I  am,  and  even  aid 
in  my  apprehension  V* 

This  idea,  either  because  it  was  the  last  one  that  came  into  his  head,  or  because! 
it  really  was  the  one  that  seemed  most  full  of  real  dangers,  clung  to  him  with' 
desperation;  and  more  than  once  the  thought  of  ending  all  his  miseries  by  a j 
plunge  into  the  river,  crossed  his  mind.    But  it  is  not  such  men  as  Sweeney 
Tood  who  commit  suicide. 

"  They  come — they  come  V9  was  all  he  could  now  say. 

The  light  from  the  police  was,  by  the  aid  of  a  revolving  reflector,  capable  of, 
being  cast  pretty  strongly  in  any  direction  that  those  who  had  the  care  and  con- 
trol of  it  chose  ;  and  for  a  moment  it  rested  upon  the  barge  where  Todd  was. 
He  felt  as  if,  at  that  moment,  he  could  have  crept  right  through  the  bottom  of  the 
barge,  and  taken  refuge  in  the  Thames.  I 

The  broad  beam  of  light  was  then  shifted  off  the  barge  on  to  the  little  wherry, ; 
which  was  at  rest  upon  the  water  waiting  for  the  approach  of  the  police-galley. ! 

And  now,  with  vigorous  sweeps  of  its  six  oars,  that  galley  made  its  way  right 
past  the  barge.  Oh  !  what  a  relief  it  was  that  it  went  past !  It  did  not  follow 
that  all  danger  was  gone  because  the  police- barge  had  gone  past ;  but  it  was  a 
sufficient  proof  that  the  glare  of  light  they  had  sent  in  that  direction,  by  the  aid 
of  the  reflector,  had  not  had  the  effect  of  discovering  him  to  them. 

"That  is  something/'  muttered  Todd. 

He  then  slowly  permitted  his  eyes  to  peer  over  the  side  of  the  barge  in  order, 
as  far  as  he  could,  to  watch  the  interview  that  was  about  to  take  place  between 
the  police  and  the  two  watermen  in  the  wherry  where  he  had  been  so  lately  a 
passenger.    Upon  that  interview,  now,  he  thought  that  his  fate  depended.  j 

u  Hilloa!,>  cried  one  of  the  police.  u  Why  did  you  not  wait  for  us  when  we 
first  called  to  vou?" 

"We  did,"  said  the  old  man,  "  as  soon  as  we  saw  your  light,  and  knew  what 
you  were;  but  there  are  so  many  jokes  played  off  upon  the  river,  that  if  we 
were  to  rest-oars  to  everybody  who  call—'  Boat  a-hoi,  *  we  should  have  enough  I 
to  do."  6 

"  Who  are  you?" 

"  A  couple  of  regestered  watermen.  Here  we  are.  You  can  overhaul  us  at 
once,  if  you  like." 

"  You  have  no  passenger  ?" 

"  No.    I  only  wish  we  had.    Times  are  very  bad." 

u  Well,  it's  all  right.  But  we  are  placed  here  by  the  orders  of  Sir  Richard 
Blunt  the  magistrate,  who  suspects  that  the  notorious  murderer,  Sweeney  Todd, 
may  try  to  escape  by  the  Thames." 

"  Sweeney  Todd  V7  cried  the  young  waterman  in  a  tone  of  horror.    "  What 
the  fellow  that  killed  all  the  people  in  Fleet  Street,  and  made  them  into  pies 

"  The  same." 


"  It's  coming  now,"  thought  Todd.  "It's  coming  now.  They  will  tell  him 
where  I  am." 

The  next  words  that  were  spoken,  were  uttered  in  a  tone  of  voice  that  did  not 
reach  his  ears.  It  was  the  old  man  who  had  spoken,  and  he  did  not  utter  his 
words  so  clearly  as  his  younger  companion  ;  and  although  he  tried  his  utmost 
to  hear  what  he  said,  he  could  not  possibly  make  it  out,  and  he  remained  in  a 
perfect  agony  of  apprehension. 

V  Very  well/'  said  the  officer  in  the  police-barge,  who  had  conducted  the  brief 
conversation.  « It  is  a  miserable  night.  Give  way,  my  men.  Steady  there. 
Put  the  light  out." 

In  an  instant  the  light  was  lowered  and  extinguished,  and  the  darkness  that 
reigned  upon  the  surface  of  the  Thames  was  like  a  darkness  that  could  be  felt. 
It  was  difficult  to  conceive  that  it  was  not  really  tangible. 

"Are  they  coming  back?" 

That  was  the  question  that  Todd  asked  of  himself,  as  he  grasped;  to  steady 
himself,  the  heavy  piece  of  iron  that  belonged  to  the  pile-driving  machine.  He 
listened  most  intently,  until  it  was  positively  painful  to  do  so,  and  he  began  to 
fancy  all  sorts  of  strange  noises  in  the  air  and  from  the  water.  In  a  few 
moments,  though,  an  actual  splashing  sound  put  to  route  all  imaginary  noises, 
and  he  felt  convinced  that  the  boat  with  the  police  was  slowly  returning  towards 
the  barge  in  which  he  was  concealed. 

There  was,  to  be  sure,  still  a  hope  that  they  would  pass  it;  but  it  was  only 
a  hope. 

Oh,  how  awfully  full  of  apprehension  was  each  passing  moment  now.  It 
might  be  that  the  police-galley  was  only  going  quietly  back  to  its  proper  station, 
after  overtaking  the  wherry  ;  but  then  it  might  be  quite  otherwise,  and  the  doubt 
was  terrific.   While  that  doubt  lasted,  it  was  worse  than  the  reality  of  danger. 

And  now  it  was  quite  evident  to  the  perception  of  Todd  that  the  police*boat 
was  close  to  the  barge,  and  he  heard  a  voice  say— • 

f,  Is  that  the  pile-driving  barge  ?'* 

u  Yes,  sir/'  replied  some  one. 

"And  they  leave  it,  I  suppose,  as  usual  ?" 

«  No  doubt,  sir." 

"  Well,  pull  alongside,  and  a  couple  of  you  jump  ih  and  see  if  all  is  right. 
People  leave  their  property  exposed  to  all  sorts  of  depredations,  and  then  blame 
us  for  not  looking  after  it;  Mind  how  you  go,  my  men.  Don't  run  foul  of  the 
barge." 

"  No,  sir.    AlFs  right." 

From  the  moment  that  this  conversation  had  begun,  Todd  had  remained  crouch- 
ing down  in  the  barge,  Hke  a  man  changed  to  stone.  He  heard  every  word — 
those  words  upon  which  hung,  or  seemed  to  hang,  his  life,  and  his  grasp  upon  the 
massive  piece  of  iron  tightened. 

The  police-boat  gradually  advanced,  and  finally  just  grated  against  the  side  01 
the  barge. 

A  sudden  thought  took  possession  of  Todd.  With  a  yell,  like  that  of  a  mad- 
man, he,  with  preternatural  strength,  moved  the  heavy  mass  of  iron,  and  in  one 
moment  toppled  it  over  the  edge  of  the  barge. 

Crash  it  went  into  the  police-galley.  There  was  then  a  shriek,  and  the  men 
were  struggling  in  the  water.  The  piece  of  iron  had  gone  right  through  the 
boat,  staving  it  to  pieces.    It  filled  and  sank. 

"  Help— heip  !"  cried  a  voice,  and  then  all  was  still  as  the  grave  for  a  few 

moments. 

"It  is  done,"  said  Todd.  ' 
"  Help  !  mercy  !"  said  a  voice  again,  and  a  dark  figure  rose  up  by  the  side  ot 

the  barge,  clinging  to  it.  u 

Todd  drew  one  of  his  pistols.  He  levelled  it  at  the  head  of  the  figure.  n* 
was  upon  the  point  of  pulling  the  trigger,  when  it  struck  him  Jhat  the  flash  and 


'  ■  ■  - 


688  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


the  report  might  be  seen  and  heard  from  the  shore.  The  pistol  was  heavily 
mounted  with  brass  at  the  butt-end  of  it. 

«  Down  tM  said  Todd.    •*  Down  V  . 

He  struck  the  clambering,  half-drowned  man  upaa  the  head,  and  with  a  shriek 
he  fell  backwards  into  the  water  and  disappeared.  In  another  moment  Todd 
felt  a  pair  of  arms  twining  round  him,  and  a  voice  cried — 

"  Murderer,  I  have  you  now  !    You  cannot  shake  me  off ! ' 

Todd  made  an  effort,  but,  in  truth,  those  wet  and  clinging  arms  held  to  him 
like  fate. 

"  Fooi,"  he  said.  "  You  will  find  drowning  the  easiest  death  for  you  to 
meet." 

"  Help — help  !  murder!"  shouted  his  assailant. 

The  pistol  was  still  in  Todd's  grasp.  With  a  devilish  ingenuity,  he  thrust 
the  barrel  of  it  under  his  arm  and  felt  that  it  touched  his  assailant.  He  pulled 
the  trigger,  and  then  he  and  the  man  who  held  him  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the 
barge  together. 

Todd  kicked  and  plunged  until  he  got  uppermost,  and  then  he  felt  for  the 
throat  ef  the  other,  and  when  he  got  a  clutch  of  it  he  held  it  with  a  gripe 

of  iron.  .  T 

Fool,"  he  said.    "Did  you  think  that  one  driven  to  such  desperation  as  1 

am,  would  be  conquered  so  easily?" 

There  was  no  reply.  Todd  lifted  up  the  head  of  the  man,  and  it  hung  limply 
and  fiaccidly  from  the  neck.  He  was  quite  dead.  The  pistol-bullet  had  gone 
through  his  heart,  and  death  was  instantaneous. 

"  Another  one,"  said  Todd,  as  he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  stood  upon  the  dead 
body.  "  Another  one  sacrificed  to  my  vengeance.  Let  those  only  iaterfere  with 
me  who  are  tired  of  life." 

He  placed  his  hand  to  his  ear  now,  to  listen  if  there  were  any  indications  of 
others  of  the  boat's  crew  stirring ;  but  all  was  still.  No  sound,  save  the  lazy 
ripple  of  the  tide  past  the  old  barge  on  which  he  was,  met  his  ears. 

« It  is  over,"  he  said.   "  It  is  quite  over  now.   That  one  great  danger  is  past 


now.'! 


The  rain  began  to  fall  quicker,  and  splashed  upon  the  half  deck  of  the  barge. 
Todd  felt  that  he  was  thoroughly  wet  through  ;  but  ail  minor  ills  he  could  now 
laugh  at,, that  he  had  escaped  the  one  great  peril  of  capture.  He  felt  that  his 
life  had  hung  upon  a  thread,  and  that  only  the  recent  accident  had  saved  him  ; 
for  to  be  captured,  was  to  him  equivalent  to  death. 

i(  All  gone!"  he  whispered.  "They  are  all  gone!  Weil— well !  They 
would  have  dragged  me  to  a  prison,  and  then  to  a  scatfold !  Self-defence  is  a 
sound  principle,  and  for  that  1  have  1  ought !" 

A  sudden  gust  of  wind  got  up  at  that  moment,  and  came  howling  past  Todd, 
and  ruffling  upon  the  surface  of  the  river  ;  but  all  was  still  around  the  barge. 
There  was  now  no  cry  for  mercy— no  shout  for  help — no  bubbling  shriek  of  some 
swimmer,  who  was  yet  sinking  to  death,  as  the  waters  closed  over  him. 

"  Yes,"  said  Todd,  as  his  long  hair  blew  out  like  snakes  in  the  wind,  "  I  am 
alone  here  now.    They  are  all  dead,  and  I  could  do  it  again  if  it  had  io  be 
I  j  done." 


CHAPTER  CLXIL 

TODD  IS  AT  SEA,  AND  GETS  ON    INDIFFERENTLY.— THE  STORM. 

It  seemed  now  as  though  the  lull  in  the  weather  was  over ;  for  after  that 
!  one  gust  of  wind,  there  came  others  ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  very  short  time, 
|  indeed,  the  surface  of  the  water  was  much  agitated,  and  such  a  howling  noise 
i  was  kept  up  by  the  wind,  that  Todd  thought  every  moment  that  he  heard  the 
voices  of  his  foes. 

u  What  am  1  to  do  now?'5  he  said.    "  Oh.  what  am  1  to  do  ?   I  dare  not 


THE  STRING  0E  PEARLS. 


689 


wait  here  until  daylight.  That  would  be  destruction.  What  is  to  become 
of  me?" 

^He  came  round  the  sides  of  the  barge  with  the  hope  that  some  wherry  had 
been  moored  to  it,  but  he  found  that  that  hope  was  a  fallacious  one  indeed. 
There  was  the  gloomy-looking  vessel  moored  far  out  in  the  stream,  with  him  as  its 
only  passenger. 


THE  POLICE-GALLEY  CHASING  TODD  TO  GRAVESEKD, 

Any  one  without  Todd's  load  of  guilt  upon  his  soul,  and  upon  better  terms 
with  human  nature,  could  soon  have  got  assistance,  for  the  distance  from  tne 
shore  was  by  no  means  so  great  but  that  his  voice  must  have  been  heard  had  he 
chosen  to  exert  it ;  bat  that  would  not  do  for  him.  He  dreaded _tha  his .pre- 
sence upon  the  barge  should  be  known,  and  yet  he  alike  dreaded  that  the  morn- 
ing's light  should  come  shiningly  upon  him,  without  any  boat  coming  to  take 
him  off. 


No  87. 


690 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


To  be  sure  the  two  men  who  had  brought  him  there  had  made  a  half-promise 
to  come  to  his  aid,  but  he  feit  certain  he  could  not  depend  upon  their  doing  so. 
The  look  with  which  they  had  regarded  him  upon  the  doubt,  even,  tha,  he 
might  be  so  frightful  a  criminal  as  he  •  really  was,  was  sufficient  to  convince 
him  that  while  that  doubt  remained  they  would  not  return.  _ 

"  And  what,"  he  said,  "  is  to  dissipate  the  doubt  ?  Nothing— nothing  !  But 
anything  may  confirm  it.  Accidents  always  tell  tor  the  truth- never  to  its 
prevention,  and  so  I  am  lost— lost— quite  lost."  ...  _ 

The  bitterness  of  death  seemed  almost  to  be  upon  the  point  of  assailing  lodd. 
He  could  fancy  that  spirits  of  the  murdered  shrieked  and  wailed  around  him,  as 
the  wind  whistled  by  his  trembling  frame. 

In  this  wretched  state  an  hour  passed,  and  then  Todd  thought  he  heard  a 

voice. 

**  What  is  that  ?"  he  said.    "  Oh,  what  is  that  ?" 

He  inclined  his  head  as  low  down  to  the  edge  of  the  water  as  he  could  get  it, 
and  heard  distinctly  some  one  singing  to  the  stroke  of  a  pair  of  oars,  as  they  were 
deliberately  dipped  into  the  stream.  The  voice  sounded  like  that  of  some  young 
lad,  and  a  hope  of  succour  sprang  up  in  the  breast  of  Todd. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  moments  he  became  perfectly  convinced  that  the  boat 
was  approaching  the  barge,  and  he  shrunk  down  so  that  by  being  prematurely 
seen  he  might  not  alarm  the  boy  who  was  rowing  down  the  stream.  The  song 
continued,  and  it  was  quite  evident  from  the  manner  in  which  the  boy  sung  it, 
that  he  was  quite  delighted  with  his  own  powers  in  that  line. 

*  I  must  speak  to  him,"  thought  Todd.  *«  If  1  let  him  pass  there  may  not  be 
another  chance,  now.  I  must  speak  to  this  boy,  and  speak  to  hp.  freely  too.  He 
comes — he  comes.'' 

It  was  not  so  dark  but  that  Todd  could  see  pretty  well  the  surface  of  the 
river,  and  presently  in  dusky  outline  be  was  conscious  of  the  approach  of  a 
wherry  in  which  was  a  boy,  and  he  could  see  how  the  boy  moved  his  head  to 
and  fro  to  the  tune  that  he  was  amusing  himself  with. 

"  Hilloa !"  cried  Todd. 

Now  Todd  in  this  "  Hilloa!"  had  for  once  in  a  way  tuned  his  voice  to  such  a 
gentle  pleasant  sound,  that  it  was  quite  a  wonder  to  hear  it,  and  he  was  rather 
himself  surprised  at  the  manner  in  which  be  managed  it  so  as  not  to  be  at  all 
alarming. 

The  boy  stopped  rowing  and  looked  about  him.  It  was  evident  at  the  moment 
that  he  could  not  tell  where  the  sound  came  from, 
f?  Hilloa !"  said  Todd,  again. 
"  Ay— ay !"  said  the  boy  ;  "where  are  you  Jr? 

"  Here,  my  dear,"  said  Todd,  "  on  board  of  the  barge,  bless  you.  How  are 
you,  my  fine  fellow — eh  ?" 

"  Oh,  I'm  pretty  well.  Who  are  you  ?" 

"Why,  don't  you  know  me?  I'm  Mr.  Smith.  How  is  your  father,  my  lad 
—eh?" 

"Oh,  father's  all  right  enough  ;  but  I  didn't  know  as  he  knowed  a  Mr.  Smith 
at  all."  * 

"  Oh,  yes,  he  does.  Everybody  knows  a  Mr.  Smith.  Come  on,  you  can 
give  me  a  lift  to  shore  off  the  barge  here.  This  way.  Just  step  up  to  the  side 
and  I'll  step  into  your  pretty  little  wherry.  And  so  your  father  is  quite  well — eh, 
my  fine  lad  ?  Do  you  know  I  was  afraid  he  had  caught  a  little  cold,  and  really 
have  been  quite  uneasy  about  him." 

"  Have  you  ?"  said  the  boy,  as  he  pulled  up  to  the  side  of  the  barge. 
"  Where  do  you  want  to  go  to  ?" 

"Oh,  anywhere  you  happen  to  be  going,  that's  all,  my  fine  lad.  How  you 
<lo  grow,  to  be  sure  !" 

"  But  how  came  you  here,  out  in  the  river  on  the  dredging-barge  ?  Do  you 
belong  to  her  ?" 

"  To  be  sure  I  do.    I  am  Mr.  Deputy  Inspector  Dredger  Smith,  and  am  forced 


mm 


- 


i 

j 
1 


I 


tT^ndsuperintend  the  barge,  you  see  ;  but  my  boat 

something,  has  not  come  back,  and  I  am  getting  cold,  for  I  am  not  so  youns  as 

y°j  mVTdon^uppose  you  is,  sir/'  said  the  boy  ;  -  but  I'll  put  you  ashore, 
if  you  like." 

-  (Wto7^  SPSS  1'"        «  to  t,le  bar^  Em!K*7 

HilS^fe X   ^Wch  side  of  the  river,  sir,  would  you  hke  to 

from  death.  . , 

«  Which  way  is  the  tide,  boy  ?  he  said. 


«K    If  I  put  you  ashore,  you  will  find  lots  of  watermeu  who  will  be 


w  enough  of  the  job." 
W  What's  your  name  ?" 

"  Bill  White,  sir."                             ,  t  our  age  and  guess  that 

«  Very  well,  Bill  White.  ,  1  dare  say       ^«  ^able  things  in  the 

to  have  one's  brains  blown  out  is  no  one  of  tb  * ost  a& reeab  ^  jj  ^ 

world,  and  perhaps  you  know  a  p ^  joj^0^  if  u  don't  pull  away 
iny  pocket  and  hold  at  your  head  *  f^J^^^^  into  the  river,  and 
at  once  with  the  tide  down  the ^river,!  will  ™f^0U^deiSt&nd  thatj  Mr.  Bill 
throw  your  lifeless  carcass  after  them,  vo  you 

White?"  ]  .       ,  *  tnnp  o{  fiendish  malignity,  and  glared 

Todd  uttered  these  words  «         aJ^1™d^fhim  out  of  his  wits,  and  it 

into  the  eyes  of  the  poor  boy  s°'*fc7ul^0  to  hold  the  oars.  For  the  space 
was  as  much  as  his  trembling  J hands  could^ do  to  n  ^         and  mouth 

of  about  half  a  minute  he  could  only  glare  at  10 

as  wide  open  as  they  could  be  ..  ^       ^  aMwer  me  ?> 

"  Speak,  devil's  whelp  !    cnea  iouu.  , 

«  Murder  W  cried  the  boy.  q     h  d     t  been  wen  up  in  the 

Todd  caught  him  by  the  throat,  and  if  the  oars  naa 
rollocks,  they  must  have  gone r^bof™nd  £  is  the  last  you  shall  have  the 

«  Another  such  cry,"  said  Todd  and 
opportunity  of  making  in  this  world. 

*  Oh,  no— no  .  ,    If    ■    row  me  as  1  direct  you,  I  will  not 

« But  I  say  yes.    Listen  to  me  .  11 t  you  obstinately  refuse  I 

only  do  you  no  harm,  but  I  wd ^  TO^wiee,  u pon  the  first  opportunity/' 
m  murder  you,  and  murder  you r  firth- r  hkewi      P    i         ^  %  l 
"  i  will  row  you  down  the  river,  su. 

Wi«VServ  well.    Take  your  oars,  anftM  away.''  .         ■    ,  g  evldent 

The  boy  was  in  such  a  state  of  trebling  ^^^{"iJh*  could  pull 
held^esttoobey^^ 

a  stroke,  and  it  took  him  some ;  minutes  tc >  &  j  ffiake  any  aUowance  for 

^  —  tha/there  is  any  idea  of  not  obeying  me  I 

will  kill  yeu!" 


—  .       -----  *">  »^*'«^J«*,,v4^ yg*f3 


692  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


J  3  J  it    ' /  1 1  t 


«  1  am  obeying  you,  sir." 

a  Very  well.  Now,  listen  attentively  to  what  I  am  about  further  to  say  to 
you,  Bill  White.  You  can  pull  away  while  you  listen-  We  are  going  now  very 
Well  with  the  stream." 

"Yes,  sir.'7 

"  We  shall,  no  doubt,  pass  many  wherries,  and  you  may  think  it  a  very  good 
thing  to  tall  out  for  help,  and  to  say  that  I  threatened  to  murder  you,  ana  all 
that  sort  of  thing;  but  so  soon  as  you  do,  you  die.  I  will  hold  this  pistol  in  my 
hand,  and  whenever  we  come  near  a  wherry,  my  finger  will  be  upon  the  trigger, 
and  the  muzzle  at  your  head.    You  understand  all  that,  1  hope,  Bill  White  ?" 

"Of  course  I  do,  sir/' 

"Go  on  then." 

Todd  reclined  back  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and  kept  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
boy,  down  whose  cheeks  the  tears  rolled  in  abundance,  as  he  pulled  down  the 
stieam.  Having  the  tide  fully  in  its  favour,  the  wherry,  with  very  little  labour, 
made  great  way ;  and  Todd,  as  he  saw  the  dawn  slowly  cieeping  on,  began 
to  congratulate  himself  upon  the  cleverness  with  which  he  had  escaped  from  the 
barge. 

The  river  began  to  widen — the  pool  was  left  behind,  and  the  dull  melancholy 
shore  of  Essex  soon  began  to  show  itself,  as  the  tide,  by  each  moment  increas- 
ing in  strength,  carried  the  light  boat  swiftly  along  its  undulating  surface,  with 
its  frightfully  wicked  load. 

Todd  thought  it  would  be  as  well  now  to  say  something  of  a  cheering  cha- 
racter to  the  boy.    Modulating  his  voice,  he  said— 

u  Now,  you  see,  my  lad,  that  by  obeying  me  you  have  done  the  very  best 
thing  you  possibly  could,  and  when  I  think  proper  to  land,  I  will  give  you  a 
guinea  for  yourself." 

"  I  don't  want  it,"  said  the  boy. 

"  You  don't  want  it  P 

"  No  ;  and  I  won't  have  it." 

a  What  do  you  mean  by  that,  you  idiot  of  a  boy  ?  How  dare  you  tell  me  to 
my  face  that  you  won't  have  what  I  offer  you  ?" 

**t  don't  see,"  said  Bill  White,  "  how  that  ought  to  put  you  in  a  passion. 
All  you  want  is  to  make  me  row  you  down  the  river.  Well,  you  have  made 
me,  cos  I  don't  want  to  be  shot  down  like  a  mad  dog,  of  course;  but  I  won't 
be  paid  for  doing  what  I  don't  like — not  I." 

"  Well,  it  don't  matter  to  me.  Yrou  may  please  yourself  about  that;  I  am 
just  as  well  pleased  at  being  rowed  for  nothing  as  if  I  paid  for  it.  You  can 
please  yourself  in  that  particular ;  but  it  would  have  been  better  for  you  to  have 
taken  what  I  chose  to  give  you  than  to  have  refused  it." 

The  boy  made  no  answer  to  this  speech,  but  rowed  on  in  sullen  silence.  He 
no  longer  wept  now,  and  it  was  evident  to  Todd  that  indignation  was  rapidly 
taking  the  place  of  fear  in  his  heart.  Todd  even  began  to  debate  with  himself 
whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  throw  him  into  the  river  and  take  the  oars 
himself,  and  trust  to  his  own  skill  to  conduct  the  boat  with  the  stream  to 
Gravesend,  than  was  the  risk  of  any  sudden  act  of  the  boy's  that  might  bring 
danger  upon  him. 

It  would  have  been  but  a  poor  satisfaction  to  Todd  to  have  shot  the  boy  at 
the  moment  possibly  of  his  calling  for  help,  when  the  sight  of  such  an  act  would 
be  sufficient  to  insure  his  capture,  without  people  troubling  themselves  about 
what  he  had  done  or  not  done  before. 

These  were  considerations  that  began  to  make  To  id  very  unhappy  indeed. 

"  Well,  Bill  White/'  he  said  ;  "  as  your  father,  n  >  doubt,  expects  vou  by  this 
time,  and  J  daresay  you  will  be -glad  enough  to  go  back  and  forget  all  about  the 
htt  e  disagreement  that  we  have  had,  I  will  get  >vu  to  land  me  at  once  at  those 
stairs  yonder,  and  then  we  will  bhake  bands  and  part.1' 

"  No  we  won't." 


(6 


Ah?" 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  693 


<'I  say  we  won't  shake  hands.  I'm  willing  enough  that  we  should  part,  but 
as  for  the  shaking  hands,  I  won't  do  it ;  and  I'm  quite  willing  to  pull  in  to  the 


stairs." 


As  he  spoke  he  inclined  the  head  of  the  boat  to  a  little  landing-place,  where 
a  few  wherries  were  moored. 


CHAPTER  CLXIII. 

TODD,  AS  HE  THINKS,  BIDS    ENGLAND  ADIEU  FOR  EVER. 

"  Bile  White,"  said  Todd. 
"  Well,  what  now  ?"  said  the  boy,  in  a  sulky  tone. 

Todd  pointed  to  the  pistol,  and  merely  uttered  the  one  word—"  Remember ! 
and  thee  with  a  horrible  misgiving  at  his  heart,  he  let  the  lad  pull  into  the 
landing-place.    Some  half-dozen  lazy-looking  fellows  were  smoking  their  pipes 
upon  the  dirty  beach,  and  Todd,  concealing  the  pistol  within  his  capacious  cuff, 
sprang  on  the  shore.  He  turned  and  looked  at  the  boy,  who  slowly  pushed  off,  and 

gained  the  deep  water  again.  , 
«  He  is  afraid,"  thought  Todd,  "he  is  afraid,  and  will  be  too  glad  to  get  away 

aD  BUI  interactions  were  now  not  a  little  curious,  and  they  soon  attracted  the 
observation  of  all  the  idlers  on  the  beach,  and  put  Todd  in  a  perfect  agony  of 
apprehension.  When  the  boy  was  about  half  a  dozen  boats  length  from  the 
shore,  he  shipped  one  of  his  oars,  and  then,  with  his  disengaged  hand,  he  lifted 
from  the  bottom  ol  the  boat  an  old  saucepan  which  he  held  up  in  an  odd,  dodg- 
ing kind  of  way  before  his  face,  with  an  evident  idea  that  if  Todd  fired  the 
pistol  at  him,  he  could  interrupt  the  bullet  in  that  way.     Then,  m  a  loud  clear 

V01''HilbCa!  Don't  have  anything  to  do  with  that  Mr.  Smith.  He  has  been 
threatening  to  shoot  me,  and  he  has  got  a  pistol  m  his  hand.  He  s  a  bad  un, 
he  is  Take  him  up!  That's  the  best  thing  you  can  do.  He's  well-nigh  as 
bad  as  old  Todd  the  murderer  of  Fleet  Street,  that  they  can  t  catch,  fake  him 
ud  I  advises  vou.  Blaze  away,  old  curmudgeon." 
PTodd*s  rage  was  excessive,  but  he  thought  that  the  best  plan  would  be  to  try 
to  laugh  the  thing  over,  and  with  a  hideous  affectation  of  mirth,  he  cried  out- 
"  Good  by,  Bill-good-by.    Remember  me  to  your  father,  and  tell  him  all 

tli 6  joke  }' 

MM  '^gledTodd!11  "Weli-well,  I  forgive  you  Bill-I ^rgive  you. 
Min?you  take  ^message  to  your  aunt,  and  tell  her  I  shall  be  at  the  chapel  on 

W«Ohd2'to  the  deuce  with  you,"  said  Bill,  as  he  put  down  the  saucepan  upon 
findinffX  hi late  fare  was  not  disposed  to  carry  his  threat  of  shooting  him 
fnto  elect  "  You  are  an  old  rogue/that  you  are,  and  I  daresay  you  have  done 
something  that  it  would  be  well  worth  while  to  take  you  up  for. 
Tith  lis  Bill  began  vigorously  to  pull  away  against  ^^^^ 
hWmrr  and  looking  as  indignant  as  he  possibly  could,  load  turned  witn  a 
lXtogtCmen  at  tL  little  landing,  and  affecting  to  wipe  a  tear  from  his  left 

^ «  Ymf^ould  not  believe,  gentlemen,  that  that  boy  could  say  such  things  to  his 
You  wo"ld^°e'ie_'Swouldn't  believe  if  I  were  to  tell  you  the  pounds 
poor  old  uncle  and  Jet J0"™^  his        aunt.    He  don't  behave  well  to 

^f2;%^«^ofhim»Uible.    It's  in  cur  natures  to  love 

I   him,  and  we  can't  help  it.  ' 

1       >«Lor  !"  said  one  of  the  men. 

"  You  looks  tender-hearted,"  said  another.  __  _____ 


i 


(594  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS . 


~Th^others  all  laughed  at  this,  and  Todd  thought  it  was  as  well  to  seem  as  if 
he  thought  that  some  very  capital  joke  was  going  on,  so  he  laughied  too. 

'j  I  was  thinking/'  he  said,  when  the  merriment  had  a  little  subsided,  "  I  was 
thinking  of  going  right  on  to  Gravesend.    What  do  you  say  to  taking  rae  now, 
a  couple  of  you  ?    There's  the  tide  nicely  with  you  all  the  way,  and  I  am  always 
B  a  liberal  enough  paymaster.' '   

[I     '*  What  will  you  give  }"  said  one  with  a  voice  like  a  cracked  trumpet  with  a 

bad  cold.  ... 
H  Why,  name  you  price,  and  I  shall  not  say  no  to  it/* 

€t  What  shall  we  take  the  gemman  for,  Bill?"  said  this  man  to  another,  who 
was  smoking  a  short  pipe. 

"  A  rum  'un,"  was  the  reply  of  Bill. 

"  Don't  be  a  hass*    I  didn't  go  for  to  ask  you  what  sort  of  in&iwiddle  he  was, 
but  what  we'd  take  him  to' Gravesend  for/' 
<fi  Oh,  that's  the  caper,  is  it  ft 
"  Yes  it  is,  idiot/' 
"  Well— fifteen  bob  and  a  tanner." 

"  Will  that  do,  sir  ?"  said  the  other  to  Todd,  who^  thought  that  it  would  look 
bad  to  acquiesce  too  readily  in  the  amount,  so  he  said— 
"  I  will  give  the  fifteen  shillings." 

"  Very  good.  We  won't  go  to  loggerheads  about  the  tanner  ;  so  come  along, 
sir,  and  we'll  soon  get  you  to  Gravesend,  with  this  tide  a-running  all  the  way 
there,  as  comfortably  as  it  can,  all  of  a  purpose." 

Todd  was  well  enough  pleasecl  to  find  that  these  two  men  owned  the  longest  and 
strongest-looking  wherry  that  w^s  at  the  landing-place.  He  ensconced  himself 
snugly  enough  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and  they  put  aside  their  pipes,  and  soon 
pushed  off  into  the  middle  of  the  stream. 

"  Once  more/'  thought  Todd,  "  once  more  I  am  on  the  road  to  escape  ;  and 
all  may  yet  be  well/' 

The  two  men  now  set  to  work  with  the  oars  in  earnest.  They  felt,  that  as 
they  were  paid  by  the  job,  the  best  way  was  to  get  it  over  as  quickly  as  possible  ; 
and,  aided  by  the  tide,  it  was  perfectly  astonishing  what  progress  they  made 
down  the  river. 

Todd  every  now  and  then  cast  a  long  and  anxious  glance  behind  him ;  and 
presently  he  saw  a  boat  shooting  along,  by  the  aid  of  six  rowers,  at  great  speed, 
and  evidently  turning  into  the  little  landing-place  from  where  he  had  just  come. 
His  eyesight  was  either  sharpened  by  the  morning  light,  or  fancy  deceived  him, 
for  he  thought  he  saw  the  boy,  Bill  White,  seated  in  the  stern  of  the  boat, 

Todd  was  in  an  agony.  He  knew  not  whether  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
two  watermen  to  the  large  boat  with  all  its  rowers,  so  that  he  might  get  an 
opinion  from  them  concerning  it  or  not;  and  then  again,  he  thought  that  at  the 
moment,  there  would  be  a  good  chance  of  working  upon  the  cupidity  of  the  men, 
if  any  real  danger  should  befall  him  of  capture. 
u  Isay,  Bill/'  said  one. 
"  Well,  say  it* 

"  There's  one  of  the  police- officer's  gone  into  the  Old  Stairs.  There's  some- 
thing afloat  this  here  morning." 

"  Ah !  They  are  always  at  some  manoeuvre  or  another.  Pull  away.  It  ain't 
no  business  of  our'n." 

Todd  could  almost  have  hugged  the  man  for  the  sentiment  he  uttered  ;  and 
how  he  longed  to  echo  those  two  words,  "  pull  awav  but  he  was  afraid  to  do 
so,  lest,  by  any  seemingly  undue  anxiety  just  then" for  speed  upon  his  part,  he 
shoald  provoke  the  idea  that  the  police-boat  was  as  interesting  to  him  as  it 
really  was. 

Poor,  wretched,  guilty  Todd  surely  suffered  a  hundred  times  the  pangs  of 
death  during  his  progress  down  the  river  ;  and  now  he  sat  in  the  stern  of  the 
boat,  looking  as  pale  as  death  itself. 

"You  don't  seem  very  well/'  said  one  of  the  men. 


I 


i 


— — 


ring  all  tie  r. 

?ti  the  longestai 
•DscoDcedliii 
ir  pipes,  and  so 


J  to  escape ;  and 


ily  as  possible; 
jress  tiej  made 

hind  tan;  ^ 
,  at  great  speed 
;  tad  just  come, 
*  deceived  ft 
I  the  boat, 
attention  of  tl' 
i  mig^  get « 
ou^ht  that  at  tfc 
^oftke* 


Theres 


away. 


1W> 


THE  STRING  01?  PEARLS. 


695 


"  Oh,  yes — yes,  I  am  quite  well,  I  thank  you." 

"  Well,  I'm  glad  to  hear  it ,  for  you  look  just  as  if  you  had  been  buried  a 
month,  and  then  dug  up  again." 
«<  Ha  !_ha !"  laughed  'Todd,— what  a  hideous  attempt  at  a  laugh  it  was  !— 

"  that  is  very  good.'*  _ 
« <  Oh,  lor !  do  you  laugh  that  way  when  you  are  at  home  ?  cos  it  you  a©,  r. 
should  expect  the  roof  to  tumble  in  with  fright,  I  should." 

" How  funny  vou  are,"  said  Todd.    "Pull  away."  . 
He  did  venture  to  say,  "  pull  away  1"  and  the  men  did  pull  with  right  good- 
will, so  that  the  landing-place,  and  the  long  police-boat  that  was  at  it,  looked 
just  like  two  specks  by  the  river-side;  and,  indeed  it  would  have  been  along 
pull  and  a  strong  one  to  catch  Todd's  wherry. 
The  murderer  breathed  a  little  more  freely.  , 
"  How  far  have  we  got  to  go  now  ?"  he  said.  j 
"  Oh,  a  matter  of  nine  miles  yet." 

<<  And  how  long  will  it  take  you  ?"  . 
h  About  one  hour  and  a  quarter,  with  the  tide  running  at  such  a  pace  as  it  is. 
There's  some  wind,  too,  and  what  there  is,  is  all  with  us,  so  we  cut  along  favour- 
ably.   "What  are  they  doing  away  yonder,  Bill  ?" 

«  Where  ?"  said  Bill.  _,„  ,    ,  , 

<«  Right  in  our  wake,  there.  Oh,  they  are  getting  up  a  sail.  1 11  be  hanged 
if  they  ain't,  and  pulling  away  besides !  Why,  what  a  hurry  they  must  be  in,  to 
be  sure,  to  get  down  the  river.   I  never  knew  them  do  that  before. 

Todd  looked  along  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  he  saw  the  police-boat 
coming  along  at  such  a  rate,  that  the  spray  was  tossed  up  in  the  air  before  Her 
nrow  in  millions  of  white  particles.  , 

A  puff  of  smoke  came  from  her  side,  and  a  slight  sharp  report  rung  upon  the 
morning  air.    A  musket  or  a  pistol  had  been  discharged  on  board  of  her. 
"  What's  the  meaning  of  that,  Bill  ?  *  , 

"1  can  tell  you,"  said  Todd,  sharply,  before  Bill  had  done  moving  his  head 
from  side  to  side,  which  was  a  habit  of  his  preparatory  to  replying  to  any  very 
intricate  question.    t '  I  can  tell  you  easily." 

"  What  is  it  then  ?"  .     ,         .„  .,  „„j  sr. 

"You  pull  away,  and  I'll  tell  you.   You  see  that  boat  with  the  sail  and  the 

six  rowers  there  ?" 
"Yes,  yes!" 

«'  And  you  heard  them  fire  a  gun  ? 

«  Wed!  puU away.    It's  enough  to  make  a  cat  laugh ;  but  it  was  Mr.  Anthony 
Strong  that  fired  that  gun."  '.^  ,  i„ 

"How  verv  droll?    But  what  did  he  do  it  lor  i 

"Wed  pud  away,  and  I'll  tell  you.    You  must  know  that  Mr.  Anthony 
Strong  wno  is  m  command  of  tha/police-boat,  is  my  ^ther-in-law  aud  he 
laid  a  wasrer  with  me,  that  he  would  start  from  the  pier  at  Cheyne  Walk 
^OTdJ?i~k  thi.  morning  and  f^^^^^^^ 
from  Blackfriars,  and  £XS 
men  could  do  for  me.    •  allowed  tnat  ne  was  i u  ta  water- 
him,  and  hoist  his  sail  if  he  liked,  and  1  was  to  take  no  ^J*^^%L 

"Well  I'm  glad  to  hear  it;  and  1  was  going  to  say,  I  would  stand  live 
guineas  1  M 
mWWlM^k  you  of  it,  here  they  are,  and  I  will  place  them  in 

«  Won't  we !    If  Mr.  Anthony  Strong,  with  all  his  sail  and  ms  six  a  *  , 


I 


3BE 


696 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


catches  us  on  this  side  of  Gravesend,  Til  give  him  leave  to  skin  me  and  eat  me 
at  the  dinner  that  he  would  win.  No,  no  !  if  we  don't  know  the  currents,  and  the 
short  cuts  of  the  river  a  little  bit  better  than  ever  a  captain  of  police-boat  that 
ever  lived,  or  that  ever  will  live,  why  you  may  set  me  down  for  a  frog  or  a 
Frenchman,  which,  I  take  it,  are  much  of  a  muchness/ 9 
"They  is, 9  said  the  other. 

Todd  shouted  with  delight,  and  it  was  real  now  the  wild  laughter  that  shook 
his  frame,  for  he  began  to  think  he  was  safe.  The  confident  tone  in  which  the 
waterman  spoke,  had  quite  convinced  him  that  he  could  do  what  he  said.  With 
a  perfect  confidence  in  the  power  of  his  two  watermen,  he  looked  at  the  police 
wherry  without  any  alarm,  and  the  foam  that  it  dashed  up  as  it  came  bounding 
on,  did  not  seem  to  fall  coldly  upon  his  breast,  as  it  had  seemed  to  do  before. 

11  Two  miles/'  he  said.    "  That's  a  long  start." 

"In  a  stern  chase/'  said  Bill,  "  it's  half  of  the  blessed  world  to  get  over  is 
them  two  miles. 19 

*\  Yes,  yes — exactly;  and  I  shall  beat  Mr,  Anthony  Strong,  I  feel  now.  You 
see,  my  little  nephew,  Bill  White,  gave  me  the  first  start  from  Blackfriars  ;  but 
I  knew  I  could  not  depend  upon  him  all  the  way,  so  1 — There's  another 
gun.    Ha !  ha !  Mr-  Strong,  it  won't  do." 

ff  Weil,"  said  Bill,  with  a  look  of  what  he,  no  doubt,  thought  was  great  clever* 
ness,  u  if  I  didn't  know  as  this  was  a  bit  of  fun  between  Mr.  Anthony  Strong 
and  you,  sir,  I  should  have  said  that  them  guns  was  for  us  to  lie-to/' 

}f  That's  just  what  he  wants/'  cried  Todd. 

Cr  Does  he  ?" 

"  Yes.  He  thinks  that  he  will  frighten  whoever  is  rowing  into  a  dead  stop, 
when  they  find  a  police-galley  firing  guns;  but  I  think  he  is  mistaken  in  this 
matter,  my  friends." 

^  u  Rather  V  said  Dick,  as  he  bent  his  back  to  the  oars,  and  pulled  away  like  a 
giant. 

How  the  boat  shot  through  the  water !  and  yet  to  Todd's  apprehension,  the 
police-galley  gained  upon  him.  Of  course,  he  told  himself  that  it  must  gain  with 
its  sail  and  six  rowers ;  but  the  question  was,  how  much  it  would  gain  in  the 
seven  or  eight  miles  they  had  got  to  go  ?  With  what  a  feverish  action  Todd  licked 

his 


CHAPTER  CLXIV. 


\  i    f  i  < 1  r  r 


TODD  GOES  THROUGH  SOME  VICISSITUDES  AT  SEA. 

Jj  Oh,  quicker— quicker  !*'  cried  Todd. 

"That  would  be  difficult,"  said  Bill.  "  But  I  rather  think  as  we  is  a  doing  of 
it  something  out  of  the  common  way." 

Bang !  went  another  gun  from  the  pursuing  boat,  and  this  time  there  cer- 
tainly was  the  greatest  possible  hint  given  by  the  police-galley  that  it  was  in 
earnest,  for  a  bullet  struck  the  water  not  above  a  couple  of  boats'  length  from 
Todd's  wherry. 

"  Well,"  said  Bill,  "  that  may  be  firing,  but  I'll  be  hanged  if  it  is  at  all 
pleasant. 

'  Oh,  heed  it  not,"  said  Todd  ;  "heed  it  not.  They  would  have  such  a  laugh 
at  both  me  and  you,  if  by  any  means  they  could  frighten  you  into  stopping,  and 
so  giving  me  up— no,  no,  I  mean  giving  up  the  wager.  What  am  I  saying  V* 

«'  I  tell  you  what  it  is,"  said  Bill,  "  to  my  mind  this  is  a  very  odd  sort  of 
wager,  and  if  you  have  no  sort  of  objection  to  it,  sir.  we  will  just  pull  to  the  next 
stairs,  and  put  you  ashore.  If  you  don't  like  that,  why,  I  rather  think  vou  must 
be  content  to  lose  your  wager." 

«•  You  will  desert  me  ?  Oh,  no-no.  Surely  you  will  not,  and  cannot.  You 
have  but  to  name  your  price,  and  you  shall  have  it." 


1 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


697 


"No.  That  won't  do.  You  must  land  now.'' 

Todd  looked  nervously  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  he  saw  a  little  miserable 
landing-place,  towards  which  the  men  now  began  to  urge  the  boat.  He  thought 
then  that  if  he  could  get  anything  like  a  start  of  his  pursuers  on  the  shore,  all 
might  yet  be  well.  "  1  could  get  across  the  country  to  Gravesend,  and  if  once 
there,  1  might  find  some  vessel  to  take  me  off.'' 


todd's  adventure  with  the  smugglers. 
"Pull  to  shore,  then,"  he  said;  «  I  will  take  my  chance.  Pull  to  shore  at 

°  W^Thf  bVa^'^dtaJ  g£fl  towards  the  shore,  it  -  Pretty  evident 
that  the  police-galley  was  much  more jj^tujjn  «^.toJ£J 
Gravesend,  for  the  rowers  m  it  on  the  instant  turned  ™°?M  T 
direction,  and  it  became  then,  truly,  a  case  of  life  anddeathto  lodd. 


No.  88. 


Vigorously  as  the  boatmen  worked,  the  little  wherry  was  quickly  so  close  to 
the  shore,  that  Todd  saw  he  could  land  by  a  scramble  through  the  water. 

a  There  is  your  money/'  he  cried,  to  the  men  ;  ft  and  for  what  you  have  done, 
I  thank  you  with  all  my  heart.  Good-by  to  you." 

He  sprang  over  the  side  of  the  boat  although  by  so  doing  he  was  up  to  his 
knees  in  the  river  ;  but  that  he  heeded  not,  and  in  the  course  of  half  a  minute  he 
had  scrambled  to  the  shore,  and  going  at  a  great  rate  up  the  little  steps  at  the 
landing-place,  he  gained  the  road  and  began  to  run  at  great  speed. 

The  two  boatmen  were  not  a  little  amazed  at  this  proceeding,  and  Bill 

"  I  say,  I  rather  think  that  'this  is  another  queer  sort  of  a  piece  of  work  than 
a  wager ;  but  if  we  don't  wish  to  get  ourselves  into  trouble,  we  must  stick  to  it 
tooth  and  nail,  that  that  was  what  we  believed  it  to  be." 

"Ay,"  said  the  other.  "I  believe  you,  we  must,  or  else  we  shall  get 
into  limbo  for  our  share  of  the  affair,  and  no  mistake.  Here  they  come,  hand 
over  hand,  and  they  don't  look  very  well  pleased,  either." 

The  rowers  in  the  police-galley  had  made  such  strenuous  exertions  to  reach 
the  landing-place  quickly,  that  they  were  really  not  far  behind  the  wherry  that 
had  conducted  Todd  there,  and  the  first  thing  that  was  done  was  to  lay  hold  of 
the  wherry  with  a  boat-hook,  and  drag  it  alongside  of  them.  Then  the  officer 
in  command  of  the  police-boat  called  out  in  a  voice  hoarse  with  rage — 

u  What  do  you  mean,  you  infernal  rascals,  by  running  off  in  this  way,  when 
you  know  by  our  flag  that  we  were  the  police  ?  But  you  will  have  leisure  to 
repent  of  it  in  jail.  Clap  handcuffs  upon  them  both,  my  men." 

«  Why,  what  have  we  done  ?*  said  Bill.  "  You  will  win  your  wager  yet,  I 
should  say,  if  you  look  sharp  about  it." 

"  Wager  ?    What  wager  ?    What  do  you  mean  ?" 

a  Why,  the  gentleman  told  us  that  he  had  a  wager  with  you  about  who  was 
to  get  to  Gravesend  first,  and  he  was  to  take  what  means  he  could,  and  you  were 
to  cut  along  in  the  galley,  and  there  was  to  be  quite  a  grand  dinner  on  the 
strength  of  it." 

"  Oh,  nonsense— nonsense." 

"Weil,  that's  what  he  told  me,  and  that's  why  we  pulled  away  so  for  ;  but  if 
so  be  as  it  ain't,  we  are  sorry  enough,  for  why  should  we  get  into  trouble  about 
a  man  we  never  saw  before,  and  ain't  likely  to  see  again  f 

u  This  excuse  won't  serve  you." 

"  But  who  is  he,  and  what's  he  done  t[ 

"For  all  we  know  to  the  contrary,  he  is  the  infamous  Todd,  the  murderer." 

"  What  ?  The  fellow  that  made  the  people  into  pies  !  Oh,  if  we  had  only 
had  half  a  quarter  of  an  idea  of  that  I  But,  hold — I  saw  the  way  he  went.  It 
was  along  that  chalky  bit  of  road.  If  you  really  want  to  nab  him,  why  do  you 
waste  time  here  talking  to  us  ?  Come  on  shore,  and  I  will  go  with  you,  and  we 
will  soon  have  him  now,  if  that  will  do  any  good." 

The  officer  saw  at  once  that  this  was  the  only  mode  of  proceeding  that  pro- 
mised him  the  least  chance  of  capturing  the  fugitive,  whether  he  were  Todd  or 
not  ;  for,  after  all,  the  persons  in  the  police-galley  had  nothing  like  positive 
evidence  that  it  was  Todd  of  whom  they  were  in  pursuit.  A  couple  of  officers 
were  left  in  the  charge  of  the  boatis,  and  the  whole  of  the  remainder  of  them 
landed  along  with  Bill,  and  ran  up  the  steps,  to  the  road  along  which  Todd  had 
been  seen  to  run. 

They  did  not  know,  however,  what  a  wily,  cunning  personage  they  had  to 
deal  with. 

When  Todd  found  himself  in  such  comparatively  close  quarters  with  the  enemy, 
he  telt  perfectly  sure  that  to  continue  scampering  along  the  high  road  was  not 
the  most  likely  way  to  escape.  If  he  were  to  succeed  in  eluding  his  foes,  he  felt 
that  it  must  be     finesse,  and  not  by  speed. 

With  this  idea,  he  did  not  go  along  the  road  for  a  greater  distance  than 
sufficed  to  bring  him  to  a  hedge,  across  which  he  then  instantly  made  his  way, 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


699 


and  then  turning,  he  crouched  down  and  crept  back  towards  the  other  direction. 
On  the  side  of  the  hedge  where  he  was  now,  there  was  not  a  very  pleasant  kind 
of  field-drain,  but  Todd's  circumstances  did  not  permit  of  his  being  very  par- 
ticular, and  getting  right  down  into  the  drain,  he  crept  along,  stooping  so  low  that 
only  a  portion  of  his  head  and  back  were  visible  above  it. 

This  was  certainly  the  most  likely  way  to  baffle  his  pursuers,  who  were  not 
very  likely  to  think  that  he  had  so  rapidly  doubled  upon  them.  Knowing  now 
that  his  destination  was  Gravesend,  they  would  in  all  probability  run  along  the 
road  after  him,  or  if  they  took  to  the  fields  it  would  still  be  with  the  idea  that  he 
was  ahead  of  them. 

After  proceeding  for  some  distance,  Todd  thought  it  would  be  just  as  well  if 
he  were  to  reconnoitre  the  foe  a  little,  and,  accordingly,  he  raised  his  head  suffi- 
ciently to  enable  him  just  to  peep  through  the  hedge,  and  when  he  did  so,  he 
found  that  he  was  on  sufficiently  high  ground  to  command  a  view  of  the  road, 
and  the  landing-place,  and  the  river.  To  his  immense  consternation,  he  saw  the 
police  advancing  rapidly  towards  him. 

"  Lost !  lost  r  said  Todd,  as  he  sunk  down  into  the  ditch,  with  a  cotiviction 
that  he  was  all  but  taken.  He  felt  in  his  pocket  for  a  pistol,  and  getting  one 
out,  he  placed  it  to  his  ear,  and  there  held  it,  for  he  had  made  up  his  mind,  now, 
to  shoot  himself,  rather  than  be  dragged  back  to  prison,  from  where  another 
escape  would  be  quite  out  of  the  question. 

"  They  shall  not  take  me.  I  will  die— 1  will  die,"  he  murmured;  and  then 
he  concentrated  all  his  attention  to  the  act  of  listening  to  the  proceedings  of  the 
police. 

They  came  on  in  a  straggling  kind  of  way  from  the  landing-place,  and  the 

principal  officer  cried  out —  '  *      :". "• 

"  You,  Jenkins,  get  up  the  first  tree  you  come  to,  and  take  a  long  look  about 
you.    The  country  is  flat  enough,  and  he  will  find  it  no  easy  matter  to  hide  1 

from  us,  I  should  say."  ,        .  _ :/._      ,  .  '  ... 

"  Oh,  it's  all  right,  sir,"  said  another  voice.    "We  have  him  as  safe  as  if  he 

far  as  I 


hop 

all,  my  lads,  if  it  is."  ,-,.,,.1.      *    r  l  , 

Not  very  far  off  from  where  Todd  lay  concealed  in  the  ditch,  only,  tortunately 
for  him,  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  was  a  stunted  tree,  rising  about  twenty 
feet  from  the  barren  soil,  and  upon  this  the  man,  who  was  named  Jenkins,  made 
his  way  carefully,  and  took  a  long  look  all  round  him,  and  particularly  in 

advance* 

If  Do  you  see  him  V  said  the  officer  commanding  the  party. 

"  No,  sir,  I  don't."  ,  . 

A  Then  he  is  hiding  somewhere,  and  the  only  plan  is  to  go  right  on,  and  hunt 
him  up  if  he  is  among  the  hedges.  Come  on,  now,  at  once.  We  must  have  him. 
He  cannot  possibly  escape  us  now."  ,    i  Z 

Todd  upon  this,  again  gave  himself  up  for  lost;  but,  as  luck  would  have  it, 
although  two  of  the  men  got  over  the  hedge,  and  began  looking  about,  and  dash- 
ing their  cutlasses  into  the  hedge,  the  officer  called  to  them— 

<<  Oh,  he  never  came  so  far  up  the  road.  You  don  t  suppose  he  was  goose 
enough  to  come  back  again  ?  If  he  is  hiding,  it  will  be  more  hkely  by  the  time  he 
lost  breath,  I  should  say.  Come  now ;  1  saw  him  myself  get  past  yonder  little 
chestnut  trees,  and  the  white  cottage."  ' "". 

Upon  this  the  men  ran  on,  and  Tod  felt,  for  the  present,  at  all  events,  he  was 

The  idiots  1"  said  Todd,  as  he  looked  up  and  listened.  "  The  idiots  [—So 
they  think  that  I  am  as  far  gone  in  stupidity  as  they  are,  and  that  I  have  nothing  to 
do  but  to  run  on  until  they,  younger  and  more  fleet  of  foot,  overtake  me. 

He  crawled  out  of  the  ditch,  and  a  most  pitiable  figure  he  was  when  he  did 
so.   In  his  anxiety  to  hide  himself  completely,  he  had,  m  fact,  lam  himself 


down  comfortably  enough,  as  far  as  regarded  the  softness  of  the  ]  lace,  right  at 
the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  and  had  only,  in  the  midst  of  a  thick  growth  of  rank 
weeds,  kept  his  face  above  the  water. 

€i  This  is  horrible/'  he  said  ;  "and  they  will  be  back  soon,  too.  What  oti 
earth  am  I  to  do?" 

He  heard  a  loud  shout  at  this  moment,  and  he  raised  his  head  sufficiently 
to  see  along  the  road  to  observe  the  actions  of  the  officers.  He  found  that  they 
had  paused,  and  were  talking  to  a  man  on  horseback,  who  was  pointing  in  the 
very  direction  where  he  (Todd)  stood,  or  rather  crouched.  The  idea  that  this 
man  had  from  some  eminence,  he  being  mounted,  too,  seen  him  (Todd) 
hide  m  the  ditch,  at  once  crossed  his  mind,  and  from  that  moment  he  felt  that 
he  was  not  in  the  safety  that  he  had  fondly  hoped  he  was. 

To  remain  where  he  was,  with  such  an  idea  prevailing  in  his  mind,  would 
have  been  madness  and,  accordingly,  crawling  down  close  to  the  hedge,  he  ran 
along,  splashing,  like  some  gigantic  water-fowl,  in  the  ditch,  until  he  came  to  a 
thickly-planted  fence,  at  right  angles  with  the  hedge  that  bordered  the  road. 
There  he  was  forced  to  come  to  a  stand-still. 

The  fence  was  composed  of  the  common  privet,  so  that  there  wouldthave  been 
neither  difficulty  nor  danger  in  forcing  his  way  through  it ;  but  what  he  might 
encounter  upon  the  other  side  was  a  subject  of  consideration  well  worth  his 
attention. 

Through  the  interstices  of  the  foliage  he  could  see  that  there  was  a  pretty 
and  well-kept  mixed  garden  on  the  other  side.  Roses  and  other  flowers  grew 
in  quite  loving  companionship  with  all  kinds  of  culinary  vegetables,  and  the 
little  plot  of  ground  was  well  shadowed  by  some  half-dozen  fruit  trees.  A  part 
of  the  ground  was  made  into  a  kind  of  lawn,  and  upon  that  lawn  was  a  child 
about  one  year  old  crawling  about,  and  amusing  itself  by  making  weak  efforts  to 
pull  up  the  grass. 

While  Todd  was  observing  these  things,  a  woman  came  out  of  a  little  white- 
washed cottage  that  was  at  the  farther  end  of  the  garden,  with  some  clothes  to 
hang  up  to  dry.  The  woman  spoke  to  the  child,  and  from  the  tone  in  which 
she  did  so,  it  was  quite  evident  she  was  the  mother  of  it. 

Todd  waited  until  she  had  hung  the  clothes  up  that  she  had  brought  out  into 
the  garden,  and  then  when  she  went  into  the  house  for  more,  he  burst  his  way 
through  the  hedge,  and  with  a  resolution  and  firmness  that  nothing  but  the 
exigencies  of  his  situation  could  possibly  have  endowed  him  with,  he  took  the 
child  up  in  his  arms  and  walked  slowly  across  the  lawn  towards  the  cottage. 

The  woman,  with  another  heap  of  wet  clothes  in  her  arms,  met  him,  and  uttered 
a  loud  scream. 

"  Peace/'  said  Todd.  €i  Peace,  I  say.  There  is  no  danger  unless  you  make 
some.  Listen  to  me,  and  I  will  tell  you  how  you  can  do  a  service  to  me,  and 
spare  your  child. 3 9 

**  Help  !  help  !    Murder  !    Thieves  !*  cried  the  woman. 

Todd  took  one  of  his  pistols  from  his  pocket,  and  held  it  to  the  head  of  the 
child. 

"  Another  word,"  he  said,  "  and  I  fire  !" 

The  woman  fell  upon  her  knees,  and  holding  up  her  hands  in  the  attitude  of 
prayer,  she  said— 

"  Oh,  have  mercy  !    Kill  me,  if  you  must  take  a  life,  but  spare  the  child  !" 
"The  child's  life/'  said  Todd,  "is  in  your  own  hands.    Why  do  you  seek  to 
destroy  me?" 

iS  I  do  not — I  do  not,  indeed.* 

"  Then,  peace,  and  do  not  cry  out  for  help.  Do  not  shout  that  dreadful  word 
'  Murder  V  for  that  will  destroy  me.  I  am  hunted  by  my  fellow- men.  I  am  a 
poor  proscribed  wretch,  and  all  I  ask  of  you  is  that  you  will  not  betray  me." 

46  You  will  spare  my  child  ?" 

"I  will.  Why  should  I  harm  the  little  innocent  ?  I  was  once  myself  a  little 
child,  and  considered  to  be  rather  a  beauty." 


■  »    .  -hi  I  .  m,      i  ,    «„i>Mtl|<r  iii  s 


I 


As  Todd  said  this,  he  made  one  of  his  most  hideous  faces,  so  that  the  woman 
cried  out  with  terror,  and  tried  to  snatch  the  child  from  him,  but  he  held  it 
with  a  firm  grasp. 


CHAPTER  CLXV. 

TODD  GETS  ON  SHIP-BOARD. 

11  It  is  in  vain,"  said  Todd ;  "  my  safety  is  wound  up  now  with  the  safety  of 
this  little  one.    If  you  would  save  it,  you  will  save  me/' 

"Oh,  no,  no.    Why  should  it  be  so  ?  I  cannot  save  you.M  I 

"  You  can,  I  think.  At  all  events,  I  will  be  satisfied  if  you  make  the  effort  to 
do  io.  I  tell  you  I  am  pursued  by  the  officers  of  the  law.  It  does  not  matter 
to  you  what  I  am,  or  who  I  am,  or  what  crime  it  is  that  they  lay  to  my  charge ; 
your  child's  life  is  as  dear  to  you  in  any  case.  Hide  me  in  the  cottage,  and  deny 
my  being  seen  here,  and  the  child  shall  live.  Betray  me,  and  as  sure  as  the  sun 
gives  light,  it  dies." 

(i  Oh,  no,  no,  no  !" 

"  But,  I  say,  yes.  Your  course  is  easy.  It  is  all  but  certain  that  my  prose- 
cutors  will  come  to  this  cottage,  as  it  is  the  only  habitation  on  the  route  that  I 
have  taken.  They  will  ask  you  if  you  have  seen  such  a  man  as  I  am,  and  they  will 
tell  you  that  you  may  earn  a  large  reward  by  giving  such  information  as  may 
deliver  me  into  the  hands  of  justice  ;  but  what  reward — what  sum  of  money 
would  pay  you  for  your  child's  life  ?" 

"  Oh,  not  all  the  world's  worth  !" 

"  So  I  thought  ;  and  so  you  will  deny  seeing  me,  or  knowing  ought  of  me, 
for  your  child's  sake  ?    Is  it  agreed  }" 

"rIt  is — it  is!  God  knows  who  you  aie,  or  what  you  have  done  that  the 
hands  of  your  fellow  creatures  should  be  raised  against  you ;  but  I  will  not 
betray  you.  You  may  depend  upon  my  word.  If  you  are  found  in  this  place, 
it  shall  not  be  by  any  information  of  mine.'* 

4  Can  you  hide  me  ?" 

44  I  will  try  to  do  so.   Come  into  the  cottage.    Ah !  what  noise  is  that  ?  I 
hear  the  tread  of  feet,  and  the  shouts  of  men  V 

*  Todd  paused  to  listen.  He  shook  for  a  moment  or  two  ;  and  then,  with  a 
bitter  tone,  he  said— « 

"  My  pursuers  come!  They  begin  to  suspect  the  trick  that  I  have  played 
them! — they  now  know— or  think  they  know,  that  I  have  turned  upon  my  route. 
They  come — they  come  1° 

"  Oh,  give  me  the  child !  I  swear  to  you  that  I  will  hide  you  to  the  utmost 
of  my  means ;  but  give  me  the  child  !" 

"  Not  yet." 

The  woman  looked  at  him  in  an  agony  of  tears. 

t%  Listen  to  me,"  she  said.  "  If  they  discover  you  it  will  not  be  my  fault,  nor 
the  fault  of  this  little  innocent — you  feel  that !  *Ah  !  then  tell  me  upon  what 
principle  of  justice  can  you  take  its  life  V* 

"I  will  be  just,"  said  Todd.  "  All  I  ask  of  you  is,  to  hide  me  to  the  best  of 
your  ability,  and  to  keep  secret  the  fact  of  my  presence  here.  If,  after  you 
have  done  ail  that,  you  still  find  that  I  am  taken,  it  will  be  no  fault  of  yours. 
I  do  not  ask  impossibilities  of  any  one,  nor  do  I  threaten  punishment  against 
you  for  not  performing  improbable  feats.  Come  in — come  in  at  once  !  They  > 
come— they  come  !    Do  you  not  hear  them  now?" 

v  It  was  quite  evident  now  that  a  number  of  persons  were  approaching,  and 
beating  the  bushes  as  they  came  on.  The  tread  of  a  horse's  fe^  too,  upon  the 
road  convinced  Todd  that  among  his  foes,  now,  was  the  mounted  man  whom 
he  had  seen,  and  whom  he  thought  he  saw  point  to  him  as  he  lay  crouching 
down  behind  the  hedge,  half  hidden  in  the  ditch. 


702  THE  STRING  OF  PEATLLS. 


With  the  little  child  still  in  his  arms,  he  rushed  into  the  cottage,  and  the 
woman  followed  him,  wringing  her  hands  with  terror.  And  yet  Todd  was  gentle 
with  the  child.  He  knew  that  from  the  mother  he  had  everything  to  hope,  and 
everything  to  dread,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  drive  her  to  despair  by  any  display 
of  harshness  to  the  little  one. 

"This  way,"  she  cried,  "  this  way/'  as  she  led  the  way  into  an  inner-room. 
"  There  is  a  cupboard  here  in  which  you  can  conceal  yourself.  If  they  do  not 
search  the  house,  they  will  not  find  you,  and  I  will  do  all  that  I  can  to  prevent 

th ^hat  will  do,"  said  Todd ;  "  but,  remember,  I  will  have^the  child  near  me, 
so  that  upon  the  least  symptom  of  treachery  from  you,  I  can  put  it  to  death  ; 
and  I  shall  not,  under  any  circumstances,  at  all  scruple  so  to  do.    Where  is  this 
cupboard  that  you  speak  of  ?" 
"  It  is  here — it  is  here!" 

"  Ah  !  that  will  do/'  Todd  now  cast  his  eyes  around  the  room,  and  perceived 
a  little  cot,  that,  at  night,  was  devoted  to  the  slumbers  of  the  child.  u  Take  that/' 
he  said,  pointing  to  it,  «  and  place  it  against  the  door  of  the  cupboard  with  the 
child  in  it.    It  will  seem  then  not  likely  that  I  am  hidden  here." 

"  I  will  do  so." 

Todd  did  not  feel  any  apprehension  of  treachery  from  the  mother  of  the  child. 
He  was  not  slow  to  perceive  that  every  other  feeling  was  in  her  breast  weak  in 
comparison  with  the  all-absorbing  one  of  love  for  the  infant ;  and  so  he  calculated 
that,  rather  than  run  the  shadow  of  a  risk  of  injury  to  it,  she  would  do  all  that 
he  required.  The  cupboard  was  a  deep  one ;  but  it  was  not  high  enough  for 
Todd  quite  to  stand  upright  in.  That,  however,  was  a  trifling  inconvenience,  and 
he  got  into  it  at  once.  The  child's  cot  was  placed  against  the  door;  and  the 
young  mother,  with  a  thousand  fears  tugging  at  her  heart,  pretended  to  busy 
herself  about  her  household  affairs. 

The  little  interval  that  now  ensued,  before  Todd's  pursurs  reached  the  spot, 
was  certainly  to  him  rather  a  fearful  one;  and  he  felt  that  his  fate  hung  upon 
the  proceedings  of  the  next  few  moments.  Ee  called  to  the  woman  in  an 
earnest  tone— 

"  Courage — courage*— -all  will  be  well/' 

"  Oh,  peace  *-peace!"  she  said.    "  They  come !" 

Todd  quite  held  his  breath  now  in  the  painful  effort  that  he  made  to  listen, 
so  that  not  the  slightest  sound  that  might  be  indicative  of  the  approach  of  his 
enemies  might  escape  him  ;  and  he  gave  such  a  start,  that  he  nearly  threw  open 
the  cupboard-door,  and  upset  the  cot,  as  he  heard  a  hoarse  man's  voice  suddenly 
call  out  from  the  garden — 

'*  Hilloa ! — House  here — house — Hilloa !" 

u  Now — now/' he  gasped,  "Now  I  live  or  die  !  Upon  the  next  few  mo- 
ments hangs  my  fate  !" 

The  cold  dew  of  intense  fear  stood  upon  his  brow,  and  his  sense  of  hearing  ap- 
peared to  be  getting  preternaturally  acute.  Not  a  word  that  was  said  escaped 
him,  although  it  was  right  away  in  the  garden  that  this,  to  him,  fearfully  inte- 
resting conversation  toiok  place. 

H  What  is  the  matter  ?"  he  heard  the  woman  say,  and  then  the  rough  voice 
replied  to  her — 

u  We  are  the  police,  my  good  woman,  and  we  are  in  search  of  a  man  who  is 
hidden  somewhere  about  this  neighbourhood.  Has  any  one  come  into  your  place, 
or  have  you  seen  a  tail  man  pass  the  cottage  V% 

"  No/'  said  the  woman. 

Todd  breathed  a  little  more  freely. 

c<  It's  very  odd,"  said  another  voice;  "for  he  must  be  about  this  spot,  that 
is  quite  clear,  as  he  was  dodging  about  the  field  at  the  back  of  here,  and  hiding 
in  the  hedge.    We  must  have  passed  him." 

4 'Well,  he  cant  get  away,"  said  a  third;  "  but  after  all,  he  may  be  lying 
down  somewhere  in  the  garden,  for  all  we  know  to  the  contrary." 


II  i  JU  •P*' 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS.  703 


"I  don't  think  it/'  said  the  woman. 

At  this  moment* the  child  began  to  cry  violently. 

m  Oh,  confound  you  for  a  brat !"  said  Todd,  "  I  wish  it  was  only  safe  to 

throttle  you/ 

"  Is  that  your  child  ?"  said  one  of  the  officers. 

£  Oh,  yes— yes/'  said  the  young  mother,  and  hastening  into  the  cottage,  she 
placed  a  chair  by  the  side  of  the  cot,  and  began  to  rock  it  to  and  fro,  singing 
while  she  did  so,  to  lull  the  child  to  sleep. 

"  She  will  keep  her  word,"  thought  Todd.  "I  feel  confident  that  she  will 
keep  her  word,  now,  with  me." 

«  You  look  all  round  the  garden,  while  I  take  a  peep  about  the  house,  said 
the  principal  officer. 

"  Oh,  J  am  lost !"  moaned  Todd.  "I  am  surely  lost  now!  If  the  house 
should  be  searched  well,  so  obvious  a  place  of  concealment  as  a  cupboard  will  not 
escape  them.    All  is  lost  now,  indeed,," 

He  almost  gave  up  all  thought,  now,  of  keeping  life  or  liberty,  and  he  waited 
only  for  the  fatal  moment  when  the  officers  should  approach  and  place  their 
hands  upon  that  cupboard  door  to  open  it.  The  child  still  cried,  and  the  mother 
sang  to  it. 

"  1  Sleep,  sleep,  little  baby — 
Ok,  sleep  all  the  day ; 
•  ■  s .  ,  The  sunshine  is  hiding, 

The  birds  fly  away. 

Away,  away— far  away. 
The  sunshine  is  hiding, 
The  birds  fly  away— — \  * 

<*  Hilloa !    What  cupboard  is  that  behind  the  child's  cot  ? 

<{  *  And  when  they  return 
You  may  open  your  eyes.' 

a  oh,  it's  where  we  keep  our  best  crockery.  Don't  disturb  the  child— I  do 
think  it  is  sickening  with  the  measles. 

«'  *  And  see  how  the  sunset 
Is  gilding  the  skies, 

Away,  away— far  away. 
And  see  how  the  sunset 
Is  gilding  the  skies.' 

«  Have  vou  found  him  in  the  garden  ?  I  shall  be  almost  out  of  my  wits,  now, 
till  my  husband  comes  home.  Who  is  it  that  you  are  looking  for,  and  pray  what 
has  he  done  ?  He  would  need  to  be  clever,  indeed,  to  come  m  here  without  my 
knowing  it;  and  as  for  the  garden,  why,  I  was  hanging  out  the  clothes  there 
for  the  last  half  hour,  I  tell  you.*  %  , 

"Oh,  he's  not  here,"  said  the  officer.  "  It  would  be  no  bad  thing,  marm,for 
any  one  who  could  lend  a  helping  hand  to  find  him." 

<<  Yes  mYou  have  heard  of  Todd,  the  murderer  ?    Well,  that's  the  man  we 
are  after  and  we  have  every  reason  to  think  that  he  is  somewhere  about  here, 
and  it  is' a  large  reward  that  is  offered  for  him,  I  can  tell  you.  ' 
iS  Ah !  I  should  like  to  get  it." 


-Not  a  doubt  of  it.  Good-day,  marm.  If  you  should  see  any  suspicious- 
)kine  fellow  about  the  fields,  just  give  notice  of  it  in  some  sort  of  a  way,  if 


looking 


gf  £  TwiT  fcd,"r7tac«iSSdimg  U  to-day>  to  be  sure. 
1  h"li  ZXtOmZZ  a"    But  r«  off.   Miud,  uow,  you  ge,  tbe 


reward  if  you  see  anything  of  Todd 
"  Oh,  yes.    Trust  me  for  that." 


m  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  

The  mail  left  the  room.  What  a  reprieve  from  death  that  was  for  Todd!  He 
thought  that  during  all  the  perils  that  he  had  passed  through,  he  had  surely  never 
been  quite  so  near  to  destruction  as  then  ;  and  when  he  found  that  he  was  saved, 
temporarily,  h?  could  hardly  hold  himself  up  in  the  cupboard,  and  a  sensation  of 

faintness  came  over  him. 

It  was  not  safe  for  him  yet,  by  any  means,  to  think  of  emerging  from  his  place 
of  concealment.  Indeed,  he  felt  that  the  young  mother  would  be  the  best  judge 
upon  that  hand,  so  he  did  not  stir  nor  speak,  and  at  last  he  heard  the  cot  with 
the  now  sleeping  child  in  it,  being  gently  moved  from  before  the  cupboard-door. 
Then  it  was  opened,  and  Todd,  with  his  face  pale  and  haggard,  stepped  out  into 
the  room. 

The  young  woman  only  pointed  to  the  door  of  the  little  apartment  steadily 
and  significantly. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?*  said  Todd. 

€i  Go,w  she  said.    "  I  have  done  that  which  you  require  of  me.    Now  go." 
"To  death V9 

"No.  Your  enemies  are  no  longer  here.  At  the  sacrifice  of  truth  and  of 
feeling  I  saved  you.  It  was  all  you  asked  of  me,  and  now  I  tell  you  to  go,  and 
no  longer  pollute  this  place  by  your  presence.  I  know  who  and  what  you  are, 
now.    You  are  Sweeney  Todd,  the  murderer/' 

"  Well,  and  if  I  am,  what  then  ?" 

**  Nothing — nothing  !  I  ask  nothing  of  you,  but  that  you  should  leave  this 
house ;  I  have  kept  my  word.  I  will  let  the  memory  of  this  hour's  work  sink 
deeply  into  my  heart,  and  there  remain  untold  to  any  one.  Not  even  to  my 
husband  will  I  breathe  it,    I  only  ask  you  to  go." 

11  I  am  going — I  am  going/' 

Todd  felt  awed  by  her  manner.  He  cowered  before  the  look  that,  full  of 
horror,  she  bent  upon  him,  and  he  crept  towards  the  cottage  door.  But  the 
dread  that  some  of  his  enemies  might  be  lurking  about  the  spot  detained  him. 

"Tell  me,"  he  said,  "  oh !  tell  me  truly — are  they  gone?" 

"Wait,"  she  said,  "and  I  will  see  again." 

She  took  the  child  in  her  arms,  a&d  left  the  cottage.  Todd  found,  now  that 
the  child  was  no  longer  in  his  power  as  a  kind  of  hostage  for  the  faith  of  the 
mother,  that  he  had  trusted  her  too  far  ;  but  it  was  too  late,  now,  for  him  to 
recede  from  the  position  in  which  he  had  placed  himself,  and  with  all  his  terror, 
he  had  no  resource  but  to  calmly — calmly  as  he  could — wait  her  return. 

She  came  back  again  in  a  few  moments. 

"You  can  go  with  safety.    They  are  all  away." 

"  I  will  trust  you,  and  take  your  word  for  it,"  said  Todd.  c<  I  thank  you  for 
the  service  you  have  rendered  to  me,  and  I  am  not  ungrateful.  Accept  of  this 
in  remembrance  of  me,  and  of  this  day's  adventure." 

He  took  from  his  pocket  a  splendid  gold  watch  and  laid  it  upon  the  table,  in 
the  outer  room,  but  with  vehemence,  the  woman  cried — 

4CNo— no  !  Take  it  up,  I  will  not  have  it.  Take  it  up,  or  even  now  I  will 
dare  everything  and  call  for  help.  1  will  take  nothing  from  your  blood-stained 
hands.    Take  up  the  watch,  or  I  will  destroy  it" 

"  As  you  please/  said  Todd,  as  he  placed  the  wa'ch  in  his  pocket  again.  "I 
w:sh  not  to  force  it  i  pon  you.    1  am  gone." 

He  want  out  into  the  little  garden,  but  he  looked  about  him  very  nervously 
indeed,  before  ke  trusted  himself  to  walk  towards  the  little  white  gate  that  opened 
upon  the  high  road.  Each  moment,  however,  that  passed  without  any  one  spring- 
ing upon  and  attacking  him,  was  a  moment  of  confidence  gained.  He  carried  a 
pistol  in  his  hand,  and  keeping  his  eyes  keenly  around  him,  he  reached  the  road. 

11  All  is  safe,"  he  said.  «  I  do,  indeed,  think  she  is  right,  and  that  they  have 
given  up  the  chase  for  me.    She  has  not  deceived  me,  and  I  may  yet  escape." 

He  kept  close  to  the  road-side,  so  that  he  was  very  much  covered  by  the 
hedge,  and  then,  at  as  fast  a  pace  as  he  thought  he  could  keep  up  for  any  length 
of  time,  he  ran  on. 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.    705 

He  had  not  gone  far  when  he  heard  the  sound  of  wheels  behind  him,  and  he 
got  over  a  hedge  and  hid  behind  it  until  he  could  see  what  sort  of  vehicle  it  was 
that  approached.  It  turned  out  to  be  a  cart  driven  by  a  couple  of  countrymen, 
who  were  talking  upon  their  own  affairs  in  rather  loud  tones ;  as  they  came  on, 
Todd  listened  intently,  and  was  satisfied  that  his  supposed  escape  intoithat  neigh- 
bourhood was  not  the  subject  of  their  discourse. 


MARK  INGESTRIE  RISKS  HIS  OWN  LIFE  TO  SAVE  TODD. 

CHAPTER  CLXVI. 

THE  SHIP  BOUND  FOR  HAVRE  TAKES  A  PASSENGER. 

"Hilloa  !»  cried  Todd,  as  he  came  out  into  ttie  middle  of  the  road  and  con- 
fronted the  cart  with  the  two  men  in  it.  «  Hilloa  !  Which  way  are  you 
going  >H  


No.  89, 


raw 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  One  would  think  you  might  see  that,"  said  one  of  the  men,  "  by  the  way  |] 
the  horse's  nose  points." 

*  What  do  you  want  ?"  said  the  other,  rather  sharply.  < 
«  Not  to  intrude  upon  you  at  all,  if  you  don't  like  it,"  replied  Todd  ;  'but  1 
am  going  to  Gravesend,  and  if  you  will  help  me  on  a  part  of  the  way,  I  will  pav 
you  well  for  it.    1  thought  it  would  be  good  for  my  constitution  to  walk,  but  1 
find  I  am  older  than  I  thought  1  was."  .  . 

"  What  will  you  give  ?"  said  one  of  the  men,  in  a  dubious  tone  ot  voice. 
"  Name  your  price,"  said  Todd,  "  and  I  will  give  it.  I  know  you  will  not  be 

unreasonable  with  me." 

«  Will  you  give  half  a  guinea  ?"  said  the  other. 
"  Yes,  for  I  am  foot-weary." 

"  Jump  up,  then,  and  we  will  soon  take  you  to  Gravesend.  You  ain  t  many 
miles  off  from  it  now  by  the  near  cuts  that  we  know.    Come  on." 

Todd  managed  to  scramble  into  the  cart,  and  the  man  who  was  driving  gave 
the  horse  an  impulse  forward,  and  away  they  went  at  a  good  pace. 

Todd  began  to  feel  a  little  easier  in  his  mind  now,  for  the  quick  motion  of  the 
cart  in  the  direction  that  he  wished  to  go  in  was  most  satisfactory  to  him.  He 
felt  quite  delighted  in  a  little  time,  when  one  of  the  men  pointing  ahead,  cried 

out-—  , 
"  There's  the  first  houses  in  Gravesend,  if  you  really  want  to  go  there.' 
«  Really,"  said  Todd.    **.  Indeed  I  do.    Can  you  tell  me  what  vessels  are  off 

the  Port  ?" 

"  Perhaps  we  can,  and  perhaps  we  can't,  old  fellow  ;  but  we  will  have  some 
talk  about  that  soon.    Ha  !  ha  !" 

There  was  something  so  peculiar  in  the  laugh  of  the  man,  that  Todd  began  to 
wonder  into  what  hands  he  had  fallen.  They,  every  now  and  then,  too,  gave 
to  each  other  a  very  significant  look,  as  though  there  was  some  secret  between 
them  which  they  would  not  converse  of  before  him.  All  this  began  to  make 
Todd  very  uneasy,  indeed,  and  the  little  amount  of  felicitation  which  he  had 
been  giving  to  himself  so  short  a  time  before,  rapidly  subsided. 

*'  Am  I  a  prisoner?1' 

These  were  the  words  that  occurred  to  him,  but  he  had  no  ready  means  of 
answering  the  question.  All  he  could  do  was  to  keep  upon  his  guard,  and,  to 
tell  the  truth,  well  armed  and  desperate  as  he  was,  Todd  was  no  very  despicable 
match  for  any  two  men. 

Suddenly  the  man  who  was  driving  turned  the  horse's  head  down  a  deep  de- 
clivity that  led  towards  the  river,  to  the  right  of  the  road. 

The  country  they  were  in  was  all  of  chalk,  and  this  narrow  road,  or  rather 
lane,  at  right  angles  with  the  high  road,  was  evidently  a  cutting  through  the 
chalk  foundation  for  the  sake  of  a  ready  passage  from  the  side  of  the  Thames  to 
the  high  road. 

A  more  picturesque  spot  could  not  well  have  been  conceived.  The  small 
amount  of  loam  upon  the  surface  of  the  chalk,  bore  a  brilliant  vegetation  ;  and 
upon  the  tall  rugged  sides  of  the  deep  cutting,  wherever  a  small  portion  of  earth 
had  lodged,  tall  weeds  had  grown  up,  while  on  each  side  of  the  lane,  close  to  the 
base  of  the  chalky  heights,  there  was  a  mass  of  weeds  and  tall  creeping  plants, 
and  here  and  there  a  young  tree,  which  lent  a  beautifully  verdant  aspect  to  the 
place. 

Every  step  that  the  horse  now  went,  conducted  the  cart  and  its  occupants 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  cutting,  until,  at  last,  the  sky  overhead  looked  only 
like  a  thin  streak  of  light,  and  the  gloom  of  a  premature  twilight  was  about  the 
place. 

"  Halt  1"  cried  the  man  who  was  not  driving,  and  the  horse  was  stopped  in 
the  gloomiest  portion  of  the  lane.  Todd  turned  ghastly  pale,  and  kept  his  hand 
plunged  in  his  breast  upon  one  of  his  pistols. 

u  What  have  you  come  down  here  for?"  he  said.  "  Why  do  you  come  to  a 
stop  in  such  a  place  as  this  ?" 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  707 


[  TrtHI  ■■  ill—  iilT iEMITiM 


■    I  I    ■  —I        -  ....  —   - 

<4  We  will  soon  let  you  know,"  said  the  man  who  had  not  been  driving,  knit- 
ting his  brows.  u  No  doubt,  you  thought  you  had  nailed  us  nicely,  my  fine 
fellow/' 

f  j  Nailed  you  }" 

"  Yes.  You  need  not  put  on 'such  an  innocent  look,  I  can  tell  yon.  We  are 
pretty  good  judges  in  these  matters,  and  its  quite  sufficient  for  me  to  tell  you 
that  we  know  you." 

"  Know  me  ? 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure.  Did  you  think  we  were  taken  in  by  any  such  nonsense  as 
your  being  tired,  and  so  on  ? — No.  We  know  you,  I  say,  and  this  hour  is  your 
last.  You  have  placed  yourself  in  our  power,  and  we  will  take  good  care  of  you 
now.    There  is  a  well  in  this  lane  which  keeps  secrets  capitally." 

Todd  drew  his  pistol,  and  held  it  against  the  breast  of  this  man, 

<«  Attempt  any  violence,"  he  said,  "  and  I  fire  !" 

«  Oh,  indeed  !    You  are  well  prepared,  are  you?   I  must  say  that,  for  an 
exciseman,  you  are  a  bold  fellow." 
"  A  what*?1' 

"  An  exciseman.  You  know  well  you  have  been  on  the  look-out  for  us  for 
the  last  week  ;  W'it  is  of  no  use  denying  it.  You  thought  you  nabbed  us,  when 
you  got  into  our  cart." 

Todd  lowered  his  pistol. 

"This  is  a  foolish  enough  mistake,"  he  said,  "  I  am  no  more  an  exciseman 
than  I  am  Commander-in-chiel  of  the  forces.  What  could  have  put  such  a  thing 

into  your  heads  ?"  7 
«  Say  you  so  V\  cried  the  other.  "  But  how  will  you  make  us  believe  it  I  That  s 

the  question."  .',,„*,.  i  u 

"  Well,"  said  Todd,  putting  on  a  very  candid  look,  "  I  don  t  know  how  a  man 
is  to  set  about  proving  that  he  is  not  an  exciseman.  I  only  know  that  I  am  not. 
The  real  truth  is,  that  I  am  in  debt,  and  being  pressed  by  my  creditors,  have 
thought  proper  to  get  out  of  their  way;  and  so  I  want  to  make  the  best  of  my 
way  to  Gravesend,  that  is  all.  I  fancy,  by  your  anger  at  the  idea  of  my  being 
an  exciseman,  that  you  are  smugglers  ;  and  if  so,  I  can  only  say  that  with  all 
my  heart,  you  may  go  on  smuggling  with  the  greatest  success  until  the  day  ot 
judgment,  before  I  would  interfere  with  you  in  ^matter. 
"  Dare  we  believe  him  ?"  sa  d  one  of  the  men  to  the  other. 
« I  hardly  know,"  replied  the  other ;  "and  yet  it  would  be  rather  a ^ad  thing 
to  take  a  man's  life,  when  it  might  turn  out  that  he  was  not  what  we  took  him 
for." 

"  How  on  earth  am  I  to  convince  you  ¥'  said  Todd. 

u  Where  do  you  want  to  go  to  ?"  .  .   * 

« I  want  to  get  on  board  some  vessel,  I  don't  care  what,  so  that  it  is  bound  to 
some  continental  port.  My  object,  I  tell  you,  is  to  get  away,  and  that  is  all. 
«  Would  the  Port  of  Havre  in  France  suit  you  { 

tt  Perfectlv  well."  «  * 

The  two  men  now  whispered  together  for  a  few  moments,  and  then,  one  of 

Af JriSls'thlt  we  ^somewhat  connected  with  a  vessel  bound  for  Havre, 
and  it  will  sail  tonight.  If  you  are  really  what  you  pretend,  and  truly  want  to 
leave  England,  you  can  come  with  us,  and  we  will  give  you  a  passage  ;  but  we 

"^N^w^bemore  reasonable."  said  Todd;  « I  will  pay  you  a  liberal 
pricefand  a°s  Iwish  to  go  on  board  as  soon  as  I  can,  you  »ay  fed  y»r^  per- 
fectlv  easv  regarding  your  suspicions  of  my  being  an  exciseman,  by  keeping  me 

U?%?Smj>W,  a*I  me  on  board  y°ur  °Wn  V6SSel  a§  qU1Ckly  ^  7 


!   55 


°an<'<  TW  it  that's  fair  enough,"  cried  one  of  them.  "Come  on,  then,  and  let 
us  ge^o  "the  Uvely  William  L'soon  as  we  can.  It's  rather  a  mercy  we  did  not 
knocn  vou  on  the  head,  though,  at  once." 


70S  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


"  I  am  very  much  obliged,"  said  Todd. 

"  Oh,  don't  mention  it.  I  always  myself,  mind,  defer  anything  ot  that  sort 
till  the  last.  It's  a  very  rough  and' ugly  way  of  settling  matters,  at  the  best;  but 
when  you  can't  reasonably,  you  know,  do  anything  else,  why,  you  must,  and 
there's  an  end  of  lit'* 

«<  Exactly/'  said  Todd,  "  I  perceive  that  you  are  quite  a  philosopher  in  such 
transactions.  So  now  that  we  have  a  better  understanding  together,  the  sooner 
we  get  on  board  this  Lively  William  you  talk  of,  the  better." 

"  Not  a  doubt  of  that.  Come  up." 

The  horse's  head  was  turned  up  the  lane  again,  and  in  a  very  few  moments 
the  high  road  was  gained,  and  they  went  on  at  a  rapid  trot  for  Gravesend.  The 
town  was  soon  reached— that  town  what  is  all  dirt  in  winter,  and  chalk-dust  in 
summer — and  the  two  men,  by  the  manner  in  which  they  kept  their  eyes  upon 
Todd  while  they  passed  several  throngs  of  people,  showed  that  it  was  a  very 
difficult  thing  indeed  to  get  rid  of  suspicion  when  once  it  took  possession  of  them. 

After,  however,  getting  right  through  the  town,  and  finding  that  Todd  did  not 
attempt  to  give  the  least  alarm,  but,  on  the  contrary,  shrunk  from  observation 
as  much  as  he  could,  their  confidence  in  him  was  complete,  and  they  really 
believed  him  to  be  what  he  pretended  to  be. 

Whether,  if  those  men  had  really  known  who  and  what  he  was,  they  would 
have  altered  their  views  with  regard  to  him,  is  a  matter  difficult  to  give  an  opinion 
upon  j  but  as  it  was,  they  had  no  scruples  whatever,  provided  he  would  pay  them 
a  good  price  for  his  passage  to  Havre.  | 

"Now,"  said  one  of  them,  "  we  know  that  you  have  not  deceived  us,  and 
that  it  is  all  right,  we  don't  mind  telling  you  that  we  are  the  captain  and  owner 
of  the  Lively  William,  and  that  we  are  in  the  regular  smuggling  trade,  between 
the  French  Ports  and  this  country.  We  don't  make  a  bad  thmg  of  it,  one  way 
and  another/' 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  said  Todd. 

"Ah,  you  view  this  sort  of  thing  in  a  christian-like  spirit,  we  see;  and  if  you 
have  no  objection  to  a  drop  of  as  pure  champagne  brandy  as  ever  you  tasted, 
provided  you  have  tasted  some  of  the  best,  you  can  have  a  drop." 

"  I  should  like  it  much,"  said  Todd. 

"Just  look  out  ahead,  then,  and  fix  your  eves  on  that  old  tree  yonder,  while 
wre  get  it/ 

Todd  did  not  care  to  know  what  mode  of  hiding  spirits  the  two  men  had  in 
their  cart :  so  he  did  as  they  required  of  him,  and  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the  old 
tree.  After  he  had  kept  his  eyes  upon  that  object  for  some  few  minutes,  they 
called  out  to  him — 

"Alls  right" 

Todd  looked  round,  and  found  one  of  the  men  with  a  small  bladder  of  spirits, 
and  a  little  horn  drinking-cup. 

"  Here,"  he  said,  "  you  can  give  us  your  opinion  of  this." 
Todd  tossed  off  the  contents  of  the  cup. 

"Excellent !"  he  cried.  "Excellent'!  That,  indeed,  is  brandy.  I  do  not 
think  that  such  is  to  be  got  in  London." 

"  Scarcely/'  said  the  man,  as  he  helped  himself,  and  then  handed  the  bladder 
and  the  cup  to  his  companion  ;  "  but  we  are  going  to  put  up  our  horse  and 
cart  now,  and  if  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  look  at  the  old  tree  again,  we  will 
send  the  brandy  away." 

"  Certainly,"  said  Todd. 

The  brandy  was  soon,  in  some  mysterious  manner,  disposed  of,  and  then  the 
cart  was  stopped  at  the  door  of  a  little  country-looking  inn,  the  landlord  of  which 
seemed  to  have  a  perfect  understanding  with  the  two  men  belonging  to  the 
Lively  William. 

"  Now,"  said  one  of  them  to  Todd,  "  as  you  have  no  obj  ection  to  go  on  board 
at  once,  we  will  put  you  there." 
"  Objection  ?"  cried  Todd.    "My  objection  is  to  remain  on  land.    I  beg  that 


THE  STRING  01'  PEAULS. 


709 


9i 


you  will  let  me  feel  that  I  am  on  the  deck  of  your  vessel,  as  quickly  as 
possible/' 

"  That  will  do.  This  way. 
They  led  him  down  a  narrow  lane  with  tail  hedges  upon  each  side,  and  then 
across  a  straggling  mangy-looking  field  or  two,  such  as  are  to  be  found  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames,  and  on  the  northern  coasts  of  some  portions  of  England, 
the  Isle  of  Wight  in  particular,  and  then  they  came  at  once  to  the  bank  of  the 
river. 

A  boatman  hailed  them,  and  upon  their  making  signs  to  him  that  his  services 
were  required,  he  pulled  in  to  the  shore ;  and  Todd,  with  his  two  new  friends, 
were  in  a  few  moments  going  through  the  water  to  the  vessel. 

The  Lively  William  did  not  look  particularly  lively.  It  was  a  slatternly- 
looking  craft,  and  its  black,  dingy  hull  presented  anything  but  an  inviting  ap- 
pearance. The  genius  of  dirt  and  neglect  seemed  to  have  taken  possession  of 
the  vessel,  and  the  nearer  Todd  got  to  it,  the  less  he  liked  it ;  but  still  it  was  a 
means  of  his  escaping,  and  had  it  been  ten  times  a  more  uncomfortable-looking 
abode  than  it  was,  he  would  have  gladly  gone  on  board  it. 

"  Here  we  are  !"  cried  one  of  the  men. 

The  boat  touched  the  side  of  the  ship,  and  in  another  moment,  Todd  was  upon 
her  deck* 


CHAPTER  CLXVIL 

TODD  MEETS  WITH  A  LITTLE  ROUGH  WEATHER  IN  THE  CHANNEL, 

Todd  almost  thought  that  he  was  saved,  when  he  felt  himself  fairly  upon 
the  deck  of  the  Lively  William.  It  seemed  to  him  such  a  miracle  to  get  so  far, 
that  his  faith  in  completely  getling  the  better  of  his  enemies  increased  won- 

derfully.  ^  • 

"  Oh,  this  is  a  relief/'  he  said.    "  This  is,  indeed,  a  vast  relief. 
"  What  do  you  mean  V*  said  one  of  the  men  of  the  cart  to  him,  as  he  eyed 

him  keenly.  ,  -  .  , 

Todd  was  very  anxious  not  to  excite  any  suspicion  that  he  was  other  than 

what  he  had  represented  himself  to  be  ;  so  he  answered  quickly— 

"  I  mean  that  it  is  a  relief  to  get  out  of  the  small  boat  into  the  ship.    Ever  so 

little  a  distance  in  a  boat  disagrees  wiih  me.'1 
"Oh,  that's  it,  is  it V 

"  £es  ;  and  if  you  have  no  particular  objection,  I  will  go  below  at  once.  I 
daresay  the  cabin  accommodation  is  very  good  on  board  the  Lively  William." 

<<  Oh,  quite  wonderful  r  said  the  captain.  "  If  you  will  come  with  Mr.— a 
_a — that's  your  name  V 

« Wilkins,"  said  Todd.  .  - •  ; ,:■■■<•■ 

«« oh,  Mr.  Wilkins.  Well,  if  you  will  come  with  me,  I  shall  have  the  very 
great  pleasure  of  showing  you  what  a  capital  berth  we  can  give  you.'' 

M  Thank  you/'  said  Todd,  and  then,  rather  timidly,  for  the  staircase  down 
which  the  captain  dived  seemed  to  Todd  better  adapted  for  poultry  than  for 
human  beings,  he  carefully  followed  his  Dew  friend. 

The  cabin  of  the  Lively  William  was  a  woful  place.  Any  industrious  house- 
wife  would  have  sneered  at  it  as  a  linen-cupboard  ;  and  if  it  had  been  mentioned 
as  a  store-room  in  any  establishment  of  pretentions,  it  would  have  excited 
universal  reprobation.  It  had  a  roof  which  nobbed  Todd's  head  if  he  attempted 
to  stand  upright ;  and  the  walls  sloped  to  the  shape  of  the  side*  of  the  Lively 
William.  The  window  was  a  square  hole,  with  a  slidding  shutter;  and  the 
furniture  would  have  made  the  dingiest  broker's  shop  in  London  blush  to  own  it. 
"This  is  the  state  cabin/'  said  the  captain. 
"Really?0  said  Todd. 


WK&tf 


710 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


"  Why,  don't  you  see  it  is  by  its  size  and  looks  ?  You  won't  often  see  in  a 
craft  of  this  size  a  handsomer  cabin  than  that  of  the  Lively  William." 

Ml  daresay  not/'  said  Todd.  "It  will  do  very  well  for  me,  my  friend. 
When  a  man  is  travelling,  he  must  not  be  very  particular,  as  it  is  soon  over." 

"That  true ;  but  now" I  want  to  say  something  to  you,  if  you  please,  that's 
rather  particular.  It's  quite  clear  to  me  and  my  mate,  that  you  want  to  get  out 
of  England  as  quickly  as  possible.  What  you  have  done,  or  what  you  haven't 
is  not  much  matter  to  us,  except,  so  far  as  that,  we  daresay  you  have  swindled 
the  public  to  a  tolerable  tune.    We  don't  mean  to  take  you  for  nothing." 

f?  Nor  do  I  wish  you,"  said  Todd.  "  Nothing  can  possibly  be  further  from  my 
thoughts." 

"  Very  good  ;  then,  in  a  word,  we  don't  intend  to  do  the  thing  unhandsome ; 
and  you  shall  have  all  the  capital  accommodation  that  the  Lively  William  can 
give  you  to  the  Port  of  Havre  for  twenty  pounds/' 
Twenty  pounds  ?'? 

sf  Yes.  If  you  think  it  is  too  much,  you  may  go  on  shore  again,  and  there  is 
no  harm  done,  you  know." 

"  Oh,  no — no.  That  is,  I  cannot  help  thinking  it  is  a  large  price ;  and  if  I 
were  to  say  I  thought  otherwise,  you  would  not  believe  me ;  but  as  I  really  wish 
to'go,  and  you  sdy  you  will  not  take  less,  I  must  give  it." 

if  Very  good.  That's  settled,  then.  We  shall  be  off  at  ebb-tide,  and  I  only 
hope  we  shall  have  good  luck,  for  if  we  do,  we  ought  to  make  Havre,  at  all  events, 
this  time  to-morrow.1' 

"I  hope  we  shall." 

"  Keep  up  your  heart,  and  make  yourself  comfortable.  Here's  lots  of  the 
most  amusing  books  on  this  shelf.  Let  me  see.  Here  is  the  "  Navy  List"  for 
about  ten  years  ago,  and  here's  a  "  Ready-reckoner,"  and  here  is  "The  Excise- 
man's Vade  Mecum,"  and  here  is  a  "  Chart  of  the  Soundings  of  Baffin's  Bay," 
so  you  can't  say  you  are  out  of  books." 

"  Oh,  how  kind/  said  Todd. 

u  And  you  can  order  whatever  you  like  to  eat  and  drink,  provided  you  don't 
think  of  anything  but  boiled  beef,  biscuits,  and  brandy." 

V  Oh,  I  shall  do  well  enough.  Rest  is  now  what  I  want,  and  a  quick 
voyage." 

€<  Very  good,"  said  the  captain.    "You  will  not  be  at  all  interrupted  here, 
so  you  can  lie  down  in  this  magnificent  berth.'' 
!!  What,  on  that  shelf?' 

"  Shelf?    Do  you  call  the  state  berth  of  the  <  Lively  William/  a  shelf !" 

€i  Well — well,  I  dare  say  it  is  very  comfortable,  though  the  roof,  I  see,  is  onlv 
eight  inches  or  so  from  one's  nose.    I  am  very  much  obliged.    Oh,  very  !" 

The  capt  ain  now  left  Todd  to  himself  and  to  his  own  thoughts,  and  as  he 
really  felt  fatigued,  he  got  into  the  state  berth  of  the  Lively  William,  which,  to 
tell  the  truth,  would  have  been  very  comfortable  if  it  had  only  been  a  little 
wider  and  a  little  longer,  and  the  roof  higher,  and  not  quite  so  damp  and  bard  as 
it  was. 

P  But,  art  er  all,  what  where  all  these  little  disagreeables,"  provided  he,  Todd, 
fairly  esc?  ped  ?  If  he  once  set  his  foot  upon  the  shores  of  France,  he  felt  that, 
with  the  {,-reat  continent  before  him,  he  should  be  fiee,  and  he  did  not  doubt  for 
a  momeri-.  getting  in  any  capital  a  ready  enough  market  among  the  Jews  for  the 
watches  a  d  jtwellery  that  he  had  about  him. 

The  shin  w  the  tide  washed  slowly  by  it,  moved  to  and  fro  with  a  sluggish 
motion  that  rocked  Todd  to  sleep,  and  he  dropped  off  from  a  perception  of  the 
world  and  all  its  cares. 

t  How  long  he  slept  he  knew  not,  but  when  he  awoke  all  was  darkness  around 
him,  and  the  first  attempt  he  made  to  move  brought  his  head  into  violent  contact 
with  the  partition  of  his  berth. 

Then  Todd  felt  that  the  ship  was  tossing  upon  the  water,  and  he  could  hear 
the  dash  and  ripple  of  the  sea  pass  her  sides,  while  every  now  and  then  a  loud 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  711 


splash  against  the  closed  shutter  of  the  cabin-window  warned  him  that  that  sea 
!  \  was  not  in  one  of  its  quietest  moods. 

«  We  are  off!"  cried  Todd,  in  the  exultation  of  his  spirits  at  that  fact.  "  We 
are  off,  and  I  am  all  but  free." 

He  attempted  to  get  out  of  the  berth,  and  he  was  materially  assisted  by  a  roll 
of  the  sea  that  sent  bim  to  the  other  side  of  the  cabin,  accompanied  by  a  couple 
of  stools  and  several  articles  that  happened  to  be  lying  loose  upon  the  floor. 
"Murder!"  cried  Todd. 

iC  Hilloa  !"  cried  a  gruff  voice  from  the  companion-way.  "  Hilloa  !  What 
now  ?" 

"Oh,  nothing,"  said  Todd,  "Nothing.  Where  are  we  now?  Oh,  dear, 
what  a  thing  it  is  to  live  in  a  cupboard  that  won't  stand  still.5' 

The  gleam  of  a  lantern  flashed  in  Todd's  eyes,  and  the  captain  came  below 
with  it  swinging  in  his  hand.  He  steadied  himself  against  the  table,  which  was 
firmly  screwed  to  the  floor,  and  hung  the  lantern  to  a  short  chain  dependent 
from  the  cabin-roof. 

V.  There/  said  the  captain.  "  The  chandelier  is  alight  now,  and  you  will 
be  able  to  see  about  you.    Hilloa  !  Where  are  you  now  ?" 

"  Why,  I  rather  think  I  fell  off  the  shelf,"  said  Todd.    «  I  beg  your  pardon, 

the  state  berth  I  mean.** 

''Then  you  had  better  turn  in  again,  for  we  shall  have,  I  think,  a  squally  sort 
of  night  rather.    There  are  symptoms  of  a  sou  wester,  and  if  so,  you  will  know 
a  little  of  what  weather  is  in  the  Channel." 
"  Where  are  we  now  ?"  said  Todd,  mournfully. 

"  About  fifteen  miles  off  the  North  Foreland,  so  we  are  tolerably  quiet  just 
yet ;  but  when  we  turn  the  head  of  the  land,  it's  likely  enough  we  may  find  out 
what  the  wind  means  to  say  to  us." 

While  the  captain  spoke,  he  tugged  on  a  complete  suit  of  waterproof  apparel, 
that  seemed  as  thick  and  inflexible  as  so  much  armour  covered  with  tar,  and 
then  up  he  went  upon  deck  again,  leaving  Todd  to  the  society  of  his  own  reflec- 
tions and  the  chandelier.  •  ^  . 

The  Lively  William  was  going  en  just  then  with  a  flowing  sheet,  so  that  she 
was  carrying  a  tolerably  even  keel,  and  Todd  was  able  to  get  up  and  reach  his 
berth  ;  but  at  the  moment  that  he  laid  hold  of  the  side  of  it  to  clamber  m,  the 
ship  was  tacked,  and  away  went  Todd  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  state-cabin 
with  the  rug  in  his  grasp  that  did  duty  as  a  counterpane  in  the  berth. 

"  This  will  kill  me,"  he  groaned.  '«  Oh,  this  will  kill  me.  But  yet— yet  I  am 
escaping,  and  that  is  something.   There  will  be  a  storm,  but  all  ships  are  not 

lost  that  encounter  storms."  _  ■    ax.  -u- 

Todd  made  up  his  mind  to  remain  where  he  was,  jammed  up  against  the  cabin 
partition,  until  the  ship  should  right  itself  sufficiently  for  him  to  make  another 

effort  to  reach  his  berth. 

After  a  few  minutes  he  thought  he  would  make  the  attempt.  .  :>_ 

"Now,"  he  said.  "  Now,  surely,  I  can  do  it.  I  will  try.  How  the  wind 
howls,  to  be  sure,  and  how  the  waves  dash  against  the  ship's  sides,  as  though 
they  would  stave  in  her  timbers  ;  but  all  is  well,  no  doubt.  I  will  try  agam. 

Very  cautiously  now  Todd  crept  to  his  berth,  and  this  time  the  winds  and  the 
waves  were  kind  enough  only  to  move  the  ship  so  that  he  knocked  his  head  right 
and  left  a  little,  and  managed  then  to  scramble  on  to  the  little  inconvenient 
shelf,  with  its  damp  mattress  that  served  for  a  bed. 

"  Ah  "  said  Todd,  "  and  there  are  people  who  might,  if  they  liked,  stay  on 
land  all'their  lives,  and  yet  they  pretend  to  prefer  the  sea.  There's  no  account- 
insr  for  tastes  " 

By  dint  of  jerking  it  a  little  from  under  him,  Todd  propped  the  mattress 
again  It  the  outer  edge  of  the  berth;  so  that  provided  the  vessel  fid  lurch  in 
that  ejection,  it  was  not  so  likely  to  tumble  him  out,  and  there  he  lay  listening 

to  the  winds  and  the  waves.  ,  , 

«  A  storm  in  the  Channel  1"  he  muttered.   *  From  what  that  beast  of  a  cap- 


712 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


tain  said,  it  appears  we  are  to  have  one.  Well,  well,  I  have  weathered  many  a 
storm  on  land,  and  now  I  must  put  up  with  one  at  sea." 

At  this  moment,  there  was  a  tremendous  bustle  upon  deck,  and  some  orders 
were  issued  that  were  quite  unintelligible  to  Todd,  There  was,  however,  a  great 
flapping  of  canvas,  and  a  rattling  of  chains. 

The  Lively  William  was  weathering  the  South  Foreland,  and  just  going  to  do 
battle  with  half  a  gale  of  wind  in  the  Channel. 

Up  to  this  point,  Todd  had,  with  something  approaching  to  resignation,  put 
up  with  the  disagreeables  about  him ;  and  upon  the  principle  of  the  song  which 
states  that — 

"  When  a  noan  travel*,  ke  mustn't  leok  queer, 
If  he  meets  a  few  rubs  that  he  does  not  meet  here," 

he  regarded  his  position  with  philosophy ;  but  now  there  came  over  him  a 
dreadful  sensation.  A  cold  clammy  dew  burst  out  upon  his  face — all  strength 
fled  from  his  limbs,  and  with  a  deep  groan,  Todd  began  to  feel  the  real  horror 
of  sea  sickness. 

Nothing  can  be  like  sea  sickness  but  death,  and  nothing  can  be  like  death  but 
seasickness.  Todd  had  never  suffered  from  that  calamity  before  ;  and  now  that 
it  came  upon  him,  in  all  its  aggravated  horrors,  he  could  not  believe  that  it  was 
a  mere  passing  indisposition,  but  concluded  that  he  must  have  been  poisoned  by 
the  captain  of  the  ship,  p.nd  that  his  last  hour  was  come. 

And  now  Todd  would  fain  have  made  a  noise,  and  called  for  help.  He  would 
have  liked  to  fire  one  of  his  pistols  in  the  face  of  that  captain,  provided  he  could 
but  have  got  him  to  the  side  of  his  berth  ;  but  he  had  not  strength  left  to  utter  a 
word  above  a  whisper  ;  and  as  for  moving  his  hand  to  his  pockets  to  get  out  his 
fire-arms,  he  could  not  so  much  as  lift  a  finger. 

All  Todd  could  do  was  to  go  on,  and  to  get  each  moment  worse  and  worse 
with  that  awful  sensation  of  sickness,  which  resembles  the  sickness  of  the  soul 
at  parting  from  its  mortal  house,  to  which  it  had  clung  so  long. 

The  wind  howled  upon  the  deck  and  through  the  cordage  of  the  vessel — the 
spray  dashed  over  her  bulwarks,  and  each  moment  the  storm  increased  in 
furv. 


CHAPTER  CLXV1II. 

TODD  GETS  A  WORLD  OF  MARITIME  EXPERIENCE. 

The  idea  that  he  was  poisoned  grew  upon  Tobd  each  moment,  and  to  such  a 
man,  it  was  truly  terrific  to  think  that  he  should  come  to  so  fearful  an  end. 

"  Help  !  Help  I"  he  groaned  ;  but  after  all,  it  was  only  a  groan  and  not  a 
cry— not  that  that  mattered,  for  if  he  had  had  the  lungs  often  men  all  concen- 
trated in  his  own  person,  and  had  so  been  able  to  cry  out  with  a  superhuman 
voice,  it  would  have  been  most  completely  lost  amid  the  roar  of  the  wind,  and 
the  wild  dashing  of  the  waves. 

The  storm  was  certainly  increasing. 

a  °  v'  th'S  sickness !"  groaned  Todd.    "  Oh,  dear— oh,  dear !" 

At  the  moment  that  he  was  so  bad  that,  in  his  want  of  experience  of  what  sea 
sickness  really  was,  he  thought  every  moment  would  be  his  last,  he  heard  some 
one  coming  down  into  the  cabin,  and  one  of  the  crew  rolled  rather  than  walked 
into  it. 

''Help!"  said  Todd;  "oh,  help!" 

"  You,  g0.^  the  d-1 !'  said  the  man.  "The  captain  is  washed  overboard,  and 
we  are  all  going  to  the  bottom,  so  I  am  one  who  likes  to  take  a  little  spirits  with 
him  to  qualify  the  water  ihat  one  may  be  obliged  to  swallow.  That's  it.  Steady, 
cratt,  steady.  • 

an^fol  58  thrS  M11  n°  d°ubt  ™as  in  ^  art  of  keeping  his  footing  upon 
an  undulating  surface,  the  pitching  of  the  ship  was  so  tremendous,  that  even  he 


 THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  713 

was  thrown  to  the  cabin  floor  with  considerable  violence,  and  had  no  easy  task 
to  rise  again. 

"  No!"  cried  Todd,  finding  that  positive  fright  lent  him  strength,  "  you  do 
not  mean  that  V* 

Mean  what,  you  old  sinner 
6  That  we  shall  be  lo.it?" 


TODD  SEIZES  THE  COLONEL'S  KOltSE,  MOUNTS,  AND  MAKES  ANOTHER  ESCAPE. 

The  man  nodded,  and  having  opened  a  little  cupboard,  he  brought  out  a  little 
bladder  of  spirits,  and  placing  it  to  his  lips,  he  drank  a  large  quantity,  while  he 
held  by  the  cupboard  door  to  keep  himself  from  falling, 

"  That  will  do/'  he  said,  as  he  dropped  the  bladder  to  the  floor,  and  then, 
after  several  unsuccessful  efforts  to  do  so,  he  scrambled  upon  deck  again. 

-  *         ■  ■    i.      ■..  mi   *—  '  mj  «■  .■  i.i-        —  ■>»—        .i  ■ — — .   -  .  ■  ...     i-  •      '        i    i  «    .    .  . 


No,  90. 


7U  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS. 


"  I,  too,  will  drink,"  said  Todd ;  "  oh,  yes,  I  will  drink.  I  feel  that  if  any- 
thing will  'give  me  strength  to  bear  the  horrors  of  the  night,  it  will  be  my  old 
and  well-tried  friend,  brandy.5' 

He  cast  his  eyes  upon  the  bladder  of  spirits  that  the  sailor  had  thrown  to  the 
floor.  The  spirit  was  slowly  weltering  out  of  the  bladder,  and  running  in  a 
stream  across  the  cabin.  As  the  odour  of  it  saluted  the  nose  of  1  odd,  he 
exclaimed,—— 

*  "  It  is  brandy  !   I  must  and  will  have  some  !" 

It  was  all  very  well  for  Todd  to  say  that  he  must  and  would  have  some  of  the 
brandy,  but  the  difficulty  of  getting  at  it  was  one  by  no  means  easy  to  surmount. 
He  recollected  what  a  job  he  had  to  get  into  his  berth  again  upon  the  occasion 
that  he  had  got  out  of  it  before,  and  he  dreaded  to  place  himself  in  a  similar 
predicament ;  yet  he  found  the  vessel  was  more  steady,  although  the  wind  had 
not  at  all  abated.    Yes,  it  certainly  was  more  steady. 

u  I  will  try,"  said  Todd.   "  I  must  have  some." 

With  a  determination,  then,  to  get  at  the  choice  liquor,  which  was  wasting 
what  Todd  considered  its  sweetness  upon  the  cabin  floor,  he  slid  out  of  his  little 
bed-place,  and  the  ship  giving  a  sudden  roll  in  a  trough  of  the  sea,  he  fell 

sprawling  to  the  floor. 

"  Oh,  I  shall  be  killed  !"  he  yelled.  "This  frightful  voyage  will  be  the  death 
of  me  !  It  is  too  terrible!  Oh,  Heaven  !  It  is  much  tot>  terrible  !  Help  ! — 
mercy  V9 

Todd  lay  upon  his  back  on  the  cabin  floor,  with  his  arms  and  legs  stretched 
out  like  a  gigantic  St.  Andrew's  cross.  Something  touched  his  hand  :  it  was  the 
bladder  of  brandy,  that,  as  the  ship  rolled,  had  moved  towards  him.  He  clutched 
it  with  a  feeling  of  despair,  and  brought  it  to  his  lips. 

With  the  exception  of  about  half  a  pint,  the  brandy  had  made  its  way  on  to 
the  cabin  floor;  but  it  was  strong,  pure  spirit— such  brandy,  in  fact,  as  smugglers 
might  well  reserve  for  their  own  private  drinking  ;  so  that  the  half  pint  was  a 
very  tolerable  dose  to  take  at  once,  and  Todd  drained  it  to  the  last  drop. 

u  Better he  said ;  "  oh,  yes,  I  am  better,  now." 
HThe  fumes  of  the  strong  spirit  mounted  to  his  brain,  and  got  the  better,  for 
the  time,  of  that  frightful  feeling  of  sickness  which  had  been  so  like  death,  that 
Todd  had  mistaken  it  for  the  last  pangs  that  he  was  likely  to  feel  in  this  world. 

g*  Oh,  yes,  I  am  better*  How  the  wind  howls  now,  and  how  the  waves  dash 
the  ship  hither  and  thither.  The  deck,  yes,  the  deck  will  be  the  place  for  me. 
Oh,  gracious  !  what  was  that  ?" 

A  loud  crash,  and  a  scream  from  some  drowning  wretches  who  had  gone 
overboard  along  with  a  mast,  had  broken  upon  his  ears.    Terror  sat  at  his  very 
heart,  and  unable  any  longer  to  endure  the  frightful  suspense  of  being  below, . 
he  tried,  upon  his  hands  and  knees,  to  crawl  upon  the  deck. 

By  no  other  mode  could  Todd  have  had  the  slightest  hope  or  expectation  of 
reaching  the  deck  of  that  fated  vessel**  but  as  he  tried  it,  he  did,  after  a  time, 
succeed  in  dragging  himself  up  from  the  cabin.  The  sea  was  washing  over  the 
deck,  and  for  a  few  moments  he  could  see  no  one.  He  watched  for  a  lull  in  the 
wind,  and  then  he  cried — 

"Help!  help!    Oh,  help!" 

**  Who's  that  ?"  shouted  a  voice. 

"I!"  said  Todd. 

u  Go  to  blazes,  then  I" 

u  Oh,  how  kind  V'  groaned  Todd.  u  How  very  considerate  at  such  a  time  as 
this,  too." 

The  wind  that  had  lulled  for  a  few  moments,  now  came  with  a  frightful  gush, 
and  Todd  was  glad  to  find  the  fragments  of  a  quantity  of  cordage,  belonging  to 
some  of  the  top  parts  of  the  mast  that  had  gone  overboard,  to  cling  to  till  the 
gust  had  passed  over  the  ship.  Then  there  cdme  some  tons  of  salt  water  over 
him,  and  he  was  nearly  bereft  of  the  powrer  of  breathing. 

"  Oh,  this  is  dreadful  I"  he  said.    "  This  is  truly  dreadful  !* 


occasion 

k 


A  better 


I  I 


Mi1! 


and:  it  wa;^ 


ia  this  world, 
j  pt  fat  ■ 


r  sat  tlbis 

m 


expectation 


at 

3> 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


715 


"  Hands  off  !"  growled  a  voice.  "  Everybody  for  himself  here.  Hands  off, 
I  say." 

"  What  do  you  mean  P"  said  Todd.    ",Do  you  speak  to  me  Yy 
The  voice  had  sounded  close  to  him  ;  and  now  again,  with  an  angry  tone, 
it  cried — 

"  Some  one  has  got  hold  of  my  leg!" 

"  Oh,  I  dare  say  I  have/'  said  Todd,  "  but  I  didn't  know.    There,  I  have 
left  go.    Who  are  you,  sir,  eh  i" 
"Oh!  don't  bother !" 
"Well,  but  is  there  any  danger?" 

"  Danger  !  I  rather  think  there  is,  I  suppose  you  are  the  love  of  a  pas- 
senger that  the  captain  brought  on  board?0 

"  Yes,  I  am  the  passenger,"  said  Todd.  Why  he  should  be  called  a  love 
of  a  passenger  he  did  not  exactly  know ;  but  he  repeated  his  question  concern- 
ing  the  condition  of  the  ship  ;  and  at  the  next  lull  of  wind,  for  it  came  now  very 
strangely  in  gusts,  he  got  a  not  very  consolatory  reply. 

n  Why,  as  to  danger,"  said  the  man,  "  that's  rather  past,  I  reckon  ;  but,  per- 
haps, you  are  a  landsman,  and  have  not  yet  thoroughly  made  up  your  mind." 

■*  To  what?" 

"  To  be  drowned,  some  day  or  night,  as  I  have.* 

"Oh,  no— no!  Don't  say  that.  Drowing  is  a  very  dreadful  death,  indeed. 
I  am  sure  it  is.'' 

"  It  may,  or  it  may  not  be  so,"  said  the  man,  "  but  whether  it  is  or  not,  you 
and  I  are  very  likely  soon  to  find  out,  for  the  old  craft  is  going  at  last." 
*  Going?" 

"Yes.  It's  all  up  with  her,  and  it  will  soon  be  all  down  with  her, 
likewise." 

u  But  the  ship  goes  easier  through  the  sea." 

"Oh,  ah,  she's  filling,  you  see,  and  settling  lower  down  in  the  water,  so  you 
can't  have  quite  so  much  pitching  and  tossing  as  you  had  an  hour  ago,  hardly." 

"  You  can't  mean  that  ?  You  do  not  mean  to  tell  me  that  there  is  no  hepe? 
Oh,  say  not  so  !" 

"Well,  you  can  please  yourself.  I  can  tell  you  that  the  rudder  has  gone — 
We  have  not  a  mast  standing.  There  is  already  five  feet  of  water  in  the  hold, 
and  we  are  drifting  as  hard  as  we  can  upon  a  lee-shore,  so  if  you  can  make  any- 
thing satisfactory  out  of  that,  I  leave  you  to  do  it." 

"  Did  you  say  we  were  drifting  to  shore  ?" 

"  A  lee-shore." 

"  Oh,  dear.  I'm  gl&d  to  hear  it.  Any  shore  will  do  for  me,  if  I  can  but  get 
out  of  this  confounded  ship.  What  is  that  afar  off  ?  Is  it  alight?  Oh,  yes, 
it  is  a  light." 

"  It  is.  We  are  on  the  Sussex  coast,  somewhere,  but  I  can't  take  upon  my- 
self to  say  where  ;  but  it  don't  matter  a  bit,  for  we  shall  go  to  pieces  long  before 
we  reach  the  surf,  and  then  in  such  a  sea  as  this  you  might  as  well  try  to  swallow 
the  Channel  at  a  few  draughts  as  to  swim.'' 

"  But  I  can't  swim  at  all." 

u  It  don't  matter  a  bit." 

"  hut,  my  dear  friend  

"  Hold  your  row— I  am  not  your  dear  friend  nor  anybody  else's,  just  now. 
I  tell  you  we  shall  be  all  drowned,  and  the  best  thing  you  can  do,  is  to  take  it 
as  easy  as  possible.    What  can  be  the  good  of  making  a  fuss  about  it  ?" 

This  information  was  to  Todd  of  so  deplorable  a  character— for  to  none  is 
death  so  terrible  as  to  the  guilty— that  he  wept  aloud  and  screamed  with  terror 
as  the  spray  of  the  sea  struck  him  on  the  face,  and  the  wind  roared  and  whistled 
over  him. 

v  Oh,  no — no  !"  he  cried.  "  I  cannot  die  yet—  L  must  not.  Spare  me— 
spare  me !    I  am  afraid  to  die  !" 

"  Oh,  you  stupid,"  said  the  sailors.    *  That  cums  now  of  not  having  had  a 


716  THE  STRING  OF  PEAIILS. 


soon 


proper  sort  of  education,    I  make  no  doubt  but  your  howling  will  pretty- 
be  put  an  end  to." 

The  situation  of  the  ship  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  greatest  possible  peril. 
Having  by  the  violence  of  the  tempest  lost  all  her  masts,  and  having  had  her 
rudder  torn  away,  sha  was  quite  at  the  mercy  of  the  winds  and  the  waves  ;  and 
the  set  of  the  sea,  as  well  as  the  direction  of  the  wind,  carried  her  sometimes 
stern  foremost  and  at  othei\times  head  foremost,  and  at  times  broadside,  on  to  the 
coast  of  Sussex,  upon  which  the  lights  were  at  intervals  dimly  visible  through 
the  thick  haze  of  the  storm. 

It  was  truly  a  dreadful  night,  and  such  as  fully  merited  the  worst  apprehen- 
sions of  the  sailor,  who  had  spoken  so  coolly  to  Todd  of  his  coming  fate. 

There  was  but  one  chance  for  those  onboard  of  the  vessel,  and  that  was 
t;;at  the  wind  might  abate  sufficiently  to  enable  some  boats  to  put  off  from  the 
Sussex  coast,  provided  they  happened  to  be  off  a  part  of  it  where  such  ac- 
commodation was  to  be  had,  and  rescue  those  upon  the  wreck.  The  lights  that 
at  intervals  were  visible,  ratlrer  favoured  the  supposition  that  it  was  a  populous 
part  of  the  coast  that  the  ill-starred  struggling  ship  was  driving  fast  upon. 

Todd,  however,  did  not  know  of  that  slender  hope,  and  he  gave  himself  up 
to  despair. 

\     To  a  landsman  nothing  could  exceed  the  real  horrors  of  the  scene  on  board 
I  the  ship,  and,  indeed,  to  one  well  accustomed  to  the  sea,  there  was  quite  enough 
I  to  produce  much  terror.    All  but  three  persons  connected  with  the  working  of 
•  the  ship  had  been  washed  overboard  during  the  gale.    Both  of  the  men  with 
I  whom  Todd  had  had  the  meeting  in  the  cart  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and 
|  all  their  struggles  and  smugglings  were  over.  Todd  did  not  know  that,. though. 
It  was  quite  evident  to  practical  observers  that  the  gale  was  abating,  for  it 
no  longer  was  so  steady  and  so  continuous  a  wind  that  blew  with  fury  over  the 
fated  ship ;  and  although  the  sea  still  ran  high,  it  did  not  break  over  the  vessel 
with  such  thundering  impetuosity. 

A  very  faint  glow  of  daylight,  too,  began  to  come  over  the  sea, 


If  Todd  had  had  mind  enough  left  to  look  about  him  now,  he  would  have 
{  seen  that  there  was  some  food  for  hope,  althought  not  much ;  but  the  fact  was, 


that  he  had  so  thoroughly  made  up  his  mind  that  all  was  Lost,  that  he  did  not 
look  for  consolation. 

Haw  poor  and  how  miserable  appeared  to  him,  at  this  moment,  all  his  struggles 
!  for  wealth— that  wealth,  for  the  attainment  of  which  he  had  struggled  through 
isuch  gigantic  ciimes  !    How  much  happier,  he  could  not  help  thinking,  it 
would  have  been  for  him  to  have  gone  on  all  his  life  in  plodding  industry,  than 
to  endeavour  as  he  had  done  to  find,  a  short  road  to  fortune,  and  only  to  end  in 
finding  a  short  one  to  death. 

One  ot  the  seamen  cried  out  in  a  loud  voice- 


"  Save  themselves  who  can  !  We  skill  be  on  shore,  now,  in  less  than  five 
minutes!    We  are  all  going  now  as  safe  as  nuts  !" 


CHAPTER  CLXIX. 

TAKES  A  PEEP  AT  SOME  FRIENDS  OF  THE  READER. 

For  a  brief  space,  now,  in  order  to  connect  more  closely  the  events  of  this 
narrative,  we  will  leave  Sweeney  Todd  to  the  perils  and  chances  of  the  disabled 
ship,  and  the  storm  in  the  Channel,  while  we  conduct  the  reader  to  the  society  of 
other  persons,  in  whom  it  is  to  be  presumed  we  are  largely  interested. 

In  the  most  cheerful  room  of  one  of  the  prettiest  houses  at  Brighton,  facing 
the  beach  upon  the  Esp'anade,  which  is  unrivalled,  was  a  rather  select  party. 


 THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  717 

That  party  consisted  of  old  and  well-tried  friends  of  the  reader,  and  when  we 
announce  of  whom  it  was  composed,  it  will  be  seen  that  their  society  is  decidedly 
good. 

First  of  all,  there  was  Ben  the  beef-eater.  Poor  Ben  had  never  before  been 
at  a  sea-coast  town,  and  everything  was  consequently  to  hira  new  and  strange. 
Yet  he  felt  amazingly  happy,  because  he  was  surrounded  by  those  whom  he 
loved  with  all  his  heart;  and  if  he  had  now  and  then  a  wanderng  thought,  it 
was  to  the  animals  in  the  Tower,  to  whom  he  was  accustomed,  and  who,  no 
doubt,  missed  Ben  quite  as  much,  if  not  more,  than  he  missed  them. 

Then  there  was  Tobias.  Yes,  Tobias  was  there,  looking  so  fresh  and  so  well, 
notwithstanding  that  he  knew  Sweeney  Todd  was  at  large,  that  it  was  quite  a 
congratulation  for  those  who  felt  that  they  were  his  friends  to  see  him.  The 
rest  of  the  party  consisted  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ingestrie,  and  Colonel  Jeffrey  and  his 
young  bride,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oakley,  so  that  there  was  really  quite  an  assem- 
blage in  that  room. 

The  colonel  holds  a  letter  in  his  hands,  and  is  speaking,  while  all  eyes  are 
turned  upon  him. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  colonel,  u  this  letter  is  from  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  and  I  will 
read  it  to  you,  if  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  listen  toi  «  ' 
<;  Oh,  yes— yes,"  said  everybody. 
^  Vere  well.   Here  it  is,  then." 
Upon  this,  the  colonel  read  as  follows  :— 

11  Ciuven  Street,  London. 

"  My  Dear  Colonel, — No  news  of  Todd.  We  are  sparing  neither  pains  nor 
expease  in  tracking  him  ;  and  it  is  an  absolute  impossibility  that  he  should  escape 
us  long.  Accident,  I  am  convinced,  much  more  than  any  design  or  luck  upon 
his  part,  has  had  the  effect  as  yet  of  keeping  him  out  of  our  hands.  But  I  do 
not  think  that  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  count  the  time,  in  hours,  between  this 
and  the  period  when  he  must  be  dead  or  a  prisoner. 

"  I  hope  that  all  our  dear  friends  with  you  are  quite  well,  and  that  they  will 
banish  from  their  minds  all  fear  of  the  revenge  of  Todd.  Nothing  is  more  im- 
probable than  that  he  should  dream  of  finding  his  way  to  the  obscure  little 
village  where  you  are.  I  hope  all  of  you  are  benefitting  much  by  the  health- 
giving  breezes  of  the  ocean. 

"  With  kind  regard  to  all,  I  am,  my  dear  colonel, 

"  Yours  very  truly, 

"  Richard  Blunt/' 

"  Still  at  large  P?  said  Mark  Ingestrie,  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  letter.  '<  So 
the  rascal  is  stiil  at  large  f* 

"  Yes,"  said  the  colonel ;  "  but  vou  hear  what  the  magistrate  says,  that  he 
will  soon  have  him. 

*•  Yes,  but  that  is  rather  a  hope  than  a  certainty. 

Tobias  changed  colour,  and  Johanna  turned  to  him,  saying,  in  a'kind  tone— 
"  Nay,  now,  Tobias,  you  have  nothing  to  fear  from  Todd.    Did  you  not  hear 

what  the  letter  said  upon  that  point  ?" 

"Yes  oh,  yes!"  replied  Tobias.    "I  will  fear  nothing  while  you  are  all  so 

good  to  me," 

u  1 1 ell's  you  what  it  is,"  said  Ben.  "That  ?ere  fellow  is  for  all  the  world 
just  like  one  of  the  wild  beastesses  as  declines  being  tamed.  We  had  one  once 
as  got  away  one  night,  and  he  swam  over  the  river,  you  see/5 

"  And  did  you  catch  him?''  said  Tobias. 

"  After  a  time,  yes.    Easv  did  it." 

«  Who  did  it,  sir?" 

«  Easy— It  ain't  a  who.  It's  a  way  of  doing  things.  You  take  it  easy,  you 
know." 

4t  Oh,  yes,  I  understand  now.1' 

"  Well,  I  went  arter  the  fellow,  and  traced  him  up  and  down  the  streets  on 


1 


7!  8  THE  STRING  OJP  PEARLS, 


the  Surrey  side,  till  I  got  him  into  a  court  where  there  was  no  thoroughfare,  and 
then  1  nabbed  him." 

"'And  he  did  no  mischief  1" 

"  ]None  to  signify.  He  settled  a  couple  of  old  women  and  five  or  six  children, 

that  was  all/' 

Tobias  shuddered,  and  the  colonel  said— 

"  I  cannot  but  be  surprised  that  Sir  Richard  has  not  yet  found  out  the  retreat 
of  Todd,  and  my  own  opinion  is  that  he  is  dead." 

"  It  is  more  than  probable/'  said  Ingestrie  ;  <c\  have  thought  so  several  times. 
When  he  found  that  there  was  no  hope  for  him,  and  that  he  was  in  a  state  of 
destitution,  or  something  near  it,  which  must  be  the  fact,  it  is  likely  enough 
that  he  has  laid  violent  hands  upon  himself,  and  his  body  may  not  be  found  for 
a  long  time." 

?  Well/'  said  the  colonel  "  let  us  get  out  for  a  stroll  upon  the  beach.  It  will 
be  dark  in  another  half  hour,  andas'there  is  no  moon  to-night,  we  shall  not  like 
to  remain  out.'' 

They  all  rose  upon  this  suggestion,  but  the  evening  dropped  so  rapidly,  and 
several  black  clouds  piled  themselves  up  in  the  sky,  that  Ingestrie,  after  stepping 
out  upon  the  balcony  and  looking  at  the  weather,  came  back  again,  and  said — 
^  4t  You  had  better  remain  in,  all  of  you.  I  have  seen  enough  of  the  sea,  and 
heard  enough  of  the  wind,  to  prophesy  that  this  will  be  a  rough  night  in  the 
Channel/' 

V  Will  there  be  a  storm,  Mark  ?"  said  Johanna. 

u  There  will  be  a  very  good  imitation  of  one,  you  may  depend,  if  not  a  real 


one." 


u  If  there  should  be/'  said  the  colonel,  u  you  will  be  rather  surprised, 
for,  I  can  tell  you,  that  a  gale  off  this  coast  is  no  joke.  You  would  be  truly 
amazed  at  the  violence  with  which  a  regular  south-western  sets  upon  this  shore." 

"  1  can  easily  imagine  it,"  said  Mark  Ingestrie,  '  See,  it  darkens  every 
minute,  and  what  an  angry  look  that  small  cloud  right  away  in  the  horizon  has." 

a  It  has,  indeed/'  said  Johanna,  as  she  clung  to  the  arm  of  her  husband. 
H  Do  you  think,  Mark,  that  any  poor  souls  will  be  wrecked  to-night  V1 

<c  Probably  enough  ;  but  the  coast  of  Suffolk  and  the  Irish  Channel  will  be 
the  worst.    It  will  be  child's  play  here  in  comparison." 

A  strange  booming  noise  came  across  the  sea  at  this  moment,  and  the  colonel 
cried  out — 

4i  Is  that  a  gun,  or  is  it  thunder  ?" 
B  u  Thunder!"  said  Ingestrie  ;  "hark  !  there  it  is  again  !  There  is  a  storm  some 
forty  or  fifty  miles  off.   It's  right  away  in  the  German  Ocean,  most  likely;  but 
only  look  now  even,  dark  as  it  is  getting,  how  the  sea  is  rising,  and  what  an  odd 
seathing  condition  it  is  getting  into." 

They  all  stood  on  the  balcony  and  looked  out  towards  the  sea.  The  surface  of 
it  was  to  the  eye  only  undulating  quite  gently,  and  yet,  strange  to  say,  it  was 
rapidly  covering  with  white  foam,  and  that  from  no  perceptible  cause,  for  as  yet 
the  wind  was  a  mere  trifle. 

<$  How  is  that  ? 9  said  Johanna.  **  The  sea  is  not  very  rough,  and  yet  it  is  all 
white/7 

u  it  is  the  worst  sign  of  bad  weather/'  said  Ingestrie.  "The  commotion  has 
begun  below  the  surface  in  some  mysterious  way,  and  that  white  foam  which  you 
see  each  moment  rapidly  increasing  is  cast  up ;  but  soon  the  whole  surface  will 
begin  to  heave,  and  then  you  will  find  out  what  a  storm  is." 

"  We  may  hear  it,"  said  the  colonel ;  "  but  if  this  darkness  continues,  I  doubt 
very  much  if  we  shall  be  able  to  bring  any  other  of  our  senses  into  requisition 
upon  the  occasion/' 

"  Hush !"  said  Tobias,  «  what  is  that  f 

He  held  up  his  hand  as  he  spoke,  and  as  they  were  then  all  profoundly  still, 
a  strange,  low,  wailing  sound  came  over  the  water. 
"  What  can  it  be }"  said  Johanna. 


41 


AT-***- 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  719 


"Only  the  gale,"  smiled  Ingestrie.  "  It's  coming,  now.  That's  the  sigh  ot 
the  wind  over  the  water.  You  will  soon  hear  it,  I  can  tell  you.  Now,  only 
notice  how  still  everything  is.  There,  look  how  that  bird  flies  in  a  terrified 
manner  close  to  the  ground.  It  knows  that  the  gale  is  coming.  The  sound  you 
heard  with  intense  listening,  you  will  be  able  now  to  hear  without  listening  at  all. 
It  will  force  itself  upon  your  notice.  Hilloa!  There  it  comes!  Look  at  the 
sea!"' 

A  few  miles  out  from  the  shore  the  sea  seemed  to  rise  like  a  wall  of  water, 
tipped  with  a  ridge  of  foam,  and  then  down  it  came  with  such  a  splash  and  a 
roar,  that  it  was  plainly  heard  on  the  shore,  and  then,  in  a  moment  or  two,  the 
mpulse  so  given  communicated  itself  to  the  whole  of  the  sea,  and  it  was  fearfully 
agitated.  With  a  roar  and  a  shriek,  the  gale  swept  on,  and  from  that  moment 
conversation  was  almost  out  of  the  question. 

The  ladies  of  the  party  were  glad  to  get  into  the  house  again,  and  in  a  little 
time  the  colonel  and  Ingestrie  found  it  anything  but  comfortable  to  remain  in 
the  balcony  ;  and  as  the  night  had  fairly  set  in,  they  likewise  retreated. 

The  gale  lasted  the  whole  of  the  evening,  and  when  our  friends  retired  to  rest 
it  seemed  to  be  rather  increasing  than  otherwise.  It  was  still  dark  when  Inges- 
trie was  awakened  from  his  sleep  by  a  knocking  at  the  door  of  his  room. 

"  Hilloa  !"  he  said  ;  "  who's  there  }" 

"  It  is  I,"  said  ColonelJeffrey.  "Will  you  get  up,  Mr.  Ingestrie  ?  It  is  nearly 
morning,  and  they  say  a  ship  is  going  down  about  a  couple  of  miles  off  the 
coast." 

"  Fm  coming  !"  cried  Ingestrie,  as  he  sprang  out  of  bed  and  dressed  himself 
with  amazing  rapidity.  "  If  it  does  go  down,  it  will  not  be  the  only  one  that 
finds- the  bottom  of  the  Channel  to-night." 

When  he  reached  the  lower  part  of  the  house,  he  found  the  colonel  and  Ben 

waiting  for  him. 

M  This  has  been  an  awful  night,"  said  the  colonel. 

"Well,  I  don't  know,"  said  Ingestrie ;  "for  I  have  been  fast  asleep." 

11  Asleep  !"  cried  Ben ;  u  I  couldn't  get  a  wink  of  sleep  but  once,  and  then  I 
dreamt  I  was  a  mermaid.  Why,  what  with  the  howling  of  the  wind,  which  is  a 
great  deal  worse  than  our  lioness  when  she  wants  her  knuckle  of  beef,  and  the 
washing  of  the  water,  I  couldn't  rest  at  all." 

u  The  voice  of  the  wind,"  said  Ingestrie,  u  always  has  the  effect  of  sending  me 
fast  asleep.   But  you  said  something  of  a  ship  in  distress,  did  you  not  ?" 

"Yes.  They  say  that  in  the  offing  there  is  a  large  ship,  and  that  she  is  evi- 
dently water-logged,  and  must  go  down,  unless  she  drives  ashore." 

u  The  deuce  she  must !  Let  us  run  down  to  the  beach  at  once,  and  see  what 
we  can  do." 

With  this,  they  all  three  left  the  hou^e,  and  made  the  best  of  their  way  to  the 
beach  along  the  execrable  shingle  of  the  Brighton  coast.  It  was  far  from  being 
an  easy  task  to  proceed,  for  the  wind  was  terrific,  and  now  and  then,  when  they 
did  reach  the  beach,  there  came  a  sea  washing  in,  that  drenched  them  with 

spray.  - 

A  crowd  of  people  had  collected  upon  the  coast ;  some  were  holding  up  lan- 
terns on  the  end  of  poles,  and  many  were  prepared  with  ropes  to  cast  to  the  aid 
of  any  of  the  crew  of  the  vessel  that  might  swim  to  the  shore. 

«  There  she  is,"  said  Ingestrie ;  u  I  see  her !  It's  a  small  craft,  and  she  is  a 

■wreck  alreadv." 

"  She  must  go  down,  then  ?"  said  the  colonel. 

"I  don't  know.  She  is  drifting  in  shore,  but  evidently  quite  unmanageable. 
She  is  a  sheer  hulk.    If  they  had  the  least  control  over  her,  they  could  run  her 
in  in  ten  minutes  or  to  the  beach  ;  but  she  is  going  al  out  like  a  log." 
"  Then,  she  may  go  down  in  deep  water  yet  ?" 
"  In  truth,  she  may." 

"  Here  are  plenty  of  boats  ?*  . 
u  Boats  ?  My  dear  friend,  there  never  was  a  boat  yet  that  could  live  in  such  a 


It 


720 


THE  STRING  OF  PBAllA 


sea  as  this.  It  is  out  of  the  questison.  You  find  no  one  make  the  attempt,  and 
1  am  quite  sure  that  among  the  hardy  fishermen  of  this  place,  there  are  many 
would  do  so  if  it  were  at  ail  practicable ;  but  it  is  most  certain  that  death  in  the 
surf  would  be  the  result/ 

"  I  fear  it  would,  indeed." 

u  There  she  goes  I"  cried  a  voice. 

"  Eh?"  said  Ben,  turning  round  and  round,  "l  doh't  see  anybody  in  the 
female  line." 

The  ship!"  cried  Ingestrie.    "  They  mean  the  ship.  But  she  is  not  gone 
yet.    There  she  is,  still.     Do  you  see  her,  colonel,  like  a  tub  upon  the  water  ? 
There,  right  away,  by  yon  light-coloured  cloud." 
"I  do—  I  do!" 

The  sh:p  had  not  gone  down.  She  had  only  settled  for  a  moment  or  two  in 
the  trough  of  the  sea  ;  and  it  was  now  quite  evident  that  the  wreck  was  rapidly 
driftingt  owards  the  shore,  so  that  there  was  an  expectation  that  it  might  strike 
in  shallow  water,  and  so  give  the  crew  a  chance  of  escape  from  death,  j 


CHAPTER  CLXX. 


Mark  inge&thie  rescues  a  shtpwrecked  man. 


The  scene  now  upon  the  beach  at  Brighton  was  one  of  the  most  exciting 
that  can  well  be  imagined.  No  one  who  has  not  stood  upon  a  beach  under 
such  circumstances,  and  seen  a  brave  ship  battling  with  the  waters,  can  have  any 
real  idea  of  it. 

Language  is  too  weak  to  paint  the  feelings  of  such  a  conjunction  of  circum- 
stances. It  is  so  hopeless  a  thing  to  stand  upon  the  shore,  and  listen  to  the 
wind  roaring  ia  its  fury,  and  to  see  the  waves  dashing  in  mad  gyrations  hither 
and  thither,  while  a  few  frail  and  creaking  timbers  only  keep  some  poor  mortals 
from  sinking  into  the  sea,  which,  like  a  seathing  cauldron,  seems  ready  to 
devour  them,  that  it  is  enough  to  unman  the  stoutest  heart. 

No  wonder  that  persons  with  kindly  sympathies  and  gentle  feelings  towards 
human  nature,  such  as  Colonel  Jeffrey  and  Mark  Ingestrie  undoubtedly  had, 
should  suffer  acutely  to  see  others  so  suffer. 

If  there  had  been  any  likelihood  cf  a  boat  reaching  the  ill-fated  ship,  In- 
gestrie would  have  been  the  first  to  propose  such  a  measure,  and  the  first,  with 
hand  and  heart,  to  carry  it  out ;  but  there  was  no  such  likelihood.  Our  friend 
had  seen  too  much  of  service  afloat,  and  was  by  far  too  good  a  sailor  to  suppose 
for  an  instant  that  any  boat  could  live  for  a  cable's  length  from  the  shore  in  such 
a  sea  as  that! 

"  Is  it  quite  impossible  to  aid  them  ?"  said  thecoloneL 

"  Quite,*  said  Ingestrie,  "  unless  they  strike  close  in  shore.  Then,  something 
may,  perhaps,  be  done." 

"Ay,  sir,"  said  a  weather-beaten  boatman  who  stood  close  to  Ingestrie,  "you 
are  right  there.  If  they  only  drift  a  little  further  in,  and  are  still  afloat,  when 
the  keel  touches  ground  they  may  get  ashore  some  of  them." 

"  No  boat/  said  the  colonel,  "  could  reach  her  ?" 

"  Boat,  sir !  My  little  bit  of  a  craft  will  do  now  and  then  things  that  one 
ought  not  to  expect,  from  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  boat ;  but  that  surf  would 
toss  it  up  like  a  piece  of  cork,  and  it  would  only  be  making  bad  worse  to  draw 
a  few  brave  fellows  from  land  here,  because  others  are  going  down  at  sea." 

11  You  are  right,"  said  Ingestrie.  "Do  you  happen  to  know  the  craft  out 
yonder  V  rr 


SO" 


THE  STRING  OF  PEA.HLS. 


721 


"  No,  sir.    She  is  so  swept  clear,  that  it  would  be  hard  to  know  her  if  she 
were  one's  own;  but  I  don't  think  she  belongs  to  this  port  at  all." 
"  The  gale  is  going  down  a  bit." 

u  It  is,  sir.  Don't  you  see  it's  coming  in  puffs  like— It  won't  last  much 
longer." 


TODD  PURSUED  £Y  THE  COLONEL  AND  MARK. 

*'  Gone  !*'  cried  a  hundred  voices  at  once; 

°  No — no  !"  cried  Ingestrie.    u  Don't  say  that/' 

A  wild  shriek  came  across  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  the  ship  that  had 
been  doing  battle  with  the  winds  and  the  waves,  disappeared. 
•'Oh,  this  is,  indeed,  terrible,"  said  Colonel  Jeffrey.    "  It  is  too  horrible  !" 
91  It  is,  indeed  !"  cried  Ingestrie.    i*  There  is  but  one  chance  now  of  doing 


722 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


any  good,  and  that  is  in  case  any  poor  fellow  should  get  washed  on  shore  through 
the  surf  with  a  few  sparks  of  life  in  him.  Bilioa,  my  men  !  Get  out  your 
tackle,  and  let  us  look  out  for  the  survivers.    Some  one  may  try  to  fight  for 

itIet#,> 

The  sailors  and  boatmen  upon  the  beach  were  charmed  with  the  idea  that 
they  might  be  able  to  do  some  good  in  this  way;  and  as  they  soon  found  that 
Ingestrie  knew  perfectly  well  what  he  was  about,  they  listened  to  his  orders, 
in  the  course  they  should  take,  and  obeyed  them  with  alacrity  and  skill. 

He  had  some  of  the  long  line  connected  With  the  fishing-nets,  and  to  which 
corks  were  attached,  cast  out  into  the  sea  by  the  aid  of  little  kedge  anchors,  so 
that  the  waves  did  not  bring  them  back  again,  and  as  the  other  ends  of  the  lines 
were  held  firmly  on  the  shore,  any  one  who  might  be  struggling  for  life  amid 
the  surf,  would  have  had  a  good  chance  of  preservation  by  laying  hold  of  one  of 
those  lines. 

€t  We  may  do  some  good,"  said  Ingestrie,  as  he  tied  one  end  of  one  of  the 
ropes  round  his  waist. 

"  What  are  you  about  V  said  the  colonel. 

u  Oh,  nothing.  Do  not  fancy  I  am  going  to  throw  myself  into  the  waves. 
But  if  I  should  chance  to  see  any  poor  soul  struggling  for  life,  it  would  take 
something  to  prevent  me  from  going  after  him/' 

u  But  think  of  yourself, " 

"  Oh,  I  cannot  come  to  any  sort  of  harm,  you  know.  They  will  easily  be 
able  to  haul  me  on  shore,  you  perceive,  by  the  other  end  of  the  rope,  and  I  have 
been  rather  used  to  fighting  my  way  through  the  waves." 

"  Heaven  speed  you,  if  the  occasion  for  your  doing  so  again  should  arise,  my 
gallant  friend.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  dissuade  you  against  such  an  attempt;  and 
I  am  sure  that  even  she  who  loves  you  best  of  all,  would  be  the  first  to  encourage 
you/* 

"  Of  course  she  would/* 
"  All  lost,  sir/'  said  a  sailor. 

€i  No,  don't  say  that!"  cried  Jngestrie.   "  Where  is  that  night  glass  that 
some  one  had  here  a  little  while  ago  f 
4t  Here,  sir/5 

Ingestrie  placed  the  telescope  to  his  eye,  and  looked  fixedly  in  the  direction 
of  the  wreck.    He  then  handed  it  to  the  sailor,  and  said— 

J  Who  has  a  good  hold  of  the  end  of  this  rope  that  is  about  me  ?" 

"  All's  right,  sir.  There  will  be  no  lack  of  hands  with  that.  But  you  don't 
mean  to  go  through  the  surf,  sir  P 

" 1  see  a  human  being  struggling  with  the  foam,  and  from  his  actions  he  is  no 
swimmer.  I  cannot  stand  here  and  see  him  die,  while  there  is  a  chance  of 
saving  him.  Hark  you !  Don't  wait  for  me  to  sing  out,  but  use  your  own  eyes, 
and  begin  to  pull  m  the  moment  you  see  me  close  with  him*  The  dawn  is 
coming  rapidly,  and  you  will  see  better  each  moment.    Now,  I'm  off." 

'  For  the  love  of  Heaven  be  careful!"  cried  the  colonel. 

Ingestrie  smiled,  and  then  dashed  into  the  roaring,  bubbling  surf  of  the  sea, 
with  the  rope  round  his  waist. 

A  loud  cheer  burst  from  the  throats  of  all  present,  as  the  heroic  action  was 
witnessed.  Jf  anything  had  been  wanting,  which  it  was  not,  to  urge  the  gallant 
Mark  Jngestrie  on  his  brave  and  noble  adventure,  that  cheer  would  have  done 

?«!  m1?  J?™.  a^d-din  of  the  water  about  his  ears,  it  is  doubtful  if  he 

could  have  heard  it  at  all,  or  any  noise  of  ten  times  the  intensity. 
,  %ure  m  the  sea,  that  had  attracted  the  attention  of  Ingestrie,  was  now 
j£Sy  frceived  *7  th%  coloneI>  by  all  who  were  upon  the  beach.  To  the 
Si?  CyeS  °f  6  S  ul0rS  then  Present'  H  was  evident  that  the  body  must  be 
^tW^i™*  ^  ^yant  substance>  which  cabled  it  to  keep  afloat,  not- 
withstanding the  roll  of  the  sea,  and  the  breaking  of  the  waves  over  it.  The 

sel or ZJ^TY  nois.wim1ra.lng'  .althouSh'  by  the  ™h  of  the  tide,  and  the 
set  ot  the  wind,  he  was  being  driven  into  shore. 


THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  723 


Mark  Ingestrie  felt  that  his  only  chance  of  getting  through  the  surf  was  to  dive 
under  it,  and  that  manoeuvre  he  executed  with  a  skill  that  few  could  have  commanded 
and  to  the  admiration  and  delight  of  all  the  spectators  of  his  heroic  conduct, 
he  appeared  outside  the  roaring  edge  of  the  sea,  quite  able  to  swim  gallantly 
towards  the  shipwrecked  man. 

As  he  had  said,  the  dawn  was  coming  fast  now,  so  that  there  was  no  great 
difficulty  in  seeing  him,  and  in  watching,  with  some  degree  of  accuracy,  his 
movements. 

"  He  will  do  it !"  said  the  colonel. 

fi  Do  it  ?"  said  the  sailor  who  had  the  first  hold  of  the  rope  that  was  round 
the  body  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  "  Do  it?  Of  course  he  will.  The  man  who  has 
the  heart  and  hand  to  try  these  sort  of  things,  always  does  them." 

"  I  believe  you  are  right,  my  friend/'  said  the  colonel. 

<c  I  know  I  am,  sir.  I  have  seen  too  much  of  this  sort  of  thing,  and  if  I  had 
not  been  a  little  out  of  sorts  in  my  larboard  leg,  I  should  have  gone  ;  but  I'm 
not  all  right,  you  see,  sir,  so  it  won't  do.  Ah,  there  he  has  him!  It's 
ail  right  enough — I  told  you  so." 

The  progress  of  Ingestrie  was  watched  by  many  eyes  with  the  most  intense 
interest.  Under  no  circumstances  was  distance  so  deceiving  as  at  sea ;  and 
although  the  black  object  in  the  water,  which  the  practised  eye  of  Ingestrie  had 
shown  him,  was  a  man,  appeared  to  be  only  just  without  the  line  of  the  surf,  he 
(Ingestrie)  knew  that  the  distance  was,  in  reality,  much  greater,  and  that  he 
would  have  a  good  swim  through  those  troubled  waters  before  he  could  get 
within  arm's-length  of  the  shipwrecked  person.  To  be  sure,  as  the  body  was 
drifting  to  the  shore,  he  made  better  progress,  and  the  distance  between  him  and 
it  was  diminished  much  more  raoidly  than  as  if  it  had  been  stationary* 

Colonel  Jeffrey  distinctly  saw  Ingestrie  reach  the  body,  at  length,  and  the 
sailor  who  had  hold  of  the  rope,  likewise  saw  him,  and  he  sung  out — 

«  Now,  pull  away ;  but  easy,  my  lads— a  steady  pull,  and  no  jerking,  or  you 
will  hinder  him  instead  of  helping.    That's  it— easy  now,  easy/' 

"  Ah  !"  said  Ben,  who  had  come  down  to  the  beach  to  see  what  was  going  on. 
"  Easy  does  everything,  as  I  always  said.  Pray,  Colonel  Jeffrey,  what  unfortunate 
animal  is  that  you  are  dragging  out  of  the  water  P 

"  Don't  you  know,  Ben  P?  . 

"  Not  I.    But  I  suppose  it  is  some  poor  half-drowned  fellow  from  the  ship/ 

"It  is  that,  as  well,  I  hope;  but  the  person  who  is  with  him,  and  who  is 
being  hauled  to  the  shore,  is  no  other  than  our  friend,  Mr.  Ingestrie." 

u  What,  Johanna's  husband  V* 

"The  same/'  '  j 

«  Oh,  lor  !  oh,  lor  !  I'm  afraid  easy  won't  do  it  then,  and  that  my  little  girl 
will  be  a  widow.  Give  me  hold  of  the  rope.  If  pulling  will  do  it,  Til  soon 
have  him  on  shore  again  ail  right.  The  idea,  now,  of  a  man,  with  the  nicest 
young  creature  of  a  wife  in  the  world,  going  into  the  sea  at  the  end  of  a  rope, 
and  covering  himself  all  over  with  froth  and  sea-weed!  Oh,  dear!  oh,  dear! 
It's  truly  dreadful,  it  is  ;  and  easy  certainly  don't  do  it/' 

Ben  would  have  lent  his  aid  to  pull  the  rope,  but  the  colonel  kept  him  back, 
as  it  was  not  strength  but  skill  and  tact  that  in  the  process  was  required, 
and  the  rope  was  in  the  hands  of  men  who  had  both. 

It  was  clear  that  Ingestrie  had  got  hold  of  the  floating  object,  whatever  it 
was,  and  that,  as  he  was  pulled  into  shore,  he  brought  it  with  him.  When  he 
reached  the  edge  of  the  surf  again,  a  quick  pull  brought  him  at  once  through  it, 
and  a  couple  of  the  sailors,  dashing  into  the  waters,  got  a  hold  of  him,  and  drew 
him  right  up  on  to  the  beach  between  them. 
I     Half  a  dozen  more  brought  to  the  shore  the  body  of  a  man,  tied  to  a  plank  of 

wood.  , 
Poor  Mark  was  nearly  exhausted.    He  was  just  able  only  to  smile  lajntly  m 

apswer    cthe  colonel's  anxious  inquiries. 


724 


THE  STRING  OP  PEARLS. 


"  He  must  be  carried  home/'  said  the  colonel.    u  Lend  me  some  assistance, 

my  brave  fellows,  to  do  so." 

«  Ko— no  !*  Ingestrie  managed  just  to  say  faintly.  u  Take  him — take  him  I" 
He  pointed  to  the  man  whom  he  had  rescued,  and  the  coltnel  immediately  said, 
"  Make  yourself  easy  about  him,  my  dear  f  riend.    The  sailors  will  carry  him 

to  the  house,  and  if  the  vital  spark  has  not  quite  fled,  you  shall  have  the  pleasure 

of  knowing  that  you  have  saved  him.    But  it  is  yourself  that  I  wish  to  have  got 

home." 

u  Can  you  walk  Vs  said  Ben.  i: 
«  I— don't  think— I  will  try.*' 

Poor  Ingestrie  did  try,  but  he  was  really  so  completely  exhausted  by  the 
efforts  he  had  made,  that  it  was  quite  evident  that  he  was  unequal  to  the  task  of 
walking  along  the  shingle. 

u  Give  it  up,"  said  Ben.    u  You  can't  do  it." 

"He  must  be  carried,"  said  the  colonel. 

u  To  be  sure  he  must,"  said  Ben  ;  "  and  this  is  the  way  to  do  it." 

With  these  words,  Ben  did  not  hesitate  another  moment,  but  taking  Mark 
Ingestrie  in  his  arms  as  though  he  had  been  an  infant,  he  walked  over  the 
pebbly  beach  with  him  as  easily  as  though  he  had  been  only  a  very  ordinary 
kind  of  bundle  to  carry. 

As  he  went  on,  it  occurred  to  Ben  that  Johanna  might  see  him  carrying  her 
husband  home,  and  might  imagine  that  some  fearful  accident  had  happened  to 
him,  so,  by  way  of  putting  an  end  to  that  idea,  he  kept  crying  out  as  he  got  near 
the  house — 

"  Here  we  are  !  All  alive  and  kicking !  It's  only  a  joke.  All  alive — alive 
O  !  Here  we  are  I  it's  only  a  joke  !  All  alive  !  alive  !  and  ready  for  feeding 
time!" 

CHAPTER  CLXXL 

A  RATHER  IMPORTANT  DISCOVERT  18  MADE. 

The  man,  who  appeared  to  be  the  only  one  at  all — dead  or  alive— who  was 
preserved  from  the  wreck  of  the  ship  off  the  cea&t  of  Sussex,  was  carried  to  the 
house  where  all  our  friends  were  staying,  and  being  taken  into  the  kitchen,  was  j 
there  placed  in  the  care  of  a  couple  of  medical  men,  who  were  hastily  sent  for,  I 
and  who  quickly  restored  animation  to  the  seemingly  drowned  person.  It 
was  reported  to  Ingestrie  that  the  stranger  was  all  right,  and  as  he  himself  had 
by  that  time  thoroughly  recovered,  and  had  changed  his  saturated  apparel  for  a 
dry  puit,  the  news  gave  him  the  liveliest  satisfaction. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  cr  it  is  something  tuat  I  have  not  gone  through  that  tremen- 
dous surf  in  vain." 

if  Yes,  Mark,"  said  Johanna,  with  the  tears  starting  to  her  eyes,  u  but  we 
must,  indeed,  get  away  from  the  sea-coast,  and  then  you  cannot  be  tempted  to 
expose  your  life  in  such  adventures.  Only  think  of  what  might  be  the  conse- 
quences f  ■  | 

"  Yes,"  said  the  colonel.    "  It  is  hardly  fair,  although,  at  the  moment,  one 
cannot  help  admiring  the  heroism  of  the  act." 

"  I  don't  know  how  it  can  be  avoided,"  said  Ingestrie.  "  If  you  see  a  poor 
fellow  strugg!ing  for  his  life,  and  you  feel  that  you  may  save  him  at  a  little  risk 
to  yourself,  it  seems  a  strange  thing  not  to  do  it." 

H  It  does,"  said  old  Mr.  Oakley,  "  and  I  should  be  the  last  to  say  no  to  the 
noble  impulse  ;  only  if  there  are  to  be  many  storms  off  his  coast,  I  shall  second  I 
the  resolution  of  Johanna  that  you  ought  to  live  somewhere  else." 
u  And  so  shall  I,"  said  Arabella.  j^g^  <v 


1 

THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.  725 
"And  I,"  said  Tobias.  ~ 

"  He's  better,  they  say,"  cried  Ben,  popping  his  head  into  the  room,  "The 
doctors  say  he  is  better,  and  that,  after  he  has  had  a  sleep,  he  will  be  all  rieht." 

"  The  sailor  belonging  to  the  ship  you  mean  }"  said  the  colonel,  "  What 
sort  of  a  person  is  he,  Ben  ?" 

"  Haven't  seen  him  yet,  so  can't  tell  ;  but  they  have  made  up  a  good  fire  in 
the  back  kitchen,  and  he  is  lying  on  a  sofa  there,  and  going  to  sleep,  and  the 
doctor  says  it  will  do  him  no  good  to  disturb  him,  or  bother  him  by  talking/* 

"  It  certainly  will  not/3  said  Ingestre.  "  It  matters  very  little  to  us  who  he 
is,  poor  fellow.    He  is  saved— that  is  the  principal  thing." 

"Yes,"  said  Johanna,  "that  is  everything  ;  and,  at  all  events,  Mark,  there 
is  one  human  being  who  through  life,  let  his  position  and  prospects  be  what 
they  may,  must  look  upon  you  as  his  friend  and  preserver.5' 

u  Ah  !n  said  poor  Tobias.  u  We  should  all  be  very  happy  if  Sweeney  Todd 
were  but  in  the  hands  of  justice.  It  is  very  strange  why  I  tremble  so  to-day  at 
the  thought  of  him  ;  and  I  did  not  tremble  yesterday." 

"You  have  no  occasion  to  tremble  to-day,  nor  yesterday  either,  Tobias/' 
said  Arabella.  H  Remember  how  surrounded  you  are  by  your  best  friends,  and 
remember,  likewise  that,  after  all,  Todd  is  but  a  man,  and  by  this  time  he  must 
be  but  a  poor,  weak,  dispirited  one,  and  much  more  intent  upon  devising  means 
for  his  own  safety,  than  in  carrying  out  his  revenges/5 

u  If,  indeed,  he  lives,3'  said  the  colonel. 

**  Just  so,"  said  Ingestrie.  u  My  opinion  will  very  much  incline  to  the  idea 
that  he  is  dead,  if  Sir  Richard  Blunt  does  not  very  shortly  get  some  news  of 
him." 

'*  That  will  be  a  pity/5  said  Tobias,  €i  unless  it  can  be  proved  past  all  dispute, 
for  while  it  continues  only  a  likely  thing,  the  dread  of  him  will  still  cling  to  my 
heart,  and  I  shall  never  be  happy." 

44  Nay,  Tobias,"  said  the  colonel,  €i  you  must  pluck  up  a  spirit.  The  pro- 
bability is  now,  that  Sweeney  Todd,  let  him  be  where  he  may,  is  much  more 
afraid  of  meeting  you  than  you  can  possibly  be  of  meeting  him." 

°  I  wish  I  thought  so/7  said  Tobias.  "  But  only  look  now  how  sweetly  the 
sun  is  peeping  out  on  the  wrater  after  the  storm  there.    This  is  very  beautiful." 

Tobias  walked  to  the  window  ;  and  his  praise  of  the  beauty  of  the  morning 
caused  the  breakfast-table  to  be,  in  a  very  few  minutes,  completely  deserted. 
To  be  sure,  the  praise  that  the  imaginative  boy  had  lavished  upon  the  young 
day,  was  by  no  means  misapplied;  for  a  more  lovely  day  than  that  which  broke 
over  Brighton,  after  that  terrific  gale  in  the  Channel,  could  not  be  conceived.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  good  genii  of  earth,  sea,  and  sky,  were  striving  to  banish  from 
the  minds  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  that  place  the  recollections  of  the  frightful 
storm  that  had  made  the  world  dismal  and  terrific. 

"  Indeed,  it  is  lovely/'  said  Johanna,  u  Who,  now,  to  look  at  that  placid 
sheet  of  water,  with  scarce  a  ripple  upon  its  surface  to  reflect  the  sunbeams, 
would  think  that  only  a  few  hours  ago,  and  it  presented  a  scene  of  such  fury 
that  it  was  a  shuddering  terror  to  look  upon  it  V* 

"  And  yet,"  said  Ingestrie,  u  it  is  these  varieties  that  make  the  great  world 
beautiful." 

11  Not  a  doubt  of  it ;  but  they  require  more  stern  minds  than  mine,  Mark,  to 
stand  them." 

The  party  now,  finding  that  the  day  was  so  delightful,  sallied  out  to  the  beach 
to  make  some  inquiry  among  the  sailors  and  boatmen,  concerning  the  damage 
that  the  gale  had  done.  The  moment  Mark  Ingestrie  appeared  with  his  friends, 
he  was  recognised  as  the  person  who  had  performed  the  gallant  exploit  of  going 
through  the  surf  to  the  rescue  of  the  shipwrecked  man,  and  he  became  imme- 
diately the  observed  of  all  observers. 

This  sort  of  homage  was  at  once  flattering  and  embarrassing  to  Johanna.  She 
felt  proud  that  it  w^,s  her  husband  who  was  entitled  to  so  much  popular  copsi- 


*C5 


726  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


deration  and  respect,  and  yet,  with  her  natural  timidity  of  disposition,  she  shrank 
from  sharing  it  with  him. 

Some  eager  inquiries  were  made  of  Ingestrie  now,  regarding  the  man  he  had 
saved,  and  it  was  a  great  gratification  to  him  to  be  enabled  to  state  that  he  was 
doing  well,  although  he  had  not  himself  seen  him  6ince  he  grappled  with  him  in 
the  water,  and  brought  him  to  the  beach. 

A  few  fragments  only  of  the  wreck  had  been  washed  to  the  6hore,  but  nothing 
that  could  in  any  way  enable  them  to  identify  the  vessel ;  so  that  that  was  a 
species  of  information  that  must  come  from  the  man  who  had  been  saved,  when- 
ever he  should  be  able  to  go  through  the  fatigue  of  an  interview  with  his  friend 
and  his  deliverer. 

After  an  hour's  stroll  upon  the  beach,  the  party,  at  a  slow  pace,  returned  to 
the  house  they  had  hired  during  their  stay  at  Brighton.  The  moment  they  got 
to  the  door,  the  colonels  servant  appeared  with  his  horse,  which  he  had  ordered 
to  be  ready  for  him  at  twelve  o'clock. 

"  Just  walk  him  up  and  down/'  said  the  colonel,  to  the  man  ;  "  I  shall  be 
ready  in  a  few  minutes.    Hilloa!  my  friend,  Hector,  are  you  here  V* 

The  dog  was  with  the  horse,  and  the  man  said,  touching  his  hat — 

"  We  were  half  a  mind,  sir,  to  let  Hector  loose  last  night  during  the  storm, 
for  he  is  a  famous  fellow  in  the  water ;  but  knowing  how  much  you  valued  him, 
we  were  afraid  to  do  so. 

"  I  am  glad  you  didn't,"  said  the  colonel.  "  You  were  quite  right  to  keep 
him  shut  up.    I  would  not  have  him  come  to  any  mischief  for  any  money.3* 

The  colonel  entered  the  house,  and  when  he  and  all  his  friends  had  got  into 
the  drawing-room,  they  sent  for  a  servant  to  inquire  how  the  poor  wrecked  man 
was  getting  on  ;  and  after  a  little  time,  one  of  the  domestics  of  the  house  came 
to  say  that  he  was  up  and  sitting,  dressed,  in  the  front  kitchen,  and  would  be 
happy  to  see,  and  to  thank  those  who  had  saved  him  from  death  in  the 
raging  sea. 

"  Shall  we  have  him  up  here  ?"  said  the  colonel. 

u  Yes,  if  you  please/'  said  Ingestrie  ;  "  and,  I  daresay,  a  glass  of  wine  won't 
hurt  him,  while  he  tells  us  the  name  of  his  ship,  poor  fellow,  and  who  and 
what  he  is. u 

t  Certainly  not/  said  Mr.  Oakley.    « I  will  get  out  the  decanter." 
"  Allow  me,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Oakley.    "  You  know  you  always  break 
every  glass  that  you  interfere  with." 
"  Oh,  stuff!" 

"  But  I  say,  Mr.  Oakley,  that  you  do." 

EasjM^y  does  lt'" Baid  Ben' in  his  deepest  bass  voi6e-  "  Easy doea  il>  1  say~ 

"  How  cold  I  am,"  said  Tobiaa. 

"  C°*d^Tobias  l"  said  Ingestrie.  "  My  good  fellow,  we  will  have  a  fire  if  vou 
are  cold.  J 


rr?-Ve  him  a  S1assof  wine,"  said  Ingestrie  to  Johanna, 
lobias  took  the  glass  of  wine,  and  it  evidently  did  him  some  good-  but 

yl  ^  1°  td  111  and  Une.asy'  0rders  were  Siven  that  the  shipwrecked  man 
should  be  shown  up  to  the  drawing-room,  for  they  were  all  curious  to  know  to 
what  ship  he  had  belonged,  and  how  many  had  fallen  victims  to  the  fri-htful 
gale  that  had  made  the  vessel  such  a  complete  wreck  "to"uui 

«  He  is  coming,  poor  fellow,''  said  the  colonel.  "J  hear  his  footsteps  on  the 
stairs.    He  comes  slowly.    No  doubt  he  is  weak  yet  u 

V  Poor  fellow ! "  sighed  Johanna.    «  Have  the  wine  ready  to  give  him  at  once 

yo^Mark         P*  W  What  mUSt  be'bi*  ^n*?  towSS 

'  Come  now,"  m&  Ingestrie }  «  don't  plague  h\ms  any  of  you,  about  his  being 


  •   i    ijnun-    i  i      mm  i  mmm  j 


Id 


At  to  b 


H 

reded  n 

id  would  Ik  j  { 
h| 1  tie 


ific 
who  and 


break 


fireif  you 


m'lv  d 


ri  OA 


1 


saved  by  me,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  Just  say  nothing  about  it.  Sailors  are 
no  great  orators,  at  the  best  of  times,  and  if  he  begins  to  make  a  speech  about 
his  gratitude,  you  may  depend  he  will  never  get  to  the  end  of  it/' 

"  Yes ;  but  he  ought  to  know/'  said  Mrs.  Oakley,  u  who  he  owes  his  life  to, 
under  providence/' 

u  Hem !"  said  Ben.  He  never  liked  to  hear  Mrs.  Oakley  begin  to  use  reli- 
gious phrases,  as  they  had  a  tendency  to  remind  him  of  the  late  Mr.  Lupin. 

The  door  of  the  drawing-room  opened,  and  all  eyes  were  eagerly  bent  in  that 
direction.    A  servant  came  in,  and  said — 

u  The  poor  man  is  here,  if  you  please.  Is  he  to  come  in,  now  ?  He  seems 
rather  timid." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Ingestrie,  u  let  him  come  in,  by  all  manner  of  means,  poor 
fellow.  He  and  I  made  acquaintance  in  the  sea,  and  we  ought  to  be  good  friends, 
now." 

A  tall,  gigantic  figure  marched  three  paces  into  the  room. 
"  Todd  V9  shouted  Tobias.    "It  is  Todd V* 

It  was  Sweeney  Todd !  With  one  glance  round  the  room,  he  recognised  an 
enemy  in  every  face.  With  a  perfect  yell  of  fear  and  rage,  he  turned,  and  dashed 
down  the  staircase.  The  servant  who  had  conducted  him  up  to  the  drawing- 
room,  and  whom  he  met  in  his  way,  he  knocked  down  with  one  blow,  and  in 
another  moment  he  was  in  the  street.  The  colonel's  horse  was  close  to  the 
door.  Todd  felled  the  man  who  held  it  by  a  blow  on  the  top  of  the  head,  that 
took  him  so  suddenly,  he  could  not  guard  against  it,  and  then  springing  upon 
the  horse,  the  murderer  raised  another  wild  unearthly  kind  of  shout,  and  set  off 
at  a  gallop. 

So  sudden—so  totally  unexpected,  and  so  appallirtg  had  been  the  presence  of 
Todd  in  the  drawing-room,  that  if  a  spectre  had  appeared  among  the  people  there 
assembled,  and  they  had  had  no  possible  means  of  escaping  from  the  belief  that 
it  was  a  spectre,  they  could  not  have  been  more  confounded  than  they  were  upon 
this  occasion. 

Poor  Tobias,  after  uttering  the  exclamation  that  we  have  recorded,  fell  flat 
upon  the  floor.  Ben  swung  backwards  in  his  chair,  and  went  with  a  tremen- 
dous crash  right  away  into  a  corner.  Ingestrie  and  the  colonel  rose  together, 
and  impeded  each  other  in  their  efforts  to  follow  Todd.  Johanna,  shrieking, 
clung  to  Ingestrie,  and  Arabella  made  a  vain  attempt  to  delay  the  colonel* 

"By  Heaven  he  is  off!"  cried  the  colonel,  as  he  heard  the  clatter  of  the 

horse's  feet. 

«  ^o  V*  shouted  Ingestrie ;  u  it  cannot  be  !" 

"  Easy  does  it,"  said  Ben,  from  the  corner  into  which  he  had  fallen.  "  Easy 
—Easy!" 

««  Johanna,  unhand  me,  I  implore  you,"  cried  Mark  Ingestrie.  "Do  you 
wish  the  murderer  to  be  lost  sight  of  ?  Come  on,  colonel — you  and  I  must 
engage  in  this  pursuit.  God  of  Heaven !  the  idea  of  me  saving  Todd  from 
the  waves !" 

The  colonel  and  Ingestrie  seized  their  hats,  and  rushed  down  the  stair9,  turn- 
bling  over  the  servant  in  the  hall.  The  next  object  they  came  across  was  the 
groom  who  had  had  charge  of  the  horse.  They  found  him  sitting  on  the  pave- 
ment, looking  as  confused  as  possible. 

11  Which  way  has  he  gone  V]  cried  the  colonel. 

"  The  the  man.  Round  that  corner,  and  H  ector  has  gone  after  him,  like  mad, 

sir.    Oh,  dear  1" 

fl  Hector  ?  Then  he  will  be  taken,  for  I  will  back  Hector  to  hang  upon  him 
like  grim  death.  Come  with  me  to  the  nearest  stable,  Ingestrie,  and  let  us  get 
horses  !    Come — come !" 


THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


CHAPTER  CLXXII. 

THE  PURSUIT  Or1  TODD  ON  THE  ^ONDON  ROAD. 

The  whole  of  these  proceedings  had  really  come  with  such  a  rush  upon  the 
senses  of  Mark  Ingestrie,  that  he  might  well  have  been  excused  had  he  not 
been  able  to  act  with  the  energy  that  he  did ;  but  the  strong  desire  to  capture 
Sweeney  Todd,  and  so  to  put  an  end  to  all  the  doubts  and  fears  that  were  felt 
concerning  him,  upon  the  parts  of  those  to  whom  he  was  fondly  attached,  roused 
the  young  man  to  action. 

Colonel  Jeffrey  was  cooler  than  Ingestrie  in  the  affair;  but  he  was  not  a  whit 
the  less  determined  upon  that  account. 

Jn  the  course  of  seven  or  eight  minutes  at  the  outside,  they  were  both  mounted, 
and  as  there  were  plenty  of  people  who  could  tell  them  in  which  direction  Todd 
j    had  gone,  they  were  soon  upon  his  track. 

Todd  had  taken  the  London  Road,  and  had  really  got  a  considerable  distance 
onward,  and  if  he  had  been,  which  he  was  far  from  being,  a  good  horseman,  there 
is  very  little  doubt  but  that  he  would  either  have  led  his  pursuers  a  long  distance, 
or  possibly  escaped  them  altogether,  for  the  animal  that  he  rode  was  one  that 
in  skilful  hands  wd&ld  have  done  wonders. 

It  was  no  small  aggravation  to  Colonel  Jeffrey  to  be  pursuing  his  own  horse, 
|  while  he  himself  was  mounted  upon  a  hack  that  was  by  no  means  equal  to  it. 
!  Skill,  however,  will  get  more  work  out  of  an  indifferent  steed  than  absolute 
ignorance  will  achieve  from  a  first-rate  one,  so  that  after  getting  to  the  top  of 
arising  ground  about  three  miles  out  of  Brighton,  our  friends  saw  Todd  not 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  in  advance,  coasting  a  little  water-course  to  find  a  safe 
place  to  cross  at.  Notwithstanding  the  distance  was  great,  the  colonel  knew 
his  own  horse  in  a  moment. 

"  Come  on,  Ingestrie/'  he  said.    "  There  he  is  V9 

"  Are  you  sure  !n 

"  Quite.  That's  the  rascal.  Ah,  there  he  goes  through  the  water  !  The 
horse  will  carry  him  well  across  it,  but  he  did  not  know  that,  so  it  is  a  bold 
step.    On — on!1' 

They  had  let  their  horses  come  rather  easy  up  the  ascent,  for  the  colonel  was 
too  good  a  horseman  to  break  down  his  steed,  merely  with  an  useless  burst, 
when  there  might  be  a  chase  before  it  of  some  twenty  or  thirty  miles  yet,  for 
all  he  knew  to  the  contrary  ;  and  so,  as  the  country,  from  the  hill-top,  sloped 
very  gently  right  away  to  the  north,  they  got  on  wonderfully,  and  without 
giving  the  cattle  too  much  to  do. 

To  keep  Todd  in  sight  was  everything  now,  for  in  that  case  they  felt  certain 
that  they  must  eventually  have  him.  From  his  actions,  it  did  not  seem 
that  he  was  at  all  aware  of  his  being  so  closely  pursued,  but  suddenly  they  saw 
him  pull  up  on  an  eminence  and  turn  his  horse's  head  in  the  direction  of  Brighton. 
They  saw  him  shade  his  eyes  with  his  hands,  and  take  a  long  look,  and  then  by 
the  sudden  start  that  he  gave,  and  which  caused  the  horse  to  plunge  in  alarm, 
they  knew  that  he  had  seen  them,  and  that  from  that  moment  he  would  strain 
every  nerve  to  escape. 

The  slight  pause  that  Todd  had  made  in  order  to  look  back  and  see  if  he  were 
pursued  or  not,  had  given  his  foes  the  advantage  of  about  one  hundred  yards, 
j  for  they  had  pushed  on  during  that  pause  with  renewed  vigour  ;  but  now  bend- 
ing low  in  the  saddle,  it  was  evident  that  he  was  doing  his  best  to  urge  the 
I  colonel's  horse  onwards,  and  it  went  like  the  wind. 

"  There  he  goes,  colonel  !"  cried  Ingestrie.  "That  pace  will  do  for  us 
pretty  quickly.    He  is  having  us  behind  fast  enough. " 

"  He  is,  by  Heaven,  and  if  he  gets  to  a  turn  of  the  road,  there  is  no  knowing 


  THE  STRING  OE  PEARLS.   729 

what  fox-like  trick  he  may  play  us.  On — on,  Ingestrie  !  There  is  no  help  for 
it,  but  to  do  our  very  best." 

For  another  minute  and  a  half,  now,  not  a  word  was  exchanged  between  the 
friends.   The  road  did  take  a  turn,  and  for  some  time  they  were  out  of  all  sight 


THE  DEATH  OP  SWEENEY  TODD* 


of  Todd,  but  the  moment  they  themselves  got  round  the  elbow  of  the  road,  the 
colonel  raised  a  shout  of  gratification,  and  then  cried — 
"  There  he  is  !    He  has  had  a  fall.    On— on  !" 

Todd  was  in  the  middle  of  the  road-way  trying  to  mount  the  horse,  from 
which  it  would  appear  as  though  he  had  been  thrown,  for  the  creature  was 
rearing  in  evident  alarm,  and  swerving  every  time  that  Todd  put  his  foot  in  the 


No.  92. 


730  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS,  

stirrup^  Maddened,  then,  at  the  idea  that  each  moment  his  foes  were  gaining 
upon  him,  Todd  made  such  a  vigorous  effort  to  mount,  that  he  succeeded  in 
doing  so,  although  both  his  feet  were  out  of  the  stirrups.  He  clung  to  the  horse 
with  desperation,  and  kicked  it  violently  with  his  heels,  striking  it  at  the  same 
time  on  the  head  violently  with  his  clenched  fist. 

The  animal  was  driven  half  crazy  by  such  unusual  treatment,  and  after 
plunging  and  rearing  for  a  few  seconds,  set  off  at  such  a  gallop  as  no  one  could 
have  believed  any  mortal  horse  could  have  achieved, 

cl  Off  again  1"  cried  the  colonel.  "  I  could  have  shot  him,  I  think,  Ingestrie, 
just  now/' 

"Then,  why,  in  the  name  of  all  that's  tantalising,  did  you  not  do  so  Y9 
u  Why,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  was  afraid  of  hitt  ng  the  horse.    If  it  had  kept 
still  for  a  moment,  it  would  have  been  all  right ;  but  I  could  not  be  certain  of  my 
aim  as  it  was.    Now,  mind,  we  must  have  him,  and  I  think  he  begins  to  find 
that  fact  out/' 

Certainly,  if  any  judgment  could  be  come  to,  by  the  desperate  manner  in 
which  Todd  rode,  it  would  appear  as  though  he  considered  his  career  as  all  but 
at  an  end.  Oh,  how  at  that  time  he  roated  and  raved  that  he  had  no  fire-arms, 
by  the  aid  of  which  he  might  turn  and  cope  with  his  foes  1  If  he  had  only  had 
but  a  pair  of  pistols,  he  thought  that  not  only  would  he  have  escaped,  but  es- 
caped likewise  with  the  intense  gratification  of  destroying  two  of  his  enemies; 
but,  then,  he  was  totally  unarmed,  and  if  they  should  succeed  in  coming  up  with 
him,  he  had  not  even  the  means  of  self-destruction  about  him. 

Indifferent  horseman,  however,  as  Todd  was,  even  he  could  not  help  seeing 
that  he  was  far  better  mounted  than  those  who  were  pursuing  him,  and  so,  from 
that  circumstance,  he  gathered  just  a  faint  hope  that  he  might  distance  them  by 
knocking  up  their  steeds.  From  what  he  had  already  experienced  of  the  mettle 
of  the  horse  he  had  got  hold  of  so  providentially  for  him,  he  felt  certain  that  if 
his  pursuers  were  obliged  to  come  to  a  pjause  only  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  he 
should  be  able  to  place  such  a  distance  between  h/m  and  them,  that  he  might 
consider  himself  to  be  in  comparative,  if  not  absolute  safety. 

To  accomplish  such  a  result,  then,  he  felt  that  his  plan  was  to  keep  right  on 
within  their  sight,  and  let  them  sooner  be  tired  out  by  the  unwonted  exertions 
that  they  would  compel  their  inefficient  cattle  lo  make,  with  the  vain  hope  of 
overtaking  him.  But  Todd  had  to  do  with  a  man,  in  Colonel  Jeffrey,  who  was 
quite  equal  to  such  an  emergency. 

A  stern  chace  is  a  long  chace,  but  an  escape  even  at  considerable  speed  is  a 
weary  affair,  with  a  foe  directly  behind;  and  the  colonel  calculated  that  allowing 
Todd  all  the  difference  in  speed  between  the  horses,  it  would  be  yet  a  long  dis- 
tance before  he  could  throw  them  back  so  far  that  they  would  not  be  in  a 
position  to  take  advantage  of  any  accident  that  might  occur  to  him. 

"  Cool  and  easy,  Ingestrie,"  he  said  ;  €i  it's  a  question  of  time,  now.  The 
longer  we  can  keep  our  horses  on  their  legs,  the  better  for  us.    Don't  urge  your  1 
horse  too  much." 

Todd  had  now  reached  a  very  wild  and  romantic  part  of  the  road.  It  wound  > 
through  a  cutting  in  a  mass  of  chalk,  which,  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  sur- 
mount, and  a  tedious  thing  to  go  round,  had  been  very  roughly  levelled  to  the 
width  of  a  road,  and  the  sides  were  covered  with  rank  vegetation,  for  successive 
rains  had  washed  down  upon  the  face  of  the  chalk  a  facing  of  loam,  from  which 
had  sprung  up  gigantic  weeds,  and  innumerable  wild  flowers. 

Todd  had  got  about  half  way  through  this  place,  when,  from  the  other  end  of 
it,  there  came  a  party  of  five  horsemen. 

One  man  rode  at  the  head  of  the  party  upon  a  black  horse,  which  had  evidently 
gone  far  that  day.  Todd  and  this  man  met  face  to  face,  and  they  simultaneously 
pronounced  each  other's  names. 

"  Sir  Richard  Blunt l"  shrieked  Todd. 
"  Sweeney  Todd  P  said  the  magistrate. 

jTimwi  mn— i  .in  i  IIHUII..IHII11JIJH  lun—iunr    n  n  mi  n  np.ii  ■  ii  ijn  i  T"!  n    i  i  I'  '  ■     '        i"—"— TT  II  1  "    Vim — i — r-CTTfrrjrT~TrnrnnTT|pira — i  p— — .' . 


"  Stop  him  !°  shouted  Ingestrie,  as  he  and  the  colonel  just  got  a  sight  of  the 
horsemen  beyond  Todd.       Stop  .him I" 

With  a  yell,  like  that  which  might  be  supposed  to  come  from  a  fiend,  Todd 
swerved  from  the  grasp  of  Sir  Richard  Blunt,  who  made  a  dart  at  his  throat, 
and  then,  drawing  up  his  knees,  he  #ave  his  horse  the  ma,  and  darting  past  Sir 
Richard,  he  dashed  right  into  the  midst  of  the  party  of  officers,  who  were  behind, 
and  fairly  broke  his  way  through  thim. 

"  Not  jet — not  yet  1"  he  shouted,    k<  Ha  ! — ha  !  not  yet !" 

"Fire!"  cried  Sir  Richard  Blunt. 

The  sharp  report  of  four  holster-pistols  sounded  in  the  narrow  road-way. 
Todd  fell  from  his  horse,  and,  terrified  by  the  shots,  the  steed  weut  off  without 
him  at  a  mad  galiop. 

Twice  Todd  roiled  over,  and  grasped  handfuls  of  chalk  and  dust  from  the 
road;  and  then  he  lay  upon  his  back  profoundly  still.  In  an  instant,  Sir 
Richard  Blunt  dismounted  ;  and  then  Colonel  Jeffrey  and  Mark  Ingestrie  rode  up 
to  the  spot. 

u  You  have — have  *  cried  Ingestrie 

"  Yes,  at  last,  Mr.  ingestrie,"  said  Sir  Richard.  "  I  had  some  information 
that  he  was  hovering  about  the  coast,  and  came  here  to  see  you  all.  I  am  sorry 
to  defraud  ihe  gallows  of  its  due  :  but  there  lies  Todd  V 

A  couple  of  the  officers  now  dismounted,  whila  the  otners  held  their  horses,  and 
they  dragged  the  wretched  man  to  the  bide  of  the  road, 

"  Is  he  dead  V  said  Ingestrie. 

"No,"  said  Todd,  opening  his  eyes.    "  He  still  lives  to  curse  you  all !  I  " 

It  was  evident  that  he  wished  to  say  more  ;  but  he  was  bleeding  internally,  and 
he  began  to  struggle  with  the  volumes  of  blood  that  rose  to  his  throat.  With  a 
horrible  shriek,  he  rolled  over  on  to  his  face,  and  then,  after  one  sharp  con- 
vulsion of  his  limbs,  he  lay  perfectly  still. 

One  of  the  officers  turned  him  round  again,  One  glance  at  the  face  was 
sufficient.    The  guilty  spirit  of  Sweeney  Todd  had  fled  at  last  to  its  account ! 

u  Dead/'  said  Sir  Richard  Blunt.  4<  Let  the  body  lie  here,  and  we  will  all 
ride  on  to  Brighten,  and  from  there  send  some  conveyance  for  it.  Mr.  Inges- 
trie and  you,  Colonel  Jeffrey,  are  witnesses  of  his  end,  and  I  can  only  say  that  I 
feel  now  as  if  a  heavy  weight  were  lifted  off  my  breast.  The  good,  and  the 
kind,  and  true,  need  no  longer  live  in  fear  of  the  wild  vengeance  of  this  man. 
Let  us  hope  that  Heaven  will  have  more  mercy  upon  his  guilty  soul  than  ever 
he  had  consideration  for  the  sufferings  of  others/' 


CHAPTER  CLXXIIL 


THE  CONCLUSION. 


)  1 


We  have  little  to  say  in  conclusion,  now  that  the  chief  actor  in  the  fearful 
Domestic  Drama  it  has  been  our  fate  to  record,  is  no  more,  Todd  was  buried 
in  the  old  church-yard  at  Brighton,  but  no  record  of  the  spot  where  the  mur- 
derer's bones  decayed  was  preserved* 

Sir  Richard  Blunt  lived  long  to  enjoy  the  respect  and  the  admiration  of  all 
who  knew  him,  and  died  full  of  years  and  honours. 

The  sunshine  of  the  existence  of  Johanna  and  Mark  was  perfectly  unclouded, 
and  the  colonel  and  Arabella,  likewise,  presented  a  true  picture  "of  connubial 
felicity.  In  due  time  Tobias  was  married  to  her  whom  he  loved  so  well ;  and  as 
he  got  older  and  more  used  to  the  world,  that  timidity  of  disposition  that  Todd 
by  his  cruelties  had  induced,  entirely  teft  him. 


0 


732  THE  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


Ben  did  not  marry  after  all,  and  he  never  ceased  to  congratulate  himself  upon 
his  escape.    Mr.  and  Mrs*  Oakley  were  happy  in  the  happiness  of  Johanna. 

The  mad-house  at  Peckham  was  completely  puTed  down,  and  in  the  well  at 
the  back  of  it  was  found  the  skeleton  of  the  wretched  victim  of  Fogg's  villany. 
It  was  by  his  own  hand  that  Fogg  really  died. 

Often  as  Johanna  would  sit  on  a  winter's  evening,  with  her  children  climbing 
upon  her  knee,  she  would,  with  a  faltering  voice,  tell  them  what  their  dear  father 
had  suffered  to  procure  for  her  and  for  them  The  Stiiing  of  Pearls. 


i 


PUBLISHED  BY  E.  LLOYD,  SALISBURY-SQUARE,  FLEET- STREET.